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The regulator will come to a final decision on the merger in December this year 

The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has released its provisional findings on the proposed merger between Vodafone and Three, once again raising concerns that the deal could lead to higher prices and reduced service quality for millions of UK mobile customers. 

“We’ve carefully examined the potential effects of this merger. While it could improve network quality, the potential cost to customers and smaller providers is significant,” said the CMA in a statement. “We will now work to address these concerns while ensuring future network investments.” 

Specifically, the investigation has raised three key issues: 

Potential price increases: The CMA suggests that tens of millions of mobile users could face higher bills or receive reduced services, such as smaller data allowances, as a result of the merger. Those most affected are likely to be customers already struggling with affordability.
Impact on Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs): The merger may also hurt smaller providers like Sky Mobile and Lyca Mobile (both of whom were named specifically), who rely on Vodafone and Three’s networks. With fewer network operators, MVNOs could struggle to secure favourable terms, making it harder for them to offer competitive deals.
Uncertain benefits: While Vodafone and Three claim the merger will improve network quality and accelerate 5G deployment, the CMA claims that the two companies have “overstated” these benefits, while questioning whether the merged company would follow through on its investment promises.

“We’ve taken a thorough, considered approach to investigating this merger, weighing up the investment the companies say they will make in enhancing network quality and boosting 5G connectivity against the significant costs to customers and rival virtual networks,” said Stuart McIntosh, chair of the inquiry group. 

“We will now consider how Vodafone and Three might address our concerns about the likely impact of the merger on retail and wholesale customers while securing the potential longer-term benefits of the merger, including by guaranteeing future network investments,” he continued. 

 In response to these findings, the executive teams at Three and Vodafone once again argued that the merger would not mean higher prices for customers and would not negatively impact competition.  

Three UK CEO Robert Finnegan said in a LinkedIn post that “the current UK 4 player mobile market is dysfunctional and lacks quality competition with 2 strong players and 2 weak players”.  

Vodafone’s CEO of European markets, Ahmed Essam, meanwhile, said that the findings “underestimate the current realities of the UK market.” 

Both said that they looked forward to addressing the CMA’s concerns in order to secure approval. 

Overall, while these findings from the CMA are not positive for the merger, they were also very much expected, In fact, some analysts are suggesting that the CMA’s statement could have a silver lining, in that it may be willing to consider “behavioural remedies” in order to approve the deal. 

“The CMA’s findings on the Vodafone UK / Three UK merger do signal a potential pathway, importantly through behavioural rather than any structural remedies, over and above the £11bn network investment commitment to be enforced by the regulator, said Paolo Pescatore, founder of PP Foresight. 

“The CMA offers a potential path to approval through a range of remedies. Crucially, it appears willing to consider “behavioural remedies” such as enhanced network access for virtual providers or safeguards for retail customers,” agreed Kester Mann, director of consumer and connectivity at CCS Insight.

“This is significant as many had feared that more onerous “structural remedies” – such as selling assets or supporting a new entrant – would be required. In this sense, Vodafone and Three should be encouraged by the tone of the CMA’s report which appears more open to the merger than I was expecting,” he continued. 

The CMA is seeking responses to its provisional findings by 4 October 2024 and to its proposed remedies by 27 September. A final decision is expected by 7 December. 

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Network access provider Openreach (BT) has today announced that the first 5,000 premises (homes and businesses) across Perth in Scotland can now access their new 1.8Gbps capable full fibre broadband ISP network. But thousands more are planned in the city and across more rural parts of the county over the next 12 months.

In case anybody has forgotten, Perth was only added to Openreach’s UK rollout plan in September 2023 (here) and the operator has since been busy expanding their network to deliver on that. The first 5,000 premises in the city have now gone live and engineers also plan to start work on major builds for nearby Coupar Angus and Crieff this autumn, which will join the 17,000 already able to access their FTTP network across Perth and Kinross.

Work is also ongoing in several more locations as part of the Scottish Government’s £600 million Reaching 100% programme, including in Aberfeldy and Bridge of Gaur. Further R100 upgrades are due to start later this year around Blairgowrie and Rattray. In addition, Openreach is separately working on Fibre Community Partnerships (FCP) in Glencarse, Gellybank, Fossoway and Blairadam, where it is helping to co-fund the local builds.

