Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

Mobile provider Tesco Mobile, which is one of the UK’s largest virtual (mvno) mobile network operators and home to a customer base of close to 6 million, is reportedly looking to expand their existing partnership by pondering a giffgaff style move into offering full fibre broadband packages.

At present Tesco Mobile harnesses O2’s (Virgin Media) national mobile network and, according to the Financial Times (paywall), has already held “initial talks” about offering home broadband services over VMO2 and Nexfibre’s full fibre (FTTP) networks – all of which share some of the same parentage. We imagine this would only encompass the XGS-PON powered full fibre areas of both operators, similar to Giffgaff’s arrangement.

Regular readers may recall that Tesco has been down the home broadband route before. But the company’s financial difficulties of the time meant that this side of their business was ultimately sold to TalkTalk in 2015 (here) – reflecting a fixed line broadband base of 75,000 customers (inc. 20,000 phone users).

However, we suspect the shift by giffgaff into broadband, which also uses O2’s national network, may have prompted Tesco Mobile to consider a rival. The potential for the provider to leverage both their Tesco Clubcard discounts and cross-selling broadband with mobile will no doubt also be significant, particularly now that they have such a sizeable mobile base and a decent reputation for quality.

The difficult part may be in reaching an agreement that will enable them to launch broadband packages that are as attractive as those being offered by giffgaff. Unlike giffgaff, Tesco Mobile is not part of the same group of companies, and so may not benefit from the same level of preferential treatment that such an association usually attracts.

On the other hand, Virgin Media (O2) and nexfibre are currently trying to attract non-group wholesale partners to their consumer fixed line platform (the Vodafone example), not least because this would help to give the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) a better impression of their competitive proposition and thus support the £2bn acquisition of full fibre altnet Netomnia (here).

A spokesperson for Tesco Mobile said that, as part of the “normal course of running our business,” they have “regular conversations with potential partners about opportunities“. But the mobile provider added that they “currently have no plans to launch into the broadband market” (always take any use of “no plans” with a pinch of salt, as plans can and often do change, frequently at very short notice).

At present all we can say is that Tesco Mobile has not yet made a final decision about whether to re-enter the broadband market.

Original article Total Telecom:Read More

Company News

M&A

The acquisition stands to bridge SpaceX’s engineering ecosystem with next-generation developer intelligence.

Edited by Brad Randall, Broadband Communities

June 23, 2023 — SpaceX has announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Anysphere, Inc., the creator of the popular AI-powered coding assistant Cursor.

According to a Form 8-K filed with the SEC, the all-stock transaction values Cursor at an implied equity value of $60.0 billion.

Under the terms of the agreement outlined in the Form 8-K, SpaceX will merge a wholly owned subsidiary into Cursor, which will continue operating as a wholly owned subsidiary of the aerospace giant. Cursor shareholders will also receive SpaceX Class A common stock, with the share exchange ratio determined by the stock’s 7-day volume-weighted average price prior to closing.

The acquisition bridges SpaceX’s engineering ecosystem with next-generation developer intelligence, potentially supercharging software automation for Starlink.

The transaction is subject to standard regulatory approvals and is expected to close in the third quarter of 2026, SpaceX’s SEC filing stated.

Automating the future of network deployment

As massive tech mergers signal a broader shift toward deep AI integration, the broadband sector is already finding ways to leverage this intelligence at the network level.

To see how these computational breakthroughs translate into localized, real-world utility, don’t miss the session “AI in Action: Improving the Resident and Support Experience“ at the Broadband Communities Summit 2026.

Happening on August 26 at 3:35 PM in Room 310A-C, this panel features leaders from RealPage, Apartment SEO, and RUCKUS Networks discussing exactly how AI is shifting from experimental tech to an operational powerhouse.

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Some AI tools also assisted in the crafting of this report.

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The post SpaceX agrees to acquire popular AI coding assistant appeared first on Total Telecom.

Original article Total Telecom:Read More

News

A broad coalition of telecom trade associations is warning that rapid AI expansion is causing a critical shortage of U.S. memory chips.

