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Reports are coming in that a number of major and minor broadband providers, such as Sky Broadband, Vodafone and others, are currently suffering some disruption to their online availability checkers and ordering systems that is preventing some new customers from signing up. A few providers have linked this to a problem with Openreach, but we’ve yet to confirm that.

The experiences being reported seem to vary between providers, which is something we’ve confirmed with our own testing. For example, customers trying to place a broadband order via Vodafone can do so in CityFibre areas, but not in Openreach ones, which instead return a “Sorry, we can’t get broadband to your address” message (on previously available locations).

By comparison, Sky Broadband seems to be rejecting all postcode checks with a generic message to say: “We’re having some technical issues. We’re working to this fixed as soon as possible.” The issue is cropping up at various other providers too, albeit with some variation between how platforms are handling it.

Sources within Sky have pointed the finger at Openreach’s platform, which has also been echoed by a service status update from ICUK.

ICUK Service Status Update [24/06/2026 10:06]

We are aware of an issue impacting our communication with Openreach. This is having an impact with the broadband checker (some results may not pull through), address lookups, broadband ordering, broadband fault updates. We apologise for the disruption this may cause. We will confirm once we know the situation has been resolved.

We’ve put the question to Openreach and are waiting to hear back.

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

A few years have passed since we had a national heatwave that, across a large swathe of the country, pushed daytime temperatures to around the 40c level. Today and tomorrow will see similar temperatures and that’s going to cause some broadband and mobile infrastructure to struggle, albeit almost certainly without major national blackouts.

So far, the current heatwave hasn’t really pushed too many systems beyond their limits. In some areas, such as through the deployment of passive full fibre infrastructure (i.e. often, but not always, the heat generating hardware for this isn’t in street cabinets, it’s in air cooled exchanges / data centres), the country could even be said to be more resilient to heat than it was the last time the mercury hit this sort of extreme in 2022.

Naturally all electronic devices tend to emit some heat, even if you can’t always feel it. For example, most consumer router manufactures are aware of this and typically design their hardware to operate at temperatures of up to around 40c (this will vary a bit between manufacturers). Similar rules exist for all sorts of networking equipment, which can naturally be more of a problem if your kit is more exposed (i.e. doesn’t benefit from aircon).

However, much of the hardware with a stated tolerance of up to 40c may actually continue to function for a handful of degrees past that point, but experiences do vary and equipment (e.g. fans and heat sinks) are often used to help keep things under control. As above, at an extreme, we might again see a few engineers pitching umbrellas over the odd street cabinet here or there.

In the home a broadband router or Smartphone that overheats, or which nears the point of overheating, will often do one of several things. The most likely outcome is that the device’s processor (CPU / APU) will throttle back to cut power draw and performance will be reduced, which might impact your LAN / Wi-Fi speeds or device stability. Past a certain point the router may even restart itself or completely shut down to protect the device from damage.

The hardware that network operators use will often behave in a similar sort of way to help protect more exposed parts of a network from excessive heat and some failures are thus certainly a possibility, although these are usually more localised. But in other cases, the network will usually adjust itself to manage, which could still impact performance in some locations. Overall, a major short-lived heatwave like this won’t cause major national outages, only more localised and limited disruptions.

In the UK such heatwaves are still quite rare and so our networks usually only need modest protection from extremes of heat, although this could change as the world continues to warm up and extremes continue to become more common.

Met Office – Top Five Warmest Years in the UK on Record (annual average)

2025: 10.09 °C

2022: 10.03 °C

2023: 9.97 °C

2014: 9.88 °C

2024: 9.79 °C

One study from last year suggested that broadband download speeds can slow by up to 8% and uploads by up to 27% on the hottest days of the year (here), but take that with a pinch of salt as the methodology used in that report generated more questions than answers.

In terms of the domestic setting. The vast majority of people are already sensible enough NOT to stick their broadband routers in direct sunlight or place it on top of an existing heat source (it doesn’t take a heatwave to break a router if you do this). Otherwise, we’ll repeat the same tips we’ve given out in the past.

