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SpaceX has revealed that the next test launch of their future Starship rocket (flight 13), which is scheduled to take place on Thursday night this week (occurring after 23:45), will attempt to deploy 20 of their next generation V3 (GEN3) Starlink broadband satellites “for the first time” (these will not be dummy demonstrators like before). But they’ll only last a few minutes.

The service currently has around 10,800 satellites in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) – mostly at altitudes of between c.340-550km. Residential customers in the UK currently pay from £40 a month for the Residential 100Mbps unlimited data plan (plus £10pm for the hardware), which also promises uploads of c.15-35Mbps and low latency connectivity (c.20ms). Faster packages exist at greater cost, while more restrictive (data capped) options also exist for roaming users (e.g. £55 per month for 100GB of data).

However, as we’ve previously reported, SpaceX are aiming to deliver a significant upgrade to the performance and capacity of their Starlink constellation by putting the next generation of v3 satellites into orbit in the future. Each v3 will be able to handle 1 Terabit per second (1000Gbps) of downlink (up from 96Gbps on V2 Mini) and 160Gbps of uplink speed (shared capacity), with the future Starship rocket able to put around 60 of these into orbit per launch (here).

The problem is that SpaceX are currently unable to properly launch any of their new v3 satellites, which is because they’re too large and heavy (2,000kg each vs 575kg for V2 Mini) for that to be economically viable via their existing Falcon 9 rockets. SpaceX has thus had to wait for their new heavy lift Starship rocket to be ready, but these have yet to reach full orbit and the same will be true for their next launch on 16th July 2026.

Despite this, the launch schedule for flight 13 says that a total of 20 V3 Starlinks will be on board the next Starship test flight, yet bizarrely these are all “expected to demise upon re-entry approximately 20 minutes after deployment“. Talk about an exercise in throwing money out of a window space door.

SpaceX Statement

The Starship upper stage’s primary objectives include the deployment of 20 Starlink V3 satellites, a relight of a single Raptor engine while in space, and another controlled entry, descent, and splashdown in the Indian Ocean. There have also been several modifications to Starship’s propulsion system to address the engine out issue experienced on the previous flight.

Approximately 40 seconds after stage separation, Starship lost one of its three Raptor vacuum optimized engines. The vehicle was able to demonstrate its engine out capability and reach its planned suborbital trajectory. Several hardware and operational modifications have been made to address the interconnected causes with additional reliability improvements planned in upcoming versions of the Raptor engine.

For the first time, Starship will carry V3 Starlink satellites to space, which aim to greatly expand the network’s capacity and user speeds. As part of this initial test, Starship is planned to deploy 20 satellites which will extend solar arrays and antennas and will attempt to connect with the larger Starlink constellation via high-capacity lasers. The Starlink satellites will be on the same suborbital trajectory as Starship and are expected to demise upon re-entry approximately 20 minutes after deployment.

Six of the satellites have been modified with a suite of cameras to scan Starship’s heat shield and transmit imagery down to operators to continue testing methods of analyzing Starship’s heat shield readiness for return to launch site on future missions. Several tiles on Starship have been painted white to simulate missing tiles and serve as imaging targets in the test.

Several upgrades and experiments related to Starship’s heatshield will also be tested to continue iteration towards a fully and rapidly reusable design. Multiple tiles will be attached to the metallic side of Starship’s aft flaps along with modified tiles and attachment mechanisms in the heatshield covering the aft skirt to gather flight data on different attachment options. Finally, Starship’s heatshield will have load sensing tiles to take measurements as the vehicle experiences higher dynamic pressure on ascent than previous flights, putting added stress on the tile attachments in exchange for increased payload to orbit capability.

On the surface it might seem like a waste of money to allow 20 next generation broadband satellites to burn up like this, but the test data and camera feeds they’ll carry could yet be worth the cost. Crucially, if SpaceX can make this flight a success, then the next Starship rocket launch may well attempt to reach a full orbital trajectory and that would mark a crucial milestone toward commercial operation.

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Comparison site Uswitch.com has announced that 13 UK Internet Service Providers (ISP) have today been awarded with its 2026 Broadband Excellence Accreditation, which is more than double last year and are said to reflect the ongoing regional deployment of full fibre networks.

Apparently, the providers were all measured against a fixed set of criteria: broadband speed, including symmetrical upload speeds; network performance; provision of the latest routers, including multigig-capable models suited to busier households and blocks of flats; customer support; and how effectively complaints are resolved (no raw data was provided to show this scoring). Providers are also expected to hold a Trustpilot rating of at least 4.3 out of 5. The criteria apply equally regardless of a provider’s size, and “applying is free“.

