European benchmarking firm nPerf has just published the results from their annual 2024 crowdsourced study into UK fixed broadband ISP performance, which finds that subscribers of Virgin Media, Fibrus and Vodafone enjoyed the best internet connection performances over the past year. The nPerf study is said to be based on thousands of tests carried out […]

Broadband ISP and mobile operator Virgin Media and O2 have today announced that they’ve become the second major UK telecoms provider, after BT (EE), to adopt Hiya’s AI-based technologies, which can analyse call behaviour in real-time and determine whether to flag an incoming call as ‘suspected spam’ or block fraud. Most of the major broadband, […]

Mobile operator Three UK has today suffered a third major network outage in the space of four days, which began at around 10:30am today and seems to have been largely resolved by 12:30pm. The latest outage attracted many more complaints than the previous event and also impacted customer services (probably due to being swamped by […]

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The network was deployed at one of the country’s best universities, Tecnológico de Monterrey, in Monterrey

This week, AT&T Mexico has announced the activation of what they are calling the nation’s first private 5G network.

The network has been deployed at the business and technological development centre (CEDETEC) of Tecnológico de Monterrey university, one of the country’s leading universities.

Equipment has been provided by Swedish vendor Ericsson, with the project further supported by additional partnerships with Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey and local startup hub Endeavor.

The financial details of the deal were not revealed.

“5G networks will increase productivity in manufacturing, reduce CO2 emissions and save lives in mining, to name a few examples of the potential for prosperity, inclusion and sustainability in Mexico,” said AT&T México CEO, Monica Aspe, in a statement.

“Together with allies such as Ericsson, Endeavor and Tec de Monterrey, we are excited to contribute to inserting Mexico into the economy and digital society of the 21st century.”

According to AT&T, the private network will support new use cases, including AI applications, blockchain technology, improved IoT devices, and various industrial solutions.

More specifically, it will support a 5G-enabled robotics project led by the university’s robotics expert David Romero, including the development of a 5G testbed.

AT&T has been gradually growing its market share in Mexico in recent years, with private 5G deployments for enterprise and industry seen as a major opportunity for revenue growth. For the time being, however, the company remains dwarfed by America Movil in the consumer segment, with the former controlling roughly 60% of the market compared to AT&T’s 16%.

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Also in the news:
Bell Canada announces plans to cut almost 5,000 jobs
EE to invest £6 million in retail stores
Mexican president calls for dissolution of telecoms regulator

Ding, ding.. round two. News reports claim that Virgin Media (VMO2) has allegedly revived its interest in a takeover of budget broadband ISP TalkTalk. But this time they’re reportedly focusing much more specifically upon the internet provider’s consumer division. The long-established internet and phone provider – home to almost 4 million UK broadband customers (2.4m […]

Several years have now passed since UK ISP WeFibre (Telcom Group) announced its plan to “aggressively” deploy a gigabit-capable full fibre broadband network across rural parts of Northumberland, Cumbria, North West England, and Central and North Wales (here). But some projects in Wales have now been told that the work will not proceed. The original […]

Some of Three UK’s mobile customers are reporting a large network outage, which appears to be hitting sporadically across various different parts of the country. The issue is also known to be impacting users of the company’s Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) partners, such as Smarty etc. The disruption appears to have started at around […]

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EE has announced that it will invest £6 million in its UK store portfolio over the next year 

The news comes as the company unveils its new Experience store in Gateshead today, which will be the first of “more than ten” EE Experience stores that will open over the next year. 

The new type of retail store was announced last year at the launch of the White City Westfield London store. It is the UK’s largest telco retail space, which aims to reinvent the role of retail in the telco industry, “putting innovation, personal experience, and community front and centre”, as per the EE press release.  

The store features numerous new areas, including ‘immersive digital spas’ and gaming areas, which EE believes will demonstrate why physical retail stores are still vital for the experience of the EE customer, despite our increasingly digital world. 

The stores aim to “create standout experiences that reflect the changing needs of our customers and the increasingly connected lives they lead,” said Bridget Lea, Managing Director of Commercial at EE.  

“As part of our ambition to become the most personal, customer-focused brand in the UK, we are proud to be offering our customers the chance to get up close and personal with the latest innovations and game changing technology that is right for them,” she continued. 

