News

Both Telstra and Optus are set to retire the older network technology in the next two months

Hundreds of thousands of people may be at risk of being cut off from emergency voice services in Australia as Optus and Telstra prepare to sunset their 3G networks.

According to new government figures released this week, around 205,000 active mobile devices in the country are unable to connect to 4G and will therefore become obsolete following the 3G shutdown.

As explained by Australian Communications Minister Michelle Rowland earlier this year, “the industry has been identifying and contacting customers with these devices; however, there is also a subset of 4G handsets that use 4G for voice and data but are configured by the manufacturer to use 3G for Triple Zero calls.”

“This category of handset is of more concern because it will not be apparent to users that their handset cannot call triple zero after the switchover. They will only discover this during an emergency,” she explained.

It is worth noting that certain demographics and regions in the country will be disproportionately affected by the switch off, include migrants and international students, which typically use handsets purchased abroad.

The switch off itself has been a long time coming, with plans first having been announced back in 2019. Since then, the number of Australian’s using affected handsets has decreased dramatically, particularly following the telcos’ more urgent communications to customers in recent months. In April, the telcos’ estimated around 1 million devices would be impacted, reducing this estimate to around 530,000 in mid-May.

Despite this rapid progress, however, the government insists that the number of affected customers remains too high, suggesting that regulatory intervention could soon become necessary.

“The Albanese government supports the 3G switchover, but it needs to be done in a safer way,” said Rowland in a statement. “The government will consider potential regulatory intervention if it is necessary and in the public interest, subject to the required consultation and procedural processes.”

Telstra is currently planning to turn off 3G at the end of August, while Optus is set to do so at the start of September.

Australia’s third mobile network operator, Vodafone Australia, has already completed its 3G switch off, which it started in December last year.

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Network operator nexfibre, which shares some of their parentage with UK broadband ISP partner Virgin Media (O2), has announced that they’ve added 20,000 additional homes in the Buckinghamshire (England) town of Milton Keynes to the coverage of their new 2Gbps speed Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP / XGS-PON) broadband network.

Until recently Virgin Media didn’t have much of any presence in Milton Keynes, which has been dominated by gigabit-capable rivals like Cityfibre and Openreach (not to mention some smaller deployments from Hyperoptic, OFNL and others). But you can now find Virgin and nexfibre’s new FTTP network running across much of the eastern edge of the town.

Nexfibre itself has already covered over 1 million premises across the UK with their new full fibre network, and they’re currently in the process of investing another £1bn during 2024, which should enable them to cover an additional 1 million UK premises (on top of their existing footprint).

Just for some context. Telefónica, Liberty Global and InfraVia Capital Partners originally setup 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.

Carnforth-based broadband ISP and communications provider JabbaTalk has today signed a new partnership with BTWholesale, which will enable them to launch a wider range of mobile connectivity plans and services based off EE’s (BT) national 4G and 5G network.

As well as offering services using the EE mobile network, the new partnership also allows JabbaTalk to access BTWholesale’s portfolio of products and services, including advanced broadband and Ethernet solutions, voice services, and modern IP technologies.

“Our partnership with BT Wholesale marks a significant milestone for JabbaTalk,” said Sales Director Steven Brady. “BT Wholesale’s support and expertise perfectly align with our goal of delivering outstanding telecommunications solutions. Through this partnership, we will now leverage the power of EE’s network, to enable us to provide improved connectivity and communication tools to our customers.”

Network operator and UK ISP Brsk, which now covers 600,000 premises passed across England via their full fibre network and is in the process of being merged into Netomnia (here), has today revealed that they’ve also extended their coverage to 100,000 premises across the West Midlands (i.e. South Birmingham and The Black Country).

From the Borough of Dudley to Earlswood in South Birmingham, brsk is still expanding their FTTP coverage at pace across the West Midlands. For example, the altnet operator recently added an additional 30,000 premises in the areas of Blackheath and Bearwood in the Metropolitan borough of Sandwell – further additional areas are to be announced soon.

The announcement notes that the operator has so far invested “£25,000,000 in broadband for the people of the West Midlands“, which works out as about £250 per premises passed. But we should point out that the 100k and 600k figures aren’t all ‘Ready for Service’ (RFS), although the RFS figure is usually only a little bit behind their premises passed (built but not yet fully live) total.