The accreditation seems to be positioned as a way to address the problem with brand reputation and trust, which can hamper take-up by consumers. According to an Opinium survey of 2,000 adults, which was conducted during April 2026, some 23% of respondents selected “Choosing a brand I know and trust, even if it costs slightly more” as the most important factor when choosing a new ISP.

The 2026 Broadband Excellence Accreditation Providers
4th Utility
CommunityFibre
Fibrely
Hyperoptic
MTH Networks
Onestream
Rise Fibre
Squirrel Internet
Toob
Trooli
YouFibre
Zen Internet
Zzoomm

Take note that the network availability for these providers will vary across the UK, due to the use of different underlying networks. Regular readers will quickly note the absence of any major fixed broadband providers, although several of the above providers do sit more in the medium-sized provider territory (e.g. YouFibre, CommunityFibre, Hyperoptic and Zen Internet).

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A partnership between EE (BT), the Denbighshire County Council, the Clocaenog Community Council and the Welsh Government has enabled the operator to extend their mobile (mobile broadband) network signal to reach across the remote rural North Wales village of Clocaenog. The community is said to have “been without reliable mobile phone coverage for decades“.

The technical details of precisely what mobile technologies have been deployed to cover Clocaenog’s small population (around 254 people live across the area) are currently unclear, although BT is understood to have installed their kit on top of an existing lamppost in the centre of the village. The latter sounds very much like a Small Cell style solution.

Otherwise, it is true to say that outdoor 4G mobile signals in the area have been, until now, extremely patchy to unusable. The project is said to have been supported by additional funding from the Brenig Wind Farm Community Benefit Fund, which distributes up to £152,000 per annum to help various projects in the nearby area (it’s unclear how much funding went toward this deployment).

Susi Marston, Head of Public Sector Wales at BT Business, said:

“Bringing mobile connectivity to Clocaenog gives residents and local businesses opportunities they have never been able to access before. This partnership has been entirely focussed on working together to provide the community here with better connections to services, stronger links between people and more confidence to grow and plan for the future. Using ‘mini masts’ means we are able to deliver the network services people need in a way which respects the unique character of the area.”

Adam Price, Cabinet Minister for Enterprise, Connectivity and Energy, said:

“Digital not-spots that cut communities off from modern life and economic opportunity have no place in our vision for Wales. As the new Welsh Government, we are committed to driving investment, innovation and higher productivity across Wales, and innovative projects like this will play an important part in delivering the stronger connectivity needed for the future Wales we want to foster.”

One catch with a deployment like this is that the mobile coverage will be very limited, so we suspect there may still be areas with patchy signal.

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The latest internet traffic data from UK ISP BT (EE) has revealed that Saturday night’s quarter-final FIFA World Cup 2026 football match between England and Norway triggered another “major surge in streaming traffic” across BT’s broadband network, despite it taking place well outside of normal working hours.

At 12.30am, peak traffic on the ITVX streaming app was 1,915% higher than BT would typically see at the same time on an average Saturday night into Sunday morning, as viewers stayed up to follow the closing stages of the match.

The match also drove an unusually sustained period of demand. Peak ITVX traffic between 10pm and 12.46am was 328% higher than the equivalent peak during an average week, showing the considerable impact of England’s latest late-night fixture on viewing habits.

People watching in Croydon recorded the highest volume of ITVX broadband traffic, followed by Walthamstow and Leighton Buzzard. “The figures underline the extraordinary pull of England at a major tournament, with hundreds of thousands of households prepared to stay awake well beyond midnight to watch the drama unfold live,” said a BT spokesperson.

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The Director General of the BBC, Matt Brittin, has confirmed they’re exploring the possibility of creating a “sovereign streaming platform in the UK” and have already had “an approach and a discussion” with Channel 4 about bringing some of their content to the iPlayer service – a way of helping both players to stay competitive in today’s streaming-centric world.

The move would seem to be an attempt to build on last year’s agreement (here) between British TV broadcasters Channel 4 and UKTV (U platform), which is owned by the BBC’s commercial division. The deal represented a major new multi-year carriage agreement, which saw C4 gaining access to stream thousands of hours of additional free TV content and shows from the BBC via their online service (The Office, Red Dwarf etc.).

By comparison, Matt Brittin, who was speaking at last week’s meeting of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee, appears to be proposing that C4’s TV content could now appear on the BBC’s iPlayer streaming service. This is not to be confused with a re-hash of the BritBox service, since that was a paid product and the BBC are talking about a free to air solution (although the TV Licence fee does leave plenty of room for debate around how we use the word “free” in this context).

