The National Innovation Centre for Rural Enterprise (NICRE), which is collaborating with the UK Government’s Building Digital UK (BDUK) team within DCMS, has launched a new survey that seeks views and experiences of rural broadband connectivity from small and medium-sized businesses (SME) present in such areas. The survey aims to learn more about current digital […]
Full Fibre UK ISP Hyperoptic Joins Broadband Stakeholder Group
Broadband ISP Hyperoptic has today joined the Broadband Stakeholder Group (BSG), which is a think-tank that advises the UK Government on various related areas of policy. The operator is currently working to extend their “full fibre” (FTTP/B) network to 2 million UK premises by the end of 2023 (currently at 750,000). The BSG is already […]
New Body Setup to Support UK Broadband and Mobile Research
The Government has today announced the proposed launch of a new body called the ‘UK Telecoms Innovation Network‘ (UKTIN), which will help to guide mobile network operators and broadband ISPs that seek funding for key telecoms related research and development projects (e.g. OpenRAN technologies). Over the past few years’, we’ve seen the Government’s Department for […]
Newly rebranded e& deepens ties with Microsoft
Last month, UAE telecom group Etisalat announced a major rebrand, renaming itself ‘e&’ to reflect its increasing desire to evolve beyond the traditional telco space and target verticals directly through technological innovation and strategic investments. As part of the rebrand, the company restructured several of its divisions…
OneWeb leans on SpaceX to launch satellites as Russia cuts access to Soyuz
OneWeb, the UK-based satellite firm, has been launching low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites steadily for the past two years, aiming for its constellation to reach global coverage later this year.
However, in the past month these plans have fallen into jeopardy, with the Russian invasion of Ukraine throwing the company’s use of Russia’s Soyuz spacecraft to launch additional satellites into doubt…
ISP Vodafone UK Launch FTTP Broadband for SOHO Businesses
Mobile operator and ISP Vodafone UK has today announced that they’ve extended the availability of their Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) based broadband packages – via both Openreach and CityFibre’s national network platforms – to include small business (small office / home office) customers. Previously, it was only possible to get Vodafone’s SOHO Business Broadband packages via Openreach’s […]
Togo pips Nigeria for first African landing of Google's Equiano cable
First announced back in 2019, the Equiano system is the third international submarine cable to be owned by Google and their fourteenth submarine cable investment in total.
It is named after Olaudah Equiano, an 18th century writer and abolitionist originally from what is now Nigeria. Enslaved as a child, Equiano purchased his freedom in 1766 and went on to play a major role in the British anti-slave trade movement of the 1780s…
OneWeb to Launch Broadband LEO Satellites via SpaceX Rockets
British-registered space company OneWeb has today announced a new agreement to “resume” launches of their ultrafast low-latency broadband satellites into Low Earth Orbit (LEO) by harnessing rockets (e.g. the Falcon9) from SpaceX, which is the owner and operator of arch rival Starlink. The first launch is expected this year. In case anybody has forgotten (fairly […]
Broadband ISP TalkTalk UK Launch Netgem Powered TV 4K Box
Budget conscious UK ISP TalkTalk has today finally made their new Netgem powered pay TV (IPTV) platform and “TV 4K Box” device available to both new and existing customers on their fibre broadband plans (FTTC and FTTP). On top of that, the provider also claims to be the “first ISP in Europe” to launch TikTok […]
Former O2 UK COO Joins MS3 as Chairman to Support Full Fibre Build
Hull-based alternative network operator MS3, which is busy building a new 10Gbps capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband ISP network to serve over 500,000 premises across the North of England (here), has today appointed the former COO of O2, Derek McManus, to be its new Chairman (effective from 1st April 2022). Mr McManus, who has 34 years’ […]