Edited by Brad Randall, Broadband Communities

June 23, 2026 — A coalition of major trade associations—including tech and telecom leaders like NCTA, ACA Connects, NTCA, and the Telecommunications Industry Association, alongside healthcare technology groups MDMA and AdvaMed, the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, and retail giants via the Retail Industry Leaders Association and the National Retail Federation—has raised alarms over an emerging memory chip shortage they say threatens to disrupt supply chains and drive-up costs across multiple sectors.

In a June 3 letter addressed to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, the groups outlined the critical challenges posed by surging demand for memory chips driven by the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence (AI) data centers.

The letter emphasizes the “unprecedented surge in the price of memory chips and reduced supply of these chips for manufacturing and consumer-facing industries.”

Widespread industry disruptions

It also warns of immediate and near-term impacts, including rising prices for everyday electronics, increased costs for telecommunications infrastructure, and risks to sectors ranging from automobile production to medical device manufacturing. Federal contractors, particularly small businesses, also face potential delays and disruptions in fulfilling procurement commitments, the June 3 letter argues.

Market imbalances persist

Despite significant U.S. investments to boost chip manufacturing, the coalition asserts that market imbalances persist.

They urge the government to “work with memory chipmakers and chip buyers to assess steps that can be taken to address this imbalance” and protect consumers, workers, and businesses alike.

Proposed measures include accelerating capacity expansion domestically and in allied countries, leveraging trade and investment agreements to strengthen supply chains, and adjusting regulatory frameworks to support faster sourcing and innovation.

Additionally, the letter conveys a spirit of partnership, stating the signatories “stand ready” to discuss solutions.

The organizations also underscore their alignment with the administration’s broader economic goals, aiming to “bolster the strength of the U.S. economy, resilience of our supply chains, and prosperity of our citizens and businesses.” As AI continues transforming technology landscapes, ensuring balanced and reliable access to memory chips is now front and center on the policy agenda.

FMS 2026

With surging AI demands putting unprecedented strain on the global tech ecosystem, the industry is also racing to evolve.

Discover the solutions firsthand at The Future of Memory and Storage | FMS 2026, happening August 4–6 at the Santa Clara Convention Center. Featuring an elite lineup of keynote speakers, deep-dive sessions into HBM, CXL, and advanced data center strategies, FMS 2026 is where the technology community maps out what comes next. Secure your pass now to connect with the global innovators redefining data scaling.

Some AI tools also assisted in the crafting of this report.

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The post Telecom associations warn of US memory chip shortage appeared first on Total Telecom.

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

Broadband provider MTH Networks has today confirmed that they’ve gone live on Trooli’s alternative full fibre (FTTP) network, which covers premises across the South East, South West and East Anglia Regions of England and a small part of Scotland.

Trooli’s full fibre network is said to cover more than 480,000 homes across the United Kingdom, including various towns and large semi-rural villages across parts of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Dorset, East Sussex, Hampshire, Kent, Norfolk, Suffolk, West Sussex and Wiltshire in England. As well as bits of North Lanarkshire, South Lanarkshire and Fife in Scotland (formerly part of Axione UK’s network – here).

The wholesale access agreement reflects the fifth fibre access network to go live on the MTH Networks platform. Customers in the Trooli footprint can now order from MTH Networks full fibre broadband with symmetrical speeds from 500Mbps to 2.5Gbps, available using iPoE or PPPoE – supporting Bring Your Own Router or use an MTH Networks Router.

David Curtis, Director of MTH Networks, said:

“Broadband should be simple. You find a provider you trust, check your postcode, and get connected. That is what we built our multi-carrier platform to do. Adding Trooli as our fifth network is a big step in that, adding further reach and choice for our customers. There are hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses in rural Kent, East Anglia, along the South Coast, and now parts of Scotland where people haven’t had a real choice of provider. From Wednesday 24th June they can get MTH Networks. That is exactly what the platform was built for.”

Rhiannon O’Neill, Wholesale Director at Trooli, said:

“This partnership is a great opportunity for Trooli. Our team has considerable experience in driving the innovation required to reach areas of the UK with our network to those who will benefit from it the most. MTH Networks complements a growing number of quality wholesale partnerships which Trooli now has, and by partnering with MTH Networks we can continue to provide digital access and greater consumer choice for communities across our footprint.”

All customers are said to benefit from a price that is fixed for the full contract term (no in contract price rises or changes). Customers can also choose from four repair service levels, with commitments ranging from “next working day +1” through to a six-hour fix available around the clock, 365 days a year. Business customers receive a 99.99% core network uptime SLA and a dedicated static IP address as standard.

