News

The operator says it will shift customers to “alternative network technologies such as LTE-M”

AT&T will decommission it narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) network, with IoT workloads to be shifted to alterative technologies like LTE-M early next year.

NB-IoT – a low-power wide-area network technology – was standardised by 3GPP in 2016. Designed specifically to handle low-power IoT devices, the technology was built to allow devices to be more energy and spectrum efficient.

AT&T subsequently began offering NB-IoT services in 2019 and, according to the company’s 2023 sustainability report, currently has more than 127 million connected devices on its network as of Q4.

Now, however, AT&T says that it is aiming to improve IoT services for business customers by moving devices to alterative technologies like LTE-M, which can handle higher data rates.

“We are improving our IoT services for business customers by moving from NB IoT to the LTE-M network. This change will provide more data capacity for both fixed and mobile devices. As a result, we’ve stopped the certification of new NB-IoT devices and the sale of data plans utilizing the NB-IoT network. We’re working closely with customers to make this process as seamless as possible,” said AT&T in a statement reported by RCR Wireless.

The operator says it hopes to have fully transitioned customer devices off of its NB-IoT network by Q1 next year.

In addition to LTE-M, AT&T is also exploring another promising IoT technology in the form of the newly released 5G Reduced Capacity (RedCap). While this technology is still in its infancy, it potentially represents the next step-up from LTE-M, offering even greater capabilities for IoT devices while reducing energy usage and spectrum usage.

But while AT&T seemingly feels its IoT infrastructure warrants an upgrade, its rivals Verizon and T-Mobile consider the issue much less pressing, with both confirming to Light Reading that they have no immediate plans to shut down their own NB-IoT networks.

Join the telecoms ecosystem in discussion over the industry’s biggest issues at Connected America 2025

Also in the news:
VMO2 launches UK’s first 5G standalone small cells in Birmingham
BT says Labour’s budget will cost company £100m
Vodafone Spain and Telefonica complete FibreCo deal

New customers looking to joint Three UK’s mobile network should take note that they’ve today launched some new Black Friday discounts, which for example drops their LITE Unlimited Data SIM (mobile broadband, calls and texts) plan to £20 per month on a 24-month term.

Customers can also get a 120GB SIM (inc. calls and texts) for just £10 on a 12-month term and a 100GB SIM for £12 on a 1-month term. But the operator’s new Black Friday offers will only be available to take until 5th December 2024, and we had some trouble when trying to bring these offers up via their website (oh how we miss the days when you just had a long, simple list of mobile plans to view).

However, it’s important to keep Three UK’s mid-contract pricing policy in mind, which states: “Each April, your Monthly Charge will increase by a fixed amount depending on your plan’s data allowance. Plans 4GB or less & Smartwatch Pairing Plans will increase by £1.00 per month. Plans from 5GB to 99GB will increase by £1.25 per month. Plans 100GB or over will increase by £1.50 per month. All Home Broadband plans will increase by £2.00 per month.”

News 

The case highlights the growing regulatory focus on Big Tech’s influence and raises questions about balancing innovation with fair competition  

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has proposed that Google sell its browser, Google Chrome, to address concerns about its dominance in the search and digital advertising markets.  

The recommendation is part of a wider antitrust case following a court ruling in August that found Google had illegally maintained a monopoly over online search engines. 

Back in 2020, the DOJ sued Google, accusing it of dominating the internet search market through anticompetitive contracts, exclusionary practices, and the preferential treatment of its own services. It highlighted Google’s agreements with other companies to make its search engine the default on devices and browsers, which the DOJ argued harmed competition.  

The DOJ also separately suing Google, accusing the company of monopolising the adtech market. 

As a result, the DOJ’s recommendations includes several measures aimed at create healthy competition in the search market. These include: 

• Divestment of Chrome: Separating Chrome from Google’s ecosystem could weaken the company’s monopoly on both search engines and advertising. 

• Unbundling Android: Google may be required to decouple its Android operating system from services like Google Search and Google Play, which are currently bundled together. 

