Sky Mobile (Sky Broadband) has today kicked off their Black Friday discounts too, which cuts the price of their Pay Monthly SIM plans by 50% for the first 6 months of service for new customers (e.g. their 5GB + unlimited calls/texts plan is now £5 per month instead of £10). But this excludes their entry-level 100MB and premium unlimited data plans.

The discounts are expected to remain available to take until 3rd December 2024. All tariffs come with data rollover, no 2024 price rises and free mid-contract switching. The Sky Mobile service is based off a Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) agreement with O2 (VMO2).

The below Sky Mobile pricing is also available when bought with a device.

Black Friday 50% off SIMO offers

£5, 5GB, 12m contract, 6 months half price, unltd calls & texts

£7, 10GB, 12m contract, 6 months half price, unltd calls & texts

£8, 25GB, 12m contract, 6 months half price, unltd calls & texts

£10, 50GB, 12m contract, 6 months half price, unltd calls & texts

£15, 100GB, 12m contract, 6 months half price, unltd calls & texts

Unlimited Data:

Phone & SIM ~ £25

SIMO ~ £35

A new survey from service management firm Totalmobile has claimed that alternative UK providers of fibre broadband networks (altnets) are “facing significant operational challenges,” with 53% said to be reporting a lack of day-to-day control over their field operations.

The study, which surveyed 100 senior telecom managers, claims to highlight how rising customer demands, operational blind spots, and insufficient technology are “creating major hurdles” for fibre providers across the country. But the short report doesn’t appear to categorise the results by splitting network builders from retail ISPs or vertically integrated providers, which have different challenges to consider (the results seem to be shaped by Totalmobile’s own vested interests in this field).

• Unrealistic SLAs Threaten Service Delivery: Over 60% of respondents identified unrealistic Service Level Agreements and workforce strain as top concerns. The growing demand for high-speed fibre services is overwhelming providers, making it difficult to ensure first-time fixes and meet customer expectations
• Operational Blind Spots: More than half (53%) of senior operators feel they lack day-to-day control over field operations. Without real-time visibility into their workflows, many providers risk missing deadlines and underdelivering on customer promises.
• Need for Immediate Technological Investment: Nearly 60% of fibre providers acknowledged that their current technology is insufficient to handle the complexity of modern operations. Investment in areas such as automated workforce scheduling, mobile access to real-time data, and predictive maintenance is seen as critical to staying competitive.
• Sustainability as a Business Imperative: As the emphasis on Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) targets intensifies, executives face growing pressure to minimise unnecessary site visits and reduce carbon emissions. Notably, 38% of respondents indicate that achieving ESG targets is a primary objective for senior leadership. Providers that fail to innovate face not only operational risks but potential fines and reputational damage.

The press release also confusingly talks about the “government’s push to reach 92% FTTP (Fibre to the Premises) coverage by 2030,” except that no such target exists. The primary goal of both the past and present UK governments, under their £5bn Project Gigabit programme, is to reach “nationwide gigabit connectivity by 2030” (here) or c.99% of premises – this largely reflects the use of both FTTP and Hybrid Fibre Coax (HFC) technologies.

Rob Gilbert, MD of Commercial and Infrastructure at Totalmobile, said:

“The research makes it clear—Altnets are facing unprecedented pressures. Whether it’s managing workforce demand, delivering customer satisfaction, or hitting sustainability goals, the only way forward is through digital transformation. Fibre providers need to invest in technology now or risk being left behind as the market continues to evolve.”

The full report can be downloaded here, although it seems to overlook some of the other major challenges facing altnets, such as from high interest rates, rising build costs and an extremely competitive market that makes it difficult to build take-up.

The BT Group has today published their latest biannual H1 FY25 results to Sept 2024, which reveals that Openreach’s UK full fibre (FTTP) broadband ISP network added 2.1 million premises to their coverage in H1 to cover 15.8m, while EE’s 5G mobile coverage increased to 80% of the population (up from 75% in H2 FY25). The fibre build rate has also been accelerated again.

