Openreach (BT) has released the next batch of 79 exchanges (Tranche 18) in their “FTTP Priority Exchange Stop Sell” programme, which reflects areas where over 75% of premises are able to get full fibre lines and will thus stop selling copper based analogue phone and broadband products (i.e. FTTP becomes the only product option).

Currently, there are two schemes for moving away from old copper lines and services, which can sometimes criss-cross. The first starts with the gradual migration of traditional analogue voice (PSTN / WLR) services to digital all-IP technologies (e.g. SOGEA), which is due to complete by 31st January 2027 and is occurring on both copper and full fibre products (i.e. ISPs are introducing digital voice / VoIP services). The national “stop sell” on analogue phone services began on 5th September 2023 (here).

The second “FTTP Priority Exchange” programme involves the ongoing rollout of gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) lines – using light signals via optical fibre instead of electrical signals via slow copper lines. Only after this second programme has largely completed (75%+ FTTP coverage) in an exchange area can you really start to completely switch-off copper-based products, which will come later as you have to allow time for natural customer migrations.

Between the scrapping of analogue phone services, the full fibre rollout and the gradual switch away from copper lines themselves, this process will take several years in each area to complete, and the pace will vary (i.e. some areas have better coverage of full fibre than others). Naturally, premises that can’t yet get FTTP will continue to be served by copper-based broadband products.

79 New Exchange Locations (Tranche 18)

In this programme, the migration process away from legacy services starts with a “no move back” policy (i.e. no going back to copper) for premises connected with FTTP, which is followed by a “stop-sell” of copper services to new customers (12-months of notice is given before this starts and that is what today’s list represents). This stage is then followed by a final “withdrawal” phase, but that comes later.

The stop sell is applied at premises level, so it shouldn’t impact you if you don’t yet have access to FTTP, although edge-case conflicts may still occur due to rare quirks of network availability.

The 79 exchanges announced today takes the total number of exchange upgrades that have already been notified as part of the aforementioned process (including trial exchanges), or which are actively under “stop sell” to 1,175. The “stop sell” in the Tranche 18 areas will be introduced from 6th November 2025.

The operator also has a Stop Sells Page on their website, which makes it easy to see all the planned changes. Otherwise, the following list is tentative, so changes and delays will occur (exchanges can and are often shifted around into different tranches).