• Introducing new data and AI rules: Websites should have the option to opt out of contributing data to Google’s AI training, and Google might also be required to share search data with competitor. 

Google has responded to these proposals by arguing that such drastic steps could harm consumers and developers as a result of disrupting services and slowing innovation. The company also continues to claim that its dominance is the result of offering superior products, and not unfair practices. 

If the court approves the DOJ’s recommendations, the impact could reach far beyond Google. Chrome is the most popular browser in the world, used by over 60% of internet users, and a forced sale would mark one of the most regulatory actions against a major tech company in many years.  

The next court hearing is scheduled for April next year, with a final decision expected by August.  

Join us at next year’s Connected America, 11-12 March in Dallas. Get discounted tickets here! 

Also in the news:
Comcast to spin off raft of cable TV channels
Colt and RMZ form $1.7bn Indian data centre JV
Bharti Global becomes BT’s largest shareholder 

Residents, visitors and businesses in the Cathedral City of Chester (Cheshire, England) may be pleased to learn that local 4G and possibly 5G mobile (mobile broadband) connections are set for a boost with the deployment of a new small cell network from Ontix, which follows a recent survey of local coverage by consultancy FarrPoint.

Small cells are like mini shoebox sized mobile (radio) base stations, which have been designed to deliver limited coverage (usually up to around 80-120 metres) and thus tend to be more focused on busy urban areas and specific sites – it’s not uncommon to find these sitting on top of lampposts, CCTV poles or old payphone cubicles (i.e. they can be more cost-effective than building new street assets or trying to secure wayleaves on buildings etc.).

Ontix have already deployed similar small cells around other locations, such as central Reading (here), and the network they create can be harnessed by all of the main mobile operators. In this case, the Cheshire West and Chester Councils have “secured an agreement in principle” for a new network of small cells to be “installed across the city centre” by Ontix.

The first mobile operator to harness this will be O2 (Virgin Media), although the local authorities have also engaged with Vodafone and hope to see them going live in the near future too. The network roll-out is due to start in early 2025 and probably won’t take long to complete.

Councillor Nathan Pardoe said:

“Residents, businesses and visitors to Chester have to spend time searching for a signal, reconnecting dropped calls, and waiting for mobile data – it’s clear that all network operators need to improve their network capacity in Chester. This is why Chester’s One City Plan includes actions to improve connectivity.

We all rely on good mobile signal and through the actions of the One City Plan, new infrastructure will be rolled out from early 2025 onwards to connect the City to faster and more reliable services. Thank you to the network operators for investing in Chester, and to the One City Plan Making Groups’ ‘Digital’ working stream for championing this issue & working closely with the Council to make this happen.”

The deal follows a survey that was conducted by connectivity consultancy firm FarrPoint, which helped to establish Chester’s digital connectivity issues and develop an action programme to tackle those.

Consumers may like to know that Ofcom’s earlier move to soften their requirements for licence exempt indoor or in-vehicle “mobile phone repeaters” (here) is starting to bear fruit. Multiboost has just announced that their ‘PRO’ kit is now fully compliant with the regulator’s standards, which means more choice for homes and businesses.

Just to recap. Since 2018 it’s been possible for people to use repeaters that boost and retransmit UK mobile signals, which can help to improve local mobile coverage, provided they follow the rules and don’t cause undue interference, or other adverse effects, for nearby customers. Devices like this simply work to boost an existing mobile signal – handy if you live in an area where fixed broadband doesn’t exist (boats, camper vans etc.).

However, one of the problems with this is the lack of choice, with only the odd brand or so (e.g. CEL-FI) having secured Ofcom compliance and the kit can also be very expensive (cheaper non-compliant kit can also be found, but for obvious reasons you should avoid that!). Introducing extra choice into such a market can help to improve the situation, and that seems to be what Multiboost has just done.

The development confirms that the Multiboost PRO series is now “the first 100% European, professional-grade, fully digital multi-operator repeaters in the British market“, which they also claim sets a “new standard for reliability, efficiency, and installer confidence“.