The group’s consumer divisions – including BT, EE and Plusnet – reported being home to a total of 8.234 million broadband connections (down from 8.283m six months ago), which included 2.775m FTTP customers (up from 2,428m). On top of that, BT’s business divisions had 609,000 broadband connections (down from 641k) and 112,000 of those were FTTP lines (up from 94k). BT Wholesale also supplied a total of 691,000 broadband lines to other ISPs (up from 680k) and 82,000 of those were FTTP (up from 62k).

In terms of consumer mobile connections, EE reported total mobile customers of 13.875m (up from 13.859m), including 10.468m using 5G (up from 9.835m). On top of that, BT reported that their fixed broadband consumers gobbled an average of 436.5GB of data per month (up from 409.3GB), which falls to 16.7GB for EE’s post-paid mobile users (up from 16.5GB).

Elsewhere, some 66.8% of BT’s fixed consumer base take a “superfast broadband” product (down from 69.8% in FY24 H2) and 28% (up from 24.4%) have adopted one of their “ultrafast” products – the latter includes both G.fast and FTTP, which these days largely reflects FTTP cannibalising customers from slower (FTTC and ADSL) packages.

ISPreview also noted that 23.1% of BT’s customers are now taking both mobile and broadband (converged), which is slightly down from 22.9%.

Financial Highlights – BT’s Half-Yearly Change
* BT Group revenue = £10,138m (down from £10,421m in H2 FY24)
* BT Group total reported net debt = £(20,267)m (increased from £(19,479)m)
* BT Group profit after tax = £755m (up from £11m)

Openreach’s Network

The table below offers a breakdown of fixed line network coverage and take-up by technology on Openreach’s UK network, which covers the totals for all ISPs that take their products combined (e.g. BT, Sky Broadband, TalkTalk, Zen Internet, Vodafone etc.).

Breaking news.. more to follow..

News

The agreement is set to come into effect on November 19 

Telecom Acquisitions Limited (TAL) has announced the signing of a wholesale partnership with KCOM, the main broadband provider in Hull, East Yorkshire, and North Lincolnshire. Through the deal, TAL’s Eclipse Broadband brand will now offer services on KCOM’s expanded fibre network in these areas. 

Eclipse, originally a KCOM brand acquired by TAL in 2021, will complement KCOM’s services, enhancing customer choice, the companies said. 

“This project has been some time in the making, but we’ve always had a great working relationship with the KCOM team which has made this exciting opportunity possible. This offering will state ‘powered by KCOM’ and is supported by the TAL brands combined Trustpilot Rating 4.4 “Excellent” with the support of over 15,000 reviews,” said TAL’s CEO Nigel Barnett in a press release. 

“The agreement reinforces his group’s presence in the Hull, East Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire area following the acquisition of bases developed by ISP’s Open Fibre, Link Broadband, Infinics Broadband and Zybre,” he continued. 

“KCOM’s full fibre network powers thousands of homes and businesses across Hull, East Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire. This new deal with TAL means that more customers in our expansion areas can access the benefits of our fast, secure and reliable network via the Eclipse broadband brand,” echoed Jan Collins, the MD of KCOM Enterprise. 

Join the conversation about connectivity in the North of the UK by attending Connected North, 23-24 April in Manchester. Get discounted tickets here! 

Also in the news:
Nokia and Lenovo forge partnership to drive AI and automation in data centers
UK govt announces £22m investment in ‘smart data’
“We’re on track to close the loop”: Adtran talks data, AI, and network automation at Connected Britain

Broadband network operator nexfibre, which shares some of their parentage with UK ISP partner Virgin Media (O2), has announced that they’ve extended their 2Gbps speed Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP / XGS-PON) network to cover 9,000 additional homes in the Essex (England) city of Chelmsford.

