Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

In a small but welcome development. Mobile and internet provider giffgaff has announced that both new and existing customers of their home broadband products – powered by nexfibre’s UK full fibre network (covers 2.5 million premises) – will benefit from a change of standard price on their 200Mbps tier that reduces it by -£1 to £29 per month.

On the surface such a charge is hardly much to write home about, but it’s important to reflect that this isn’t a temporary discount and to underline that they’re reducing the standard monthly price at a time when many other broadband providers have been hiking their prices, often significantly.

Lest we forget that giffgaff’s broadband packages only attract a basic 30-day minimum contract term and include no setup fees, despite including a wireless router in the package. In addition, existing customers of giffgaff’s mobile plans can apparently also benefit from three months of free service when they sign-up.

Giffgaff Statement

We’re making a change to our 200mbps broadband plan, bringing it down to £29 from £30. Members already on this plan will automatically be placed on to the new price point at their next renewal.

Don’t forget that if you’ve been a mobile member with giffgaff since before 1st January, 2026, then you can still take advantage of [the] offer … where you can get three months free broadband if you sign up by 12th April, 2026.

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

A new study into the global progress of 5G Standalone mobile broadband networks, which was conducted by Ookla, has revealed that global 5G SA availability – based on Speedtest.net sample share – reached 17.6% in Q4 2025 (i.e. one in six 5G speed tests were conducted on SA networks). The UK was also identified as an accelerator and saw its share rise from 1.7% to 7% in the last year.

Just for some context. Earlier deployments of 5G were largely Non-Standalone (NSA), which meant they were partly reliant upon slower 4G infrastructure. But Standalone (SA) networks, which are rapidly growing their coverage, are pure end-to-end 5G that can deliver ultra-low latency times, greater energy efficiency, better mobile broadband speeds (particularly uploads), network slicing, improved support for Internet of Things (IoT) devices, increased reliability and security etc.

The new report highlights how, at the country level, the USA remains the largest accelerator, with its 5G SA sample share rising from 23.4% in Q4 2024 to 31.6% in Q4 2025 (+8.2 pp). Singapore remains among the highest-SA-share markets globally at 38.9% in Q4 2025, but was broadly flat year-on-year. Other notable accelerators included Hong Kong (+7.1 pp to 8.8%) and the United Kingdom (+5.3 pp to 7%).

Just for some context. Europe’s 5G SA sample share still remains generally low, but it did more than double from 1.1% to 2.8% over the past year, primarily driven by accelerated deployments in Austria (8.7%), Spain (8.3%), the UK (7%), and France (5.9%). Spain’s 5G SA share is comparatively high in Europe, but its year-on-year increase was more modest (+1.7 pp).

5G Mobile Broadband Speeds

In terms of the impact upon mobile broadband speeds of 5G SA technology. Ookla noted how, globally, 5G SA connections delivered a median download speed of 269.51Mbps (or just 205Mbps in Europe), representing a 52% premium over older 5G NSA’s 177.37Mbps (or 45% faster than NSA in Europe). But that 269.51Mbps figure is actually down by 3.5% from 279.25Mbps last year.

However, there are plenty of significant regional variations in all this, such as with the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which delivered a median download speed of 1.13Gbps! Similarly, the UAE leads median 5G SA download speeds globally at 1.24Gbps, a speed that would be considered exceptional even for many full fibre (FTTP) broadband lines in developed markets.

As for the United Kingdom, Ookla’s report found that we delivered a median download speed of 142Mbps via 5G SA, which makes us one of the slowest countries in the entire study. Sadly there are no comparative figures for 5G NSA in the UK as we’re not even fast enough to make their downloads table (below).

The performance gaps between NSA and SA 5G typically reflect continued reliance on low-band spectrum (particularly in Germany) and limited mid-band deployment for SA networks.

The global median upload speed similarly slipped 4.6% to 16.91Mbps over the same period, while latency times improved by over 6% to 42ms (milliseconds). As for the United Kingdom, we were once again at the bottom of the upstream table but did show that NSA 5G networks delivered an upload rate of 10.33Mbps, while 5G SA achieved slightly higher at 12.78Mbps. Not exactly earth-shattering stuff on the upstream front.

