Vodafone: 5G-powered public buildings could save UK £580m a year
News The operator says incorporating 5G tech could generate huge cost and energy savings for the public sector According to a new ‘Connected Spaces’ report, written by WPI Strategy on behalf of Vodafone UK, installing 5G-enabled technology like digital twins, IoT, and smart sensors to public buildings could save the UK £580 million. The report models the current energy spend of various public sector buildings and estimates how much money could be saved via the integration of new technology....
Vodafone Business doubles down on Kyndryl for cybersecurity boost
Press Release Kyndryl, the world’s largest IT infrastructure services provider, and Vodafone Business, a leading telecommunications company providing a wide range of telephony services, broadband internet and digital television, today announced the extension of their relationship to enhance security and resiliency services for Vodafone’s financial industry customers. This agreement marks a significant milestone in the ongoing collaboration between the two industry leaders. Under the extended...
Sky UK Adds 70 “Free” TV Streaming Channels via Xumo Play
Customers of Sky’s broadband-based Sky Glass and Sky Stream pay TV platforms may like to know that the provider has just added the new Xumo Play app to their platform, which offers an additional 70+ “free” streaming channels including Dateline, Reuters and American Classics. In addition, Sky TV has also added six new Sky FAST (Free Ad-supported Streaming Television) channels at no extra cost, including Pick Paranormal, Emergency 24/7, Sky Artist of The Year, Sky Sports Stories, Sky Sports...
AltNets Dominate List of Top 10 Cheapest Entry Level UK Broadband ISPs
Telecoms analyst firm Point Topic has posted an interesting new analysis of broadband affordability in the UK, which identifies the cheapest and most expensive ISPs for “entry level” packages by nationwide “small areas“. Suffice to say that alternative networks dominate the table of cheapest providers. The study starts off by noting that 22.3 million premises (67.6% of the UK) now have access to a full fibre (FTTP) broadband network, which rises to 82.3% for gigabit-capable broadband (includes...
Tax Tribunal Backs HMRC Over £51m Lyca Mobile UK VAT Dispute
Mobile network operator Lyca Mobile, which is a virtual operator (MVNO) on EE’s platform in the UK, is facing a significant financial hit after a Tax Tribunal ruled in HMRC’s favour over a £51m dispute related to the VAT treatment of customer “bundles” (those sold over a period of 7 years). But the operator can still appeal. According to the company’s most recent accounts (here), Lyca had 1.7 million subscribers at the end of 2022, a churn rate of 9% and revenues of £145m (up from £138m). But...
Study Claims Poor Broadband and Mobile Drives People Out of UK Rural Areas
A new Strand Partners survey of 4,000 members of the UK public, which was commissioned by broadband and mobile providers Virgin Media and O2 (VMO2), has claimed that over a third of rural residents (or 66% of “young people“) are likely to be considering a move away to a town or city in the next 12 months. Poor internet connectivity is one of the key drivers for this. According to the survey, the young people who are looking to leave rural areas claim that the main driving forces behind this...
NOW TV Ad Banned for Failing to Make Clear that Plans Included Ads
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has banned a website advert for internet streaming and broadband provider NOW TV (aka – NOW Broadband), which is a sibling of Sky UK, after it was found to have failed to clearly set out that their basic TV plans (subscriptions) included ads (unless you paid extra for the ‘Boost’ upgrade). The original complaint centred around an advert on the NOW TV website, which was seen on 29th March 2024 (relatively recent by ASA standards) and featured an offer...
Broadband ISP TalkTalk Adopt New UK Policy on Annual Price Hikes
Budget conscious broadband ISP TalkTalk has informed ISPreview that they’re preparing to follow Ofcom’s new guidance on inflation-linked annual broadband price rises. In practice, this means that new and re-contracting (upgrading) customers will be hit by a flat annual price increase of £3 (monthly) each April. As above, the new policy is designed to reflect the regulator’s recent move to BAN broadband ISPs and mobile operators from doing mid-contract price hikes that are linked to confusing...
Full Fibre UK ISP GoFibre Celebrates First Year of Community Fund
Edinburgh-based alternative network provider GoFibre (BorderLink), which has already rolled out their Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband network to 100,000 rural premises across the North England and the Scottish Borders, has today celebrated the first anniversary of their £50,000 GoFurther charity fund by awarding more projects. Just to recap. The GoFurther Fund offers grants of up to £3,000 to help local charity projects and community organisations in the regions of Aberdeenshire, Angus,...
Ofcom takes aim at scam calls from abroad
News Following a consultation, Ofcom will now require mobile network operators to identify and block calls from abroad which falsely display a UK telephone number In February, Ofcom opened a consultation into how better to block scam calls from abroad that masquerade as originating from within the UK. Now, with the consultation complete, the regulator is formally updating its industry guidance to require the operators to identify and block these calls, with few exceptions. This measure, Ofcom...