ISPreview’s Top Tips for Keeping Broadband Routers Cool

1. Never place it in direct sunlight, obviously.

2. Never allow your pet to use the router as its own personal sleeping mat. Yes, it might seem cute, but the slim risk of this causing an electrical fault, fire or overheating is something best avoided.

Just remember, cats can be wonderful jerks, so they won’t obey your orders and even placing said device within a ring of defensive orange peel may not be enough to stop their unwanted advances toward your personal centre of internet excellence.

3. Place the router on a hard and flat surface (ideally something cool), which should allow the air to move freely around it (especially below the device). Wall mounting the device can also help (vertically), provided the wall itself isn’t transmitting a lot of heat (e.g. south facing walls with no cavity insultation will get warmer). In other words, never put your router on a surface that doesn’t allow heat to escape.

4. Some older / cheaper routers and chipsets are more susceptible to heat problems, especially if they’ve had a lot of usage and gathered plenty of dust, and at the extreme you might need to consider buying a newer device. Mind you, having an ultra powerful device can sometimes be similarly problematic. Granted, this is a pretty rubbish “tip“, so let’s move on.

5. Consider buying a cheap laptop size cooling mat / pad for the router. Kit like this can be had for around £20 (examples) and often includes a small internal fan. Alternatively, any old cheap fan pointed at the router will do, but this often isn’t really necessary.

6. If the heat is truly horrific in your home (i.e. 40c+), then it may be wise to switch the router off when not in use. In fact, get out of the house yourself and find shade and ice. But don’t restart it too often if you’re on an older DSL (ADSL, FTTC etc.) based connection, as not all lines respond well to being repeatedly switched on and off during the day (may result in a loss of line speed due to DLM systems). But in our experience, there’s usually not much harm in turning it off once in the day for a period, although this really is a last resort.

7. Disable non-critical router services when not needed. The less the router has to do, the less heat it will produce and the faster it can operate. Some routers allow you to disable specific services (e.g. wi-fi, connection logs etc.) and, during hot weather, this can help to keep the device running smoothly. On the other hand, it’s probably best not to fiddle with these things unless you know what you’re doing.

8. Situate the router in the coolest room possible, which is often the lowest point in your home with the thickest walls. Unfortunately this might constrain the performance of your wireless network, thus there’s a careful balancing act to consider.

9. Buy Air Conditioning for your home, provided you can afford the energy bills or have a solar/battery system to off-set the usage.

Hopefully it goes without saying that pouring ice or ice water over your router, or even putting it in the fridge, are both things that should be avoided. Remember that even if you put the ice behind something, it will still attract condensation and you don’t want that dripping on electronics inside your home!

Otherwise, we’ll be keeping a close eye today to see how networks cope – particularly in the Red Warning areas of England and Wales, but the message is to focus on keeping yourself cool and not to worry about national broadband and mobile infrastructure. On the whole, the latter will cope, but you might not.

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

Internet provider TalkTalk has confirmed to ISPreview that they’re no longer selling Fibre-to-the-Cabinet (FTTC / VDSL2) based broadband packages on Openreach’s network to new customers. But the ISP says that this is only a “pause” while they finish setting up their new platform.

The situation recently came to our attention after a number of people in FTTC-only areas (i.e. locations where full fibre FTTP isn’t available yet) found they couldn’t order a broadband package (ISPreview has verified the same with our testing). Such consumers were instead presented with a generic message to say that “all TalkTalk broadband plans use full fibre broadband [and this] isn’t available in your area, so we can’t offer a broadband plan today.”

In addition, one of our regular readers, and an existing TalkTalk subscriber of some ten years (credits to Joe), similarly reported that his planned house move into an FTTC-only area had also been hit by a similar message. Upon chasing this up with the provider’s support department, Joe was told that his only options were to “transfer the services to a friend or family member or cancel without penalty“.