In terms of latency performance, the average UK latency times on 5G SA networks were just 36ms, which compares with 46ms on NSA.

The good news is that some countries have implemented clear coverage obligations linked to 5G SA and others have seen a boost from network consolidation, such as in the UK at both operator level (e.g. VodafoneThree’s commitments) and government level (e.g the UK’s 5GSA target for 2030). Ookla highlights how such countries often show “substantially higher SA adoption and performance than countries with fragmented or reactive policy approaches“.

Despite these advances, further progress is still required. In many countries the planning system remains a constraint, with approval timelines for new masts, small cells, and other infrastructure representing a bottleneck that, if addressed, Ookla says “could materially accelerate deployment“. The UK is making progress on this front (here and here), although it has taken a long time.

Finally, the report also highlighted some early evidence to suggest that 5G SA networks may reduce battery drain vs NSA networks, which is a claim we’ve seen before. The battery consumption analysis employed a proprietary Ookla methodology that passively analyses battery level readings collected from Android devices via Speedtest background scans. The methodology filters out periods of device charging and statistically anomalous intervals, isolating valid discharge measurements.

In the UK sample, devices connected to 5G SA on the EE network recorded a median discharge time approximately 22% longer than those on 5G NSA. On O2 UK, the SA advantage was also evident, with SA devices lasting around 11% longer than their NSA counterparts. In practical terms, these percentage gains translated to differences of up to around 3 hours in median battery endurance between the two architectures, depending on the operator.

Original article Total Telecom:Read More

News

The breach, which was reported earlier this month, jeopardised the data of 6.2 million customers

On Thursday, Dutch mobile operator Odido notified customers that the company had been hacked and their personal data may have been leaked.

The incident, which took place earlier in the month, saw data from 6.2 million customers compromised, according to an Odido spokesperson.

Both Odido’s direct customers and those of its mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) Ben NL were affected.

Customers’ names, addresses, phone numbers, and bank account numbers were among the data points leaked.

Odido emphasised that no passwords, call records, or billing data had been accessed, but urged customers to be vigilant about suspicious calls and texts.

In a statement, the operator said that an investigation into the incident was ongoing and it had reported the breach to the Dutch Data Protection Authority.

“The unauthorised access to the system was ended as quickly as possible,” said the Odido statement. “In addition, Odido has brought in cybersecurity experts to implement additional security measures in response to this incident.”

While Odido did not explicitly explain how the hackers had gained access to their systems, reporting from Dutch public broadcaster NOS suggests it may have been a case of social engineering.

According to anonymous sources speaking to the news agency, the hackers gained access to Odido’s systems by attempting to log into the accounts of customer service representatives that had fallen for phishing emails. The hackers then contacted these employees by phone, posing as Odido’s IT department, and manipulated them into approving a fraudulent login attempt.

The report suggests that the staff targeted may have been external call centre workers based outside the Netherlands.

Keep up to date with all the latest telecoms news with the Total Telecom newsletter

Also in the news
World Communication Award Winners 2025
Ofcom clears the way for satellite-to-smartphone services
LG Uplus’s AI voice call app glitch leaks user data

The post Hackers pose as IT department to break into Odido’s systems appeared first on Total Telecom.

Original article Total Telecom:Read More

News

The participating companies pledge to follow the same standards of transparency, security, and data protection

Fifteen international tech giants have joined forces to launch the Trusted Tech Alliance, an initiative aimed at promoting transparency and trust across the tech sector.

The founding members – which includes the likes of Anthropic, Google, and Ericsson – are pledging to adhere to a set of shared principles to help foster a more open and reliable tech industry.

The initiative’s five founding principles, according to its website, are as follows:

• Transparent Corporate Governance and Ethical Conduct
• Operational Transparency, Secure Development, and Independent Assessment
• Robust Supply Chain and Security Oversight
• Open, Cooperative, Inclusive, and Resilient Digital Ecosystem
• Respect for the Rule of Law and Data Protection

These principles, the members say, will help ease cross-border collaboration at a time when geopolitical tensions are eroding international trust.

Tech companies are under increasing scrutiny over their origin and political independence, while governments are increasingly pushing for technological self-sufficiency and digital sovereignty.