However, it’s worth noting that Openreach is NOT the only gigabit-capable broadband network in Perth, which is a city that has also been covered by Virgin Media’s infrastructure. But otherwise, Perth generally hasn’t had a lot of gigabit class network choices, until now.

Robert Thorburn, Openreach Partnership Director for Scotland, said:

“We’ve got a lot of work either under way or planned across Perth and Kinross, so we want to let local people know what to expect. We’re looking to upgrade as many homes and businesses as possible while our teams are working locally, so residents will spot more engineers, technicians, equipment and vans.

We work hard to build safely and limit disruption, with loads of support from Perth and Kinross Council. Wherever we can, we use our existing network of ducts and poles to avoid roadworks, digging and disturbance. But there may be places where we have to put in new poles or underground ducts and cables if it’s the only way to include some people in the upgrade.”

The service itself, once live, can be ordered via various broadband ISPs, such as BT, EE, Sky Broadband, TalkTalk, Vodafone and many more (Openreach FTTP ISP Choices) – it is not usually offered as an automatic upgrade, although some ISPs are doing free upgrades as older copper-based services and lines are slowly withdrawn.

Openreach’s build partner Morrison Telecom Services (MTS) is helping to deliver the Perth roll-out.

Alternative full fibre operator Zzoomm, which has built a 2Gbps speed Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband network to cover 202,000 premises (RFS) in England, has today launched a new 200Mbps (symmetric) service that appears to replace their previous entry-level 150Mbps package. But the new entry-level tier is more expensive.

The new “200 Full Fibre” service is priced at £32.95 per month on a 12-month minimum term and comes with a £100 Amazon voucher for new customers (compared to £29.95 for the old 150Mbps tier). All of their packages also include a free standard installation, Zzoomm Wi-Fi 6 Hub (router), free in-home Wi-Fi setup, unlimited data and a pledge of “no mid-contract price rises“.

The operator’s network, which is home to 30,000 customers (c.15% take-up), is currently available across parts of around 29 market towns and small urban communities in Berkshire, Oxfordshire, Herefordshire, Yorkshire, Staffordshire, Wiltshire and Cheshire. Zzoomm originally aspired to cover 1 million premises across 85 UK towns by the end of 2025, before the difficulties of raising fresh capital forced their build to stop (here and here). But growth via mergers and acquisitions is now being actively explored (here).

Chris Collinson, CCO of Zzoomm, said:

“At Zzoomm, we’re committed to meeting the growing demand for faster, more reliable broadband. This new service is 33% faster than our 150Mbps capability for only £3 extra.

The launch of our new 200 Full Fibre, 200Mbps symmetrical service reflects our dedication to delivering top-tier connectivity that keeps up with the pace of modern life. This update ensures that our customers, future and existing, not only stay ahead of the digital curve but enjoy symmetrical speeds that significantly surpass the national average.

We are committed to keeping continuously improving our offerings and this launch is all part of our mission to provide our customers fast, reliable Full Fibre broadband that truly elevate their online experience.

Full Fibre just got faster.”

Despite the positives, it is worth keeping in mind that not all consumers want or need faster speeds and there are those who would rather have a cheaper / slower package that exists to cater for only their basic needs. In that sense, removing the cheapest option for new customers does have some downsides.

Broadband ISP CommunityFibre (CF), which has rolled out their 3Gbps speed Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network across around 1.4 million UK premises (predominantly in London), has today claimed to already be “reaping the rewards” from Ofcom’s new One Touch Switching (OTS) system for consumers migrating between providers.

Just to recap. Last week saw the long-awaited introduction of OTS, which has faced many delays but aims to make it both quicker and easier for consumers to switch between broadband providers on physically separate networks. However, despite a somewhat turbulent history and start, CommunityFibre sees only positives and has already completed its first customer installation in less than two days (who switched from Sky Broadband).

“By eliminating the need for customers to liaise with their existing providers, and only terminating contracts once their new provider is live, what was once a complicated, time-consuming process that can leave households without internet access will now become a seamless, risk-free experience for broadband users,” said CF, which believes that this will “continue to be a net positive for the company” when it comes to acquiring new customers.

Graeme Oxby, CEO of CommunityFibre, said:

“I hope that the latest One Touch Switching rule change will continue to benefit both alternative broadband providers and consumers, now that it is easier for users of other networks to come and join us to experience the great services that Community Fibre provides.”