79 Stop Sell Exchanges in Tranche 18

Exchange Name
Exchange Location
Exchange Code

Collingham Bridge (ZOG)
Collingham
MYCOL

Ecclesfield (ESF)
Sheffield
SLEF

Mexborough (MIT)
Mexborough
SLMEX

Old Whittington (NEP)
Chesterfield
SLOLD

Brent Knoll (QKO)
Burnham-on-Sea
WWBKNO

Bridgnorth (BNS)
Bridgnorth
CMBRI

Bury St Edmunds (BN)
Bury St Edmunds
EABSE

Caersws (CZX)
Caersws
WNCSW

Drayton (DRX)
Taverham
EADRA

Hartlepool (WP)
Hartlepool
NEHAL

Machynlleth (MAF)
Machynlleth
WNMAC

Pocklington (PDP)
Pocklington
MYPOC

Riccall (RAL)
Riccall
MYRIC

Rowhedge (RHG)
Rowhedge
EAROW

Cranmore (VTC)
Shepton Mallet
SSCRA

Dundrod (DVD)
Unmapped
NIDOD

Mossyard (MZC)
Gatehouse of Fleet
WSMOD

Mochrum (MHM)
Bladnoch
WSMOC

Cummertrees (ZMT)
Powfoot
WSCMM

Bobbington (JOB)
Bobbington
CMBOB

Port Of Menteith (PRM)
Buchlyvie
ESPRM

Trossachs (TSS)
Brig o’Turk
ESTRO

Balfour (QFO)
Pierowall
NSBFR

Medbourne Green (MEB)
Medbourne
EMMEDBO

Stoke Goldington (XGS)
Newport Pagnell
SMSGT

Bleasby (JLI)
Carlton (Gedling)
EMBLEAS

Hursley (HUY)
Eastleigh
STHRSLY

Abermule (AAG)
Abermule
WNAMU

Yarrowford (YRF)
Yarrowford
ESYRF

Fair Isle (FIE)
Cunningsburgh
NSFIS

Weston-Super-Mare
Weston-Super-Mare
SSWSM

Shotts (SXK)
Shotts
ESSHO

Whitstable (WHV)
Whitstable
NDWHI

Airdrie (AHY)
Airdrie
WSAIR

Anfield (LV/ANF)
Liverpool
LVANF

Boldon (QGP)
Jarrow
NEBO

Bootle (LV/BOO)
Bootle
LVBOO

Cheslyn Hay (ZAH)
Great Wyrley
CMCHY

Codsall (COJ)
Codsall
CMCOD

Dewsbury (DW)
Dewsbury
MYDEW

Kempston (KPN)
Kempston
SMKT

Kings Norton
Birmingham
CMKING

Market Harborough (MGA)
Market Harborough
EMMRKTH

Marshalls Cross (MSL)
St Helens
LVMSX

Runcorn Main (RZ)
Runcorn
LVRNM

Stafford (SPA)
Stafford
WMSPA

Wantage (WBY)
Wantage
SMWN

West Bromwich (BM/WES)
West Bromwich
CMWESB

Whiteley (SBP)
South Hampshire
STWHTLY

Woodseats (SF/WS)
Sheffield
SLWS

Barrow-In -Furness (BBZ)
Barrow-in-Furness
LCBAR

Gresford (GEF)
Llay
WNGRE

Ravenhill (RVH)
Swansea
SWRVH

Rossendale (RBK)
Rawtenstall
LCROS

Ellon (EL)
Ellon
NSELL

Swindon (SWP)
Swindon (Wiltshire)
SSSWN

Aughafatten (AFN)
Antrim
NIAFN

Moneymore (MRN)
Londonderry
NIMM

Carrickmore (ZEF)
Tyrone
NICE

Kneller Hall
Greater London – Richmond upon Thames
LWKNE

Pembury
Royal Tunbridge Wells
NDPEM

Redcar (RBZ)
Redcar
NERC

Scarborough (SC)
Scarborough
MYSCA

Tewkesbury (TX)
Tewkesbury
SSTXY

Thorpe (TCU)
Norwich
EATHP

Wrexham (WX)
Wrexham
WNWX

Ibstock (IAA)
Ibstock
EMIBSTO

Pelsall (PBC)
Aldridge
CMPEL

Pontefract (PB)
Pontefract
MYPON

Seighford (SEI)
Great Bridgeford
WMSEI

St.Helens (SBK)
St Helens
LVSAI

Stone Cross (BM/STO)
West Bromwich
CMSTOX

Westhoughton (WFV)
Greater Manchester – Bolton
LCWES

Brigg (BOI)
Brigg
SLBOI

Lowestoft (LT)
Lowestoft
EALOW

Dorchester (DO)
Dorchester (West Dorset)
STDORCH

Cowes (CNI)
Cowes
SDCWS

Haywards Heath (HGR)
Haywards Heath
SDHYWRD

Penzance (PZ)
Penzance
WWPENZ

News 

The new agreement creates a joint working group to address the risks posed by children’s interactions with social media and emerging technologies 

The UK and US have signed a new agreement aimed at improving online safety for children, led by UK Technology Secretary Peter Kyle and US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo. The agreement will create a joint working group to research and develop ways to protect children more effectively in the digital world. 

The working group will focus on making tech companies whose products impact children more transparent and giving researchers access to data while protecting privacy. This will help governments and regulatory bodies better understand the risks and benefits of social media and new technologies such as generative AI. 

“The online world brings incredible benefits for young people, enriching their education and social lives. But these experiences must take place in an environment which has safety baked in from the outset, not as an afterthought,” said Peter Kyle in a press release. 

“The digital world has no borders and working with our international partners like the US – one of our closest allies and home to the biggest tech firms – is essential. This joint statement will turn our historic partnership towards delivering a safer online world for our next generation,” he continued. 