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

Technology data and insight firm FDM CCS Insight has today launched a new dataset (Network Panel) that claims to provide “unprecedented visibility into UK broadband market performance, regional trends and adoption of fibre to the premises (FTTP)“. The goal is to enable operators, investors and industry watchers to benchmark performance and identify emerging trends.

The Network Panel – using more than two years of historical data – is said to track connections and disconnections on all major fixed-line networks, including CityFibre, Openreach, Virgin Media (O2) and nexfibre, delivering visibility into market performance at a national and regional level.

For example, the data tracks weekly customer gains and losses across several broadband speed tiers (i.e. tracking shifting demand from sub-150 Mbps to gigabit broadband), providing monthly reporting across 11 Office for National Statistics (ONS) regions.

Example Findings in the Network Panel

➤ Connections taking a broadband package at 800 Mbps or higher grew by more than 75% year-on-year in five out of 11 ONS regions.

➤ Eight out of 11 ONS regions saw the number of 0-149 Mbps connections decline by over 20% in the past 12 months. Every region saw connections at this entry-level speed decline by at least 10%.

➤ 33% of connections in London were packages at 800 Mbps or greater. This was six percentage points higher than the second-placed ONS region, the South East, at 27%. This is driven by providers in London offering some of the lowest prices for higher-speed packages in the country, according to FDM CCS Insight’s Pricing Data. Note that London accounts for approximately 13% of the UK population.

➤ Despite having a lower volume of connections, the North East saw significant growth in high-speed sign-ups. Connections at 401-800 Mbps grew 42% year-on-year and packages offering 800 Mbps or higher increased 87%.

The eagle-eyed among you will note that Northern Ireland is not included, but this is currently only Phase One of the panel and N.I will be added in later iterations.

Hayden Shaw, Commercial Director at FDM CCS Insight, said:

“The traditional approach of measuring the UK broadband market as one homogenous entity no longer reflects the complex dynamics of this highly competitive market. Offering a granular geographic breakdown represents a significant step forward in the industry’s understanding of broadband market performance. This is particularly relevant at a time when altnets are aggressively targeting specific regions and causing significant disruption to the market landscape”.

Sadly, the announcement doesn’t include a link to the panel, so we’re unsure how useful it is or whether it’s even available to the wider public. The above data snapshot is thus all we get.

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

The Oldham-based Constant Group, which is a British single source solution provider for sheet metal fabrication – from telecom / broadband cabinets to POS displays, has secured a contract from Openreach (BT) to develop and deliver secure external enclosures as part of the operator’s nationwide Exchange Exit programme.

Just to recap. Openreach are currently gearing up to close around 4,600 of their 5,600 UK exchanges as part of their Exchange Exit Programme, which is occurring (mostly after 2030) because only c.1,000 of these are needed to provide nationwide coverage of modern “fibre broadband” services (FTTC / SOGEA, FTTP etc.) – the Openreach Handover Points (OHPs or “Super Digital Exchanges“). The rollout of full fibre (FTTP) technology, combined with the retirement of copper lines and legacy services (ADSL, WLR, PSTN etc.), will soon make it economically unviable to support both the old and new exchanges.

The “world-first” solution that the Constant Group has developed to assist this enables fibre circuits to be migrated from traditional exchange buildings into secure external enclosures through a highly controlled, plug-and-play process. The solution is intended to simplify and accelerate deployment, allowing pre-prepared units to be delivered directly to site for rapid installation.

“The solution has successfully passed and exceeded all rigorous testing requirements set by Openreach, with installations and deliveries now underway,” said the announcement.

David Gilligan, CTO at Constant Group, said:

“This project represents a huge milestone for our business and a major step forward for UK telecommunications.

We are proud to have developed a world-first solution that supports Openreach’s long-term fibre network transformation strategy. The collaboration, innovation and engineering expertise behind this product has been exceptional, and to see deliveries and installations underway is a fantastic achievement for the entire team.”

Sadly, they didn’t include a picture of the new enclosures.

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

The residential community of Bromley Cross, which sits in the leafy northern suburbs of Bolton (Greater Manchester), appear to have succeeded in their campaign against Openreach’s (BT) plan to deploy new wood telecoms poles to support their gigabit full fibre broadband (FTTP) network expansion around Grange Park Road.