Residential customers of CF typically pay from £21 per month on a 24-month term for speeds of 150Mbps (symmetric) with free setup and an included WiFi 6 router, which rises to £56 for their top 3Gbps tier. The pricing is currently fixed if you join before 4th November 2024. At the end of your contract, your price will increase by £4 per month.

CommunityFibre also offers a separate 35Mbps social broadband tariff at £12.50 a month (rising to £16.50 after the first 12-months), although their 35Mbps plan isn’t technically a true Social Tariff because it’s available to everybody covered by their network (i.e. not just those on state benefits) and we rather like that.

Fife-based network operator Gigaloch, which in 2020 began building their own Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network across a few remote rural communities in West Cheshire (England) and Perthshire (Scotland), has put in an application for Code Powers from Ofcom to help with their network expansion plans.

Just to recap. UK ISP Gigaloch originally started their build in Mollington (West Cheshire) and have also expanded out into other locations, such as Abraichan (Inverness-shire), Loch Tay (Highlands of Perthshire), Mouldsworth, Manley and Ashton Hayes (Cheshire), and Methven (Perth and Kinross) etc. The operator currently aspire to cover 200,000 premises over the next few years.

However, it appears as if Gigaloch may be preparing to move into a higher gear with their application for Code Powers, which are typically sought to help speed-up deployments of new fibre and cut costs, not least by reducing the number of licences needed for street works. The powers can also help with supporting access to run new fibre via Openreach’s (BT) existing cable ducts and poles (PIA).

Code Powers Statement

The Applicant is a relatively new operator seeking Code powers to facilitate the deployment of a Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) network predominantly across rural Scotland.

The Applicant is presently rolling out its network in Perth and Strathearn, Highland Perthshire, Inverness-shire and in West Cheshire in England.

The Applicant intends to continue building their own fibre optic access network in their own duct infrastructure.

Sadly, Gigaloch’s website doesn’t contain a lot of detail about their broadband packages and prices, but we recall from last year that an unlimited 1Gbps (200Mbps upload) service was being sold for £35 per month (frozen until 2025) on a 12-month term. Hopefully more details about their roll-out plan and network build progress will surface in the near future.

Network provider PlatformX Communications (PXC), which was formerly known as TalkTalk Wholesale before the recent demerger (here), has today announced a new agreement that will give their UK wholesale business access to Netomnia’s (inc. Brsk) new full fibre (FTTP) broadband network – currently covering 1.75 million UK premises (RFS).

Breaking news.. more to follow..

Customers of UK broadband ISP Virgin Media (O2), specifically those who may own one of their legacy WiFi Booster devices – also called Powerline Boosters, should remain vigilant after a number of users reported that their units had failed after sparking and smoking. A tiny number of users even alleged that the units caught fire.

First things first. Electronic devices do sometimes fail, and when that happens it’s usually more of a graceful failure, which means that the kit will simply stop working and that’s the end of it. In that sense, it’s not uncommon for a very small proportion of supplied hardware to suffer a failure during operation, which is a risk that tends to rise as devices age through time and usage.

Sometimes such failures can be a bit more noticeable, such as if you see sparks or smoke, while in extreme cases there’s also the risk of fire to consider. Take, for example, the 2015 case when EE had to recall masses of free portable Smartphone battery chargers (“Power Bars“) after some exploded (here). But most electronic devices are designed in such a way that they’ll fail without causing a fire. 

The latest example of a device that seems to be raising concerns over safety has come from Virgin Media’s legacy Wi-Fi Boosters (aka – Powerline Boosters), as well as the odd one of their more modern Plume pods and similar kit. But so far as we can tell, the most common issues are being experienced by their legacy boosters (pictured).

Examples of this are certainly not hard to come by and most have been reported via Virgin Media’s own Community Forum: here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here (Credits to Cardiffman282 for helping us find these). Most of the complaints have occurred over the past 12 months, while a few pre-date that period.

Sample Customer Complaint by Marz123

“I have been using the old white Wi-Fi booster for the past few years and have not had an issue until two days ago. The booster suddenly sparked then made a loud bang and caught on fire. The customer service was closed for that day so we waited until tomorrow to contact virgin.

Upon contacting customer support they said were redirected to WhatsApp where we waited the full day to not even be contacted. I am extremely displeased with the way this was handled especially seeing as this could have resulted in a house fire had I not been home.”