Brsk Regional Head, Laura Richardson (Pictured), said:

“With technology playing such an important part in today’s society, I’m incredibly proud to be a part of upgrading the broadband, to the area that I call home, to the fastest internet available in the UK.. Full fibre technology not only future proofs us, it enables Birmingham and the Black Country to continue as technology hubs for the UK.”

Residential customers typically pay from £23 per month for a 100Mbps (symmetric) package and this rises up to £32 for their top 900Mbps tier on a 24-month term, which includes a router and free installation.

Network operator CityFibre, which has already expanded their full fibre broadband ISP network to cover 3.6 million UK premises, claims to have made the testing of new products, network technology changes and software upgrades “up to” 100x faster – while also increasing test capacity by 300% – through the adoption of a fully automated test environment.

Just to recap. CityFibre currently aspires to cover up to 8 million UK premises with their new FTTP network (funded by c.£2.4bn in equity, c.£4.9bn debt and c.£800m of BDUK subsidy) – across over 285 cities, towns and villages (c.30% of the UK). But it remains unclear precisely when this will be achieved – the original goal was for the end of 2025, but their current build + M&A plan may only get them up to c.6m (if it all goes well).

However, every major network operator still needs to test new hardware and software solutions before deploying them into their networks, which is a process that can take a lot of time (months or even years for bigger changes). But CityFibre claim that their newly adopted test infrastructure from Red Helix, as well as design and implementation expertise from IGXGlobal UK, has significantly improved this process.

As a result, the operator claims to have now “fully automated” the dedicated facility where all their new products, network technology changes and software upgrades are tested prior to implementation (reality check – there are usually still humans involved as you can’t do everything via robots quite yet, thankfully). At this point, the announcement becomes a bit more like dry marketing, so we’ll just quote it.

CityFibre’s Statement

With tests previously taking 15 minutes now taking under 10 seconds and the ability to run tests outside core working hours, CityFibre’s engineers have more time to address issues raised during the tests themselves. The automation solution also enables rapid analysis and interrogation of test data, while maximising equipment lifecycle by reducing manual touches in an otherwise high touch environment.

The test infrastructure provided by Red Helix combines advanced technologies such as Keysight Ixia Novus and IxLoad platforms to simulate complex network environments and improve equipment lifecycle, reliability and flexibility. To facilitate seamless physical connectivity and eliminate the need for cabling before each test, Huber+Suhner Polatis optical switches and Lepton Systems Layer 1 switches are used. The test infrastructure environment is then controlled using Quali CloudShell test automation software, allowing for continuous remote testing, scheduling, and management of multiple tests through a simple interface, with consolidated reporting.

Design and implementation expertise provided by IGXGlobal UK helped to deliver the new automated testing framework. The framework, which incorporates robust Open Source Testing Frameworks integrated into Continuous Integration/Continuous Delivery (CI/CD) tooling, enables engineers to schedule and rapidly perform hundreds of tests in a single keystroke, with results then automatically highlighting issues. The same framework also enables CityFibre to fully test any new software release or emerging technology in a consistent and repeatable way.

In short, some testing will be a lot quicker than before and that means they’ll be able to bring new products, network technology and software upgrades to market sooner, which is good (provided it does a better job on the quality side than the old-fashioned methods).

As CityFibre’s CTO, David Tomalin, said: “Rigorous testing is key to ensuring that new products and network technology upgrades can get to market faster … This will deliver even better outcomes for our wholesale partners and the homes and businesses they serve.”

The University of Sheffield in South Yorkshire has officially launched the UK’s first national 6G research facility – the imaginatively titled ‘National 6G Radio Systems Facility‘ (N6GRSF) – to help test and develop the next generation of mobile (mobile broadband) network technologies.

The facility will bring together academics and industry in order to enable research into many aspects of 6G radio systems, including candidate waveforms, baseband and RF signal processing, digital acquisition, transmitter and receiver RF sub-systems and over-the-air (OTA) propagation measurements. It will be capable of supporting research into 6G radio systems spanning all of the operating frequency bands – from sub-6GHz (used by most existing operators) to sub-THz – including the 6G pioneering bands up to 220GHz.

Importantly, its key equipment will support multiple over-the-air transmissions at once, facilitating research into novel advanced radio systems. The hope is that efforts like this will “place the UK at the forefront of global research into 6G radio systems,” although the reality is that most of the core 6G standards and technologies are largely already being developed across other countries (this has been going on for the past few years).

The new facility is being funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).