Matt Brittin told the committee:

“There is an opportunity in the long run to have a sovereign streaming platform in the UK — I use that word carefully. Where do you go for quality UK content? The BBC is the biggest commissioner, but Sky-ITV remains an important commissioner, and others can too. The opportunity would be to build on the incredible reach and success of iPlayer. Nobody else around the world has anything like iPlayer’s scale and success. The other European broadcasters look at us with envy.

We have had an approach and a discussion with Channel 4. In the world of this ITV-Sky merger, Channel 4 looks very subscale. All these mergers are driven by the need to have scale, and Channel 4 looks very subscale. One opportunity for it would be to have content on iPlayer in partnership with the BBC but continue to be ad-funded. There is an array of commercial audience, public service and technical issues, but we will explore that as quickly as we are able to because that will be important for public service media.”

At this stage there’s no detail on whether this will actually happen or how much access iPlayer users might get to Channel 4’s content (i.e. will it mirror C4’s on-demand App content and include live programmes or be more restrictive), although anything that means we have one less than today’s gazillion different streaming Apps to install would perhaps be welcomed.

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Telecoms and broadband giant BT Group (EE, Plusnet, Openreach etc.) has confirmed that, as part of their long-running programme to modernise and consolidate the number of offices they have across the United Kingdom, they’ve decided to close their Liverpool city centre office at The Plaza in St Paul’s Square – putting hundreds of jobs at risk.

The operator currently employs 601 people at the site (Liverpool Business News), which is primarily said to reflect those working for BT’s business division, Openreach staff and Government-outsourced 999 call handlers. The related consultation process, which will begin on 20th July 2026, is expected to offer many of those workers the option of relocating to offices in Manchester and Leeds.

However, for many Liverpudlians the idea of having to travel all the way to BT’s offices in Manchester and Leeds would not be practical, which in reality means that a high proportion are likely to opt for discretionary enhanced redundancy instead.

A BT spokesperson said:

“BT has been modernising and optimising our estate to ensure our workplaces are fit for the future and provide the best possible environments for our people. As part of this strategy, we are proposing to close our office at the Plaza in Liverpool. We are working closely with impacted colleagues, with some proposed to move to other locations. We will continue to support all our colleagues throughout this change.”

In case anybody has forgotten, one of BT’s future strategic targets for 2030 has been to slash their total labour force to between 75,000 and 90,000 (it’s more likely to end up between 75k and 80k). As of 31st March 2025, the Group had a total of 85,300 employees (mostly in the UK), representing a decrease of 6,400 (-6.98%) compared with the previous year. We should add that Openreach’s engineering teams will eventually also start to shrink once their FTTP build starts slowing down from its current peak in the near future.

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The UK telecoms, internet content and media regulator, Ofcom, has confirmed to ISPreview that the availability of Starlink’s ultrafast satellite broadband service now technically removes the need for consumers to request the 10Mbps+ Universal Service Obligation (USO) from BT across much of the country (or KCOM in Hull).

Just to recap. The USO is a legally-binding and industry-funded obligation that falls on BT across the UK and KCOM in Hull (although it’s rarely used in Hull, where FTTP is almost universal). In short, people living in areas where they can’t yet receive a 10Mbps or faster download speed, and aren’t expected to be covered by such a network in the next 12-months, can request a service capable of 10Mbps+ (1Mbps+ upload) from the forementioned internet providers.

A cost sharing model also applies here, which means that the providers will “calculate the total excess cost of the build and divide that between the eligible premises. If that amount is below £5,000 per premises (on top of the £3,400), we’ll automatically split the costs“. But in the past some areas could still end up costing hundreds of thousands of pounds, even up to £1-2m, and would thus find even the USO route to be unviable (here and here).

However, the USO is also technology neutral and so many of those who pursued the USO option via BT in the past say they were instead offered mobile broadband (4G /5G) connections via EE (where viable), while those actually considered to have been delivered under the USO itself usually get full fibre (FTTP).

What about starlink?

Previously Starlink wasn’t considered as a viable USO alternative, partly because it was too expensive. But today the situation is different and over the past few months it’s become possible to get Starlink’s 100Mbps residential package for just £40 per month (£50 if you include the hardware rental); the service was even cheaper than this before, at least for a brief period (here).

At the same time some people who have applied for the USO from BT have recently told ISPreview that their applications were rejected due to the availability of Starlink. Crucially, BT are only obliged to provide a USO connection if no other alternative that meets the criteria is available, and Ofcom has now confirmed to us that Starlink meets the criteria.

