UltraNetworks Deploy 5G Broadband to Reach Part of Rural Aberdeenshire
Internet provider UltraNetworks has used vouchers from the Scottish Government to help it upgrade and deploy a new 5G Standalone (SA) based fixed wireless (FWA) network from Mormond Hill. The site will be able to serve homes and businesses in rural parts of North East Aberdeenshire (Scotland) with 1Gbps+ broadband speeds. Just to recap. 5G SA represents a pure end-to-end 5G wireless network technology that can deliver ultra-low latency times, greater energy efficiency, better upload speeds,...
Survey Finds Average UK Broadband Users Save £105 a Year by Switching ISP
A new survey of 5,083 UK adult consumers, which was conducted by Which?, has claimed that the average broadband-only ISP customer could save £105 per year by switching to a new provider and those switching from BT, Sky Broadband or Virgin Media saved even more – up to £165 on average for a Virgin customer. It’s a similar story for mobile and TV users. The estimated average saving increases to £160 for out-of-contract consumers who bundled both a pay TV and broadband service (Sky customers...
Broadband ISP Grain to Expand UK Full Fibre Network into Cheshire Town
Alternative network operator Grain (Grain Connect), which has already built their gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband network to cover 220,000 UK premises RFS (21st May 2024) and connected 30,000 customers, has confirmed that their next expansion target is the industrial Cheshire town of Widnes. The local roll-out is due to start this month and the first customers could then be connected by “early 2025“, although it’s currently unclear precisely how many premises in the town...
20 Additional Eutelsat OneWeb LEO Broadband Satellites Launched
Eutelsat has confirmed that they’ve launched an additional 20 satellites, on the back of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, to join their global network of OneWeb broadband satellites in Low Earth Orbit (LEO), which is a constellation that has been partly supported by the UK government. This is despite the network supposedly being completed last year. OneWeb (aka – Eutelsat OneWeb) previously had 634 small (c.150kg) first generation (GEN1) Low Earth Orbit (LEO) platforms in space – orbiting at an...
Gas Leak Adds to Openreach’s Petrol Leak Headaches in Bramley
National UK broadband and phone operator Openreach, which are already under pressure from having to help tackle a long-running underground petrol leak in the Surrey village of Bramley, have confirmed that they’ve had to pause work in the area again after Southern Gas Network (SGN) reported a “suspected gas leak” too. Just to recap our last report in early June 2024 (here). Openreach is currently dealing with the “significant and ongoing impact” of the incident, which technically began 2 year...
Telecoms May Benefit from Gov’s New British Infrastructure Taskforce
The UK Government has launched a new British Infrastructure Taskforce (BIT), which is intended to attract more private investment by encouraging businesses to help design future infrastructure policy. In theory, this could be of some benefit to broadband and mobile (digital infrastructure), although the announcement doesn’t give specifics. According to the blurb, the new Taskforce will explore different options to support the Government’s infrastructure goals to drive growth for the whole of...
Spectrum spat over? Starting gun looms for India’s satellite space race
News The latest clash revolves around whether the government should auction off satellite spectrum or simply allocate it arbitrarily Recent months have seen tensions flare between Elon Musk and Indian telecoms moguls Mukesh Ambani and Sunil Bharti Mittal continue, with the trio clashing over the nation’s satellite spectrum policy. Back in 2021, India’s Department of Telecoms (DoT) announced that it was considering auctioning spectrum for satellite broadband players, going against the industry...
Nokia slashes over 2,000 jobs in China and Europe
News The job cuts are wider restructuring to cut up to 14,000 roles by 2026 Nokia has laid off nearly 2,000 employees in China, about 20% of its workforce in the country, with plans to cut an additional 350 jobs in Europe, according to a Reuters report citing two sources familiar with the matter. Speaking to Reuters, a Nokia spokesperson confirmed that discussions are underway regarding the European layoffs but declined to comment on the situation in China. As of December 2023, Nokia...
Vantage considers selling Spanish towers amid row with Vodafone Spain
News Vantage Towers owns and operates around 8,300 towers across the country Vantage Towers is considering the sale of its Spanish assets, according to a Bloomberg article published today, citing people familiar with the matter. According to the article, the company is working with Morgan Stanley to assess the interest of potential buyers. If successful, the TowerCo’s Spanish infrastructure assets could fetch around €1 billion at sale, although discussions are still at a very early stage,...
One Week Left Until New UK Broadband ISP Switching System Fully Takes Over
The industry has just one week left to iron out the key bugs in their implementation of Ofcom’s new One Touch Switching (OTS) system before it takes full control of switching between fixed broadband and phone providers. But the latest update from the industry-led One Touch Switching Company (TOTSCo) suggests that there are still some problems left to tackle. Just to recap. The heavily delayed launch of OTS, which aims to make it both quicker and easier for consumers to switch between broadband...