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The UK’s largest alternative full fibre broadband network, CityFibre, has this morning proposed organisational changes that could result in 200 roles being impacted, subject to consultation. The move is said to be a response to the current environment, where market conditions remain difficult and there has been “slower progress on consolidation“, impacting their near-term growth.

At present CityFibre’s 10Gbps capable full fibre (FTTP / XGS-PON) broadband network currently covers over 4.7 million UK premises (4.5m Ready for Service), including over 1 million connected customers, and they still aspire to cover 8 million premises in the future. The FTTP network is supported by UK ISPs such as Vodafone, TalkTalk, Zen Internet, Sky Broadband and many more.

However, the operator also carries a lot of debt (c.£3.7 billion net debt) and still faces many of the same pressures as other operators (e.g. high interest rates, rising build costs and competition), which in recent times has already caused hundreds of redundancies earlier in 2026 (here). The recent move to sell their non-core off-net business, Entanet, may have also had an impact (here), as well as the inability to secure a consolidation deal with Netomnia (VMO2/nexfibre outbid them).

Suffice to say it may not come as a huge surprise that more jobs are likely to go in the future. ISPreview understands that CityFibre held an All Hands meeting today to provide some context for the latest development, which could impact around 200 roles (we don’t yet know precisely how many of these will face redundancy).

A CityFibre spokesperson told ISPreview:

“Establishing CityFibre as the third national network the UK deserves, requires an agile and efficient organisation. With a network now serving over one million connections and customer numbers growing 20% in the first six months of this year, we are continuing to drive strong, profitable growth and are accelerating plans to optimise our cost base. We will support our people throughout this process and ensure that CityFibre remains best positioned for long-term, sustainable growth.”

In a letter to staff that was shared as part of the meeting and signed by CityFibre’s CEO, Simon Holden, the operator highlighted how their shareholders “remain confident” in the company’s strategy and continue to support them. But the company also acknowledged that market conditions are “not moving at the pace we anticipated” and there has been “slower progress on consolidation“, which has delayed the expansion of their network footprint and affected near-term growth.

CityFibre is understood to have a three-year plan to help shape their operating model at maturity, which is intended to move the company towards a better position by “simplifying” the organisation and aligning resources more closely to their priorities. “We believe these proposals are the right step to accelerate our operating model and position us well to continue to attract the capital we need,” said Simon.

The move is likely to worry the provider’s retail ISP partners, particularly given the recent concerns over a decline in the company’s support quality (here), although such changes ultimately appear to be necessary to help support the sustainability of the underlying business. CityFibre is currently understood to employ somewhere around 1,000 staff.

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

The Starlink (SpaceX) service, which operates a massive constellation of low latency and ultrafast broadband satellites in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) for the UK and the world, has finally published the specifications for their next generation V5 dish terminal. In short, it’s smaller, lighter weight and doesn’t gobble as much power, but peak service speeds are slightly slower.

Regular readers will know that we’ve been hearing about the looming launch of a new V5 dish and mini dish terminal for the past few months (here and here), although until now Starlink has opted not to reveal much in the way of official details about the hardware. But that changed this week after the V5 started appearing in the Starlink app and then official specifications were added to their website (here and here).

According to a new social media post from Starlink: “Starlink V5 has a smaller form factor and lightweight design with greater power efficiency than the Starlink V4. With speeds up to 375+ Mbps, Starlink V5 delivers seamless connectivity for streaming, video calling, gaming and more. Currently available in select areas. As production ramps, Starlink V5 will be available in additional areas” (select areas means in the USA, for now).

We should point out that the V5 dish is NOT intended for in-motion use and, aside from the key specification differences summarised below, the new kit is broadly the same as the V4 (i.e. the same operating temperature, snow melt capabilities, field of view etc.). Otherwise, the fact it’s smaller and lighter is nice, but we think the biggest win is likely to be in terms of the significantly reduced power draw (V5 averages 35-50 watts vs V4 on 75-100 watts) – that’s a big win in a country like the UK, where electricity costs are very high.

Quick Starlink Hardware Comparison

The V5 currently appears to be targeted more toward Starlink’s mid-tier or entry-level consumer packages (100Mbps and 200Mbps in the UK), while those on their fastest residential tier (Max) are likely to still get the more powerful V4. At present, in the UK, customers of the 100Mbps tier get Starlink’s Mini X hardware, while 200Mbps comes with V4.