Professor Timothy O’Farrell, Professor of Wireless Communication at the Facility, said:

“6G is the next generation of telecommunications technology and has fast become a strategically important area for research and development. Our new National 6G Facility will play a huge role in developing the UK’s 6G capabilities; it will enable the UK’s Universities and telecommunications industry to compete on a global scale and provide a unique experimental platform for researching and testing both current and future radio systems.”

The 6G standard itself is currently still in the R&D phase, and most people don’t expect to see the first commercial deployments until around 2028 to 2030 (3GPP aim to complete the standard specs for commercial 6G networks and terminals by 2029). But it is widely expected to be aiming for theoretical peak data rates of up to 1Tbps (Terabits per second) – or 1000Gbps if you prefer – and may be able to harness radio spectrum up to the TeraHertz (THz) bands, while also using AI optimisations, new antenna designs and other changes to improve network efficiency.

The International Telecommunication Union‘s (ITU) first 6G framework for related technologies (IMT-2030), which was published at the end of 2023, gives us a few more clues about what to expect (here). But it’s worth noting that there’s often quite a bit of distance between the aspirations of theoretical capability, as expressed in new standards or frameworks, and the practical real-world delivery of the final service itself.

Not to mention that there remain big question marks over how much of a return 6G may give mobile operators on their investment. The advantages of ever faster speeds often tend to run into diminishing returns for users of smaller Smartphone screens, which are still the bread and butter of service delivery for most mobile operators. Meanwhile, many users would much sooner welcome wider coverage of 4G and 5G, which is still a work in progress. But the march of technology rarely stands still for the laggards.

Openreach and BT might have recently delayed their plan to withdraw old copper-based analogue line services (PSTN phones and WLR) from Dec 2025 to 31st Jan 2027 (here and here), but conversely they’ve also just issued contract termination notifications to all WLR providers with an effective date of 31st Dec 2025. Don’t worry, it’ll make sense.

Just to recap. The big switch-off was delayed in order to give broadband ISPs / phone providers, telecare providers and consumers more time to adapt. But the main focus of this delay is actually on the nearly 2 million people who use vital telecare systems in the UK (e.g. elderly, disabled, and vulnerable people), which often aren’t compatible with modern alternative IP-based (VoIP etc.) digital phone services.

In short, there was a risk that the digital phone switch-over could put the lives of vulnerable people at risk, which was tragically underlined by the recently reported deaths of two “vulnerable” Virgin Media Phone customers (here). This is alleged to have occurred after their health alarms failed, following the switch-off of their old analogue phone services. Ofcom are investigating VM’s handling of the digital phone migration (here).

However, if you read the update to our original Openreach story on 18th May (here), then you’d already know that the operator’s approach to this meant they’d still be terminating existing WLR contracts for ISPs at the end of December 2025 and expect that migration to continue at pace, which is in line with the previous plan.

On the surface this may appear to contradict the recent announcement of a delay to 31st Jan 2027. But the aim here is actually to be able to introduce NEW TERMS for the product and a three-month termination notice period to continue services where needed, while enabling some flexibility to support future processes (e.g. for vulnerable users). Openreach has now confirmed this with an official notification.

Notification of WLR contract termination

As part of our ongoing All IP programme, Openreach has issued contract termination notifications to all WLR CPs with an effective date of 31 December 2025. Where assets have not been migrated and/or cancelled by 31 December 2025, BT may, at our absolute and sole discretion, allow the services and assets to remain post 31 December 2025. Any continuation of services shall be on new terms and conditions which shall comprise the terms, conditions and charges of the current WLR contract save for the following revision:

Clause 2.3(d) shall read as not less than 90 days’ notice.

The new WLR terms will be notified and published on the website.

We signalled this activity when we briefed CPs on BT Groups announcement of the delay to the PSTN switch off to 31 January 2027 in GEN048/24 (openreach.co.uk).

Openreach expects CPs to continue migrating their customers at pace, and we are terminating the contract to provide flexibility to develop future processes with CPs to address the remaining asset base.

CPs are reminded that any associated broadband service (FTTC / SMPF / sub loop SMPF) will be terminated when the underlying WLR service is ceased, as per business-as-usual processes.

Consumers who are vulnerable and worried about the transition to digital / IP based phone services should contact their provider for more information or to discuss options, as there are solutions being introduced to some of the problems; it’s also important that providers are able to identify those who may need extra help. But if your provider is already aware of a vulnerable status, then nothing changes. Today is all about background changes and the switch-off process continues.

