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News  New Washington D.C.-based mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) Cape has raised $61 million in three financing rounds. Cape operates as an full MVNO on the UScellular network.  Unlike other MVNOs, however, Cape’s unique selling point is not its pricing structure or attractive bundled services, but privacy and security.  Cape says it will not store customers’ personal information, such as name, numbers, and location date, thereby ensuring that those details remain beyond the reach of...

Hull-based broadband ISP KCOM, which is building a Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network across East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire in England, has named the first three winners of their Digital Inclusion Grants. The provider offers up to £25k to projects and organisations that are aimed at improving lives in communities across the region. The grant scheme, which is due to run until the end of 2026, is designed to help promote online inclusion, build stronger communities, connect generations and...

Some of Giganet’s former customers have this week complained that they’ve suffered incorrect billing and cancellation problems after switching away to a different broadband ISP on Openreach’s UK network, which should normally be a smooth and largely automated migration process. Switching between ISPs on Openreach’s network is normally a fairly easy, Gaining Provider Led (GPL), process. Under Ofcom’s rules (General Conditions), both providers are required to ensure that the switch takes place...

Mobile operator Vodafone has issued a brief update on their progress under the £1bn Shared Rural Network (SRN) project, which reveals that it has now deployed 4G (mobile broadband) network services to a total of 200 rural sites in England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland (up from 57 a year ago). The industry-led SRN project – supported by £501m of public funding and £532m from operators – involves both the reciprocal sharing of existing masts in certain areas and the demand-led building...

News The decision represents a growing trend in both Europe and the US as companies move to make their supply chains more resilience to geopolitical interference This week, anonymous sources speaking to Nikkei Asia said Nokia had reduced orders with supplier Foxconn Industrial Internet in order to help meet requirements of the US’s ‘Clean Network’ programme. The programme, introduced by the Trump Administration in 2020, aimed at esuring critical infrastructure in the US was built and operated...

The Zayo Group, which runs a large high-capacity metro and long-haul fibre optic network with global reach, has today announced that they’ve appointed industry veteran Colman Deegan to be the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Zayo Europe. Deegan is understood to have spent more than two decades at Vodafone, where he held senior leadership positions such as Group M&A Director, CFO at Vodafone India and Italy, as well as CEO of Vodafone Turkey. Most recently, acting as Vodafone Spain’s CEO,...

Infracapital-backed UK ISP Fibrus this week revealed that the £197m Project Stratum scheme in Northern Ireland, which is working spread a gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband network into rural areas, is currently “on target” to cover 81,000 premises by June 2025, “on time and within budget.” In Northern Ireland, the current coverage for gigabit-capable broadband networks stands at an already impressive level of 95.3% (latest data from Thinkbroadband), thanks to both...

News  This week, Ericsson has released its first quarter financial results for 2024, which showed profits had risen despite a decline in sales  In spite of a 14% decline in sales, largely driven by a decrease in Networks sales (-19%), Ericsson achieved a gross margin improvement to 42.7%.  The company attributed this lift to its product portfolio strength and ongoing cost-efficiency measures (which includes significant job cuts).  “We maintained our leading market position, but as expected our...

Shropshire-based UK ISP Aquiss has this evening announced the launch of their first home broadband packages based off CityFibre’s national Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network (here), which will complement their existing range of Openreach-based services. The provider, which will shortly be celebrating their 18th year of trading, are initially only introducing two packages – a 150Mbps (average speed) entry-level tier for £38 per month (£19 for the first three months of service) and a 900Mbps...

News  An EU report published this week by ex-Italian Prime Minster Enrico Letta has urged the telecoms industry to consolidate, to increase its global competition potential  The report, titled ‘Much More Than a Market – Empowering the Single Market to deliver a sustainable future and prosperity for all EU Citizens”, sets out ideas to build a stronger economy that can compete more effectively on a global scale. Letta was tasked by Europe’s leaders to assess the failures of Europe’s single...