The service currently has around 10,850 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, Starlink has yet to officially announce their new battery powered mini dish, which is expected to follow close behind the V5’s introduction.

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Carlisle-based broadband ISP Grain (Grain Connect) appears to be in the process of restarting the roll-out of their 2Gbps speed point-to-point full fibre (FTTP) network in the Wiltshire (England) town of Swindon. The provider previously built to a small number of premises around 5 years ago and then stopped.

At present Swindon, which is home to a population of around 225,000, already has wide access to several gigabit-capable broadband networks via Openreach, Virgin Media (inc. nexfibre) and CityFibre. In addition, there’s also a small bit of full fibre cover from alternative networks like Hyperoptic, OFNL, Glide, Gigaclear and Elevate (Telcom).

Suffice to say, the town seems like a bit of risky bet for an altnet like Grain, but that’s not stopped them before (they often try to undercut on price) and indeed back in 2021 they announced that the town would be next on their roll-out list (here). But the provider only ever ended up deploying to a few premises before stopping and this time they’re going much further.

So far as we can tell from the local road works, Grain appears to be starting restarting their network expansion work all along the central Ferndale Road area and in surrounding streets. The first customers are currently expected to go live sometime this winter.

Richard Cameron, CEO of Grain, said:

“We are excited to offer Swindon residents an internet service that can keep up with their digital lives. We are not just delivering faster internet; we are also saving customers a significant amount on their monthly broadband bill.”

As usual, Grain will try to undercut the established networks on price and value, with early sign-ups during July 2026 being offered symmetric package speeds from £19.99 per month for 250Mbps (four months of free service is also being promoted for faster speeds). All packages promise no in-contract price rises, no installation fees, and a Price Match Guarantee.

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The UK internet content, telecoms and media regulator, Ofcom, has this morning published a “comprehensive package of practical measures” to help UK mobile network operators “block, limit and disrupt scammers” from sending messaging scams. In addition, they’ve strengthened rules to help protect people from international calls that imitate – or “spoof” – UK mobile numbers.

Most of the United Kingdom’s major broadband, phone and mobile network operators have already implemented various technical measures to tackle things like Nuisance Calls, Scam Calls and Scam Texts (e.g. mobile operators block an estimated 600 million+ messages each year).

However, existing systems aren’t always 100% effective and there are still plenty of operators and device manufacturers that could do more. For example, scammers often still use mobile messaging services to reach victims at a mass scale and manipulate them into making payments or sharing sensitive information (e.g. pretending to be government services or parcel delivery firms – business messaging scams).

Sometimes scammers may even impersonate a friend or family member texting from a different number, often asking for money as part of a fabricated emergency situation (i.e. person-to-person messaging scams). This criminal activity causes significant financial and emotional harm to UK people and businesses and damages their confidence in vital communications services.

Ofcom has this today confirmed the range of measures they intend to introduce to help combat this, which seems to be primarily focused on SMS/MMS messaging and not OTT services like WhatsApp, RCS or iMessage etc. This is because the latter uses functionality that is not dependent on telephone numbers and they are thus not regulated under the Communications Act.

“Services such as RCS share characteristics of the traditional messaging services like SMS and MMS but also share characteristics of online messaging apps. Whether such a service is now, or could in the future be, regulated under the Communications Act will depend on how it is implemented in the UK. It is for operators to determine in the first instance whether their current implementation of RCS constitutes a service that is regulated under the Communications Act or the Online Services Act,” said Ofcom.

Ofcom’s Changes to Tackle Messaging Scams

We are implementing new rules and guidance to significantly reduce the risk that people and businesses receive P2P and A2P scam messages.

This package of measures is intended to stop scammers from accessing mobile messaging services in the first place and also to stop their activities where they have gained access.

For P2P messaging, we are introducing new General Conditions (GCs) to require mobile operators to prevent scam messages from being sent or received on their networks, by:

• Setting volume limits for pay-as-you-go (PAYG) SIMs, to make it harder for scammers to message large numbers of potential victims.

• Blocking numbers used by scammers: preventing scammers from sending messages from numbers that have been identified as responsible for scams. This includes having processes in place to receive scam reports from customers and third parties such as anti- fraud organisations about telephone numbers and web links (URLs12) that are being used for scams.

• Blocking scam messages in transit: identifying and blocking scam messages in transit on their networks by detecting scam URLs and telephone numbers, based on scam reports from customers and third parties.