The joint effort builds on the work already happening in both countries to integrate child safety into technology. The UK’s Online Safety Act requires platforms to protect children and remove harmful content, while the US is advancing child safety through its Kids Online Health and Safety Taskforce. 

“As more children across the US and around the globe have access to online platforms for online learning and social media, there is also increased risk to this exposure. That is why we are taking the necessary steps in the United States, and with our UK partners, to protect children’s privacy, safety, and mental health,” said Gina Raimondo. 

Both countries are also leading in the global “safety tech” sector, with related UK companies contributing £600 million to the economy last year, behind only the US.  

Keep up to date with the latest international telecoms news by subscribing to the Total Telecom daily newsletter    

Also in the news:
“We’re the best kept secret in data centre and cloud,” says Nokia at Connected Britain
Submarine cable damage in the Red Sea ‘severely underestimated’
Vodafone and Google deepen relationship with 10-year AI partnership 

News

As the UK’s fibre network rollout continues to push ahead, operators are increasingly seeking to deploy in more challenging environments, particularly in rural areas.

In this interview at Connected Britain 2024, Asa Malone, Sales Director at Hexatronic UK discusses how the company is building bespoke solutions for customers and investing heavily to make these hard-to-reach areas more accessible.

Watch our full interview here

Keep up to date with the latest international telecoms news by subscribing to the Total Telecom daily newsletter   

Also in the news:
“We’re the best kept secret in data centre and cloud,” says Nokia at Connected Britain 
Submarine cable damage in the Red Sea ‘severely underestimated’
Vodafone and Google deepen relationship with 10-year AI partnership 

News

The funds will be awarded to projects related to 5G and European backbone networks

This week, the European Commission has announced the start of the second phase of the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) Digital programme, which will provide €865 million in funding to various digital infrastructure projects from 2024 to 2027.

This latest round of funding will be awarded to projects focusing on the further deployment of 5G and backbone networks – including quantum communication networks and submarine cables – across Europe. It also seeks to deploy digital platforms that will integrate with existing data, cloud and edge computing, and connectivity infrastructure to make them more energy efficient.

“Improving our connectivity is of strategic importance in the EU. And with this second work programme we aim to connect more citizens and businesses and launch more innovative connectivity infrastructure,” said Margrethe Vestager, Executive Vice-President for a Europe Fit for the Digital Age. “The Digital Work Programme will invest around €865 million to support actions in deployment of advanced gigabit and 5G infrastructures, as well as backbone cable projects.”

The CEF was first introduced back in 2021, committing €33.7 billion to trans-European digital, transport, and energy networks until 2027.CEF Digital sits within this wider programme, with a budget of €2 billion for digital infrastructure projects.

In the first two funding rounds, CEF Digital has already supported 65 projects, including 30 backbone connectivity projects for the Digital Global Gateways, 17 projects promoting 5G for Smart Communities, and 18 projects in the area of 5G cross-border corridors.

Keep up to date with the latest international telecoms news by subscribing to the Total Telecom daily newsletter   

Also in the news:
“We’re the best kept secret in data centre and cloud,” says Nokia at Connected Britain Submarine cable damage in the Red Sea ‘severely underestimated’
Vodafone and Google deepen relationship with 10-year AI partnership 

The UK telecoms and media regulator, Ofcom, has launched an investigation into rural broadband ISP Gigaclear over a possible failure to “provide accurate and reliable caller location information to emergency organisations“, which could have made it more difficult for the police, fire and ambulances to find callers.

The network operator, which is principally owned by Infracapital (together with Equitix and Railpen), has so far built a gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband ISP network to cover 500,000 rural premises (RFS) in England (inc. 100,000 customers) and they hold an ambition to cover “over” 1 million premises by 2027.

Gigaclear also offers a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) based Home Phone service from £3 per month, although the small print on their website states that they “do not recommend you purchase home phone if you are reliant on your landline due to disability or accessibility requirements and do not have alternative means to contact emergency services in the event of a power outage.”

