A collaboration between UK ISP Virgin Media (VMO2) and the Amersham Town Council in Buckinghamshire (England) has allowed young artists to paint a number of the operator’s broadband street cabinets around the town with pretty murals, which should make a nice change from the usually bland dark green and cream colours. The act of disguising […]

The West Sussex County Council (WSCC) in England has officially published their plan and budget for the 2023 – 2024 period, which among other things has set aside a total of £13 million to invest in supporting the “roll out of high speed gigabit broadband for businesses and residents“. However, at the time of writing, […]

ISP Virgin Media UK (VMO2) has confirmed that they’ve just expanded their gigabit-capable broadband network – via Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) technology – to cover an additional 20,000 homes in the large suburban town of Southalll, West London (England). The town is home to a total population of around 70,000. Virgin’s now technically completed Project Lightning build […]

Network operators that are participating in the Government’s Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme (GBVS), which is overseen by the Building Digital UK (BDUK) agency, are complaining that a newly launched supplier portal has significantly increased the admin burden they face and allegedly suffered from serious security failings. Just to recap. The UK voucher scheme generally offers […]

The UK telecoms regulator, Ofcom, has today used its latest data to predict that the country will finally achieve 50% coverage of full fibre (FTTP/B) broadband ISP networks in March 2023, which is actually slightly down from the prior prediction of 55% that they issued in December 2022. The forecast itself isn’t particularly surprising because […]

Press Release

Frontier’s fiber infrastructure will allow AT&T to add fiber connectivity to its wireless infrastructure in areas where AT&T doesn’t currently own fiber

Frontier and AT&T today announced a deal that will enable AT&T to deploy wireless infrastructure in Frontier central offices and connect to Frontier’s blazing-fast fiber network. This will improve the resiliency, reliability and speed of the wireless service that AT&T offers to its customers. AT&T is the first tenant to rent space in Frontier’s hyper-local offices and will utilize Frontier’s fiber-optic network to connect with its cell towers that are in Frontier’s network.

Frontier’s footprint is complementary to AT&T’s existing network, which will help accelerate the company’s 5G deployment. AT&T will tap into Frontier’s fiber-to-the-tower (FTTT) infrastructure to connect to AT&T’s wireless cell towers.

This deal is an extension of AT&T and Frontier’s 2021 agreement that brought the two complementary fiber networks together to power business customers nationwide.

”Fiber is central to our wireless strategy and to our overall connectivity approach,” said Cheryl Choy, Senior Vice President, Network Planning & Engineering, AT&T. “This expanded collaboration with Frontier is a win for both companies, as they can fully utilize their fiber infrastructure, and we can continue to ensure our wireless services are powered by the unparalleled capacity of fiber optic networks.”

“We’re excited to collaborate with AT&T in strengthening their wireless service with our fiber infrastructure,” said Vishal Dixit, Frontier’s Chief Strategy Officer & EVP Wholesale. “As one of the largest fiber builders in the country, our fiber infrastructure offers an attractive opportunity for tech companies to use this future-proof foundation for their wireless services. This is another example of how innovation is helping to transform Frontier.”

Want to keep up to date with all of the latest telecoms news from across the US? Join the experts in discussion on the industry’s hottest topics at this year’s live Connected America conference

Also in the news:
China Mobile and China Telecom withdraw from Sea-Me-We 6 project
CityFibre’s network up and running in Inverness
KDDI selects Samsung for its 5G Standalone core

Press Release

UScellular, the fourth-largest full service wireless carrier in the country, this week announced “Let’s Find US,” its goal is to inspire people, who on average spend more than five hours a day staring at their phone screen, to reset their relationship with technology. “Let’s Find US” is focused on being a leading voice in addressing the problem of over-connection.

It all kicked off last night with “Missing the Big Game,” a first-of-its-kind AI application that shared real-time data of how many fans in the stadium were looking at their phones instead of the field. This social experiment revealed that, even at the biggest, most exciting sporting events of the year, we are all still over-connected:

Over 16,000 fans missed touchdowns throughout the game
During halftime, 6,182 fans were watching their phones instead of the show
In the final stretch, 4,347 fans were looking at their phones instead of the winning field goal

“Let’s Find US”: Phones Down For 5

UScellular’s “Let’s Find US,” includes a deeply personal experiment called Phones Down For 5. It challenges people to voluntarily stop using their phone to reveal how addicted they are to it. The challenge is built on a simple action: taking a phone break for 5 days, 5 hours, or even just 5 minutes, to reset your relationship with technology.

The company is inviting everyone to participate in Phones Down For 5 by going to uscellular.com/findus to set a personal goal and share their experience using #PhonesDownFor5. The website will also offer tips to successfully make the most of the Phones Down For 5 challenge, including putting your phone where you can’t see it, turning off notifications, getting creative, and spending time outside.