Hans Delabie, UK Business Development Manager at Multiboost, told ISPreview:

“For the first time, UK installers and end-users have a genuine choice. Until now, installers had limited options and had to choose between lower-quality analog repeaters or complex digital solutions. Multiboost changes the game by offering a compact, versatile, and easy-to-install solution, that simplifies installation by providing a single multi-operator repeater to cover all 4 MNO’s.

This advancement simplifies installations, reduces costs, and enhances service reliability—cementing Multiboost as a trusted partner for installers looking to deliver cutting-edge solutions in a demanding market.

Compliance with Ofcom’s VTS 2102 reinforces Multiboost’s commitment to quality and innovation. It is also a recognition of the high standards we uphold and a significant step in reshaping the repeater landscape across Europe. For installers, it means peace of mind. For end-users, it means better indoor connectivity, everywhere.”

The announcement includes some extra detail on the specific hardware that’s being made available, although at the time of writing we haven’t found any retail prices or outlets for these.

Extract from the announcement

The Multiboost PRO UK series incorporates advanced digital filtering, offering seamless support for GSM, UMTS, LTE, and NR technologies across sub-3 GHz frequency bands. These devices come equipped with features like smart self-regulation, safety shutdown, and robust remote management capabilities—including real-time monitoring and software updates.

Key products in the line include:

·       Multiboost PRO UK MB1053NS1D03: 5 bands / 15 sub-bands

·       Multiboost PRO Triple UK MB1353NS1D03: 3 bands / 12 sub-bands

·       Multiboost PRO Dual UK MB1253NS1D03: 2 bands / 8 sub-bands

Each product meets the stringent standards set by Ofcom, as well as RED 2014/53/EU and UKCA. Importantly, these repeaters are license-exempt, ensuring they operate without interference to network operators while providing unmatched signal quality.

Mobile operator EE (BT) has begun to inform their UK customers, specifically those with inclusive roaming, that their “current roaming products will be removed” from 25th December 2024. The plan is to replace them with new roaming plans, due for launch on 4th Dec 2024, but this has left some existing customers confused about the impact.

The first indications of a roaming refresh appeared to surface yesterday (credits to Jade for the tip), after existing EE customers with inclusive roaming (e.g. “EU Roaming“, “Roam Further” etc.) on their plans began to receive the following text message. But the message lacked any clear details for how each customer and their roaming packages would be affected by the change.

EEs Roaming Message

Our new roaming products will be launched on 4 December 2024.

Your current roaming products will be removed from 25 December 2024. We will send you a text to confirm when this has happened.

You can continue using your current roaming products until then, but to learn more about our new roaming services, visit [https://ee.co.uk/roamingrefresh]

If you’re travelling now, you can find out more about our existing roaming products by texting ROAMING to 150.

The linked page seems to summarise EE’s general roaming charges and states that their new “packages start from just £2.47 a day“, although one of their support staff did later confirm that those with inclusive EU roaming on their plans would continue to receive it (here): “We’re improving the roaming products available for chargeable EU bundles as well as rest of the world zones. If you have EU roaming already included in your plan, this will not be affected.”

The same page also lists the operator’s new charges for different country zones, which are as follows, although it seems like some customers with certain existing roaming add-ons may have to wait a little longer before finding out precisely how their current service and price will be impacted (e.g. it’s unclear if some customers may now be left with no option but to take a more expensive daily or weekly package for certain regions).

The New Roaming Charges / Products

EU

Daily Charge – £2.47 | Calls, texts and data – UK allowances | Inclusive Extra – YES

Austria | Azores | Belgium | Bulgaria | Croatia | Cyprus ( excluding Northern Cyprus) | Czech Republic | Canary Islands | Denmark | Estonia | Finland | France | French Guiana | Germany | Gibraltar | Greece | Guadeloupe | Guernsey | Hungary | Iceland | Isle of Man | Italy | Jersey | Latvia | Liechtenstein | Lithuania | Luxembourg | Madeira | Malta | Martinique | Mayotte | Monaco | Netherlands | Norway | Poland | Portugal | Reunion Islands | Romania | San Marino | Saint Martin ( French ) | Saint Barthelemy | Slovak Republic/Slovakia | Slovenia | Spain ( inc Balearic Islands ) | Sweden | Switzerland | Vatican City

