Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

Network analyst firm Streetwave has revealed that they’ve been chosen by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority in England to conduct a real-world study of mobile network coverage and 4G / 5G data performance across the region, harnessing 12,000km of the county’s road network and testing all three of the primary mobile networks – EE, O2 and VodafoneThree (Vodafone and Three UK).

Just to recap. Streetwave works by harnessing waste bin (refuse) collection lorries to map mobile network coverage and data speeds across various parts of the UK (e.g. here, here, here, here and here). In this setup, refuse trucks are installed with several off-the-shelf Smartphones using special software, which run continuous network tests (once every 20 metres in rural areas and 5m in urban areas) as the vehicles go around their routes.

The data they collect is often then used by local authorities to help identify areas that may require additional intervention in order to improve local mobile coverage and or network capacity, while also giving locals access to some of this data via address-based coverage checkers and interactive maps (https://app.streetwave.co/coverage-checker/).

The region-wide mobile coverage monitoring programme for West Yorkshire will include the areas covered by Leeds City Council, Bradford Council, Calderdale Council, Kirklees Council and the Wakefield Council. Suffice to say this is a large area and, over the next 12 months, StreetWave will need to conduct two full surveys of each local authority area (road network) – passing masses of homes, businesses and public sector sites etc.

“This will help identify connectivity gaps, monitor improvements over time, and support future digital infrastructure investment across the region. The results will also be shared with the region’s 2.4 million residents through Streetwave’s free to use coverage checker. Together, the surveys will provide the evidence needed to improve digital connectivity across one of England’s largest combined authorities,” said the company.

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

A new report has today claimed that Octopus Investments, via infrastructure investor Fern Trading, is on the verged of entering into advanced talks to acquire TalkTalk Group’s wholesale broadband and Ethernet business – PlatformX Communications (PXC). TalkTalk’s consumer business is also now said to be fielding interest from Opus Broadband, in addition to Vodafone and possibly others.

Last month ISPreview reported that PXC had attracted interest from both Africa-focused Telecel and private equity firm Epiris (here), the latter of which was said to have teamed up with PXC executive chairman Tom O’Hagan (he only recently helped acquire business provider Entanet from full fibre operator CityFibre – here). But SkyNews now claims that Octopus appears to have beaten interest from Epiris to become the front-runner for a deal.

The talks, if confirmed in the very near future, are expected to value the business in the hundreds of millions of pounds and will require a period of exclusivity – lasting several weeks – in order to try and finalise an agreement. The deal is particularly interesting because Fern Trading also backs wholesale fibre business AllPoints Fibre Networks (APFN) and London-focused business ISP Vorboss.

The news follows shortly after other reports indicated that broadband and mobile operator Vodafone (VodafoneThree) had tabled a bid for TalkTalk’s consumer business (here), which is a pairing that would seem to be quite complementary. According to SkyNews, wireless ISP Opus Broadband (formerly 6G Internet), which is connected to network operator IX Wireless and Tahir Mohsan, is also understood to have expressed an interest in bidding.

Suffice to say that the future of TalkTalk’s various debt-troubled businesses may finally be decided before the end of 2027, although it’s important to stress that anything can happen and no final agreements have yet been reached. But of course it’s also possible that the leaks to Sky could be part of a tactical strategy by interested parties.

One other thing worth considering is that TalkTalk’s consumer business is strongly linked to PXC’s wholesale products. In other words, any deal for one side of the business or the other may well require some agreement on how that relationship continues into the future.

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

Liverpool-based UK ISP Giant has introduced a new network-level internet content filtering and security service called ‘Guardian‘ for their customers, which is available for free on all of their broadband packages and is designed to “work across every connected device — no downloads or per-device setup required“.

Guardian is designed to give Giant’s customers a single, simple switch so that they can block malicious websites — and optionally adult content — across every phone, laptop, smart TV, games console and IoT device on their Wi-Fi network.

Just to be clear, existing customers can also access the new feature for free, so it’s not only a product for new subscribers. Customers of the service can simply switch Guardian on directly from the Giant portal, choosing between three different levels:

• Guardian Off — Standard internet with nothing blocked, for customers who already run their own filtering.
• Guardian Standard — Automatically blocks websites known to spread malware, phishing scams and credential theft. Recommended for every household.
• Guardian Family — Everything Standard blocks, plus adult content. Designed for households with children.

The changes, once applied, are said to take effect in seconds and can be reversed at any time. There are no data caps, no throttling, and no impact on connection speed.