10Mbps USO – Core Specification

➤ A minimum download “sync” speed of at least 10Mbps (Megabits per second).

➤ A minimum upload “sync” speed of at least 1Mbps.

➤ A medium response time with end-to-end latency of no more than 200ms for speech applications (this rules out Satellite).

➤ A maximum sharing between customers (contention ratio) of 50:1.

➤ A minimum data allowance of 100GB.

➤ A technology neutral design.

➤ The service must be affordable – the price threshold in the USO criteria is currently £59.60 a month (at launch it was £45).

Some caveats to this are the fact that Starlink isn’t available everywhere (e.g. not everybody can access a clear view of the Sky or deploy a Starlink dish), the service pricing has an annoying tendency to vary (it may not always be viable) and some locations can occasionally attract a hefty congestion charge; the latter could make it harder for Starlink to qualify in those areas as a viable alternative to the USO. In those niche cases, customers can still approach BT to seek a connection on USO terms.

According to Ofcom’s latest data to January 2026 (here), some 39,000 UK premises are currently deemed “unable to access decent broadband [USO] from a fixed line or fixed wireless connection” – this splits down as 23,000 in England, 9,000 in Scotland, 6,000 in Wales and just 1,500 in Northern Ireland.

The change may provide an answer to the question of why the Government haven’t published further details on their approach to reaching those who live in “Very Hard to Reach” areas with even faster speeds, since Starlink seems to now be considered a quick fix.

Speaking of which, the Government has been due to review the USO itself for a while now (here), but no progress seems to have been made on that front. Of course, these days, there may be bigger concerns looming for Starlink and similar satellite-based services (here).

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Remember when Openreach (BT) recently announced that it was going to give broadband ISPs on its network an extra £50 rebate for winning incremental new “full fibre” (FTTP) customers in areas where it competes with Virgin Media (here)? Well, the latter isn’t very happy, naturally, and has accused the incumbent of trying to “choke” off competition in the market.

“From 1st October 2026, in addition to the national Incremental New to Openreach customer offer, Openreach will give providers an extra £50 rebate for winning incremental new FTTP customers in areas where it competes with Virgin Media O2. The offer only applies to customer wins above baseline levels, so it’s designed to drive genuinely incremental new end customer wins,” said Openreach’s briefing at the time.

The somewhat controversial discount was announced by Openreach at the start of June 2026 alongside a number of other incentives, all designed to boost take-up of their Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband lines among partner ISPs in an already highly competitive market. But the CEO of Openreach, Katie Milligan, later acknowledged that they were also trying to “test the waters” of Ofcom’s new market regulation via the recent Telecoms Access Review 2026 (TAR) changes.

Ofcom are currently consulting on the new discounts, which are a positive development for consumers, but which rival networks will clearly want to raise a few concerns over. The Telegraph (paywall) highlights how VMO2 is particularly upset over Openreach’s targeted approach and they may have a point.

Lutz Schüler, CEO of VMO2, said:

“For many, [the TAR] was seen as a welcome sign of Ofcom providing stability and being prepared to keep the incumbent in check. For BT, it seems Ofcom’s conclusions were heard as a dinner bell to start feasting on fibre challengers as it launched a platter of hefty discounts.

…

Ofcom should approach these offers as a serious threat to the emergence of long-term network competition, not as routine pricing proposals.”

Katie Milligan, Openreach CEO, said:

“Ofcom has said that Openreach should be allowed to compete, and we agree … We realise competition is tough for some but, like any business in a competitive market, we regularly develop offers to support customers and investment. We’ll continue to compete hard, but fairly, and our track record shows we consistently follow the regulator’s pricing rules.”

An Ofcom spokesperson said:

“We are assessing whether any of these offers raise competition concerns that require intervention, and are carefully considering all responses to our call for input. We will publish our consultation later this month.”

Suffice to say that VMO2 would like Ofcom to block Openreach’s proposed discounts and warned that the regulator would be setting a “dangerous precedent” if they allowed it. The move has come at a particularly sensitive time for VMO2, which via nexfibre is in the process of trying to acquire rival network operator Netonmia for £2bn and has pledged to build a more significant scaled-wholesale competitor to Openreach.

The aforementioned deal is currently subject to a sensitive competition review (here), but the CEO of rival network CityFibre, Simon Holden, warned that the proposed agreement could “significantly reduce competition and the choice available to consumers, as well as force hundreds of thousands of Netomnia customers back to VMO2” – potentially raising the prospects of the UK returning to a duopoly between Virgin/nexfibre and Openreach.

