FCC gives T-Mobile the green light to buy Mint Mobile
News The deal has been pending regulatory approval since January last year The Federal Communications Commission FCC confirmed last week that it has approved T-Mobile to purchase buy Ka’ena Corp, the owner of Mint Mobile, for up to $1.35 billion. The deal will also cover the acquisition of other companies under the Ka’ena Corp umbrella, including Ultra Mobile and wholesaler Plum. According to a press release published last year after the deal was agreed, T-Mobile stated that it will pay up...
Celebrating a Century of Connectivity
Insight by Lutz Schüler, CEO of Virgin Media O2 What will the world look like in 100 years’ time? Experts suggest connected flying autonomous vehicles could be here within a decade or so; unlimited green energy in 20 to 30 years; and many of us will implant technology into our bodies to make our brains work faster. While none of us knows precisely what the future holds, when we look back, it’s clear that the telecoms sector has supported and enabled almost every major technological shift of...
AWS invests $11bn in Indiana data centres
News The investment, which is the largest of its kind in the state’s history, is expected to generate at least 1,000 new jobs Amazon Web Services (AWS) revealed plans for an $11 billion investment in Indiana data centres. Amazon already has a significant presence in Indiana, where it currently employs 26,000 staff members and has invested $21.5 billion since 2010. In collaboration with Governor Eric Holcomb and the Indiana Economic Development Corporation, AWS will build new data centers in...
“AI is this great undiscovered country”: Mavenir talks 5G’s AI-enabled future at Connected North 2024
Interview At Connected North this year, we caught up with David Hall, VP of Technology Solutions (EMEA) at Mavenir, to discuss the North’s 5G landscape and why AI-enabled operations is quietly becoming one of the most exciting areas for the new technology The UK’s 5G rollout continues at pace in 2024, gradually bringing faster and more reliable wireless connectivity to underserved areas across the country. But while higher capacity and low latency are certainly benefits for typical mobile...
Local Artists Paint Some of Freedom Fibre’s UK Broadband Cabinets
Alternative network operator Freedom Fibre, which has already rolled out their full fibre (FTTP) gigabit broadband ISP network to cover 300,000 UK premises and aspires to cover 2 million in the future, has engaged local artists and school children in the Irlam (Salford) area to help give their street cabinets a colourful lick of paint. Most broadband street cabinets are fairly industrial looking and adopt a single colour, which usually sits somewhere between dark green and beige. But the act...
UK government introduces new laws in cyber-attack crackdown
News The laws will force device manufacturers to implement minimum security standards into devices The UK government has announced that new laws have come into force today aimed at better protecting consumers from hacking and cyber-attacks. The legislation, a collaborative effort between the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, the National Cyber Security Centre, and the Office for Product Safety and Standards, among others, rules that internet-connected smart devices must...
FRITZBOX Router Manufacturer AVM Settles Huawei Patent Dispute
Germany-based AVM, which manufactures the popular FRITZ!Box range of broadband ISP routers and smart home devices (widely used in the UK), has quietly settled their patent dispute with Huawei over WiFi 6 technology. As a result, some of the recent changes made to AVM’s device firmware will be rolled back. Just to recap. Huawei had filed – between 2022 and 2024 – five infringement lawsuits against AVM, which were in the process of being heard in the Munich Regional Court when a settlement...
Broadband ISP Andrews and Arnold Prep New UK SIP2SIM Service
Over a month has passed since ISP Andrews & Arnold (AAISP) announced the closure of their long-running and “somewhat niche” SIP2SIM (mobile voice) service (here), which is due to take effect tomorrow night. But it now seems like the provider is preparing to launch a replacement solution with the help of ONSIM. The current SIP2SIM product – supported by O2’s (VMO2) underlying mobile network – is essentially a special SIM card that you can put in an ordinary dumb mobile phone, and it makes...
UK ISP TalkTalk’s Bundled Echo Dots Get Turned into WiFi Extenders
Broadband ISP TalkTalk last week informed their customers, specifically those who are using one of their supplied Amazon eero routers, that they can now benefit from a free eero software upgrade that turns Echo Dot (4th and 5th Fen) smart speakers into WiFi extenders (the provider is currently bundling Dots for free with several packages). The provider’s announcement makes it sound like the “eero Built-in” feature is new technology, although it first started appearing back in 2022 and received...
Gov Enforce New UK Internet Security and Broadband Boosting Law
The UK Government has this morning announced that new laws, which are designed to help protect consumers from cyber criminals, such as by requiring that network devices, like broadband ISP routers, receive greater protection (e.g. regular security updates and stronger default passwords), have finally come into force. The related Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Act (PSTI) received royal assent in late 2022, which among other things included measures to make broadband and...