“If only they still covered FTTC areas with no possibility of Full Fibre, they wouldn’t have lost a customer of 10 years,” said Joe after deciding to take TalkTalk up on its penalty free cancellation offer and switch to a different provider. ISPreview has since found a couple of other reports on social media echoing a similar experience.

TalkTalk’s Generic Notice on FTTC Order Attempts

We can’t offer a broadband plan today.

All TalkTalk broadband plans use full fibre broadband. At the moment, our Full Fibre isn’t available in your area, so we can’t offer a broadband plan today.

Full fibre rollout is continuing across the UK, so it’s worth checking back — full fibre could be available near you in the future. If you’re already a TalkTalk customer, you can still renew or upgrade your plan anytime in My Account.

The move seems particularly unusual for a provider in TalkTalk’s position, where a mix of heavy debts and high levels of customer churn have put growing pressures on the underlying business. Earlier this month it was also reported that Vodafone / VodafoneThree had tabled a bid for the provider (here).

The ISP has since informed us that the FTTC situation is not permanent (they don’t say that in their above notice) and relates to their ongoing work to fully adopt Kraken’s new customer management platform. Kraken is designed to empower their customer care specialists to more quickly and effectively review customer account details and take actions that would previously have involved long and complicated processes.

The provider told ISPreview that they’re still working to finish setting up this new platform and migrating customers to it, which clearly can’t yet handle FTTC sales as these have now been “paused“. However, TalkTalk said that current customers (including when re-contracting and home movers) should have been “unaffected” by this, but they also acknowledged issuing new feedback to agents in order to ensure that similar requests are processed correctly going forward.

Finally, the ISP noted how they are currently exploring potential options for future sales through Kraken to properties with an FTTC connection, although no timescale was offered for when such orders might be accepted again.

In fairness, it is expected that FTTC will be gradually withdrawn as FTTP coverage rises, but most would probably agree that it’s too early to put a stop sell on this in FTTC-only areas that still account for a sizeable number of UK premises. At present FTTP is available to around 25 million premises, which leaves over 5-6 million lines on copper services and many of those will be FTTC-only.

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

Energy and communications provider Telecom Plus, trading as Utility Warehouse (UW), has today published their latest H2 FY26 Results to the end of March 2026 and revealed that their broadband ISP grew its total UK customer base to 568,647 (up from 561,086 in H1) and their mobile base grew to 787,426 (up from 698,054).

As previously reported, the company’s broadband base got a big boost last year after they took on some of TalkTalk’s broadband customers via Origin Broadband (here and here). The latest results confirm that UW’s broadband service numbers increased by 38.9% to 0.56m in the year (including the 193k customers acquired from TalkTalk). Excluding the impact of the TalkTalk base, broadband service numbers only increased by 3.8% (hence why H2 saw a much smaller increase than H1).

The provider added that they’d so far migrated 160,000 TalkTalk customers onto their systems by year-end, with the remainder expected to migrate by the end of the first quarter of FY27. Initial cross-sell results on this base are said to be “continuing to perform strongly, with 14.5k customers upgraded and cross-sold during the year“.

The results revealed that 74% of new customers are now choosing Full Fibre (FTTP) broadband (up from 65% in H1), reflecting continued demand for higher-speed and more reliable connectivity. The company added that they’re separately continuing to offer customers on the CityFibre network 6 months free service when they join.

We also got an update on their plans for launching a new VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) based digital home phone product, which seems to have been delayed from the original H2 FY26 launch window and is now due to launch early in FY27. Finally, on the fixed line side, UW reported having a legacy telephony customer base of 33,071 (up from 20,490 last year, probably due to TalkTalk). On mobile there was also this..

UW’s Mobile Service

Our mobile service numbers increased 28.9% to 0.78m. This strong performance reflects continued demand for our mobile offering and our growing competitiveness in the market.