“Through “Let’s Find US,” we are addressing the serious issue of over-connection with technology and lack of connection with one another,” said Eric Jagher, senior vice president and chief marketing officer for UScellular. “At UScellular, our goal is to help people connect to what matters most. We want to inspire connection by inviting everyone to have a reset moment with technology, the first step in having a healthier relationship moving forward.”

UScellular’s “Let’s Find US” is also being brought to life through a fully integrated advertising campaign  featuring a brand TV spot entitled “This Isn’t US,” captivating out of home advertising, social media, influencer activations, and additional programming launching throughout the year to inspire people to disconnect from their devices and reconnect with each other.

Are operators doing enough to ensure their customers maintain a healthy relationship with the technology their connectivity enables? Join the experts in discussion at this year’s live Connected America conference

Also in the news:
China Mobile and China Telecom withdraw from Sea-Me-We 6 project
CityFibre’s network up and running in Inverness
KDDI selects Samsung for its 5G Standalone core

Press Release

Traquair in Peeblesshire and Balmacara in Ross-shire have benefited from a partnership between Vodafone, Virgin Media O2, the Shared Rural Network and the Scottish Government

Virgin Media O2 and Vodafone have expanded their 4G networks to two rural Scottish communities, Traquair (Peeblesshire) and Balmacara (Ross-shire), as part of a collaboration between the Scottish Government’s Scottish 4G Infill Programme (S4GI) and UK Government’s Shared Rural Network (SRN).

Upgrade works have been completed at a mobile site in Traquair and a new mast has been built at Balmacara – both of which now host Virgin Media O2 and Vodafone 4G network equipment. The new equipment means residents, businesses and visitors in the area are now benefiting from better mobile coverage as well as greater choice of provider.

The roll-out is part of a commitment to the Shared Rural Network (SRN) programme. Created and funded by the mobile industry, Ofcom and UK Government, the SRN programme invests in new and existing phone masts to increase operators’ UK 4G coverage footprint in rural areas and signal not-spots.

The masts at Traquair and Balmacara follow upgrades at other sites such as New Luce (Dumfries and Galloway) and Ettrick (Scottish Borders), where both Virgin Media O2 and Vodafone have recently boosted coverage in partnership with the Scottish Government. The Government’s S4GI programme is delivered in partnership with WHP Telecoms and Scottish Futures Trust, and is part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

Business Minister Ivan McKee MSP said: “This is great news and will be welcomed by the local communities. Our successful S4GI programme continues to deliver life-changing mobile connectivity to 55 rural and island communities that wouldn’t otherwise get access to this vital service.

“Thanks to the infrastructure deployed by our S4GI programme, Vodafone and Virgin Media O2 are now able to provide improved connectivity to local residents, businesses and visitors in these communities, enhancing the way they work, communicate and access public services.”

Jeanie York, Chief Technology Officer at Virgin Media O2, said: “We’re committed to investing in our network and providing seamless connectivity for all our customers across the UK. By working closely with industry partners and across government, we are delivering upgrades that will significantly improve 4G networks in rural communities, providing local people and businesses with faster and more reliable coverage than ever before, while also delivering benefits for the local economy and tourism.”

Andrea Dona, Vodafone’s UK Network and Development Director, said: “We remain committed to improving rural connectivity across Scotland. Vodafone played a leading role in the conception of the Scottish 4G Infill Programme when it was the first to go live with 4G at the New Luce site and that, alongside the Shared Rural Network programme is ensuring that we can now bring connectivity to the remotest parts of Scotland – connecting places for the first time and offering communities a wider choice of networks.

“We’re looking forward to announcing more locations going live as part of the programme in the future.”

Are the UK’s operators doing enough to ensure rural communities across the country have access to high quality connectivity? Join the experts in discussion at this year’s Connected North

Also in the news:
China Mobile and China Telecom withdraw from Sea-Me-We 6 project
CityFibre’s network up and running in Inverness
KDDI selects Samsung for its 5G Standalone core

UK ISP Giganet has today announced that their gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband service, specifically the part that is served via CityFibre’s network, has been extended again and is now also available to 360,000 premises across Scotland (Inverness, Aberdeen, Dundee, Renfrewshire, Stirling, Glasgow and Edinburgh). Just to recap. Giganet is currently investing £250m with Fern Trading […]

The Shropshire County Council in England has allocated another £500,000 (total so far of £2.5m) to help boost the value of gigabit broadband vouchers for rural areas, which means that local homes and businesses will now be able to apply for vouchers worth up to £7,000 to help them get a faster connection installed. The […]