Zone 1 (includes United States, China, Australia and more)

Daily Charge – £5 | 7 Day Charge – £25 | Calls, texts and data – UK allowances | Inclusive Extra – YES

Albania | Algeria | Australia | Bangladesh | Bosnia and Herzegovina | Canada | China | Dominican Republic | Faroe Islands | Fiji | Indonesia | Israel | Kuwait | Malaysia | Mexico | Moldova | Montenegro | New Zealand | Oman | Peru | Puerto Rico | Qatar | Serbia | Seychelles | Singapore | South Africa | South Korea | Taiwan | Thailand | Turkey | United Arab Emirates | United States | Vietnam

Zone 2 (includes India, Egypt and more)

Daily Charge – £7.50 | 7 Day Charge – £37.50 | Calls, texts and data – UK allowances | Inclusive Extra – NO

Armenia | Bahrain | Colombia | Ecuador | Egypt | Ghana | India | Kenya | Nigeria | Russia | Rwanda | Saudi Arabia | Sudan | Tanzania | Uganda | Ukraine | Uruguay | Zambia

Zone 3 (includes Brazil, Japan, Morocco and more)

Daily Charge – £7.50 | 7 Day Charge – NO | Calls, texts and data – UK allowances | Data – 500 Mb | Inclusive Extra – NO

Andorra | Anguilla | Antigua and Barbuda | Argentina | Aruba* | Bahamas | Barbados | Belarus | Belize | Bermuda | Botswana | Brazil | British Virgin Islands | Cambodia | Cameroon | Cape Verde | Cayman Islands | Chile | Costa Rica | Dominica | El Salvador | Greenland | Grenada | Guinea | Guyana | Haiti* | Hong Kong | Iraq | Ivory Coast | Jamaica | Japan | Jordan | Kazakhstan | Liberia | Macao | Madagascar | Mali | Mauritius | Montserrat | Morocco | Netherland Antilles | Nicaragua | North Macedonia | Pakistan | Panama | Philippines | Saint Kitts and Nevis | Saint Lucia | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | Senegal | Sri Lanka | Trinidad and Tobago | Tunisia | Turks and Caicos Islands | Uzbekistan

Zone 4 (includes Nepal, Maldives and more)

Daily Charge – £15 | 7 Day Charge – NO | Calls and texts – £2.34/min, £0.76/SMS, £0.89/MMS | Data – 10 Mb | Inclusive Extra – NO

Afghanistan | Azerbaijan | Benin | Bhutan | Bolivia | Brunei Darussalam | Democratic Republic of Congo | Ethiopia | Falkland Islands | Gabon | Gambia | Georgia | Kosovo | Iran | Laos | Lebanon | Lesotho | Maldives | Mangolia | Mozambique | Myanmar | Namibia | Nepal | Palestine | Sierra Leone | Tajikistan | Venezuela | Zimbabwe | Aircraft | Maritime, Ships, Ferries & Cruises

Zone 4 – no data. Calls and texts available

Daily Charge – NO | 7 Day Charge – NO | Calls and texts – £2.34/min, £0.76/SMS | Inclusive Extra – NO

Angola​ | Burkina Faso​ | Burundi​ | Chad​ | Congo​ | Cook Islands​ | Cuba​ | Djibouti​ | Equatorial Guinea​ | Guam​ | Guatemala​ | Guinea-Bissau​ | Honduras​ | Kyrgyzstan​ | Laos​ | Libya​ | Malawi​ | Mauritania​ | Niger​ | Papua New Guinea​ | Paraguay​ | Saint Pierre and Miquelon​ | Suriname​ | Swaziland​ | Syria | Togo​ | Tonga​ | Turkmenistan​ | Vanuatu​ | Yemen​

Rural ISP and broadband network builder, Fusion Fibre Group (FFG), which has deployed a number of its own full fibre (FTTP) networks across various communities, has today announced plans to launch a channel partner programme that will allow smaller providers to resell their services.