However, under Ofcom’s rules (General Conditions A3.5 (GC A3.5) and A3.6(a) (GC A3.6(a))), when someone calls 112 or 999 using a landline with a VoIP connection, their telecoms provider must – to the extent it is technically feasible – make accurate and reliable information about the caller’s location available to the emergency organisation handling the call, at the time it is answered. But Gigaclear may not have been doing this correctly.

Ofcom’s Statement (CW/01287/09/24)

Gigaclear notified Ofcom of various issues with its caller location information between January 2022 and 11th March 2024.

At this stage, we are not aware of any harm to members of the public that arose as a result. However, we take compliance with these requirements extremely seriously, due to the potential harm that may occur.

Our investigation will seek to establish the facts surrounding this matter and examine whether Gigaclear failed to comply with its regulatory obligations.

Investigations like this often take quite a while to run their course, and so it will probably be sometime later in 2025 before the outcome is known. The outcome will depend upon the severity of the issue, although a modest financial penalty is always a possibility with things like this (Gigaclear are not a huge provider of home phone services).

UPDATE 11:48am

We’ve had a statement from Gigaclear on this.

GIGACLEAR STATEMENT ON OFCOM INVESTIGATION

Ofcom’s announcement of a formal investigation is related to a historic issue with the configuration of Gigaclear’s VoIP service and the resulting accuracy of caller location information (CLI) provided to emergency organisations. This follows Gigaclear self-reporting to Ofcom in April 2024.

In our notification we reassured Ofcom that the configuration issue was swiftly fixed, and that at all times before and after the fix, all emergency calls placed by our VoIP customers were successfully connected. We have had no notification of, nor are we aware of, any consequences or harm resulting from this incident. We have also assured Ofcom that a robust system of ongoing monitoring and testing is in place to ensure it will not arise again.

Having received notification from Ofcom of its intention to open a formal investigation, we intend to cooperate fully with this, and as a result will not comment further at this stage.

Rural broadband ISP Voneus has today announced the completion of their effort to roll-out a new “Gigabit Wireless Broadband” (FWA) network across 4,700 homes on Walney Island in Cumbria (England), which they say took only 12-weeks to complete and is thus the “fastest ever deployed worldwide.”

The new network, which involved the deployment of Voneus’ kit on top of local council-owned lighting columns (i.e. avoiding disruptive street works), is said to be capable of 1Gbps (symmetric) speeds and is also set to be Cambium Networks’ largest 60GHz cnWave (Terragraph) wireless network in the world. But all that talk about it being the “fastest ever deployed worldwide” is probably a reference to this specific product, rather than wireless networks more generally (either way, there’s no substantiation included to help verify).

Voneus also states that they’re on track to connect 1,000 homes (customers) by late October, which is pretty good going considering the short roll-out. Customers of the new network can expect to pay from £29.99 per month (normally £38.99) for speeds of 250Mbps (inc. free router and installation), which rises to £59.99 for 900Mbps (normally £74.99). The first month of service is being offered for free and the provider pledges no mid-contract price rises during their 24-month term.

Pat McPhilimey, Voneus Head of Wireless Build and Maintenance, said:

“I feel incredibly proud with a huge sense of achievement to have been part of what is a truly game changing deployment of ultrafast broadband across Walney Island.

By connecting so many customers at such an incredible pace means that our better broadband is already helping, supporting and changing the lives of people working from home, families, community groups and school children.”

Dan McCarthy, Cambium Networks’ UK Regional Sales Manager, said:

“Walney Island has experienced the fastest rollout in terms of homes passed ever seen anywhere and it is now the largest Cambium cnWave network in Europe. Now available to over 10,000 residents means Voneus’ has deployed the largest Cambium cnWave network in the world.”

Until recently Voneus was being backed by up to £250m from investors including Macquarie Capital, IIF, Tiger Infrastructure Partners and bank lenders. But they’ve since secured a further £25m investment boost from Global Connectivity PLC (G-CON) in January 2024 and then an injection of £18m (capital) from Rural Broadband Solutions Holdings Limited (RBSHL) in June 2024 (here).