In October last year, EE underwent a huge rebrand, launching their new era of connectivity ‘New EE’, which encompassed new broadband and mobile packages (including the company’s most advanced broadband offering, EE Full Fibre 1.6Gbps), and an “everything app”, a new integrated platform offering a range of services from device sales and subscription management, available to everyone. 

The move follows an announcement last April, when BT announced EE would gradually become the “flagship brand for consumer customers”, while BT would become the main brand for the Enterprise and Global units. 

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Also in the news:
EU telcos join forces against Gigabit Infrastructure Act
Jio releases ‘Jio Brain’ AI platform
Ofcom issues further crackdown on spoof phonecalls

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The move is the company’s largest restructuring in thirty years 

Bell Canada Enterprises (BCE), the owner of Canadian telco Bell Canada, has announced this week that it will cut 4,800 job to cut costs, with the company reporting “declining legacy phone and news business”. 

The job cuts will see roughly 9% of the company’s 44,610 employees laid off at all levels.  

The announcement was made in conjunction with its fourth quarter and 2023 full year financial results.  

Alongside its financial performance, the company said it was compelled to make the cuts due to the “increasingly unsupportive federal government and regulatory decisions, legacy business declines and a macroeconomic environment with higher interest rates and continued inflation”. 

“Today’s changes are difficult, but necessary to respond to evolving external drivers, accelerate our transformation and ensure Bell’s future health and longevity so that we can continue to advance our purpose to advance how Canadians connect with each other and the world,” stated Mirko Bibic, President and CEO of BCE and Bell Canada in a press release of the company’s financials. 

The company estimates that the job cuts will bring in “in-year cost savings” of between CAN$150 million ($111 million) and $200 million ($148 million) and will put the company in a better position for future success. 

Bell Media is also set to sell 45 of its radio stations – over half of its total – which are no longer deemed viable, according to BCE’s legal chief Robert Malcolmson. 

Back in November, Bell announced its intention to cut back on capital expenditure by over $1 billion in 2024–2025 year due to a regulatory decision by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to open up the fibre networks run by large operators and set the price that operators can charge for access, in a bid to increase market competition.  

“The CRTC decision to unrelentingly pursue wholesale access at the expense of critical network investment [has lead to these cuts],” the company said in November. 

Keep up to date with the latest telecoms news by subscribing to the Total Telecom daily newsletter

Also in the news:
EU telcos join forces against Gigabit Infrastructure Act
Jio releases ‘Jio Brain’ AI platform
Ofcom issues further crackdown on spoof phonecalls

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The regulator says it wants to ensure that vulnerable customers are being treated fairly and that access to emergency services is not being jeopardised during the switch

Across the UK – and, indeed, across many parts of the world – steps are being taken to migrate customers away from traditional analogue landlines to IP-based digital landline services.

While for the vast majority of customers this process will cause little disruption, for a number of vulnerable customers who rely more heavily on the older system, the switch could be more problematic. Perhaps the largest issue is related to IP-based services reliance on a consistent power supply; if power supply is disrupted, such as during a storm, this can leave customers unable to contact emergency services.

Concerns related to these issues saw Ofcom call on operators to pause their landline migration process back in December last year, asking the operators to review their processes.

Today, Ofcom has gone one step further, launching an investigation into Virgin Media to examine whether they have been treating vulnerable customers appropriately.

“This investigation relates to concerns about Virgin Media’s compliance with two areas,” explained the regulator in a statement. “First, our rules require that Virgin Media must take all necessary measures to ensure uninterrupted access to emergency organisations. Second, our rules also require that Virgin Media establish and comply with effective policies and procedures for the fair and appropriate treatment of vulnerable consumers.”

Virgin Media defended itself, saying it has been working with Ofcom and the government to ensure the switch-over takes place smoothly and are following best practices.

“Last December we signed a Government-led charter and have paused all landline migrations, carried out an end-to-end review and will make further improvements to the measures we already have in place before switchovers restart,” said the company in a statement. “While telecoms companies like us have a crucial role to play in this switchover activity, it’s essential that telecare companies and local authorities also step up and meet their responsibilities to ensure everyone receives the support they need. We’re cooperating fully with the regulator’s investigation and will continue to work closely with the rest of the industry and other parties.”

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Also in the news:
EU telcos join forces against Gigabit Infrastructure Act
Jio releases ‘Jio Brain’ AI platform
Ofcom issues further crackdown on spoof phonecalls