The city itself is now well covered by both Virgin Media and nexfibre’s combined gigabit broadband networks, although it’s worth noting that it’s also home to several other full fibre networks with strong coverage, such as Openreach and CityFibre (via their Lit Fibre acquisition). In addition, a few areas are also reached by smaller networks from Hyperoptic and OFNL etc.

Nexfibre itself has already covered around 1.6 million premises across the UK with their new full fibre network, and they’re currently in the process of investing another £1bn this year, which should enable them to cover an additional 1 million UK premises by the end of 2024 (reaching a total footprint of c.2m).

Just for some context. Telefónica, Liberty Global and InfraVia Capital Partners originally set up the new £4.5bn nexfibre joint venture in 2022 (here), which aims to deploy an open access fibre network to reach “up to” 7 million UK homes (starting with 5m by 2026) in areas NOT currently served by Virgin Media’s network of 16m+ premises. The funding reflects £3.3bn of fully underwritten financing and up to £1.4bn in equity commitments.

News 

The deal extends Bell’s fibre reach across North America, targeting millions of new connections 

Bell Canada Enterprises, Canada’s largest telecom company, is making its first move into the US fibre market. Bell Canada, a subsidiary of BCE, has agreed to acquire Ziply Fiber, a fibre internet provider in the Pacific Northwest, for CAD 7 billion ($5.1 billion). The deal involves CAD 5 billion ($3.6 billion) in cash and the assumption of CAD 2 billion ($1.5 billion) in Ziply’s debt, expanding Bell’s North American footprint. 

“Bell’s leadership and vision aligns perfectly with our commitment to improve the connected experiences of our communities through fast, reliable fibre Internet and a refreshingly great experience. This acquisition enhances our growth strategy with the scale and experience of one of North America’s leading fibre operators,” said Harold Zeitz, CEO of Ziply Fiber in a press release. 

Since 2020, Ziply has grown its network to cover 1.3 million locations across four states, with a target to reach over three million in the next four years. The acquisition will give Bell a reach of over 12 million fibre locations across North America by 2028, making it one of the top three fibre internet providers on the continent. 

Once finalised, the deal is set to offer more options to customers on both sides of the border.  

The transaction, expected to close in late 2025 and is subject to regulatory approval. The deal will be financed through the proceeds from BCE’s sale of its Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment stake, alongside a discounted Dividend Reinvestment Plan. 

Earlier this year, BCE announced it would cut 4,800 jobs, roughly 9% of the company’s 44,610 workforce, as the company reported “declining legacy phone and news business”. The company estimated that the job cuts will bring in “in-year cost savings” of between CAN$150 million ($111 million) and $200 million ($148 million) and will put the company in a better position for future success.  

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

Also in the news:
Mobily and Telecom Egypt to deploy Red Sea submarine cable 
CMA set to approve Vodafone–Three merger
SK Telecom announces “AI Infrastructure Superhighway”

Press Release

Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison and Ericsson proudly announce the successful deployment of the world’s first full-stack Digital Monetization Platform (DMP), marking a significant milestone in Indonesia’s digital transformation journey for telecommunications. This collaboration aligns with Indosat’s larger purpose of empowering Indonesia by raising digital telecommunication standards, supporting economic growth, and enabling real-time monetization and flexible service development to drive industry growth.
The DMP stack included the seamless migration of prepaid subscribers, demonstrating an impressive advancement in Indonesia’s digital capabilities. As the first of its kind, the platform is part of Ericsson’s Telecom Business Support System (BSS) portfolio and equips Indosat to enhance digital services such as 5G readiness and advanced B2B solutions. By enabling real-time monetization, the platform allows Indosat to meet diverse customer demands while paving the way for future business models that capitalize on 5G advancements, such as network slicing, to provide tailored connectivity for consumer and enterprise markets alike.