Callum Longworth, Direct of Giant, said:

“We wanted online safety at Giant to be genuinely easy — no downloads, no per-device setup, no confusing settings pages. Guardian is one tap in your account and it protects everything. It’s the kind of thing we wish every broadband provider had built in as standard, so we did it.”

A number of other broadband ISPs also have network-level security filters, including most of the major ISPs, although some of them do tend to reserve their more advanced features for a paid upgrade. However, we would always advise consumers to ensure that they’re also using good anti-virus/firewall software on their computers, as network-level filtering like this doesn’t catch everything.

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

European satellite operator Eutelsat just published their results for the year ended 30th June 2026 and reported that their revenues from OneWeb’s constellation of ultrafast broadband satellites in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) “beat expectations“, jumping by 69.5% to €297m (accounting for 25% of the group’s overall revenues).

OneWeb, which regular readers may recall was originally rescued from bankruptcy by the UK government and Indian group Bharti Global, before later becoming a part of Eutelsat – with concessions (here), currently has 654 small (c.150kg) first generation (GEN1) LEO satellites in space – orbiting at an altitude of 1,200km (c.600 of them for coverage and the rest for redundancy).

Plans also exist to renew and enhance the constellation with a further 440 satellites being planned for launch (aka – “Eutelsat Next“) – starting later in 2026 (here). Eutelsat’s latest results also confirm that an approximately €1 billion Export Credit Agency (ECA)-backed financing facility exists to support the acquisition of those new satellites from Airbus Defence and Space.

“These satellites will provide full operational continuity for OneWeb LEO constellation customers, gradually replacing existing satellites at the end of their operational life,” said the company. The results didn’t add much to that, but did reveal that the OneWeb side of the business now has 496 employees, which is slightly down from the 510 they had last year.

The first of the second generation of Eutelsat’s LEO satellites (Eutelsat Next) are due to be delivered by around the end of 2026. The first generation OneWeb satellites will then be gradually de-orbited as they reach the end of their useful lifespan (LEO spacecraft are designed to only have a short c.5 year lifespan before gravity and atmospheric drag pulls them down again).

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The Director of Network Technology at national UK broadband operator Openreach (BT), Trevor Linney, has today reported that “full fibre usage” – driven by live TV video streaming and new video game updates – across their network increased by 37% in the first half of 2026, compared with the same period last year.

“That tells us something important: people aren’t just using more data, they’re increasingly relying on Full Fibre to do more online, more reliably and with fewer frustrations. And it’s not hard to see why. Today’s typical households often have several people online at the same time – streaming, gaming, video calling, shopping or working. Full fibre is built for that world,” said Linney.

Sadly, we don’t get much context for that 37% figure (i.e. is it total data consumption, peak daily usage or something else), which makes it tricky to analyse in the correct context. But at the start of this year Openreach did report (here) that broadband usage across their UK network increased by the more expected figure of 4.8% in 2025 (down from 10.5% in 2024) to total 108,599 PetaBytes (PB) of data (up from 103,590PB). But at the same time, they said that data usage on their full fibre network had “exploded” by 40% in the prior year.

The average Full Fibre customer on their network was previously also said to be chewing through 22.1GB (GigaBytes) a day, although they haven’t issued an updated figure on that today. Just for some extra context, Ofcom reported at the end of 2025 that the average monthly fixed broadband data usage per connection is now 583GB across “all technologies” (up from 531GB in 2024), which increased to an average of 738GB for full-fibre connections (oddly this was down a bit from 766GB).

Demand for data is of course constantly rising and broadband connections are forever getting faster, thus new peaks of usage are being set all the time. But broadband ISPs often mitigate this somewhat by harnessing sophisticated Content Delivery Networks (CDN), which cache popular content closer in the network to users (i.e. improves performance without adding strain, which also keeps costs down).

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

Network operator AllPoints Fibre Networks (APFN, Fern Trading) has today confirmed that they’ve sold the retail base of their last consumer broadband ISP, Brillband, to internet provider Olilo for an undisclosed sum. The move comes after APFN did the same with Cuckoo (sold to Onestream) earlier in the year (here).

Just to recap. The Glasgow-based full fibre (FTTP) broadband ISP Brillband was originally acquired by APFN back in October 2024 (here) and sells packages to homes over APFN’s wholesale platform. But the previous sale of Cuckoo’s retail base to another ISP did strongly indicate that Brillband’s days were also numbered.

The new deal reflects the “final stage” of APFN’s ongoing strategic move away from retail services, which follows the successful introduction of their aquila wholesale platform – this aggregates connectivity from several alternative broadband networks (including APFN’s own full fibre network) and makes them available to retail internet service providers.

