Verizon boosts fibre business with $20bn purchase of Frontier
News Verizon is buying Frontier Communications in a $20 billion deal to strengthen its fibre network, with the deal representing significant growth for Verizon’s fibre business. Verizon, announcing the purchase on Thursday, stated that the purchase, which adds Frontier’s 2.2 million subscribers in 25 states to Verizon’s 7.4 million in nine states and Washington D.C., will shore up its developments in artificial intelligence and connected devices. Frontier, has largely concentrated on its...
Enabling a Digitally Connected Society: How Cornerstone is Connecting the Four Corners of the UK
Insight by Jamie Hayes, Chief Sales and Commercial Officer, Cornerstone As I reflect on our journey leading up to Connected Britain 2024, it’s incredible to think that seamless, high-speed internet—once a luxury—is now becoming a fundamental right that fuels innovation and growth across the UK. I’m genuinely excited about Cornerstone’s role in enabling a digitally connected society across all Four Corners of the UK through our national platform. Our goal is to ensure that your connected world...
EE UK Launches Wi-Fi 7 Broadband Router and 5G Standalone Plans
Mobile network operator and UK ISP EE (BT) has today officially taken the wrappings off their new next-generation and Qualcomm powered Wi-Fi 7 router (Smart Hub Pro) and booster (Smart WiFi Pro) for home broadband customers. At the same time, they’ve also formally launched their new 5G Standalone mobile network across 15 of the country’s major cities. We’ll start with the Smart Hub Pro and Smart WiFi Pro. In case anybody has forgotten, Wi-Fi 7 introduces a number of new features, such as using...
Ofcom to Grant Amazon Licence for Project Kuiper LEO Broadband Satellites
The UK telecoms and media regulator, Ofcom, has today proposed to grant a UK Earth Station Network Licence (ESNL) to support Amazon’s long-in-gestation Project Kuiper, which represents their plan to launch a global mega-constellation of satellites in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) to deliver affordable ultrafast broadband and 4G/5G mobile services. Currently, Amazon is still trailing behind established rivals such as OneWeb (Eutelsat) and Starlink (SpaceX). Nevertheless, the company already has...
Communications Ombudsman Report Surge in UK Telecoms Complaints
The Communications Ombudsman, which is one of the two Ofcom approved Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) providers for UK consumers of broadband ISPs, mobile and landline phone operators, has released its complaints data for the first half of 2024 and reported a 54% increase in telecoms cases accepted vs the same time last year. Ofcom requires that all such providers – those offering services to consumers and small businesses – must be members of an approved ADR scheme. The schemes are free...
Business ISP York Data Services Acquired by Communicate
Business connectivity provider York Data Services, which obviously focuses upon serving firms in Yorkshire (England) via their full fibre network, has been acquired by Communicate, a similar provider of cybersecurity and network infrastructure solutions, for an undisclosed sum. The deal, which is the company’s fourth acquisition since partnering with private equity investor Rockpool Investments in June 2024, forms part of Communicate’s strategic expansion effort and should “significantly...
Huawei Tong Wen: 6G Needs Real Innovation to Reshape Mobile Industry
Viewpoint Dr. Wen Tong, CTO, Huawei Wireless At the IEEE PIMRC conference held on September 4, 2024, Dr. Tong Wen, Huawei Wireless CTO, presented his views on the development direction of the 6G industry. Titled with “The Architectural Framework for A-RAN and A-Core”, Dr. Tong Wen pointed out, “6G will not be a simple upgrade of 5G, it should integrate AI revolution for the past 20 months, so to reshape the wireless industry and take it to the next height.” 5G is a success and 6G is on track....
Trial to Run Fibre Optic Cables via the UK Water Mains Has Stalled
The UK Government’s (DSIT) c.£6.2 million “Fibre in Water” trial (Project TAWCO), which aimed to test the deployment of fibre optic (FTTP) broadband cables through a live water mains (used for drinking water), has still not progressed to Phase 2 after a decision was taken to “stop the live build trial” due to several key obstacles. The original trial (details), which started in 2022 and was due to run for 2-3 years, planned to run fibre through 17km of live drinking water mains between...
Tesco Mobile UK Extends Free EU Roaming Again to 2026
Mobile operator Tesco Mobile has once again extended their Home From Home (HFH) EU roaming offer for another year, until 2026. Customers can thus continue to tap into their UK minutes, texts and data (mobile broadband) allowances, at no extra cost, when travelling around 48 destinations in the EU and beyond. The move isn’t surprising as the provider is a virtual operator (MVNO) on O2’s (Virgin Media) network, which has long opted to retain free EU roaming. But Tesco Mobile goes a bit further...
AT&T signs new deal with Nokia for fibre network kit
News The companies say that the deal will “accelerate future-ready fibre broadband growth” across the US Nokia has signed a multi-year deal with AT&T to help upgrade and expand its fibre network. Over the next five years, Nokia will supply AT&T with fixed broadband equipment to improve its current infrastructure and support future network growth. Nokia’s solutions will also help automate AT&T’s network operations. “Fibre plays a crucial role in providing the foundation for the...