For A2P messaging, we are introducing new GCs to require mobile operators and aggregators to prevent scam messages from being sent or received on their networks, by:

• Conducting due diligence: preventing criminals from using A2P services to contact potential victims by ensuring that effective Know Your Customer (KYC) checks are made at the onboarding stage.

• Preventing the use of fake alphanumeric sender IDs, including by corroborating Sender IDs against information gathered through KYC checks and maintaining a policy on restricting the use of protected sender IDs and generic sender IDs.

• Conducting ongoing Know Your Traffic checks, including reviewing account activity and promptly investigating reports of fraud.

• Applying incident management processes where scam activity is identified, to block message senders and address any compliance failures by other providers.

• Blocking scam messages in transit: identifying and blocking scam messages in transit on their networks by detecting scam URLs and telephone numbers, based on scam reports from customers and third parties (as we are requiring for P2P messaging).

We are also introducing new GCs for mobile operators and aggregators to ensure the requirements are effective and to minimise the risk that providers block legitimate messages. These include: a right for mobile users to challenge a decision to block a number or message; and requirements relating to reviewing policies, training staff, record keeping and compliance with data protection legislation.

We have published guidance on how providers can meet these requirements.

We have amended the proposal in our 2025 consultation13 to require mobile operators and aggregators to ensure the transmission of legitimate messages. Instead, we will require providers to identify, monitor and address instances where messages are blocked in error.

We also consulted on a requirement for providers to notify message senders when certain messages are blocked. In the light of new evidence, we have decided not to implement this proposal. We have made further amendments to the rules and guidance we proposed in our 2025 consultation, taking into account respondents’ feedback.

Additionally, Ofcom have today introduced strengthened guidance to set out how telecoms companies should protect people in the UK from international calls that imitate – or “spoof” – UK mobile numbers. Criminal gangs based abroad often prey on victims by imitating UK phone numbers which people are more likely to trust and therefore answer than calls from an unknown international number. 

Under the new guidance, telecoms companies should now withhold the Caller ID (CID) of calls that appear to come from a UK mobile roaming abroad, unless they can verify its validity. Customers in the UK should continue to exercise caution in deciding whether to accept calls from withheld numbers, which can include legitimate and important calls, or from numbers that they don’t recognise.

Amy Jordan, Ofcom’s Strategy Delivery Director, said:

“Mobile messaging scams can have devastating consequences for victims, with criminal gangs using ever more sophisticated techniques to dupe their victims. Our new protections for consumers and businesses announced today will help ensure we remain one step ahead by disrupting and blocking this criminal activity at source. Working closely with Government, other regulators, law enforcement and industry we are confident that our collective efforts will make a significant difference in thwarting these predatory fraudsters.”

The new rules and new guidance that apply to P2P messaging will come into effect on 18th January 2027. Those that apply to A2P messaging will come into effect on 15th July 2027.

Breaking news.. more to follow..

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has banned a digital poster advert for EE’s fixed broadband packages after several rival providers, including Vodafone and Sky (Sky Broadband), complained that part of its claims were misleading because they were not verifyable.

The poster, which was seen on 5th June 2025 and 31st October 2025, contained two headline claims in large print – “MORE PEOPLE ARE CHOOSING EE BROADBAND” and “SWITCH TO THE UK’S FASTEST GROWING BROADBAND PROVIDER”. Small text at the foot of the ad stated “To verify see ee.co.uk/claims”.

Both Sky UK and Vodafone complained the advert was “misleading” on two grounds – 1) because they understood the claims did not take into account customers who had migrated from one brand to another within the BT Group; and, 2) it was not verifiable. But the ASA rejected the first (1) complaint because they said the evidence supported EE’s claim, although they upheld the second (2) complaint over whether the broader claims were verifiable.

ASA Ruling Ref: G25-1321697 EE Ltd

Because the ad initially did not link to any relevant verification information, and the document that was later added initially contained insufficient information to understand the nature of the comparison, and because the verification page contained an additional outdated document and did not provide a clear route to verify the claims, we concluded that the ad did not meet the requirements for verifiability.

On that point, the ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rule 3.34 (Comparisons with identifiable competitors).

The full ruling is quite a laborious read and centres a lot on the data that EE provided (or didn’t provide) to verify the claim, but we think the key summary above is enough to cover the main points. As usual the ASA told EE to stop being naughty and to in future “ensure that their comparative claims were verifiable“.

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The Government has tonight set out more details of how they intend to implement their recently announced internet Social Media ban for children under 16 (original news), which among other things includes new details on overnight curfews and breaks in infinite scrolling for under 18s.