Over the course of the year, we enhanced both of our core tariffs to deliver even greater value to customers. Our ‘Essential Max’ plan now offers one of the most competitive entry-level propositions in the market at £5 for 10GB of data. In addition, customers benefit from additional SIMs on our Unlimited Max tariff at no extra cost for the first six months.

During the year, we also launched eSIM capability, expanding customer choice and enabling a more seamless and flexible onboarding experience. These improvements, combined with the strength and reliability of EE’s network, have driven sustained momentum in mobile service growth throughout the year.

Overall, across all of their products (inc. energy, insurance, cashback cards, broadband etc.), UW reported having a total services base of 3,803,823 (up from 3,392,593 last year). The company has also announced a new five-year plan to double the number of high-quality, multiservice customers from c.500,000 to more than 1 million by FY31. The plan builds on their differentiated business model and will require c.£55m per annum of P&L investment across the following four pillars:

○ Optimising their multiservice proposition

○ Scaling their Partner sales channel

○ Building a nationally recognised and trusted brand

○ Developing a best-in-class digital experience with market-leading cost to serve.

Stuart Burnett, CEO of Telecom Plus, said:

“Today, as well as announcing our full year results for FY26, we are launching our new five year plan.

Telecom Plus has built a unique business, helping households by putting all their household bills – energy, mobile, broadband, insurance, on one platform in a multiservice package, saving them time and money. Over the last 30 years we have built a network of 80,000 Partners who introduce this multiservice offering to new customers, typically their friends, family and members of their local community. These multiservice customers are the strongest driver of long-term value, staying with us for longer and generating higher returns and this model has now delivered five consecutive years of record results and more than 1.4 million customers.

Today we are detailing how we will be building on our leading position in multiservice customers by investing behind the proven strengths of our model as well as outlining some of the encouraging results from our trial initiatives already underway.

Successful delivery of the plan will more than double our multiservice customer base to over 1 million customers by FY31, enhance the quality and resilience of our earnings and result in attractive long-term returns for shareholders.”

Finally, in terms of the financial side, Telecom Plus ended the year with revenues of £1,941.1m (up 5.6% from £1,838.2m last year) and they made a gross profit of £389.2m (up 8.7% from £358.1m last year).

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

The Government has today proposed to switch-off terrestrial TV signals in either 2034 or 2044 as part of a wider change to reflect the move to internet-based streaming, provided broadband coverage is ready to support the transition (they expect it to be). Support will also be provided to the UK homes that may struggle to afford broadband, possibly backed by a new subsidy scheme.

Over the past couple of decades there has been a significant shift in how we all access and view TV content. Traditional Digital Terrestrial TV (DTT) signals are in decline and internet (IP)-based streaming platforms are on the rise (e.g. Netflix, Amazon, Sky Glass / Sky Stream, YouTube, Disney+, Freely and so forth).

The Public Service Broadcasters’ (i.e. BBC, ITV, Channel 4 etc.) have recognised this shift and forecast it will be necessary to transition to streaming / IPTV solutions in the mid-2030s. Otherwise, they warn, it could become increasingly challenging for them to bear double costs from running multiple distribution platforms.

At the same time Ofcom have been busy introducing new rules to help lay the groundwork for a more streaming centric future (here, here and here), such as by modernising the country’s broadcasting regulations, while also expanding them to cover IP-based video-on-demand (VoD) and streaming services.

Until today the UK Government had already committed to the future of DTT until 2034, but a question mark has continued to exist over how long the service could continue beyond this date.

Obstacles to the DTT Switch Off

One of the biggest challenges in making such a major shift stem from the fact that not everybody may be ready for it. According to a previous 2024 Government report on the future of TV distribution (here), come 2040 it’s forecast that some 5% of UK homes (1.5 million) will still rely on digital terrestrial television via the air waves.

Just to be clear. The 1.5 million figure reflects 0.4 million homes that will opt not to connect to broadband and 1.1 million homes that will have broadband, but which will not connect their TVs to use an internet TV service. “These viewers are more likely to identify as female and to live on their own. They are also more likely to live in the north of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, be on low incomes and have a disability,” said the report.

