Virgin Media O2 UK Offer Free Access to AI Search Engine Perplexity Pro
Customers of Virgin Media and O2’s various broadband, mobile, phone and TV packages may like to know that their ‘Priority’ app, which rewards existing subscribers with various special offers and discounts, is now allowing access to AI-powered tool ‘Perplexity Pro‘ at no extra cost for one year (normally £150 per year). The AI-powered research and search assistant is said to enable users to harness technology to make their life and work a little easier. But whereas a normal search will just...
Virgin Media O2 Switches On New UK Converged Interconnect Network
Broadband ISP and mobile operator Virgin Media and O2 (VMO2) has today announced that they’ve switched on their new “next generation” Converged Interconnect Network (CIN), which brings together its fixed line (FTTP, DOCSIS) and mobile networks (4G, 5G etc.) in a way that will make them more efficient, resilient, scalable and flexible. The CIN effectively takes the core deeper into VMO2’s network, with IP routed networks deployed in the access network. This allows different services to coexist...
Rural UK Broadband ISP Gigaclear Appoints New Financial Boss
Abingdon-based rural ISP and full fibre network builder Gigaclear has today announced that they’ve finally appointed a new Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Hugo Eales, which comes after the surprise termination of both their former CEO, Gareth Williams, and CFO, Ian Wade, earlier in 2024 (here). The network operator has so far built a gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband network to cover 560,000 rural premises (RFS) across various parts of England (inc. 130,000 customers) and...
Mobile Operators Fear UK 5G Rollout At Risk from Dispute with Leasing Firm
Mobile network operators (e.g. EE, Vodafone, O2 and Three UK) appear to be increasingly raising concerns over the impact that leasing firm AP Wireless is having on their already sluggish deployment of 5G based mobile broadband technology. This is said to be pushing up their build costs and thus allegedly threatening the viability of future deployments. In the past it wasn’t uncommon for landowners to extract highly lucrative rental agreements in return for allowing telecoms operators to lease...
Streetwave to Conduct County-Wide Mobile Coverage Study of Argyll and Bute
The Argyll and Bute Council (ABC) in Scotland has joined forces with network analyst firm Streetwave and the Scottish Futures Trust (SFT) to conduct the “first county-wide mobile coverage survey” in Scotland, which will mirror similar studies that are already being conducted across other parts of the UK. Just to recap. Streetwave have been harnessing waste (bin / refuse) collection lorries to map mobile network / broadband coverage and speeds in various parts of the UK, particularly Wales...
Quickline Bring FTTP to 4 Villages in Yorkshire Project Gigabit Broadband Build
Alternative network operator and UK ISP Quickline has today issued another small progress update on their £60m state aid supported gigabit broadband roll-out contract for North and West Yorkshire (Lot 8 – here), which ultimately aims to reach 28,000 additional premises in hard-to-reach rural areas. Back in September 2024 we reported that the first 4,500 premises under this contract (note: 1,725 were via state aid, with the rest from complementary commercial build), including in areas such as...
Lightning Fibre Resume Stalled Full Fibre Broadband Build in Tenterden
Eastbourne-based network operator and UK ISP Lightning Fibre, which has been building a new Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband network across parts of Sussex and Kent in England, has today confirmed that they’ve resumed their roll-out in the town of Tenterden. The build was stopped during early 2024, while the operator went through a re-structure. The alternative network, which has built to a number of locations like Eastbourne, Brighton and Hove, Worthing, Lancing, Hastings and St...
AllPoints Fibre calls for crackdown on ‘misleading’ broadband advertising
News The fibre wholesaler is calling on the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) to update its guidance on the use of the term ‘fibre’ New research from AllPoints Fibre, conducted in partnership with YouGov, shows that the UK public remains confused about what exactly constitutes ‘fibre’ with regards to broadband advertising. The study, which polled 2,000 adults online, found that 70% of Brits were aware that fibre provided faster and more reliable broadband than copper, but 77% were not...
Exabeam and Wiz Partner to Strengthen Cloud Security Threat Detection
BROOMFIELD, Colo. & FOSTER CITY, Calif. — Nov. 19, 2024 — Exabeam, a global cybersecurity leader that delivers AI-driven security operations, today announced its partnership with Wiz, a leader in cloud security. This collaboration provides organizations with improved threat detection, investigation, and response (TDIR) capabilities, ensuring a more secure and resilient cloud environment. With its open architecture the Exabeam New-Scale Security Operations Platform supports a best-of-breed...
CBRS Market to Exceed $1.3 Billion, Says SNS Telecom & IT
After many years of regulatory, standardization and technical implementation activities, the United States’ dynamic, three-tiered, hierarchical framework for coordinated shared use of 150 MHz of spectrum in the 3.5 GHz CBRS (Citizens Broadband Radio Service) band is experiencing a renewed wave of enthusiasm. This reinvigoration of interest follows a recent relaxation of rules and guidelines – collectively referred to as CBRS 2.0 – which extends uninterrupted commercial operations in the CBRS...