In case anybody has forgotten. Last month saw the government confirm their intention to adopt an Australia style model of online censorship, which required the most popular Social Media platforms to effectively ban Children under the age of 16 – covering TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, YouTube, Reddit, Twitch, X, Threads, Facebook and Kick.

The plan also included a variety of other measures aimed at under 16s, such as a ban on livestreaming and chatting with strangers via online gaming apps (inc. gaming websites); the introduction of more Highly Effective Age Assurance (HEAA) measures (a complex problem to get right, while still preserving privacy); a review of Ofcom’s enforcement capabilities to ensure they can handle the changes; restrictions for under 18s on the access and use of AI chatbots (e.g. romantic companion chatbots); and tech companies have a 3-month deadline to stop children from taking, sharing or viewing nude images etc.

Restrictions on some of these functionalities are to be enabled by default for both under 16- and 17-year-olds to prevent a cliff-edge at sixteen, although we presume those aged 16+ will be able to disable many of them. However, popular internet messaging services, like WhatsApp and Signal, were excluded from the new social media ban.

Finally, the government also said they were considering “options … about whether we could age-gate VPN use”, while at the same time looking in more detail at overnight social media curfews and breaks in infinite scrolling for under-18-year-olds. But on these last points the government said they’d set out more detail about how this would all work in July 2026, and today we got the answer.

What does the new detail reveal

At the time of writing, the government’s official announcement is actually quite sparse on detail and merely confirms much of what they’ve said before, alongside a smidgen of extra information.

Key Developments

➤ Default overnight curfews from midnight to 6am will be switched on for 16 and 17-year-olds on social media apps.

➤ Features that can keep users scrolling for longer – such as videos that automatically play one after another and feeds that continually serve up personalised content – will also be switched off by default for older teenagers.

➤ The Technology Secretary intends to bring forward a package of measures to help children use AI chatbots safely. These will include:

• Regular breaks for under-18s using chatbots, encouraging healthier online habits.
• Working with regulators and across government to address services that provide dangerous, misleading or unverified mental health advice. Ministers will consider all options, including banning chatbots that pose a serious threat to children.
• Publishing new guidance for children, parents and guardians on how to use AI safely and confidently by expanding the Kids Online Safety Hub.

➤ In order to bolster media literacy skills in schools, from September 2026, RSHE (Relationships, Sex, and Health Education) classes will cover critical thinking about new types of technology including artificial intelligence and AI chatbots. Children will also be taught about mis and disinformation, how to identify misogynistic or violent online content, and to understand that online content can present a distorted picture of the world.

The National Curriculum will now embed media literacy across subjects, alongside strengthened English and History content to analyse sources and spot bias, and an enhanced computing curriculum covering AI, data science, and technological bias

The new protections are aiming to “strike a balance between giving older teenagers greater safeguards online while still allowing them to change their own settings if they wish” (this is a reference to those over the age of 16).

The measures are said to follow a “first-of-its-kind Government pilot” involving more than 300 teenagers and parents across the UK, with families reporting that overnight curfews quickly became part of their routine and helped improve sleep and concentration.

Technology Secretary, Liz Kendall, said:

“Our consultation provided a clear message from parents and teenagers alike – even as young people gain greater independence at 16, they should still be protected from the most addictive online features that can have a harmful impact on their wellbeing.

These measures will be crucial in helping young people get the sleep they need, focus on school and college, and spend more quality time with family and friends, all of which are fundamental to building a happy, healthy and fulfilling adult life.

We want young people to enjoy the benefits of technology while having the tools to make the online world a place where they can thrive.”

Broadly speaking, the changes being announced in this update are a lot more balanced than those that have already been confirmed (e.g. infinite scrolling is probably something we could all do without), which were by comparison a bit more contentious due to issues of strict censorship, privacy and treating even older teenagers like they’re 5 years old. But there remains a lack of detail in the government’s announcement and this makes it hard to properly judge the wider impacts.

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

A new “independent” report from Frontier Economics claims to show, after its first year of operation, that the merger between mobile operators Vodafone and Three UK (VodafoneThree) is already “delivering tangible consumer benefits, driven by greater scale, faster integration and improved efficiency“.

Just to recap. VodafoneThree quickly established a post-merger plan to invest £11bn into upgrading the UK’s 5G mobile infrastructure and coverage over the next decade (here, here and here). The combined business has also previously stated that it aspires to reach more than 99.95% of the UK population with their 5G Standalone (5GSA / 5G+) network by 2034 and push fixed wireless access (mobile home broadband) to 82% of households by 2030, among other things.