The G-CON and RBSHL investments are closely connected because G-CON holds a sizeable stake in RBSHL (RBSHL now has a 41% stake in Voneus). G-CON has also previously signalled that they would “appeal to strategic buyers within the next 12-18 month” and are planning to take the RBSHL ownership to “at least 44%” in the not-too-distant future.

Broadband, TV and phone provider Virgin Media (O2) this morning claims to have become the first major UK telecoms provider to enable digital payment systems, Apple Pay and Google Pay, for recurring contract payments. The hope is that this will provide a “convenient alternative to traditional direct debits“.

The provider is known to have been conducting trials of this for a little while, but at launch it’s currently only available to new customers who sign-up for their service. Virgin Media said they’re “working on expanding the availability of Apple Pay and Google Pay to existing customers in 2025“, alongside a number of other digital initiatives designed to enhance customers’ experience. But a specific date is not yet known.

Virgin states that these new payment methods should provide a quicker and more efficient customer journey, while also ensuring “fully secure transactions, with both Apple Pay and Google Pay requiring biometric authorisation such as Face ID or Touch ID to verify the customer’s identity“.

Christian Hindennach, Chief Commercial Officer at VMO2, said:

“We are always looking at new and innovative ways we can make our customers’ lives easier and provide unmatched capabilities that enhance the customer experience in our digital channels. Through this rollout, it is now quicker and more convenient than ever for a new customer to sign up to our services, with the availability of digital payment methods such as Apple Pay and Google Pay removing the need to enter direct debit details and significantly streamlining both the sign-up process and how future monthly bills are paid.

While we will continue to support direct debits, it’s vital that we evolve and utilise the technology available to give our customers greater flexibility. They can now pay for their broadband, TV or landline contract in the same way they’d buy a cup of coffee or order clothes online.

This is one of many exciting plans we’ll be announcing over the coming months aimed at improving our customers’ experience with us.”

The ISP also revealed that they’re “exploring use cases is open banking“, with new features and functionality set to be introduced in the “coming months“. For example, open banking could enable new customers, who still wish to pay via direct debit, to sign in to their online banking during the sign-up journey and have their direct debit details automatically populated in a fast and biometrically secure way – providing a more seamless and automated checkout process and reducing the risk of typing errors.

A recent trial found that 60% of customers utilised this technology in the sign-up process, and Virgin Media is now working to deploy the solution on a permanent basis in future.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), which were investigating the recent theft of copper broadband and phone cables from Openreach (BT) that was said to be worth “six figures“, have just arrested three men (aged 36, 38 and 60) on suspicion of related theft and criminal damage.

Over the past few weeks’ there have been a number of cable thefts on Openreach’s network from locations in Armagh and Dungannon, which are known to have disrupted the operator’s internet and phone services around those areas. Sadly, the perpetrators of such crimes never have any regard for the harm they cause to locals, some of which are dependent upon the related services.

The good news is that, following today’s earlier report of similar but unrelated arrests taking place in England this week (here), the PSNI yesterday carried out a proactive search and arrest operation in relation to the aforementioned thefts in Armagh and Dungannon.

A total of five separate properties were searched, with the assistance of Tactical Support Group (TSG) officers, which resulted in three men aged 36, 38 and 60 being arrested on suspicion of theft and criminal damage.

Detective Inspector Handley, who led the operation, said:

“The thefts targeted 20 locations between December 2022 and August 2024 and are being treated as an attack on Northern Ireland’s national infrastructure by what we believe to be an organised criminal group.

We’ve been working closely with the Openreach Security Team and this has culminated in this morning’s operation. The cost of the cable stolen from Openreach over the past 18 months and the damage caused in its removal, runs into six figures, and has disrupted the telephone and internet services of several thousand households, mainly in rural areas.”

Crimes like this have become increasingly common in recent years, driven in part by the high price of copper and the rising cost of living that has pushed more people into poverty. But over the past couple of years’ we have seen a rise in the number of UK-wide arrests (example), often followed by some convictions, which is starting to dent the activity.