“This is a period of time when many governments and countries are feeling pressure to create stronger technology borders, to focus more on their own digital sovereignty,” said Microsoft President Brad Smith in an interview with Reuters. “Our companies are working together to set this high standard to really make clear what the definition of trust is.”

The members will self-assess their compliance with these ‘high standards’, though Smith notes that provisions are also included for independent assessment.

The other founding members are Amazon Web Services, Cassava Technologies, Cohere, Hanwha, Jio Platforms, Microsoft, Nokia, Nscale, NTT, Rapidus, Saab, and SAP.

Keep up to date with all the latest telecoms news with the Total Telecom newsletter

Also in the news
World Communication Award Winners 2025
Ofcom clears the way for satellite-to-smartphone services
LG Uplus’s AI voice call app glitch leaks user data

The post Global tech giants combine to create Trusted Tech Alliance appeared first on Total Telecom.

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

Concerns are growing for one of the UK market’s smaller providers of retail internet services, Zone Broadband, which since earlier this month seems to have been attracting a rising number of complaints from customers who appear to have lost connectivity and are struggling to get any support from the ISP.

ISPreview first became aware of the issues over a week ago after some of our industry sources indicated that the ISP might be experiencing difficulties. A quick look at Zone Broadband’s reviews on Trustpilot during February 2026 reveal that there has been a jump in complaints, with various customers highlighting seemingly ongoing problems with a sudden, protracted connectivity loss and lack of support.

“My WiFi has been down for a week now. Tried calling several times I have emailed them several times, no one has got back to me,” said one recent review. “Terrible, Internet has been down for 4 days with no word from zone. They’re impossible to reach over the phone, it just rings out,” said another and another etc.

We attempted to contact Zone Broadband on 7th February about the issues and, much like the above complaints, have thus far received no response. A quick look at the provider’s Service Status page makes no reference to the recent issues and still includes a legacy entry for a seemingly unrelated October 2025 disruption on MS3’s full fibre network in East Yorkshire (take note that Zone also sell services over other networks, primarily Openreach).

In addition, the Companies House page for Zone Broadband currently highlights how their latest expected accounts are heavily overdue (they were due by 11th June 2025). The hope is that the ISP will be able to resolve whatever challenges they’ve recently been facing and reconnect any impacted customers asap, although without communication it’s difficult to know what action is being or has been taken.

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

Some customers of mobile and broadband ISP EE (BT), specifically those on their top 1.6Gbps speed full fibre (FTTP) package via Openreach’s national network, appear to have spent the weekend suffering from a significant reduction in download speed (some down to c.50-70Mbps), connectivity problems and a lack of effective support.

At present, EE’s premium 1.6Gbps speed broadband package (includes 120Mbps uploads) doesn’t have a huge number of subscribers, but some of those who are taking the service started complaining to ISPreview on Saturday morning about a significant loss of download speed. A few have also seen their upload speeds reduced to c.20Mbps, while others have found that the issue only impacts downloads.

In addition, a number of customers on the same 1.6Gbps package have also complained about problems getting connected to the service (PPPoE cannot authorise), although it’s unclear if this is directly related to the wider problems with service speed or merely an unrelated incident. But it’s hard to ignore the proximity of both events.

“EE are aware (I have just spoken to support on the phone), but they have yet to update their status page … I am meant to be on the 1600/120 profile, but currently seem to be limited by a 80/20 profile,” said Jim, one of ISPreview’s readers. “Since Saturday evening, there have been an issue with EE’s flagship 1.6Gbps product. Some users have no connection with CHAP related errors in logs, others appear ‘stuck’ at 70 Mbps (myself included),” added Chris, another impacted customer and reader.

Various related complaints can also be found on EE’s Community Forum (here and here), which echo the same problems and raise concerns about EE’s current lack of an official response. Customers who have contacted EE’s support department have allegedly been told that the issues should be resolved by the end of today, while others have been told it may take longer. One person was also informed that the speed issue related to a “software defect” of some kind, which sounds plausible.

ISPreview has already contacted EE for a comment, and we will report back when one arrives. Sadly, it’s not unusual for support teams, even at major ISPs, to be somewhat less effective at responding to such issues when they occur over a weekend (especially so around school holidays).