Since the merger, the operators have thus been busy bringing both their operations, products and networks closer together. For example, one of the first big benefits to start rolling out reflected the adoption of a new Multi-Operator Core Network (MOCN). This allows customers to roam across both networks at no extra cost (whichever one provides the best signal), but it will take several years to be fully deployed.

The new report – ‘The Vodafone-Three Merger: One Year On‘ (PDF) – reflects those developments and attempts to summarise the impacts. But while the report may be technically independent, it’s still worth highlighting that it was created after Vodafone specifically asked Frontier Economics to assess the progress they’d made in the first year following completion of the merger. Some of the key findings can be seen below.

VodafoneThree one year on – key network stats

➤ Spectrum sharing was deployed extensively within weeks of deal close: additional Vodafone 1800MHz spectrum has been deployed on nearly 15,000 legacy Three sites, boosting 4G speeds for more than 7 million customers by an average of 20%, with increases of up to 40% in some areas.

➤ The implementation of reciprocal site access means that customers can now benefit from the combined geographic coverage of the two networks. By February 2026, MOCN had removed more than 16,500 km² of not-spots.

➤ MOCN has also expanded the areas where customers can access 5G services: between May 2025 and March 2026, 5G population coverage increased by around 9% (from 59% to 64%) for Vodafone customers, and around 10% for Three customers (from 65% to 72%).

➤ 5G speeds have improved materially: Vodafone 5G average download speeds increased by 38%, from 172 Mbps to 237 Mbps, between April 2025 and March 2026, while Three 5G average download speeds increased by 9%, from 313 Mbps to 341 Mbps.

➤ Data usage has accelerated: annual data consumption growth increased from 12% in FY25 to 21% in FY26 on the Vodafone network and from 9% to 26% on the Three network, well above recent market-wide growth of 15.2%.

NOTE: The mobile broadband speed test results above appear to be based on data supplied by Ookla (Speedtest.net).

According to the conclusion, “millions of customers are experiencing stronger, faster and more reliable connectivity without upward pressure on prices” as a result of the merger, although it remains unclear how long Three UK and its MVNOs will maintain their current status as providers for more budget consious consumers.

Over time there remains a deep-rooted suspicion among many consumers that prices will rise, but it’s still too early to judge. On the other hand, the report does claim the merger has delivered “more value for customers from lower cost per GB [GigaByte] and higher usage, driven by expanded network capacity“.

Joakim Reiter, Vodafone Group Chief External & Corporate Affairs Officer, said:

“The UK experience provides clear, real-world evidence that consolidation can deliver better outcomes for consumers. One year on, the Vodafone–Three merger is already driving better networks, broader coverage and improved value, while sustaining healthy retail competition across the market. This shows there is no inherent trade-off between scale and competition in infrastructure-based industries like telecoms.”

Europe is at a critical juncture in modernising its competition framework. The EU now has a unique opportunity to adopt a more future-proof approach, free from outdated biases, with fair, evidence-based assessments in the service of customers, competition and investment. The UK experience clearly shows this is possible.”

At the end of the day, we’d much rather see a truly independent study of mobile network change and performance from organisations that haven’t been given a specific direction by Vodafone, although the reality is that doing something like that is a very difficult and expensive task. Some independent studies, such as from Streetwave, might in the future be better placed to map such changes than others, but they can’t yet present a complete picture of the UK.

The full report is worth a read, although it’s worth remember that it will take several more years for the benefits of this merger to be fully realised and so there’s a long way to go yet.

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

Carlisle-based broadband ISP Grain (Grain Connect), which has already built their 2Gbps speed point-to-point full fibre (FTTP) network to cover 270,000 UK premises (aiming for 600,000 in the future) and in 2025 secured a £225m funding boost (here), appears to have confirmed that they’ve started a new roll-out across the South Yorkshire city of Doncaster.

At present Doncaster, which is home to a population of over 87,000, already has wide access to three gigabit-capable broadband networks via Openreach, Virgin Media (inc. nexfibre) and CityFibre. In addition, there’s also a small bit of full fibre coverage from alternative networks like Hyperoptic, OFNL, Quickline and possibly others. Suffice to say, it seems like a risky bet for an altnet like Grain Connect, but that’s not stopped them before.