The same report predicted that “superfast broadband” (30Mbps+) would reach at least 99.65% of homes by 2030 (at the end of 2025 it was around 98.5%), although such figures may be open to debate given the recent slowdown in some deployments of even faster broadband networks.

The above is relevant because most services currently require a download speed of c.5-6Mbps to support a single HD video stream (c.15-30Mbps for UltraHD / 4K), but this figure will actually shrink as more platforms adopt increasingly sophisticated compression and codecs. But of course, home users also need their connections for other tasks, hence why speeds of 30Mbps+ are considered somewhat of a basic requirement for any transition away from DTT.

The government’s proposals

The UK government has today published a new Green Paper on their proposed approach to the future of TV distribution in the UK – ‘Watch this Space: A new strategic direction for UK media‘, which proposes a series of changes and options for how the process should be tackled.

Key Proposals of the Green Paper

➤ The government “sees a strong case” for a managed transition to internet-based TV services by 2034, not least because it expects the necessary broadband connectivity “to be in place to support a transition in 2034” and views this date as being able to “unlock a range of strategic, economic and consumer benefits“.

However, it also recognises the “challenges involved” and is consulting on an alternative option too, which would be a transition by 2044 – offering a 10-year extension to the DTT platform. This would involve maintaining a hybrid DTT/IPTV model until 2044, while preserving universal free-to-air access for households that are slower to adopt broadband, including older and more vulnerable viewers.

The 2044 model would overall “allow for a gradual, lower-risk transition“, not least because it says “near-universal access to IPTV is not anticipated until the early 2040s” (i.e. when 30Mbps+ should be universal).

➤ The government will reform the UK’s Public Service Media (PSM) system to ensure it delivers for the public and gives the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, 5, STV, and S4C more flexibility to attract audiences online. For example, social media companies and video sharing platforms will be required to make sure that news content from PSMs and “other trustworthy providers” is prominent and easy to find on their platforms (i.e. being more likely to be at the top of people’s social media feeds when they search for news).

Changes are being considered to make the system more flexible – this could mean that other broadcasters and YouTube channels could similarly be designated as PSM providers in the future.

➤ On-demand rights for major sporting events to be added to the free-to-air ‘Listed Events Regime‘ (currently this only covers the rights required to show events live), which aims to protect free access for fans to the World Cup, Wimbledon, Olympics and other major sporting events (i.e. stopping them being put behind a paywall). “Bringing on-demand rights in scope of the regime will make sure these sporting moments continue to be provided for free in the future by PSM on digital and online platforms – rather than just traditional TV channels,” said the government.

➤ Options for improving media literacy are also being considered to make sure that people of all ages have the skills they need to critically think about the content they are consuming online and on social media. The government is exploring the possibility of introducing a new duty on PSM providers to deliver and report on media literacy activity, allowing best practice to be shared more widely, with the aim of building on work already being done under the Media Literacy Action Plan.

➤ The government will work with industry and audience groups on a support programme to help transition their viewing to IPTV services and “make the most of the additional benefits this provides“. This package will depend on industry and a strong ecosystem working together to develop and deliver it: PSM providers, platform operators, telecoms providers, manufacturers and retailers, charities and local delivery partners, each playing their part.

Some of the options being considered for this are low-cost or subsidised broadband for people receiving benefits or on low incomes; as well as low-cost or discounted internet capable TV sets for people on low incomes; and distributing simple / affordable streaming devices that connect older TVs sets to the internet with no ongoing fees.

The government also seeks views on how TV and streaming platforms can develop “services and systems that feel the same as digital terrestrial television so they are easy to use for people with limited digital skills“. This includes straightforward setup, direct access to live channels on start-up, and intuitive navigation via remote controls and electronic programme guides, alongside reliable provision of accessibility features such as subtitles, audio description, and sign language.