The Digital Monetization Platform is designed to serve around 100 million Indosat subscribers across Indonesia. A key milestone in this deployment was the rapid migration of millions of prepaid subscribers in just 18 days, including a highly intensive 48-hour period—completed seamlessly without any disruptions.

Vikram Sinha, President Director and CEO Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison, said, “The successful deployment of the DMP was a testament to the spirit of ‘Gotong Royong’—a collaborative effort uniting all stakeholders toward our common goal. This partnership with Ericsson will assist Indosat to elevate the quality of services and provide marvelous experience to our customers. Through real-time monetization and a highly adaptable platform, we are enabling new business models that will fuel growth across the industry.”

Krishna Patil, President Director of Ericsson Indonesia, stated, “As a global ICT leader, Ericsson is committed to supporting Indosat in enhancing its digital offerings by providing the latest innovations with world-class technology. We are confident that, by deploying a full-stack DMP, Indosat can improve customer services while ensuring a smooth transition to the 5G network. Our long-standing partnership supports Indosat’s transformation and accelerates digitalization across the country.”

This achievement reflects Indosat’s commitment to fostering Indonesia’s digital journey by leveraging cutting-edge technologies that bolster national connectivity and economic progress. By building a more resilient, efficient telecom infrastructure, Indosat is creating a stronger foundation for digital inclusion, enabling Indonesians to benefit from advanced connectivity in all aspects of life.

Future Collaboration in AI-Driven Innovation
In conjunction with the DMP launch, Indosat and Ericsson signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) during Innovate Asia 2024 in Bangkok. The MoU outlines a commitment to co-develop innovations in Generative Artificial Intelligence (Gen AI) and Machine Learning (AI/ML) within the DMP and BSS ecosystems. This initiative aims to accelerate monetization efforts, streamline time-to-market, and introduce advanced AI-driven products that enhance revenue growth.

Through this pioneering project, Indosat and Ericsson demonstrate a shared vision for a digitally empowered Indonesia, charting a course toward a robust, connected future.

Both Indosat and Ericsson are finalists for the 2024 World Communication Awards – you could meet them in London on the 10 December 2024. Find out more at worldcommsawards.com

Network operator FullFibre Limited (Fibre Heroes), which has already built their open access Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband network to cover 380,000 UK premises, has today announced that they’ve improved their internet security features by adopting Gigabit IQ’s FamilyGuard+ and CyberGuard+ services.

The announcement, which somewhat confusingly came via retail ISP BeFibre, requires some additional context because Gigabit IQ is also the new name of alternative rural broadband ISP Grayshott Gigabit, which has deployed FTTP around rural parts of East Hampshire (e.g. the Surrey Hills and surrounding areas). But they don’t only build their own rural FTTP networks, and have also developed the FamilyGuard+ and CyberGuard+ services.

The Over The Top (OTT) style services are designed to offer features like Parental Controls with age-based content filters to block harmful content and social media apps, as well as providing an array of cybersecurity features to help defend against web threats like malware and viruses.

So far as we can tell, this deal appears to mean that other UK ISPs on FullFibre’s broadband network will now have the additional option of being able to offer the FamilyGuard+ and CyberGuard+ services to their own customers.

Paul May, Head of Channel Management at FullFibre, said:

“We’re really excited to be partnering with Gigabit IQ, who deliver even more choice and value added services to customers looking to connect to the FullFibre network. A big part of our ethos at FullFibre is to level the digital landscape across the UK, and Gigabit IQ’s innovative offerings are helping us fulfil this ambition”.

Mashood Ahmad, Managing Director at Gigabit IQ, said:

“As part of our mission, Gigabit IQ is committed to empowering communities with quality, high-speed internet while prioritising online safety. By leveraging FullFibre’s robust network, we’re thrilled to connect more families with services that put safety and speed first.”

The move is interesting, as we would normally expect wholesale providers to focus on just providing connectivity solutions, while leaving value-added extras like those mentioned above up to the retail providers to sort out for themselves. But in this case, FullFibre seems to be taking a deeper approach by providing optional solutions closer to the retail level too.