Existing Brillband customer contracts, pricing and broadband services will “continue to be honoured by Olilo“, with customers not required to take any action as part of the transfer. But over time this may change as those contracts reach their end and re-contracting deals can change.

Duncan Di Biase, Brillband, said:

“What this team built goes far beyond a network. They showed up every day for our customers with a level of care you rarely see in this industry, and I’m enormously proud of them. That’s the real legacy of Brillband.”

Liam Mulryan, CEO of Olilo, said:

“Brillband has built something really special, and we’re not coming in to rip everything up. The product, pricing, and contracts stay the same.

We’ve always tried to do broadband a bit differently. Clear costs, honest answers, proper support and no hiding behind jargon or small print. Broadband without the B.S. And yes, I was told to tone that down.

This is a massive moment for Olilo, but the most important thing is making sure Brillband members feel looked after from day one. We’re excited to build on what’s already there and give the community a proper long-term home.”

The most recent accounts for Brillband noted that the company made a total loss for the year ended 30th June 2025 of -£892.7k (2024: -£729.9k), which might have helped to drive APFN’s decision to get out of the retail business. Sadly, it’s unclear how many customers are impacted by this agreement, although Brillband was a fair bit smaller than Cuckoo (the latter is estimated to have had c.75k customers).

The base that has been sold to Olilo mostly reflects customers on Openreach and CityFibre’s national full fibre broadband networks.

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

According to ISPreview’s sources, mobile operator EE (BT) appears to be starting the gradual consumer engagement phase of their plan to close down the old 2G network. The move follows last year’s earlier effort to begin engaging their business customers (here) – supporting them to move from 2G to more modern 4G, 5G or Internet of Things (IoT) services.

In case anybody has forgotten, EE switched-off nearly all of their final 3G sites back in February 2024 (here), which actually occurred well before their much older 2G network is due to be retired. The physical network switch-off phase for 2G is currently still due to start in May 2029, but there’s a lot of work to be done first.

The situation around 2G tends to be more complicated than 3G, not least because its signals still remain useful as a low-power fallback when 4G/5G isn’t present and remain necessary in certain rural areas, as well as for particular applications (e.g. certain IoT / M2M services, lift alarms, telecare systems etc.). Nevertheless, the government has previously agreed with EE, O2, Vodafone and Three UK to phase-out existing 2G signals by 2033 (here).

The key change occurring now is that EE are expanding their customer engagement from business users to residential consumers. Customer service agents and retail staff will now be notified if a customer is expected to be impacted by 2G Sunsetting (they can often tell this from the mobile handsets being used), which should enable them to mitigate most issues long before 2G is actually turned off.

Some customers impacted today are already unable to access mobile data on their current setup and, if EE doesn’t take any action before 2G is switched off, then those users may also lose access to calls and texts (effectively a disconnection). Naturally EE, like all UK mobile operators, are keen to avoid that outcome and want to give everybody plenty of warning, while also expanding their 4G / 5G network where needed and helping users to upgrade to modern equivalents of their older 2G handsets.

Customers using one or more of the following will lose mobile service completely, once the 2G network is switched off, without action.

1. A 2G, 3G or 4G non-VoLTE device or a device that doesn’t support 4G Calling.

2. An old 2G or 3G SIM card.

3. A 2G or 3G price plan.

Broadly the approach being taken for the 2G switch-off should be similar to the 3G process, which among other things means that some vulnerable customers will be offered free handsets. On top of that we may see some localised trials of the network switch-off, while those identified as still using the service are likely to be contacted several times to help them upgrade before the switch-off itself.

So if you’re still on EE’s 2G network and using an older handset (as above), then don’t be surprised to hear from the operator in the near future.

Original article Total Telecom:Read More

Summit 2026

Here’s why eyes will be on the Multifamily Town Hall during Broadband Communities Summit in Houston on August 26, sponsored by AT&T Connected Communities.

The Multifamily Town Hall at 11:30 a.m. on August 26 will be one to watch, according to Valerie Sargent.

Sargent, who serves as a multifamily correspondent and advisor for Broadband Communities Summit, said the discussions during the Multifamily Town Hall can often foreshadow and influence later policy discussions and legal leader panels during the Summit’s multifamily track.

This year, the town hall discussion will be moderated by Matt Ames, a partner at law firm Hubacher Ames & Taylor.

Ames will oversee a discussion including Elizabeth Parks, the president and CMO of Parks Associates, and Dom Beveridge, the founder of 20 for 20.

Sargent said Parks will share some of the incredible research and statistics uncovered during the past year regarding industry trends.

Specifically, Parks and Beveridge will dive into shared challenges faced by owners, operators, and partners working within the rental housing industry.