Sample Customer Complaint by reeree81

“I returned from holiday and switched on all of my electrics. When I switched one of the booster packs back on, it literally popped and started to release smoke, thankfully no fire and my plug socket still works with other appliances.”

Sample Customer Complaint by Tim_allen

“My booster plug has just blown in its electrical socket. It sparked and smoked.”

Sample Customer Complaint by Megan_1910

“We’ve had this booster for about a year with no issues – got home tonight having been away and when I switched it on it started to spark a lot and then started to smoke and now no longer works.”

Sample Customer Complaint by cherrievarley

“My Wifi Booster, old style, went on fire today. Very dangerous and lucky i was in the room to quickly pull out of the plug.”

Naturally, we raised these concerns with Virgin Media, which advised that they take these reports incredibly seriously and, in each of the instances shared, they claim to have immediately requested that customers return them so that the provider could undertake comprehensive testing.

The operator said that, in every test undertaken on their boosters or pods – including on those devices returned by customers that have allegedly caught alight, sparked, popped, smoked, blown etc. – they’d “identified no faults which pose a fire risk and every device we’ve received or inspected has failed safely as designed, or worked as expected.”

Analysis of the failed Powerline boosters is said to have revealed either “no or very minimal visible damage to the outside of the units” – with the faults appearing to have been caused by a failing component. “In our testing, all other components and areas inside the units appear in good or excellent condition,” added the operator.

Virgin Media has also sent units to the manufacturer and to an independent third-party for further testing. In all cases, these tests are said to have “found that units were functioning safely and coped as designed, including when put under significant load testing – up to 1kV (four times higher than domestic wiring)“.

In short, the provider said they’d had “no substantiated reports of fire starting as a result of a booster failing” and inspections of those devices where customers claimed they caught fire “found this is not the case and there is no evidence of fire damage to the devices“.

A Virgin Media spokesperson told ISPreview:

“We always take reports like this very seriously and have carried out comprehensive testing and investigations, including with independent third-parties, all of which have found no evidence of a fire safety risk with our WiFi boosters or pods.

We have hundreds of thousands of customers safely using our WiFi boosters and pods and on the very rare occasion that individual units have failed, they have done so safely as designed.”

The last point about Virgin having “hundreds of thousands of customers safely using our WiFi boosters and pods” is a key one. As we said in the introduction, a small proportion of electronic devices will often fail and, with so many users, it’s not surprising that a very tiny number of that figure may fail in a way that is a bit more.. noticable (sparks, bits of smoke, popping sound etc.).

Such issues can happen with routers and WiFi adapters on other providers too, although without more data on the failure rate, it’s very difficult to know if Virgin’s legacy WiFi Boosters are more prone to such failures than those of competing brands / manufacturers / ISPs. But certainly, on the anecdotal level, we did find it much easier to uncover related complaints about Virgin’s adapters than similar kit at other ISPs.

The UK telecoms and media regulator, Ofcom, will tomorrow begin enforcing new rules that will only allow broadband ISPs to use terms like “fibre” and “full-fibre” on their websites, and in contracts, if their network brings the fibre optic cables all the way to your home (i.e. FTTP, FTTH and also FTTB).

Many ISPs have historically tended to use “fibre” terminology to describe a wide range of internet connection technologies, including hybrid or part-fibre solutions that could involve either some copper wiring (e.g. FTTC) or even wireless connectivity over the final drop into homes. Such technologies can be significantly slower and less reliable than modern full fibre (FTTP) services, which take an optical fibre cable all the way to your home.

The situation has long created arguments between network operators, ISPs and consumers, which has only grown over the past few years as the roll out of multi-Gigabit speed capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) lines have gathered pace. Put another way, if you think you’ve already got “fibre”, even if it’s only via a significantly slower FTTC (VDSL2) line, then you may be less likely to contemplate an upgrade to FTTP).

In the past, there have been numerous attempts to correct this, such as via an ineffective review from the Advertising Standards Authority (here) and a failed court challenge by CityFibre (here). But in 2021 the Gigabit Take-Up Advisory Group (GigaTAG) proposed several changes (here), including clearer labelling of broadband packages to help consumers understand the differences between technologies, which Ofcom finally sought to adopt at the end of 2023.