One other challenge is that, so far, VMO2/nexfibre have not been able to attract any non-group retail ISPs to their growing consumer wholesale network, despite plenty of effort (example). The competition watchdog (CMA) will be taking factors like this into account as they review the deal, which could have consequences for their final decision. Ofcom’s recent £28m fine of VMO2 for customer service failings might not have helped (here).

As usual, all the main players will be speaking from the position of their own vested interests, which is something that Ofcom will have to balance before reaching their final decision on Openreach’s new discounts.

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The heavily indebted UK broadband focused TalkTalk Group has reportedly received bids for its wholesale arm, PlatformX Communications (PXC), which is said to value the company in the “hundreds of millions of pounds“. The interest is said to have come from Africa-focused Telecel, as well as others like private equity firm Epiris, which has teamed up with PXC executive chairman Tom O’Hagan.

In case the name Tom O’Hagan seems familiar then that’s because he recently helped acquire business provider Entanet from full fibre operator CityFibre (here) and appears to have big plans for the UK business connectivity market. Suffice to say that acquiring PXC, which TalkTalk has been trying to sell since they demerged their businesses (Talk Talk Consumer, PXC [Wholesale] and Talk Talk Business Direct), would make a lot of sense.

According to Bloomberg‘s sources, the deliberations are said to be ongoing and there’s currently no certainty about whether this will end in a transaction. 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 another pairing that would seem to be quite complementary.

At the time a spokesperson for VodafoneThree said they are currently “very happy with our organic strategy” for growing fixed broadband (they’re one of the fastest growing retail ISPs), but would “always keep a close eye on movements in the market and the sector“. TalkTalk itself has declined to comment on both reports, as is normal in such situations.

The TalkTalk Group has certainly had a rough few years and in September 2024 secured a crucial refinancing package worth around £400m (here and here), which saved it from the immediate risk of a default on its debts (extended debt maturities to September 2027). This was later followed up by a £120m funding deal to help tackle ongoing financial pressures (here).

Since then the provider has suffered more redundancies and also refreshed their consumer brand in order to deal with a shrinking broadband base (here), but there may yet be light at the end of what has become a long tunnel.

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The LSBUD (Line Search Before You Dig) organisation, which provides an online asset search facility to UK civil engineering firms for underground pipes and cables, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government (DSIT), which is responsible for the National Underground Asset Register (NUAR), to develop a collaboration framework for improving safe digging practices.

The government currently sees huge potential for NUAR’s mapping – operated by Ordnance Survey (OS) – to help improve the way that national infrastructure is planned, built and managed (e.g. future full fibre broadband and 5G/6G mobile networks). Previous claims suggested that the map could help to cut the amount of accidental damage that occurs to existing infrastructure (estimated by some studies to cost up to £2.4bn each year) and boost economic growth by “at least £400m” per year due to increased efficiency, fewer asset strikes and reduced disruptions.

However, the Government’s NUAR has long seemed to be in a degree of conflict with LSBUD, which has been doing something similar for quite a few years longer. But the new joint commitment could see both sides working more closely together for the betterment of safe digging, which goes beyond telecoms and also stretches into water, energy and sewage etc.

The MoU is said to recognise LSBUD’s safe dig workflow risk analysis, communication exchange and work management functionality, as well as its expertise and preexisting industry relationships. The MoU also stated that NUAR was “not intended to replace or replicate LSBUD’s established service“. Indeed, LSBUD is now working with Ordnance Survey, who operate NUAR on behalf of government.

Richard Broome, Managing Director of LSBUD, said:

“We welcome this agreement and are looking forward to working alongside Ordnance Survey and the Government. The understanding is a big relief for our safe digging community, and we have already taken great strides forward, setting up the first planned industry workshop.

For us, it’s not about competing with each other. It is about safety. It always has been, and it always will be. By focusing on data sharing, integration and collaboration, we can move the industry forward, and do so safely.

It is very apt that the theme of this year’s National Safe Digging Week’s is ‘The Power of Collaboration’. It echoes our thinking and our ambition to keep people safe while digging. We are thrilled to have OS and DSIT on board for this journey, and can’t wait to make a real, purposeful impact together.”

LSBUD’s free online search service currently allows any individual to check their works against over 170 asset owners’ utility assets. These assets include 2.5 million kilometres of underground and overhead pipelines and cables in the electricity, gas, high pressure fuel/oil, heating, water, and fibre optic networks. The service processes over 4 million enquiries per annum. The NUAR separately provides secure access to data from over 600 public and private sector asset owners.