“I think that’s really where people get some good information to take back,” she said.

Click here to listen to the discussion with Valerie Sargent on Apple Podcasts

Attendees can walk away with a fresh update about what residents want and what the multifamily industry is focused on right now, Sargent added.

“Some of the most important information that our owners need”

Regarding the rest of the multifamily track, which stretches across two days in Houston at the George R. Brown Convention Center, Sargent said she’s also excited for the legal sessions.

“I think it’s probably some of the most important information that our owners need,” she said.

The legal leaders panel on August 27, “Navigating Broadband Regulation Without Creating Operational Chaos” sponsored by DIRECTV, will dive into compliance risks, unintended consequences, and legal blind spots.

The panel, moderated by Linda Willey, VP of business services for Camden Property Trust, will focus on how to anticipate regulatory change without disrupting operations.

Joining Willey on stage will be Kate Luthy of AT&T (Assistant VP, Senior Legal), Sue Weiske of Spectrum Community Solutions (VP & Assoc. General Counsel), Ryan Graney, an attorney with the law firm Davis Craig, and Art Hubacher, a managing member with the law firm Hubacher Ames & Taylor.

To view the full multifamily track for Broadband Communities 2026, along with the rest of the agenda, visit the event’s website or register here to get tickets!

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The post Summit ’26 to tackle challenges faced by US MDU owners, operators appeared first on Total Telecom.

Original article Total Telecom:Read More

HONG KONG & BERN, August 4th, 2026 – VOX Solutions, a leading provider of comprehensive A2P voice and messaging monetisation solutions, is proud to announce a strategic partnership with Comfone, a prominent global telecommunications services provider. This strategic channel partnership will help Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) worldwide control, protect, and monetise their international Application-to-Person (A2P) SMS traffic. 

This collaboration brings together VOX Solutions’ managed VOX360 Monetisation Solution with Comfone’s extensive industry expertise and global ecosystem. Together, both companies are committed to safeguarding mobile communication against the growing threats of unsolicited traffic, grey routes, and revenue leakage. 

The VOX360 platform, a market-leading solution, integrates advanced anti-fraud capabilities including flash call authentication and A2P SMS monetisation tools. Deployed within the operator’s own network environment and operated as a fully managed service, the platform provides advanced monitoring, filtering, analytics, and fraud-prevention capabilities. By centralising international A2P traffic through authorised gateways, VOX360 ensures full visibility of all traffic flows, eliminates bypass routes, and enables proper commercial monetisation of messaging traffic. The service includes 24/7 monitoring, traffic analytics, market intelligence, and dedicated technical support. 

Pedro Sebastião, Director of Partnerships at Comfone, commented: 

“Partnering with VOX Solutions is a natural extension of the Comfone Partnership Program. A2P SMS monetisation is a critical priority for mobile operators worldwide, and VOX Solutions’ track record in delivering measurable results through their AI-powered platform makes them an ideal partner. This collaboration enables us to offer our customers a best-in-class, trusted solution that protects revenues and strengthens network integrity.” 

VOX360 stands as an industry awarded platform capable of mitigating flash calls as part of a comprehensive anti-fraud solution for A2P voice and SMS traffic. This ensures that operators partnering through the Comfone channel remain protected from flash call fraud while maximising service quality and legitimate messaging revenues. 

Teodor Magureanu, Chief Business Development Officer at VOX Solutions, added: 

“Our mission is to support mobile operators in driving sustainable revenue growth and fostering innovation. We are happy to enter this partnership as we know Comfone is a company with a similar mindset – be a valuable partner to mobile operators. Hence, this global partnership is about trust and value for the ecosystem. By combining our VOX360 platform with Comfone’s extensive network, we can accelerate our efforts to help MNOs worldwide secure and monetise their A2P messaging traffic, contributing to their business success while enhancing communication security globally.” 

VOX Solutions continues to lead the market with its end-to-end A2P voice and messaging monetisation offerings. With a proven track record of success, the VOX360 platform has been deployed by numerous top-tier mobile operators worldwide. Looking forward, this partnership with Comfone marks another milestone in VOX Solutions’ commitment to empowering telecom operators with cutting-edge technology, strategic insights, and unparalleled support to navigate the evolving industry landscape. 