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

The UK Prime Minister, Kier Starmer, has today proposed last minute amendments to two Bills that will enable the Government to set a minimum age limit for social media (i.e. greater use of Age Verification), as well as options to age restrict or limit children’s use of Virtual Private Networks (VPN), where it “undermines safety protections and changing the age of digital consent“.

As regular readers will already know, the UK’s Online Safety Act (OSA) – a product of both the past and present governments – already includes a requirement for “highly effective” Age Verification. The original goal of this was to restrict the ability of children to access “harmful” adult content, such as porn, although political mission creep has inevitably started to cast a wider net and introduce ever more expansion censorship.

The latest proposals include plans to amend both the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill (CWSB) and the Crime and Policing Bill (CPB), both of which are already nearing the end of their debate cycle before achieving royal assent to become law.

However, the proposed changes will first need to be guided by a new Children’s Digital Wellbeing Consultation, which is due to “launch next month” and will be “guided by what parents and children say they need now, not in several years’ time“. On the other hand, today’s announcement does rather make it sound like the Government has already made up its mind on the key issues.

The Government said “these powers will mean we can act fast on its findings within months, rather than waiting years for new primary legislation every time technology evolves … no platform gets a free pass“.

Key Changes Being Proposed

➤ A “crackdown on vile illegal content created by AI“. The government will shut a legal loophole and force all AI chatbot providers to abide by illegal content duties in the Online Safety Act or face the consequences of breaking the law.

➤ Setting a minimum age limit for social media.

➤ Restricting features like infinite scrolling that are deemed harmful.

➤ The government will also consult on how best to ensure tech companies can safeguard children from sending or receiving nude images in the first place.

➤ The government will “examine … options” to age restrict or limit children’s VPN use where it undermines safety protections and changing the age of digital consent.

➤ Strengthen protections for families facing the most devastating circumstances by ensuring that vital data following a child’s death is preserved before it can be deleted, except in cases where online activity is clearly not relevant to the death.

The key details around some of this are currently unclear. For example, we don’t yet know what sort of minimum age limit will be set (under 18s, under 16s etc.) or whether the government’s definition of “social media” extends beyond the major platforms (Facebook, X etc.), which might cause it to reach into other user-to-user services (e.g. small community forums about general topics that don’t appeal to children, help forums for sensitive subjects, chat systems inside online video games etc.). Suffice to say that there are a variety of technical, privacy, ethical and economic challenges, particularly for the smallest of websites that may lack the capability to adapt.

UK Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, said:

“As a dad of two teenagers, I know the challenges and the worries that parents face making sure their kids are safe online.

Technology is moving really fast, and the law has got to keep up. With my government, Britain will be a leader not a follower when it comes to online safety.

The action we took on Grok sent a clear message that no platform gets a free pass.

Today we are closing loopholes that put children at risk, and laying the groundwork for further action.

We are acting to protect children’s wellbeing and help parents to navigate the minefield of social media.”

However, despite the focus on children above, it’s important for adult users to understand that wider use of Age Verification will directly impact their own use of and access to such services, potentially preventing your access until such time as you agree to share your personal biometric or financial data with often unknown, unfamiliar and unregulated third-party organisations. The above remarks are particularly relevant when you consider that it may be mostly adults driving VPN usage to bypass age verification in order to avoid sharing their personal data with unknown entities.

All of this is before we touch on the potentially far-reaching and unintended consequences of enforcing age verification on VPNs, which are also legitimate tools for businesses, journalists and to help protect people (security) when abroad or on public networks etc. Many such VPNs can be deeply integrated into modern protection and network optimisation systems, often acting seamlessly in the background, thus a blanket requirement risks being extraordinarily disruptive.

The reality is that, whatever the government decides, children who go seeking access to such systems and content will always find a way to circumvent any measures that are introduced – just as they always have done (e.g. people can create their own personal VPNs with ease). Instead, it often ends up being the innocent and harmless online services and security systems that could be hurt the most by the sledgehammer approach to age-gated internet censorship.