Customers looking to join Sky Mobile (Sky) will, from sometime later this morning, finally be able to take out a 4G and 5G capable mobile plan that includes “unlimited data” (mobile broadband). Previously, the biggest mobile plan you could get from Sky came with a 100GB monthly data allowance for £30 per month.

The new unlimited data plan, which includes all the usual features (e.g. unlimited calls / texts and the ability to change your plan whenever you like) and a commitment not to raise prices mid-contract, will cost £35 per month when purchased as a Pay Monthly SIM Only plan or £25 when you bundle it with a phone handset.

Sky Mobile is powered by a Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) agreement with O2 (Virgin Media).

Software and internet giant Microsoft have announced that they’re increasing the monthly price of their online Game Pass service for multiplayer Xbox and PC gamers. On top of that, they’re soon be replacing the standard sub for Xbox users, which means you’ll have to stump up for ‘Game Pass Ultimate‘ to access new games on release day.

The official announcement only provides the pricing details for the USA (here), but they’ve also published a table that lists the changes for each country (here). In short, the PC Game Pass will increase from £7.99 to £9.99 for new members, while Game Pass Ultimate will jump by the same amount (+£2) to £14.99 per month for new members and Game Pass Core (12 months pre-paid) will increase from £49.99 to £55.99. 

Microsoft’s Three Key Xbox Changes

1. Price Hikes

2. Changes to Xbox Game Pass for Consoles

3. The New XBox Game Pass Standard

We created Game Pass to offer players more choice in how they discover and play games. That includes offering different prices and plans, so players can find what works best for them. A new Game Pass option, Xbox Game Pass Standard, will become available for $14.99 USD (pricing varies by market) in the coming months.

Xbox Game Pass Standard gives you hundreds of high-quality games to play on your console. It also features all the benefits of Game Pass Core, such as online console multiplayer and select member deals and discounts, including up to 50% off select games. Game Pass Standard will not include games released on day one.

The new XBox Game Pass Standard is planned to launch in the “coming months“. By comparison, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate adds access to day one (release) titles, specific entries to the Game Pass Ultimate library, access to EA Play, Xbox Cloud Gaming, Perks, Quests, and discounts on games in the Game Pass library.

News

Article by Bradford Randall, originally published on Total Telecom’ sister site, Broadband Communities

Viavi Solutions Inc., also known as VIAVI, has announced a strategic partnership with the Telecom Infra Project (TIP) to expand Open Radio Access Network (Open RAN) testing capabilities for VIAVI’s Automated Lab-as-a-Service for Open RAN, also known as VALOR.

The efforts, according to VIAVI, were made possible by a $21.7 million grant from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Fund.

According to the company’s July 8 release, the money helped fund the creation of VALOR, which “provides a pathway to certification in the U.S. for new entrants, startups, and academia.”

“By bringing VALOR’s test-as-a-service capabilities to TIP, VIAVI advances the mission of TIP’s OpenRAN Project Group and enhances the broader industry’s ability to implement and certify Open RAN technologies,” the release stated.

As part of the partnership, VALOR, which “offers cloud-based and virtual testing capabilities critical for modern, scalable network performance assessments,” will be incorporated into TIP’s system performance certification program.

Dr. Sameh Yamany, the chief technology officer at VIAVI, said the partnership addresses deployment challenges faced by vendors.

“This initiative aims to reduce market fragmentation, create supply chain efficiencies, and build marketplace confidence through standardized testing and certification processes​,” Yamany said.

With the announcement, VALOR has become the first of TIP’s authorized test labs, according to VIAVI’s release.

Kristian Toivo, TIP’s executive director, said end-to-end testing, like that provided by VALOR, “ensures that Open RAN systems meet high-performance standards and are robust enough to handle real-world network complexities, thereby maintaining service quality and reducing downtime.”

Toivo said VALOR’s Open RAN virtual testing environment bring new capabilities to TIP’s community.

“This strategic engagement fosters innovation, improves supply chain resilience, and accelerates the global adoption of Open RAN technologies, offering operators more flexible, cost-effective, and high-performance network solutions​,” Toivo said.

As a result of the partnership, TIP plans to leverage VALOR’s capabilities to help build a performance certification framework to promote industry alignment, according to VIAVI’s release.

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