The Media Green Paper’s public consultation starts today (23rd June 2026) and will run for 10 weeks until 31st August 2026.

Culture Secretary, Lisa Nandy, said:

“It is vital that we make sure that people have better access to trusted and accurate news and that our regulated public service media is seen and heard in the fierce battle against mis and disinformation.

As the media landscape moves further and further online away from traditional broadcasting we must act so that our world-leading TV sector continues to thrive and top quality UK content keeps being produced.

TV remains at the heart of our society. It is key to supporting social cohesion and is a cornerstone of our democracy, which is why, as the technology underpinning it changes, we are making sure it is protected for generations to come.”

The full report goes into lots more detail, although the government also makes clear that it “does not see a further extension of DTT beyond 2044 as either economically sustainable or desirable“, while the preferred approach seems to be for a transition to take place in time for 2034 – when they expect the country to already have the right broadband connectivity ready (this assumes Project Gigabit will hit their 2032 target of c.99% coverage).

However, the key focus will clearly be on that small group of homes who have either refused (or been unable) to upgrade their broadband to cope with internet-connected TV streaming, or those who continue to use a traditional TV service for other reasons (income, disability, choice etc.). If the consultation ultimately concludes that this is a problem that can be resolved by 2034 with minimal support, then that’s the direction we can expect.

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

Mobile operator O2 (Virgin Media) has this morning revealed that they will start switching off their “decades-old” 2G network starting in Summer 2029. The move follows their successful 3G switch off programme, which was completed at the end of 2025. But removing 2G is a slower and more complex process due to the many services that still depend upon it.

Just to recap. O2 and other mobile operators are currently in the process of preparing to switch off their legacy 2G mobile networks, although it’s expected to take several years longer to completely retire 2G as it remains necessary for various devices (e.g. Energy Smart Meters / IoT) and as a fallback in areas of poor 4G or 5G signals. Suffice to say that more time has to be allowed for the transition to go smoothly.

As with the prior 3G switch-off, the move will free up radio spectrum so that it can be re-farmed to further improve the network coverage and the mobile broadband speeds of more modern 4G and 5G networks, as well as future 6G services. The switch-off will also reduce the operators’ costs and power consumption.

The 2G network today carries less than 0.5% of all data on VMO2’s mobile network and is already closed for international roaming. But on the flip side, 2G also accounts for more than 10% of the company’s total cell site energy consumption, while 4G and 5G networks are said to be “10 times more efficient“. The move will thus contribute to VMO2’s wider plans to reach net-zero by 2040.

Jeanie York, CTO at Virgin Media O2, said:

“We’re investing £700m this year to transform our mobile network and ensure it can keep pace with growing consumer demand. As we look to the future, we’ll be switching off the old 2G network so we can double down on providing all customers with the reliable and efficient 4G and 5G mobile services they expect.

Having recently switched off our 3G network and signed up to the government 2G switch-off charter, we know exactly how to do this responsibly and without disrupting customers. While most customers won’t need to take any action at all, some businesses might need to start planning for this now.

We will communicate with customers directly and ensure we support everyone as this essential upgrade takes place.”

The operator states that the “vast majority of customers won’t need to take any action during this switch-off period“, but anyone relying on the network, including organisations using it to connect IoT devices, will need to take action before summer 2029 to avoid disruption.

VMO2 said they’re committed to helping those who may need additional support – for example those who still use older devices (many of these will have been helped during the prior 3G switch-off, but not all). The company will be contacting customers well in advance to ensure they are aware of these changes and will aim to clearly outline the steps they need to take and their options, with support pages and trained agents on hand to help.

The switch off will also affect O2 Business customers, as well as customers of O2’s various virtual operator partners (MVNOs), such as giffgaff, Tesco Mobile and Sky Mobile. According to the Public Accounts Committee (here), an estimated 7 million Smart Meters may need to have their 2G/3G modules upgraded to 4G to avoid a huge connectivity problem. The programme to do this began last year (here).