The operator states that this move will give smaller ISPs access to 98% of UK properties, which naturally reflects more than their own relatively small deployments and also includes the wholesale partnerships they have with major players like PXC (formerly TalkTalk Wholesale), BT (Wholesale) and CityFibre. Not to mention ITS Technology, Freedom Fibre, FullFibre Ltd, F&W Networks and MS3.

Led by Kevin McDonnell, FFG’s new programme pledges to offer competitive rates and a range of options tailored to partners’ needs, which they say will help to “accelerate full-fibre broadband deployment nationwide” (although it may be more likely to help boost the take-up of existing networks, at least a little).

Kevin McDonnell said:

“Our vision is to make full-fibre broadband the standard across the UK, ensuring that every resident can benefit from reliable connectivity. With the support of channel partners, we can achieve this faster and more effectively. This program is about more than just connectivity; it’s about sharing skills, resources, and opportunities with local experts to deliver the best possible service to communities nationwide.”

FFG added that this would also give the opportunity for businesses outside of the sector, such as energy suppliers, property managers, I.T. businesses etc, to extend their portfolio of offerings to include broadband.

The High Court in London has dismissed an appeal by investment firm LetterOne, which had been asking the court to rule that it was unlawfully ordered, under the new National Security and Investment Act (NSIA), to sell Upp’s full fibre broadband network by the UK Government. The company is now considering whether or not to challenge the outcome.

Just to recap. Upp was originally established as a £1bn project that aimed to deploy a new Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) based broadband ISP network across 1 million premises in the East of England (here). But their efforts were dealt a significant blow in December 2022, after the UK Government ordered LetterOne – an investment firm that previously received significant backing from several prominent and now sanctioned Russians – to sell its entire stake in Upp in order to “prevent, remedy, or mitigate the risk to national security” (here).

The move came despite the fact that LetterOne itself was not under any sanctions after its oligarch founders resigned from the group’s board in 2022. The investment company then froze the shareholdings of those individuals (who jointly own less than 50% of the company) and said they had no operational involvement in the business.

At the time, LetterOne said they “believe that L1 ownership of Upp is not a threat to national security in any way” and pointed out that “L1 is not sanctioned and has taken fast, decisive action to put in place strong measures to distance L1 from its sanctioned shareholders. They have no role in L1, no access to premises, infrastructure, people and funds or benefits of any description.”

However, despite LetterOne launching a legal challenge against the government’s decision (here), the investor ended up selling Upp at a loss (i.e. “less than the £143.7m that (LetterOne) had by then invested“) to rival operator nexfibre in September 2023 (here). At that point Upp’s network had only covered 175,000 premises and is today still in the process of being integrated into nexfibre’s network, while their customers (c.4,000) were shifted to nexfibre’s retail ISP partner Virgin Media (O2).

The High Court in London has now dismissed LetterOne’s appeal against the decision. According to Reuters, LetterOne’s lawyer, Tom Hickman, had argued that its proposals to prevent Upp’s ultimate beneficial owners from exerting any improper influence over the operator were wrongly rejected and that the government wrongly took into account a potential risk that Britain’s allies might perceive its response as being too soft on Russia. But Mrs Justice Farbey DBE ruled the suggestion that the company’s proposal was rejected “for diplomatic rather than national security reasons” was not correct.

A spokesperson for LetterOne said:

“This is a disappointing decision, given the swift, robust and decisive action LetterOne undertook in the aftermath of Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine.”

The investment firm is now “considering whether to appeal” the ruling, although at the time of writing we’ve been unable to find a copy of the decision online and so can’t yet assess how likely such a move would be to succeed.

Rural broadband ISP Airband, which has deployed a full fibre (FTTP) and wireless (FWA) broadband network that covers parts of Wales and South West England, recently published their latest accounts to the end of 2023 and revealed a sharp fall in employees (from 485 to 235) and the urgent need for new funding by 1st February 2025.

