UK altnet nexfibre passes 1 million homes with FTTP
News The fibre network operator says it “is on track to become the second-largest competitive network in just its second year of operation” Just 14 months since launching commercial services, full fibre wholesaler nexfibre has announced that its fibre-to-the-premise (FTTP) network is now available at over 1 million premises across the UK. The altnet was formed back in 2022 as a £4.5 billion joint venture between InfraVia Capital Partners, Liberty Global and Telefonica. The company’s stated...
Ofcom Sees Virgin Media Attract Most UK Broadband Gripes in Q4 2023
Ofcom has published their latest study of UK consumer complaints for Q4 2023, which once again names Virgin Media as the worst for attracting the most gripes about fixed broadband, landline phone and pay TV services. Meanwhile, O2, which is part of the same company, attracted the most complaints for Pay Monthly Mobile services. The regulator’s new report only covers complaints that Ofcom itself has received and not those sent directly to an ISP, the ISPA or an Alternative Dispute Resolution...
MS3 Gain Access to Build FTTP Broadband into Hull’s Apartment Blocks
Network operator MS3, which is rolling out a new open access (wholesale) full fibre gigabit broadband network across 30 locations in the UK (mostly East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire), has today announced that they’ll be able to tackle more residential apartment blocks (MDUs) in Hull after securing a master wayleave (legal land/property access) agreement. The Asterion-backed network operator currently aims to reach 535,000 UK premises by the end of 2025 and has so far (4th Jan 2024) covered...
Rural ISP Wessex Internet Scoops Win at 2024 Countryside Alliance Awards
Rural UK ISP Wessex Internet, which is rolling out a full fibre gigabit broadband network across isolated parts of Dorset, Wiltshire, Hampshire and Somerset in England, has celebrated after they won the Rural Enterprise category for the South West region of the 2024 Countryside Alliance Awards. The Countryside Alliance Awards, which are now in their 17th year, were setup to help recognise businesses that go the extra mile within their communities, such as by supporting the local economy and...
iD Mobile Launch “New” Fixed Price SIM Only Plans with No Annual Price Hikes
Low-cost UK mobile operator iD Mobile (Currys), which uses Three UK’s national 4G and 5G network via a virtual operator (MVNO) partnership, has today claimed to be launching a “new” set of fixed price SIM Only mobile plans that pledge not to hike their prices each year by the rate of inflation. The pledge isn’t actually all that surprising when you consider that Ofcom are already in the process of effectively banning any mid-contract price increases that are linked to either inflation or...
Nexfibre Builds FTTP Broadband to 1 Million Extra UK Premises
Network operator nexfibre, which shares the same parentage as Virgin Media (VMO2), has this morning announced that they’ve extended their new 10Gbps capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP / XGS-PON) broadband ISP network to cover 1 million UK premises passed (Ready for Service), which is up from 830,000 in December 2023. In case a recap is needed. Telefónica, Liberty Global and InfraVia Capital Partners originally setup the new £4.5bn nexfibre joint venture in 2022 (here), which aims to deploy an...
Microsoft pours $1.5 bn into Emirati AI amid US-China power struggle
News The investment cements Abu Dhabi and the wider United Arab Emirates (UAE)’s position as a global AI hub Microsoft and UAE-based AI company G42 have announced a strategic partnership to accelerate AI innovation in the UAE and neighbouring regions. The partnership involves a $1.5 billion investment in G42 from Microsoft, giving them an unspecified minority stake in the company. Brad Smith, Microsoft’s Vice Chair and President, will also join G42’s board of directors. The focus of...
Microsoft pours $1.5 bn into Emirati AI amid US-China power struggle
News The investment cements Abu Dhabi and the wider United Arab Emirates (UAE)’ position as a global AI hub Microsoft and UAE-based AI company G42 have announced a strategic partnership to accelerate AI innovation in the UAE and neighbouring regions. The partnership involves a $1.5 billion investment in G42 from Microsoft, giving them an unspecified minority stake in the company. Brad Smith, Microsoft’s Vice Chair and President, will also join G42’s board of directors. The focus of the...
Virgin Media O2 Ventures into Space for rural connectivity
News Virgin Media O2 (VMO2) has announced a partnership with satellite provider Starlink to boost mobile services in the UK’s most remote areas The operator will use Starlink’s constellation of over 5,000 Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites to support backhaul services across the country. Traditionally, mobile infrastructure relies on fibre optic cables or wireless point-to-point connections for backhaul, i.e., transmit data between the cell towers to the core of the network. However, in...
T-Mobile’s 5G service blamed for FWA network disruptions
News Multiple fixed-wireless access (FWA) providers have voiced concern that T-Mobile’s 5G network has interfered with their ability to provide uninterrupted services. By: Brad Randall, Broadband Communities Providers of fixed wireless services in Maine, New York, and Maryland have blamed T-Mobile for disruptions to their operations, with one company even reporting the issue to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). In a March FCC filing, Bloosurf, a FWA provider that serves the Delmarva...