Finally, big questions also remain over how the government will go about awkward business of ensuring tech companies can safeguard children from even sending or receiving nude images in the first place, which could be difficult as many people these days use private messaging apps based around end-to-end encryption.

Please note that we won’t be able to approve any comments on this news article that appear to directly promote specific VPN services, due to the risk that this could clash with the government’s prior warnings about such promotions (here).

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

Fancy setting up your own private 4G mobile broadband network? A hobbyist club of UK mobile network enthusiasts has banded together to create AzurePCS, which enables individuals or small communities to legally deploy indoor 4G mobile data coverage using Ofcom’s Shared Access spectrum (LTE Band 40 – 2300MHz).

The idea is partly to give people an alternative to relying on WiFi or unlicensed solutions. The network itself is said to be based around LTE [4G] Baicells femtocells (i.e. mini-indoor base stations for mobile signals), which connect back to their centrally hosted core network over standard broadband. The LTE EPC (core network) setup they’re using also harnesses an open source project called Open5GS.

Naturally, each femtocell operator must also be able to obtain their own Ofcom Shared Access licence (currently £80/year for 10 MHz or £160/year for 20 MHz). “We can help guide them. In most cases, people can obtain an indoor-only licence, unless they are located close to Ministry of Defence sites, as the MoD are the incumbent users of this band,” said Alex of the AzurePCS project.

So far as community driven UK telecom projects go, this one is really quite interesting, but it’s worth noting that there are some limitations to this approach. The network that is established is only able to deliver a 4G (LTE) data / internet connection because they don’t have an interconnection with public networks, which means no external calls or text (SMS) messages to mobile users on other networks (or emergency calling).

However, you can send internal SMS (text) messages between other AzurePCS users, while external SMS is being looked at as a future development. Voice-over-LTE (VoLTE) is also under testing for internal calls, although at present it’s intermittent and only seems to work reliably on Samsung phones.

“It’s very much an experimental, evolving project for people to join and have fun with,” said Alex to ISPreview. In other words, anybody looking to deploy this network won’t be doing so as part of a professional service, but more as a hobbyist platform for experiments or unique community projects; it is clearly not designed to replace a real mobile network.

Alex said:

“We’re actively building and testing a 2G core network by osmocom, with the longer-term aim of supporting combined 2G + 4G femtocells to enable internal circuit-switched calls and CS fallback, improving device compatibility and resilience.

Importantly, this isn’t a commercial MVNO or ISP product. There’s currently no usage fee, and in future we may introduce a voluntary £2/month membership tier purely to help cover hosting and operational costs. The goal is experimentation, education, exploring how shared spectrum and community cellular networks could be used in the UK alongside general fun for fellow hobbyists like myself.”

At the time of writing, AzurePCS hadn’t yet launched their shop with the necessary hardware for purchase, but that’s expected to happen very soon (due next month). One other thing to be aware of is that this setup should work on most fixed broadband connections, but some ISPs (e.g. Vodafone) may adopt parental or network-level restrictions that cause connectivity problems.

For example, some ISPs block UDP port 500 and 4500, which are required for the IPsec tunnel used by the femtocells to securely connect back to the AzurePCS core. If these ports are blocked, the femtocell cannot establish a connection. Equally, some consumer broadband connections may have restrictions in their T&Cs that could forbid running certain types of hosted networks or servers , although this is rarely enforced (business packages usually allow it).

Finally, the network will work on almost all devices (Smartphones) that support LTE Band 40, although there is one exception for some Apple iPhones (iPhones older than version 12 won’t connect due to the fact AzurePCS use a private (999) PLMN).

Now, for those who like mobile network stats, here’s a live example of the setup in operation..

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

The Wiltshire Council in England has confirmed that it’s taking UK broadband and telecoms giant Openreach (BT) to the Swindon Magistrates Court over a dispute related to permits. The hearing is set to take place on 1st July 2026 and could potentially result in the network access provider being fined thousands of pounds.

Openreach’s new gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) based broadband ISP network has already reached more than 215,000 properties across Wiltshire, which they’re continuing to expand via both commercial deployments and publicly subsidised Project Gigabit contracts. On the whole this has been going well, but the local authority recently identified a number of problems.