Openreach has also reported a 30% reduction in cable theft over the past year, not least after introducing a new forensic liquid marker (SelectaDNA) to help track and protect their network (here). But that takes time to deploy and can’t be added to cables that are already in the ground.

The ongoing deployment of full fibre (FTTP) lines should, eventually, help to reduce such thefts as fibre has no value to thieves. But this won’t completely stop the problem from occurring because fibre and copper cables often share some of the same ducts, and thieves sometimes confuse the two. BT and Openreach will eventually remove their copper cables too, but that’s a much longer process.

Openreach also has a partnership with Crimestoppers, which sometimes offers rewards for information given anonymously to the charity about cable thefts, if it leads to the arrest and conviction of those responsible – you can contact them 100% anonymously on 0800 555 111 or use their anonymous online form. You can also contact Openreach’s security team direct or report via the local police (101), or if you see a crime in progress, then call the police on 999.

The Kent Police’s Rural Task Force arrested four suspects on Monday – three men aged between 37 – 57 and a 14-year-old boy, in connection with the theft of batteries from “telecoms boxes” (i.e. street cabinets using by broadband providers) and a large number of cables from across the South East of England.

A number of network operators put batteries in street cabinets, such as those used to house copper based broadband services (e.g. Openreach’s hybrid fibre FTTC service), which can cost around £500 each and usually kick-in during power outages. Unfortunately, such equipment, along with valuable copper telecoms cables, is often targetted by criminal gangs.

However, the perpetrators of such crimes don’t always get away with it, particularly if they keep returning to the same area. In addition, networks operators like Openreach and Virgin Media are now coating more of their cables and network equipment with an “invisible” synthetic DNA and UV liquid tracer, called SelectaDNA, which makes finding and arresting those linked to such thefts a bit easier (here).

In this case, officers from Kent Police’s Rural Task Force traced a vehicle suspected to be linked to the theft of batteries from telecoms boxes around the South East to a location near Gillingham on Monday 7th October 2024. The investigation ultimately recovered more than 100 batteries, along with a lot of cables, the vehicle itself, a trailer, a vehicle engine and several heavy power tools. The police are currently in the process of trying to determine the origin of all the materials, and hopefully we’ll help a bit by publishing some of the pictures.

Four people have thus been arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to steal and bailed while enquiries continue. Anyone who has information regarding the theft of telecoms batteries or cables and has yet to report it to police is urged to call Kent Police on 01843 222289 quoting reference 46/168070/24. You can also call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111 or complete the online form on their website.

Infracapital-backed network builder and UK ISP Ogi, which is investing £245m into the deployment of a new Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband network across South Wales, has confirmed that they’ve opened up their “Cefnogi” local community support fund for an 8th round of projects.

The operator has so far covered a total of 100,000 premises RFS (4th Jan 2024) with their full fibre (FTTP) broadband network – most of them residential – in Wales up to the end of 2023. In addition, they’re home to over 20,000 customers (13th May 2024), which is up from 10,000 on 4th Jan 2024. But build progress through 2024 has slowed down a fair bit.

As part of this, they’ve also been running a community support fund (“Cefnogi”) in some of their deployment areas, which offers grants worth up to £500 and volunteering hours to local grassroots community groups to help them “explore innovative approaches for promoting technology“. This has now opened up to invite applications for an 8th round of funding, and projects have until 11.59pm on 25th October to apply.

Louise Clement, Ogi’s Community Engagement Manager, said:

“Technology plays a big part in all our lives today. From keeping up with the latest news, to booking an appointment at the GP – it’s making a difference all around us.

Through Cefnogi, we want to make sure everyone in the community has the confidence to use all kinds of tech; helping to connect and build more resilient communities.

We’re asking groups to think outside the box and come up with innovative ways to use and showcase the best of technology to the widest possible audience.”

Since its launch back in 2022, the Cefnogi programme has given tens of thousands of pounds to local groups, charities and schools, with staff also volunteering over 3,000 hours in the community taking part in everything from litter picks to community garden builds.