The use of poles to run overhead cables (telecoms, electricity etc.) is a common practice in the UK, where millions have been built over the decades. Poles are quick and cost-effective to build (several times cheaper than trenching), can be deployed in areas where there may be no space or access agreement to safely put new underground cables, are less disruptive (avoiding the noise, access restrictions and damage to pavements of trenching) and can be built under Permitted Development (PD) rights; often with only minimal prior notice.

However, many people dislike poles – usually due to their negative visual impact or the lack of effective prior consultation before deployment, which in some cases has occasionally erupted into disruptive protests. The latter is most likely to occur in areas that haven’t previously had poles before (i.e. past cables were underground), as well as areas of outstanding natural beauty or where several gigabit broadband networks may already exist.

In this case the issue is more about visual appearance (some locals also didn’t feel they needed another broadband service), with the area being somewhat of a green space that is also home to protected trees. As one resident told the Bolton News: “Some of these surrounding trees are listed, two hundred-year-old oaks cover the road and our gardens have tree protection orders. This area is special in that way because it’s green space. It would spoil a lovely place.”

The local councillors appear to have played a key role in galvanising opposition to the development and Openreach have now withdrawn the planned deployment. Cllr Cadden said: “Most people thought that going above ground was not modernisation.”

A Spokesperson for Openreach said:

“We’re investing £8.7 million to bring the UK’s most reliable broadband technology – Full Fibre – to thousands of homes and businesses across Bolton.

Around 14,000 homes and businesses in the Astley Bridge area can already order the new service and, as we expand our network, we’re using existing underground ducts and poles wherever we can. In some locations, new poles are the only safe and practical way to deliver this upgraded service and, in this case, the only way we could proceed.

But, following feedback from the local community, we’re now reviewing our investment decision whilst continuing to deliver better connectivity across other parts of Bolton.”

Openreach will have no doubt wished to be sensitive to the new industry agreed ‘Best Practice Guidance’ for gigabit broadband operators that are building new poles as part of their UK network expansions. The guidance aims to support the Government’s goal of “ending the deployment of unnecessary telegraph poles” (here), not least by requiring providers to engage more closely with communities before they build (details here).

The impact of the new guidance is, however, somewhat tricky to assess since most alternative networks have already stopped or significantly slowed deployments of new fibre optic broadband infrastructure as a result of wider market strains (i.e. rising build costs, competition and high interest rates). But operator’s like Openreach still make heavy use of them.

Naturally, network operators have a difficult balancing act to perform, which is one that both needs to respect the government’s wishes (inc. local communities), while at the same time trying not to damage the wider roll-out and cost models. Not forgetting that consumers and businesses with access to more than one gigabit broadband network will often still directly benefit from greater choice and lower prices. We also must not forgot those who may have wanted to see the new network being built.

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

The ITS Technology Group, which has already deployed various open access and business-focused Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP / XGS-PON) broadband ISP and Ethernet networks across parts of the UK, has today announced that their full fibre infrastructure is to be extended into 13 additional towns and cities across England, Scotland and Wales.

The expansion is said to mark the “next phase” of ITS’ investment in its national network, which will bring more organisations within reach of high-capacity connectivity, giving businesses “greater choice and creating more opportunity for ITS partners to serve customers that need resilient, scalable services to support cloud, AI and other data-intensive applications”.

The first locations to benefit from this will be Coventry, Huddersfield and Loughborough, which should be Ready for Service (RFS) “later this month“. After that we can expect Aberdeen, Bath, Bournemouth, Cardiff, Chester, Edinburgh, Exeter, Plymouth, Southampton and Swansea to go live in phases between July and October 2026. But it’s unclear how many extra premises this will cover.

The build will also be supported by “wider investment” across ITS’s wholesale platform, partner experience and product portfolio. As part of this, ITS are continuing to develop their self-service Portal to give partners (e.g. retail ISPs and business networks) greater control and visibility, from order and delivery through to in-life service management.

Daren Baythorpe, CEO of ITS, said:

“Organisations across the UK need connectivity that is built around how they operate, not a residential model adapted for business use. That is why we are continuing to invest where the demand is clear and where our digital infrastructure can create long-term value.