Network operator Openreach (BT) has announced that engineers working for alternative UK broadband networks (altnets) have finally gained a limited ability to replace existing copper drop wires with fibre optic lines on their telecoms poles. Previously, altnets had to wait on the incumbent’s own engineers before this work could be done.

One of the problems with poles is that they can only handle so many cables and related kit before weight becomes a problem (example), which can create a localised capacity issue that may also cause delays with connecting new customers (this can sometimes require the deployment of additional poles). One way of balancing this is by removing an old copper line as you add in a new fibre.

Openreach’s Physical Infrastructure Access (PIA) product also allows altnets to run their own fibre via existing cable ducts and poles, but it does have limits. For example, until now, it hasn’t allowed altnets to replace existing copper drop wires with fibre. This is understandable (copper is not part of an altnet’s network), but it can slow some deployments while the altnet waits for Openreach to do the work.

A couple of years ago CityFibre requested a change to this approach, which would allow their own engineers to conduct this work too. In response, Openreach launched a drop wire replacement trial, which aimed to help reduce failed installations caused by a pole being deemed defective (‘D’) after an order has been accepted.

“[This] should ensure no end customer is left waiting for the six months or so it can take for Openreach to replace a defective pole,” said Sarah Parsons in 2022, CityFibre’s then Director of Compliance. The good news is that this has finally left the trial stage.

Openreach Statement

This briefing is to inform PIA established CPs that we are moving the current drop wire replacement trial to business as usual (BAU). Moving the trial to BAU enables PIA CPs to replace existing Openreach drop wires with fibre drop wires on Openreach poles where it is necessary and would qualify as a Network Adjustment, where the poles are classed by Openreach as either a ‘Policy D-Pole’ or ‘Non Policy D-Poles which are at full loading (as defined in the Overhead Engineering Principles CP08).

The process will also be applied reciprocally, i.e. where Openreach needs to remove a CP drop wire under the same engineering circumstances. The corresponding CP must adhere to the same process.

This will be available to PIA CPs from 1 November 2024.

As above, this only covers situations where a Network Adjustment will be needed to allow a drop wire addition in normal circumstances of a defective pole, which means it’s impact will be fairly limited.

Macquarie-backed telecoms operator and UK ISP KCOM, which is deploying a gigabit broadband (FTTP) network across East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire in England, has today become the latest internet provider to announce that they will “shortly” be adopting Amazon’s eero 6+ mesh Wi-Fi routers for their service.

According to KCOM, the eero 6+ devices that they will be making available to their customers in Hull and beyond should deliver “world-class connectivity, enhanced broadband experience, new security features and mesh technology for complete home Wi-Fi coverage“.

The provider clarifies that customers signing up for their 500Mbps or faster home broadband packages will automatically each receive two eero 6+ devices for “free“, while all packages under 500Mbps will receive one eero 6+ device from mid-December 2024.

Neil Bartholomew, KCOM’s Consumer Managing Director, said:

“This new collaboration with eero demonstrates the scale of our ambition to redefine the in-home broadband experience for customers on our network across Hull, East Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire.

eero devices come with an intuitive app that will give our customers the power to pause, prioritise and personalise the connectivity in their homes, allowing them to customise their internet experience and enjoy seamless streaming, surfing, working, gaming and everything else they love to do online.

As well as being fast and reliable, customers will benefit from enhanced security, monitoring connected devices, troubleshooting and managing online access for children. The new tech means that with multiple eero devices our customers can say goodbye forever to dead spots, drop-offs, and buffering – even when the whole family is online.”

However, by modern standards the eero, which is fast approaching 3 years of age, is starting to look a bit dated and is rather short on LAN ports (2). More advanced users may not consider it to be particularly appealing, although KCOM’s consumer focus is clearly more on the mass market than those who might be looking for superior kit.