According to Wiltshire Council (via the Wiltshire Times), Openreach is accused of carrying out a number of street (road) works without a permit. The claim is that the network operator failed to seek permits for work it carried out in Weymouth Street, Warminster in September and October 2024 (the road was closed in both directions during these works).

The local authority also claims Openreach conducted work on the A350 at Semley (Shaftsbury) and on the A30 at Barford St Martin, near Wilton, without a permit. Openreach are said to be denying a total of seven charges.

Cllr Martin Smith, Cabinet Member for Highways, said:

“Our Network Management Team has initiated prosecution proceedings against Openreach in relation to three separate incidents where roads were closed without securing the required permission from the highway authority. As this is an active legal case, we are unable to comment further at this time.”

This is of course not the first time that a major national UK telecoms operator like Openreach has faced such a case, indeed they faced similar charges in Cumbria (England) last year and ended up being fined a total of £9,000 at the Barrow Magistrates Court (here). Various other network operators have also fallen foul of the rules in recent years (examples here, here and here). Such cases are rare, but they do crop up from time to time.

At present, we don’t know the detailed context of the latest incidents, as there can sometimes be mitigating circumstances involved (e.g. third-party contractors or network operators finding it cheaper to take a fine than follow the tedious official route). In many cases operators often end up being charged under Section 71 of the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 and Regulation 19 of the Traffic Management Permit Scheme (England) Regulations 2007.

We have asked Openreach to comment on this report, although it wouldn’t be surprising if they declined while the legal case is active.

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

A new Attest survey that was conducted on behalf of full fibre broadband ISP Hyperoptic, which questioned 1,000 “nationally representative” UK adults during February 2026, has claimed that 41% of respondents believe they are paying more for their home internet connection than they should and 47% have never checked whether a better deal is available.

The survey, which should admittedly be viewed though Hyperoptic’s scope of vested interest and the potential unreliability of such a small sample size, goes on to claim that 51% of respondents pay £30 or more per month for broadband and only 19% pay £40 or more. But it also notes how 7% say they are currently out of contract with their existing provider.

The ISP estimates that households remaining out of contract could be paying £15-£17 more per month than necessary – equivalent to up to £190 per year – based, they say, on the typical differences between advertised in-contract and standard out-of-contract pricing across major providers (supportive figures were not provided for this).

Lutfu Kitapci, CCO and MD of ISP at Hyperoptic, said:

“The introduction of One Touch Switch has made it significantly easier for customers to move provider, and we’re seeing meaningful engagement across the market. However, our research shows that a significant proportion of households still feel they are overpaying or are not reviewing their options. As switching friction reduces, transparency, reliability and fair pricing become even more important competitive differentiators.”

On the issue of “overpaying,” it’s important to remember that price alone isn’t the only deciding factor and consumers also tend to consider other aspects, such as service and support quality or value-added extras (some features may not be found on rivals). Suffice to say, if your current provider has continued to deliver a good service and the features you want, then you’re less likely to consider switching.

In addition, some smaller providers don’t play the same discount games as the big boys and often adopt the same pricing post-contract as they do for new users, which can make them seem more expensive initially. But over the long-term, the differences through consistent pricing will often narrow for loyal subscribers.

The survey sadly fails to establish how many consumers may have alternatively haggled for a lower price, or even been offered a lower price automatically, to stay with their existing ISP (Retentions – Tips for Cutting Your Broadband Bill). But your mileage from haggling will vary and not all providers do it (big providers are usually more receptive).

The end-of-contract notifications system arguably makes existing customers much more likely to try haggling, rather than switch, unless they’re unhappy with their ISP’s performance. Switching between providers has at least recently been made significantly quicker and easier, thanks to systems like One Touch Switching (OTS) on broadband or Text-to-Switch (Auto-Switch) on mobile (actual data shows 1.62 million fixed broadband and phone users switched between Sept 2024 and Sept 2025).

Finally, those on state benefits (Universal Credit etc.) often also have the option of taking a cheaper Social Tariff – see our Quick Guide to UK Social Tariffs, which tend to start as low as £12 per month. Hyperoptic have some of the fastest social tariffs in the market, provided their network is available to your property (it claims to cover 1.9 million premises).