This expansion takes us into even more towns and cities across England, Scotland and Wales, supporting the places that power local and regional economies, while giving businesses greater choice in areas where high-capacity connectivity is becoming increasingly important.

It is also about the way the market is served. Partners need more than access to a circuit. They need a wholesale platform, a strong product portfolio and the service experience to support customers with confidence, including larger, multi-site organisations that need consistent connectivity across different locations.”

The operator’s XGS-PON based full fibre network was last year said to “pass” more than 465,000 UK businesses (inc. commercial premises), and they often claim to “reach the rest” through their trusted operator partners’ infrastructure, which includes the likes of BTWholesale, Sky, PXC and Virgin Media Business.

However, while most alternative networks have had to slow or stop their fibre deployments due to wider economic and competitive strains, it’s welcome to see ITS doing the opposite and expanding their network. The announcement also follows after another major broadband altnet, CommunityFibre, restarted a significant roll-out of their consumer facing FTTP network (here).

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

A new study from Broadband Genie, which analysed 144,067 web-based broadband speed tests over an unspecified 12-month period, has claimed that 18% households in the UK are receiving “broadband” download speeds slower than the Universal Service Obligation (USO) of 10Mbps download or 1Mbps upload. But take that claim with a pinch of salt.

According to the results, 14% failed to record download speeds of 10Mbps and 13% did not reach a threshold of 1Mbps for uploads. The results claim to show a big disparity between official network availability and the speeds customers actually receive. Official Ofcom figures are said to show 1% of UK premises completely lack access to a USO-capable option (it’s actually 0.1% when mobile/wireless networks are included), but Broadband Genie’s data states that 18% of actual customer connections are failing to beat the USO bar for both downloads and uploads at the same time.

The three “worst performing providers” were then identified as Vodafone (mobile broadband), Three (mobile home broadband) and EE (mobile home broadband), where many of their customers failed to reach the USO thresholds. But take note that where you position a mobile broadband router can have a huge impact on signal reception.

Meanwhile, the worst-performing fixed line broadband ISP was named as EE, where 28% of their customers failed to meet the overall USO requirements.

Which customers are receiving the slowest broadband speed?

Which customers receive the fastest broadband speed?

The big catch here is that web-based broadband speed testing has its limits and can be affected by various issues, such as slow Wi-Fi, limitations of the tester itself, restrictions of the device being used, local network congestion and package choice (a lot of people will pick a slower and cheaper plan, even with 1Gbps available). Equally, some older ISPs will have a larger base of slower copper line customers, which will drag down the figures.

The results above thus don’t provide enough context about each individual test to say for sure that those falling below the USO level are actually unable to attain faster speeds on their current service. Equally, such testing can be more a reflection of take-up, rather than underlying network availability (not everybody takes the fastest ISP/network/package as soon as it arrives).

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

France-based internet connection benchmarking firm nPerf has this morning published the results from their first biannual (H1) 2026 crowdsourced study into fixed broadband ISP speeds among “countries comparable in size to Romania“, which saw the United Kingdom rank 2nd with an overall score of 126,638 nPoints (just behind Romania on 128,587).

The somewhat quirky study is based on masses of speed tests carried out – between January and May 2026 – by users of the performance testing tools on both nPerf’s website and via their dedicated mobile testing apps for Android and iOS. But we don’t get any hard stats on the sample sizes or structure. This analysis covers 20 countries with land areas ranging from 119,000 to 477,000 km² – a scope that includes diverse territories such as Sweden, Vietnam, and Morocco.

The scoring system is said to reflect an aggregation of several technical criteria – such as download speed, connection stability, and streaming quality – to reflect a daily user experience. For instance, a high score enables smooth viewing of 4K content without buffering, or downloading large files in seconds. Conversely, lower scores may indicate slowdowns during videoconferencing or prolonged wait times for loading complex web pages.

The UK achieved a score of 126,638 nPoints, placing it just 1,949 nPoints behind Romania, the top-ranked country. Sweden (126,415 nPoints) and Norway (123,768 nPoints) follow closely behind. At the other end of the spectrum came Senegal (77,421 nPoints) and Tunisia (60,427 nPoints).

Overall, we’re not sure how useful this kind of unusual and narrow study is and a breakdown of the key performance figures would have been more helpful, but make of it what you will.