The regulator’s new guidelines for residential and small business services are now finally due to be formally introduced and enforced from tomorrow (16th September 2024), which is good news, even if they are arriving more than a decade too late. But it should be noted that they DO NOT COVER ADVERTISING, which is still under the remit of the ASA.

Ofcom’s New Guidelines on Fibre Terminology

We have decided to issue the following guidance under General Conditions C1 and C2. In summary:

➤  Providers should give a short description of the underlying technology of each broadband product offered at point of sale on the website, in Contract Information and in the Contract Summary, using one or two terms that are clear and unambiguous, such as ‘cable’, ‘full-fibre’, ‘copper’ or ‘part-fibre’;

➤  The use of the word ‘fibre’ on its own for describing the underlying technology is ambiguous, and therefore should not be used to describe the underlying technology; and,

➤  Providers should give a more detailed explanation of the underlying technology (for example through a link) so that consumers can understand what it means for them. It should also be given in a form that is accessible and easily understood.

Underlying technology information should be given to consumers irrespective of how they sign up for a service. Under our new guidance, those signing up online will be given this information on the broadband provider’s website. Those purchasing a service over the phone or face-to-face will be provided with this information in the Contract Summary and in the contract itself. A Contract Summary with key information on the service must be provided before the customer confirms the purchase.

We have concluded that this is the most proportionate approach to ensure appropriate information is provided to consumers and reduce customer confusion, while limiting the costs of implementation.

A sizeable chunk of the industry, particularly alternative full fibre networks, have already welcomed the change. But a question mark remains over how much of a positive impact this will actually have, not least because it’s trying to change a perception that has long since become established in the consumer subconscious, where the meaning of “fibre” has been diluted over many years of misuse.

Lest we forget that most consumers typically pay more attention to things like service speed and price than industry jargon and technology acronyms. Otherwise, we’ve already seen some signs of ISPs adjusting their approach.

For example, Sky Broadband said last week that they’d now be “describing broadband technologies as Copper, Part Fibre or Full Fibre” (Copper being ADSL, Part Fibre being FTTC/G.fast and Full Fibre being FTTP) – Sky’s packages have been re-labelled accordingly.

Broadband provider iDNET has just become one of the first ISPs to introduce both a 1.8Gbps (advertised as 1.6Gbps) and 2.3Gbps (2Gbps) symmetric speed package via FullFibre Limited‘s (Fibre Heroes) new network, which currently covers 380,000 UK premises across parts of 170 towns.

Just to recap. FullFibre Ltd introduced the faster tiers at wholesale last month (here). The operator’s FTTP lines can be found in various locations across Derbyshire, Essex, Gloucestershire, Greater Manchester, Herefordshire, Lancashire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Merseyside, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, Shropshire, South Yorkshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire and Worcestershire in England.

One of the first ISPs to start selling the faster FTTP plans at wholesale has just become iDNET, which also sells similar tiers via both Openreach and CityFibre’s national networks. The residential packages cost from £72 per month for 1.6Gbps and £75 for 2Gbps, which on a 24-month contract term will come with both an included X6000 WiFi6 Router and free installation.

The provider also offers some even more expensive “Gamer” variants of these packages, which bundle a more powerful router and support for features like LACP Lan Aggregation (not that you really need either of those things for exceptional gaming on an FTTP line). Shorter 12-month and 30-day terms are also available, albeit with fewer freebies. Credits to one of our readers (Blake) for spotting all this.

City-focused broadband ISP Hyperoptic, which has so far built their full fibre (FTTP/B) network to cover “more than” 1.73 million homes and 340,000 customers in parts of 64 UK towns and cities, has launched a Managed Wi-Fi service that aims to deliver “uninterrupted, high-speed internet” across larger residential developments / blocks of flats (MDUs).

The new service appears to be targeted at building owners and comes with a dedicated portal for simplifying onboarding for both residents and guests. The service also includes tailored account management, 24/7 support, and “future-proof hardware” to ensure secure, up-to-date technology. One of the advantages of this is the ability to get new residents connected as soon as they move in.

Jo-Anne Dunning, Business Development Director at Hyperoptic, stated: “We’re excited to launch our Managed Wi-Fi service, offering an advanced, reliable solution tailored to the needs of modern residential developments. Our Whitepaper highlights the industry’s growing readiness for tech innovations, and Hyperoptic is proud to set a new standard for high-speed connectivity.”