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has announced that they’re investigating a UK-based telecoms services provider called Internet Mobile Communications Limited (aka – Bank of Telecom) over allegations of “suspected fraud, false accounting, and money laundering“. The company collapsed into administration back in June 2024.

The company ran an international platform selling telecom services for over 12 years from its base in Chelmsford, Essex. At its peak, IMC operated around the world, processing millions of internet telephone minutes and SMS transactions annually, presenting itself as one of the largest virtual telecommunications marketplaces of its kind.

However, the company’s collapse in 2024 left some creditors in debt, while a number of reports at the time also indicated that restructuring experts at Interpath were struggling to account for a £15 million black hole in the company’s accounts. Now, some two years on since that event, we may now have a better idea of why.

The SFO, which for “operational reasons” has opted to keep their activity “covert” (until now), has said they’ve been working alongside a parallel investigation by the District Attorney’s Office of New York to investigate allegations of “suspected fraud, false accounting, and money laundering” within the company.

Graham McNulty QPM, Director of the Serious Fraud Office, said:

“Serious financial crime does not stop at borders, and neither do we. The SFO works closely with our international partners to ensure there are no safe havens for those suspected of fraud. Our investigation into these allegations will be thorough, independent and evidence-led.”

At present there are no further details and it remains unclear how long we’ll have to wait for an outcome, although it’s not uncommon for investigations like this to result in people being sent to jail. The SFO would only confirm that, at the start of June 2026, they conducted an interview under caution of a man in his sixties as part of its ongoing investigation.

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Customers of consumer broadband provider TalkTalk, specifically those looking to engage with their community forum, have spent the past few days scratching their heads after both the forum and many supporting support pages on the provider’s website – including their all important ‘Service Status’ page – suddenly went offline.

The situation appears to have started around Friday 19th June 2026, at least that’s the date given on the general notice, which TalkTalk seems to have stuck to various related TalkTalk Community pages since last week. But the notice merely said “our Community Forum is unavailable at the moment“, without saying for how long, and those who go looking for the Service Status page are greeted with the same message.

In the past few minutes their Service Status page has been changed again and now directs to a different URL, albeit one that seemingly sends visitors around in circles and back to a generic notice with no information. Clearly the ISP appears to be dealing with a few technical problems on their website at the moment, which will hopefully be resolved soon. We are currently awaiting an update from the provider.

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

Broadband ISP BT has informed ISPreview that last Friday’s (19th June) FIFA World Cup 2026 match between Scotland v Morocco, which kicked off at 11pm BST (UK time), sent streaming demand across their network soaring, with a 544% increase in peak traffic through ITVX compared with an average evening.

The catch is that most people will have been home and watching this offline via a regular TV. So while the event may have been big on ITVX, it didn’t appear to move the overall level of general UK internet traffic by a significant margin. But it still had an impact, particularly given that this time of night is usually fairly quiet.

Nevertheless, across the full 11pm – 1am match window, BT also saw peak ITVX traffic rise by 219% compared with the busiest five-minute period during an average week, showing how Scotland’s World Cup moments are increasingly driving major streaming spikes alongside traditional TV viewing.

In Scotland, Glasgow led the way as the city most engaged with the game, generating more than three times the ITVX traffic of Edinburgh, the next highest city. Dundee followed in third, ahead of Perth, Dunfermline, Aberdeen, Stirling and Inverness.

Original article Total Telecom:Read More

Viewpoint, Comarch Communications

The European telecommunications market is expected to grow slowly, at just 2% to 3% by 2029. Because of this slow growth and the challenges of a complex global economy, operators are rethinking how they work. The industry is now looking beyond traditional consumer cellular services, which are only growing at 3% to 4%, and is moving toward broader communication ecosystems, including mission-critical networks, satellite infrastructure, and massive IoT deployments.