According to Business Doncaster, the local roll-out technically began in June 2026 and the first customers are set to be connected this Autumn 2026. “We’re excited to offer Doncaster residents an internet service that can keep up with their digital lives,” said Richard Cameron, CEO of Grain broadband. The City will thus soon join some of Grain’s other haunts across Yorkshire, including parts of Bradford, Castleford, Goole, Grimsby, Halifax, Huddersfield, Hull, Leeds, Scarborough and Sheffield.

ISPreview had a closer look at Doncaster and identified that Grain’s initial deployments appear to be taking place across various streets just above and below Balby Road, which leads into the city centre. As usual, Grain intends to try and undercut the established networks on price, with early sign-ups during July 2026 being offered symmetric package speeds from £19.99 per month for 250Mbps (four months of free service is also being promoted for faster speeds). All packages promise no in-contract price rises, no installation fees, and a Price Match Guarantee.

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Mobile and broadband operator EE (BT) has announced that they will help football fans stay connected by zero-rating data (mobile broadband) across their UK mobile network all day on Wednesday 15th July, which is intended to help celebrate the FIFA World Cup 2026 semi-final match between England and Argentina at 20:00.

In short, EE Pay Monthly, PAYG and even “SME consumer” customers (confusingly the latter does not include business plans) will be able to enjoy free data throughout the UK – whether streaming the game, messaging friends, checking the latest scores or celebrating every goal online. So hopefully the match won’t suffer a delay and end up continuing past midnight.

EE notes how customers generated an all-time record peak in traffic during England’s knockout match against DR Congo, which was 42% higher than normal, although Wednesday’s match will take place well outside of normal working hours (i.e. most people will be connected via home broadband or using a TV).

Kelly Engstrom, Brand and Marketing Communications Director at EE, said:

“As proud lead partner of the Home Nations Football Associations, we know the power football has in bringing people together and creating positive moments that inspire the next generation. Through our Yes Boys campaign, we are supporting young people both on and off the pitch – and by offering free data all day, we are helping our customers get closer to the game and the moments that matter most. Whether watching at home, in the pub or following every moment on the move, our customers can count on the UK’s best network to stay connected and get behind England.”

The operator added that if customers have already used up their monthly data allowance, they’ll still be able to access mobile data at no additional charge throughout the free data period. But it’s worth noting that EE hasn’t strictly gone quite as far as O2 (Virgin Media), which recently extended their inclusive roaming benefit for eligible Pay Monthly customers travelling to the USA to include pay monthly Classic Plan customers until midnight on 20th July (PT) – here.

Original article Total Telecom:Read More

Press Release

Sowmyanarayan Sampath appointed CEO to drive the company’s next phase of AI-related and enterprise growth; Steve Smith to remain on Board following retirement

Zayo (“the Company”), the leading digital infrastructure network provider, today announced a planned CEO transition, appointing former Verizon executive Sowmyanarayan Sampath as Chief Executive Officer (CEO), effective September 1, 2026. Sampath will succeed Steve Smith, who will retire as CEO following a transformative tenure that established Zayo as the foundational backbone of the AI economy. Smith will continue to serve as a member of Zayo’s Board of Directors.

Under Steve’s leadership, Zayo has evolved from an acquisition-built network operator into the largest independent digital infrastructure network provider and a powerhouse of connectivity serving AI companies and enterprises across the U.S. Sampath’s appointment provides long-term leadership and bolsters Zayo’s market-leading position.

Sampath brings more than two decades of large-scale digital infrastructure experience, most recently serving as CEO of Verizon Consumer, after previously leading Verizon Business and BCG’s global telecom practice for carriers across the world. His extensive background in leading multi-billion-dollar enterprise and wholesale businesses through transformation and rapid technology shifts positions him to accelerate Zayo’s commercial execution, scale for the demands of AI-driven growth, and meet rising demand for high-capacity connectivity.

“On behalf of the Board, I want to thank Steve for his leadership and the important role he has played in strengthening Zayo’s market position,” said Kevin Turner, Chairman of Zayo’s Board of Directors. “Steve has sharpened Zayo’s strategy and positioned the Company for its next phase of growth. This planned transition reflects the strength of our business, the depth of our leadership team, and the Board’s confidence in the path ahead. Sampath’s track record of scaling complex networks and driving enterprise revenue makes him the right leader to maximize the potential from Zayo’s market-leading assets.”

The post Zayo brings in Verizon’s Sampath as CEO appeared first on Total Telecom.