About VOX Solutions 

VOX Solutions is a leading TelcoTech company dedicated to empowering Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), carriers, aggregators, and enterprises worldwide by providing innovative solutions to effectively monetise their assets. We provide cutting-edge solutions that enable our partners to unlock new revenue streams by maximising the value of their existing assets. Leveraging advanced technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Advertising Technology (AdTech), advanced analytics, and seamless authentication, we help transform telecommunications businesses into high-performing, revenue-generating ecosystems. 

http://www.voxsolutions.co 

About Comfone 

Headquartered in Bern, Switzerland, Comfone is fully independent, privately owned, and financially stable with no affiliation to any operator groups. With over 28 years of industry expertise and a strong tradition of Swiss quality, Comfone has proven track record of delivering robust and scalable roaming and interworking services. We serve more than 700 customers across over 200 countries and territories, including MNOs, MVNOs, SMS A2P Providers, IoT/ M2M Solution Providers, and a range of new operators entering telecommunications market. 

Comfone Solutions Value Propositions  

• Global customer reach, presence and georedundant infrastructure in all continents  

• 24/7 multilingual, personal and dynamic support from experienced roaming professionals. Workforce representing 50 nationalities and 45 languages  

• A GSMA Associate Member since 1999, Comfone actively participates in GSMA Working Groups and follows all GSMA standards   

• For over a decade, Comfone has been recognized as a leading global provider of roaming services in key areas such as Hub, IPX, Data Clearing, and Financial Clearing. ROCCO top rankings since 2013  

We focus on long-term partnerships, operational excellence, and a customer-oriented approach. This ensures that our solutions are not only compliant but aligned with the latest industry developments and best practices to help operators developing new solutions in existing and emerging technologies and protocols such as VoLTE, 5G NSA, 5G SA, BCE, and NB-IoT.  

www.comfone.com 

The post Comfone and VOX Solutions partner to strengthen A2P SMS monetisation for mobile operators worldwide appeared first on Total Telecom.

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Partner Article

On August 4, China Tower and Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. officially unveiled a new tunnel waveguide product: TunnelStar at the China Tower Industrial Park. Tailored for high-value tunnel scenarios, the innovative solution features compact size, lower costs and superior user experience, injecting new momentum into network quality improvement and brand value enhancement for telecom operators.

Senior executives from China Tower and Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. attended the launch ceremony.

According to the officials present, China’s rail transit tunnel scale has maintained steady growth, with the national operational subway mileage exceeding 10,000 kilometers and the mileage of operational railway tunnels surpassing 25,000 kilometers. Tunnel scenarios have long been plagued by industry pain points, including limited installation space, complex on-site construction conditions and difficult renovation coordination. Meanwhile, as mobile communication networks accelerate the iteration toward 5G-A, communication frequency bands and spectrum bandwidth continue to expand. Driven by booming applications such as AI and live streaming, user demand for uplink services keeps rising, highlighting the weaknesses of uplink coverage and putting forward more stringent technical requirements for tunnel indoor distribution and signal coverage systems.

Against this backdrop, China Tower and Huawei have carried out in-depth technical cooperation. Combining the propagation characteristics of radio waves in tunnels, the two parties have jointly developed the TunnelStar, breaking through the technical bottlenecks restricting tunnel network coverage. Equipped with a specially designed excitation source to reshape electromagnetic field distribution, the product enables more uniform wireless signal coverage in tunnels and maximizes overall coverage performance.

Compared with traditional antenna solutions, the innovative TunnelStar boosts edge coverage level by more than 10dB and improves user experience speed by over 40%. It supports a 9dB gain amplification for uplink links, delivering a 20% increase in uplink speed to meet the demand for high-capacity uplink data services. In addition, the product supports low-cost evolution toward 6G, enabling smooth transition for new frequency band applications. As a full-band and full-bandwidth solution, it empowers China Tower to leverage its unified planning and construction advantages, helping telecom operators solve key industry challenges including high-capacity uplink and high-frequency network evolution in tunnels, difficult leaky cable construction and poor antenna coverage effects.

The TunnelStar solution has completed pilot tests for 3.5G and 4.9G frequency bands in Wuhan and Guangzhou respectively. The test results show significant improvements in coverage performance and deployment efficiency, which are highly consistent with the design targets.

TunnelStar blazes a new trail for upgrading tunnel network experience. It effectively breaks the coverage bottlenecks in extreme tunnel scenarios, greatly improving user experience and satisfaction, and setting a benchmark for ultimate mobile network coverage.

Looking ahead, the two sides will further integrate China Tower’s advantages in integrated overall planning, co-construction and project implementation with Huawei’s cutting-edge communication R&D capabilities. Both parties will continue to iterate and upgrade series of in-depth tunnel coverage technologies and solutions, comprehensively optimize the digital travel experience for the public, and empower a better digital life for all.

The post China Tower and Huawei Jointly Launch TunnelStar to Upgrade Tunnel Mobile Network Coverage appeared first on Total Telecom.