These challenges and emerging trends were extensively discussed at the recent Comarch User Group gathering, highlighting the critical paths operators must take to stay competitive. The event hosted over 700 partners from 53 countries across 8 streams, including 201 connectivity experts.

Economic pressures and productivity demands

The global economy now demands high levels of investment, especially in technology. Major countries are spending heavily. China, for example, is allocating 25% of its GDP to infrastructure and technology, creating far more value than Europe’s tech investments. In this competitive environment, traditional efficiency methods are not enough. Communication Service Providers (CSPs) need to boost productivity by quickly adopting new technologies.

“Global markets are pivoting towards AI adoption, where traditional efficiency methods simply won’t be enough to keep pace with the global economy. As we emphasized alongside our partners at the recent Comarch User Group, CSPs must fundamentally rethink their operational models. We can no longer rely solely on consumer cellular services, we must pivot aggressively toward broader, more complex ecosystems and services that encompass mission-critical networks, massive IoT deployments, and autonomous multi-orbit satellite infrastructure,” commented Marcin Kaleta, CEO at Comarch Communications.

Tackling complexity with Agentic AI

One of the main challenges for CSPs is handling the growing complexity of their networks. Right now, up to 40% of network outages are caused by human error, and 88% of digital transformations do not meet their goals. To address this, the industry is moving from basic automation, which depends on humans following rules, to Agentic AI, where systems take on more responsibility within set policies.

Client case studies presented at the Comarch User Group this year highlighted that changing systems to support intent-based actions allows for as much as 30% to 40% cut in Network Operations Center costs and a 10% to 20% faster Mean Time to Repair (MTTR). However, only 6% of CSPs have the data streaming abilities needed to fully use advanced AI models, meaning that technical readiness is still a big hurdle.

Massive IoT deployments and API Economy

Integrating Massive IoT into 5G networks brings new physical and technical challenges. The old way of constantly checking devices drains batteries and can overload the network. During the inaugural IoT Connectivity Forum at CUG 2026, experts detailed that switching to an event-driven setup and using the 5G RedCap standard makes it easier to manage connected devices. Standardizing CAMARA interfaces and Network Exposure Functions (NEF) also helps operators move toward an “API economy.” This change enables them to monetize network Quality of Service (QoS) through targeted microservices, making CSPs more than just simple data carriers.

Overcoming technology debt with modular systems

To take advantage of these new revenue opportunities, operators need to address their existing technology debt. Old, monolithic systems often slow down IT teams and pose significant risks when changes are made. Instead of replacing everything at once, the industry is moving to composable Business Support Systems (BSS) using the TMF Open Digital Architecture. This modular approach allows for targeted upgrades, such as adding cloud-native billing engines that can scale resources as needed.

Jacek Prokop, BSS Product Marketing Manager at Comarch Communications, highlighted this topic, referring to monolithic legacy systems as a “silent killer”. To mitigate the risks of migrating away from these monoliths, he introduced the concept of operational digital twins within a modular architecture present in Comarch Communications’ Composable BSS suite: “We are giving you a secure, isolated sandbox where you can clone and test your real production data, like orders and products, without ever touching the live system.”

Sovereign networks in the face of global instability

Geopolitical instability has made connectivity more than just a basic service – it is now seen as a key part of national sovereignty. There is a clear gap in space infrastructure: the US has many more satellites and launches them much more often than Europe. To reduce this dependency, programs like the European Union’s IRIS² are investing €10 billion in building a secure, multi-orbit satellite network. Running this kind of infrastructure requires ground software that can manage complex data and mission control autonomously, without relying on other countries.

Preparing core architecture for the next decade

As the industry faces economic pressures and the need to improve productivity quickly, it is important to focus on core architecture rather than individual use cases. Building modular systems and supporting operational independence will be key for operators who want to profit from new ecosystems.

Looking ahead, CSPs need to ask themselves an important question: Is our data architecture strong enough to support autonomous agents and sovereign networks so we can stay competitive in the next decade?

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