Study Shows Impact of Tourism on Mobile Broadband Speeds in Ceredigion
The Growing Mid Wales programme and network analyst firm Streetwave have used their ongoing mobile connectivity study in Ceredigion (Wales) to reveal what sort of impact tourism has on mobile broadband performance in seaside towns (there’s a “major” drop in data speeds) and thus where EE, Vodafone, Three UK and O2 may need to upgrade. Just to recap. Streetwave have been harnessing waste (bin / refuse) collection lorries to map mobile network coverage and speeds in the area since earlier in the...
Salford to receive brsk full fibre investment as they pass 250,000 premises in Greater Manchester
Brsk, one of the fastest-growing networks in the UK, has announced that work is underway to bring full fibre broadband to the Salford borough of Greater Manchester. Areas to be connected include Blackfriars in the city centre, Seedley, Pendlebury, and Irlams o’ th’ Height. This investment will offer 25,000 homes and businesses in the area access to the fastest and most reliable type of broadband available in the UK, providing symmetrical upload and download speeds via a brand-new network. ...
BT blocks 2.4 million scam calls with new detection software
News The software aims to prevent ‘vishing’, where fraudsters attempt to collect personal data over the phone Since its launch in May 2024, BT’s Enhanced Call Protect service has blocked over 2.4 million scam calls and flagged 17.7 million spam calls to landlines, the company has announced. The service is part of BT’s Digital Voice platform, which uses AI powered tools to identify and block malicious calls. Developed in partnership with Hiya, Enhanced Call Protect uses machine learning to...
Vodafone Germany leans into fibre infrastructure sharing to reach 11m
News The operator says it will soon be able to offer fibre optic broadband to more than 11 million homes and businesses across the country Vodafone Germany is set to offer its fibre broadband packages to 11 million premises across the country, a move it says will make it the largest fibre network in the country. The expansion comes via the implementation of new infrastructure sharing partnerships with Deutsche Telekom and Deutsche Glasfaser, which will increase Vodafone’s commercial reach by...
Serious Security Vulnerabilities Exposed in 704,525 DrayTek Routers
A new report by Forescout Research has identified 14 new security vulnerabilities in 24 models of DrayTek‘s popular Vigor routers, which is a familiar name in the UK broadband ISP world. One of the vulnerabilities even has a Common Vulnerability Score (CVSS) of 10 out of 10 and over 704,000 routers were found exposed online in 168 countries. The report (here) notes that approximately 785,000 DrayTek devices are operating Wi-Fi networks in the wild (over 425,000 of those are in Europe – with...
ISP Brsk Expands UK FTTP Broadband Network into Salford
Alternative network operator and ISP Brsk, which has deployed their Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) lines to cover “over” 676,000 homes and is in the process of being merged into Netomnia (here), has today announced that their full fibre network is being expanded to reach 25,000 premises in Salford (Greater Manchester). Some of the areas in Salford that are due to be connected include Blackfriars in the city centre, Seedley, Pendlebury, and Irlams o’ th’ Height (no, that’s not a typo). The...
BT Block 20.1 Million SCAM and SPAMs from Reaching UK Home Phones
Broadband ISP BT (EE) has this morning announced that their new scam protection service, which is based on Hiya’s technology and was introduced to their IP-based Digital Voice (phone) customers in May 2024, has blocked more than 2.4 million scam calls and almost 17.7 million spam calls since its introduction. The ‘Enhanced Call Protect‘ feature, which is a free service, follows BT and EE’s decision to start adopting Hiya’s AI-based voice security solutions in January 2023 (here). The tool in...
Zzoomm Sees FTTP Broadband Take-up Hit 20 Percent in Four More Towns
Oxfordshire-based alternative network operator Zzoomm, which has built their 2Gbps speed full fibre broadband network to cover 202,000 premises (RFS) in England, have today reported that they’ve achieved 20% take-up in a further four of their deployed market towns and often only 15-months after build completion. The operator’s network, which is home to 30,000 customers (c.15% take-up), is currently available across parts of around 29 market towns and small urban communities in Berkshire,...
Virgin Media O2 UK Set to Open New Office in Lanarkshire
Broadband and mobile operator Virgin Media and O2 (VMO2) has today announced that they will open a new office within the business community at Maxim Park in Lanarkshire (Scotland) during early 2025, which will ultimately become home to around 350 employees that are currently based at their Bellshill office in the same region. With the lease at its current site in Bellshill due to expire shortly, VMO2 went on the hunt for a new home and found the Maxim Park site (Maxim 4 building). The operator...
CityFibre needs additional funding to keep the pressure on Openreach
News With existing funding set to run out in 2025, the company is working to find new sources of cash The UK’s largest altnet CityFibre has released its annual statement for the 2023 financial year this week, in which it warned that to continue operations as usual it will need to secure additional external funding. “As the Group and Company are reliant on securing further external funding which is not guaranteed, a material uncertainty exists which may cast significant doubt on the ability...