The operator recently stated that their broadband network now spans “more than 440,000 premises in over 200 communities across 7 counties“ (here), which we’re told breaks down as being 175,000 premises via “fibre” (FTTP) and 265,000 premises via wireless (FWA) – all Ready for Service (RFS).

However, the company has also had a rough couple of years, which saw recent restructuring impact their pace of build and result in redundancies as they shifted their focus toward growing take-up via greater commercialisation of their existing network (here). One of the other fallouts from this was the recent move to scale-back their deployment contract with the Connecting Devon and Somerset (CDS) programme (here).

Airband’s latest accounts show that the operator has now spent a total of £207m on their network build to-date (up by £72m in 2023 alone) and is at risk of running out of funding. “The revised funding requirements of the business exceeds the current available facilities and new funding will be required by 1st February 2025,” said the results.

Despite the problems, the company’s Directors said they remain confident that “further strategic funding will be secured to allow the Group and Company to continue in operation for at least until 1st November 2025“.

Summary of Key Airband Figures to Dec 2023

➤ Revenues of £4.857m (up 41% this year vs 28% last year)

➤ Operating loss of £37.064m (2022: £20.972m)

➤ Total assets of £181.92m (2022: £151.14m)

➤ Total liabilities of £159.83m (2022: £116.41m)

➤ Shareholder funds of £22.086m (2022: £34.73m)

➤ Closing cash balance of £4.946m (2022: £15.809m)

News

Channels being spun off include MSNBC, CNBC, Oxygen, and E!

According to various news reports today, US telco giant Comcast is set to spin off some of its largest TV channels, including MSNBC, CNBC, and E!

The channels, which generated a collective revenue of around $7 billion over the last year, will form a new entity that is currently being referred to as ‘SpinCo’.

The news comes following an earnings call last month in which Comcast President Mike Cavanagh said the company was considering a major restructure of its media assets.

“Like many of our peers in media, we are experiencing the effects of the transition in our video businesses and have been studying the best path forward for these assets,” Cavanagh said at the time.

“To that end, we are now exploring whether creating a new well-capitalized company owned by our shareholders and comprised of our strong portfolio of cable networks would position them to take advantage of opportunities in the changing media landscape and create value for our shareholders,”

In a memo to staff today, Cavanagh further explained the structure of the spin off.

“Today we announced the exciting news that we intend to launch a new publicly traded company comprised of a strong portfolio of our cable television networks, including USA Network, CNBC, MSNBC, Oxygen, E!, SYFY, and Golf Channel, along with complementary digital assets including Fandango and Rotten Tomatoes, GolfNow and Sports Engine,” he wrote.

“I believe the effort will be well worthwhile, as this project will inject energy and renewed focus in both the new company and the future NBCUniversal. When you combine our assets, talented management team, and balance sheet strength, we are uniquely positioned to set both SpinCo and NBCUniversal up to play offense in a complex and evolving media landscape,” the letter concluded.

The new business will be run by Mark Lazarus, the current chairman of NBCUniversal’s media group, while NBCUniversal’s Chief Financial Officer, Anand Kini, will serve as CFO and operating chief.

While the transition process currently does not have a precise timetable, the decoupling is expected to be completed in approximately one year.

“I believe the effort will be well worthwhile, as this project will inject energy and renewed focus in both the new company and the future NBCUniversal. When you combine our assets, talented management team, and balance sheet strength, we are uniquely positioned to set both SpinCo and NBCUniversal up to play offense in a complex and evolving media landscape,” concluded the letter.

The rise of streaming channels and a shift in viewership preferences have seen pay-TV revenues sliding for years, leaving traditional broadcast players struggling to pivot. Comcast’s own streaming platform, Peacock, has been attempting to carve out a niche in the streaming market with moderate success, recording around 33 million paid subscribers as of Q2 2024.

Join the US telecoms industry in discussion about the sector’s hottest topics at Connected America 2025

Also in the news:
VMO2 launches UK’s first 5G standalone small cells in Birmingham
BT says Labour’s budget will cost company £100m
Vodafone Spain and Telefonica complete FibreCo deal