Wessex Internet Bring Gigabit Broadband to 20 Rural UK Locations
Rural UK ISP Wessex Internet, which is deploying a full fibre (FTTP) gigabit broadband network across isolated parts of Dorset, Wiltshire, Hampshire and Somerset in England, has today named the 20 locations where their new network has gone live during just the first three months of 2024 (Q1). At present the provider’s existing network footprint is vaguely said to cover “tens of thousands of homes” (some of this may include their old fixed wireless network too), while their current business...
Korean Air shows off comprehensive urban air mobility system backed by 5G
News The ‘world first’ was achieved via a partnership between Korean Air, Hyundai Motor Company, Korea Telecom (KT), Incheon International Airport Corporation, and Hyundai Engineering & Construction This week, Korean Air has announced the successful demonstration of their urban air mobility (UAM) operating system, a system which could become the foundation upon which commercial flying taxi services could be launched by 2025. The project has seen Korean Air work alongside numerous partners,...
Rural Yorkshire Village of Stockton on the Forest Gets FTTP Broadband
The Fusion Fibre Group, which is both a UK internet provider and Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network builder, has today announced that the first homes in the rural Yorkshire (England) village of Stockton on the Forest can now access their new gigabit-capable full fibre broadband network after a £350k investment. The local roll-out required FFG to invest £350,000 of its own money (no government vouchers were used) and the new network currently covers 377 premises (Ready for Service), which...
SpaceX Looks to Expand Starlink’s Broadband Capacity in UK
SpaceX is seeking approval from Ofcom for a variation of its existing gateway licence, which would enable Starlink’s mega constellation of ultrafast broadband satellites in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) to improve its capacity, such as by expanding the number of gateway antennas at several UK sites and adopting additional bands. The operator currently has 5,874 LEO satellites in orbit around the Earth (altitudes of c.500-600km) and they’re in the process of adding thousands more by the end of 2027....
Virgin Media O2 reaches plastic waste milestone
News The plastic waste removed is the equivalent weight of five double decker buses UK mobile operator Virgin Media O2 (VMO2) has announced that it has successfully removed 65 tonnes of single-use plastic from its operations and products since 2021. The effort is part of the company’s Better Connections Plan, which broadly commits to ensuring the business operates in a sustainable and ethical way. One of the plan’s primary aims to achieve zero waste operations and products by the end of...
FCC votes to restore net neutrality
News The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has voted to classify broadband services as a Title II telecommunications service, restoring net neutrality By: Brad Randall, Broadband Communities A long-anticipated vote to restore net neutrality has forbidden internet service providers (ISPs) from blocking, throttling, or engaging in paid prioritization of lawful content. Both the White House and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) supported the FCC’s push to...
China Mobile’s three-pronged strategy to boost the 5G-A ecosystem
Viewpoint The world’s largest service provider in terms of network scale, number of subscribers and revenues, China Mobile has taken a leadership position in the evolving 5G-A (abbreviation of 5G-Advanced) space. It plans to focus on a three-pronged strategy to accelerate the development of the 5G-A ecosystem. The first part of the three-pronged strategy is to work on 5G-A innovation to develop cutting-edge technology. Second, to jointly promote a mature 5G-A industry value chain to encourage...
Upp’s UK Full Fibre Service to Close on 1st June 2024, Says Virgin Media
Remaining customers of full fibre broadband ISP Upp (i.e. those who have not yet agreed to migrate to Virgin Media), which was last year acquired by UK network builder nexfibre from investment firm LetterOne (here), will shortly start to receive “final termination of service notices” ahead of the service ending on 1st June 2024. The deal – as agreed in September 2023 – should help to expand the reach of nexfibre’s own gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network, which is currently in...
Virgin Media O2 UK Cut 65 Tonnes of Plastic from Products and Services
Broadband ISP and mobile operator Virgin Media O2 has this morning announced that, since 2021, they’ve managed to remove 65 tonnes of single-use plastic from its operations and products. The move forms part of the company’s sustainability strategy (Better Connections Plan) and its goal of achieving zero waste operations and products by the end of 2025. The figure includes 18 tonnes of single use plastic that has been removed from the equipment and tools used by engineers (e.g. cables,...
UK Government denies MNOs a Shared Rural Network extension
News Three out of the UK’s four MNOs requested the deadline extension back in October The UK government has denied a request from three of the UK’s mobile operators (Three, Vodafone and Virgin Media O2) pleading for a deadline extension of the first phase of the Shared Rural Network (SRN). Dean Creamer, the head of Building Digital UK (the government body overseeing the project) confirmed this week that the authority has denied a request by the three MNOs to delay the first phase deadline...