Dish and EchoStar consider merger
News The companies, both owned by Charlie Ergen, have reportedly hired advisors to detail how the merger could play out EchoStar Communications, once a distributor of satellite television equipment, was founded by Ergen in 1980. In 2008, the company was renamed Dish Network after its consumer arm, and its satellite assets were carved out as a separate unit that retained the name Echostar. After some reorganisation over the past decade, today Dish Network controls the broadcast satellite...
Ethio Telecom stake sale attracting interest from Orange and e&
News Reports suggest that both companies are exploring bids for a 45% stake in the state-run telco, hoping to capitalise on of Africa’s most rapidly growing markets Anonymous sources speaking to Bloomberg suggest that both Orange and e& have been separately consulting with advisors to consider taking a stake in Ethiopia’s incumbent operator, Ethio Telecom. According to the sources, discussions are at an early stage and no decisions have yet been made. “We are looking closely at Ethio...
Wildanet Says Gigabit Broadband May Give Devon a £1bn Boost
A new “independent report” from policy institute Curia, which was commissioned by rural UK ISP Wildanet, has claimed that the rollout of gigabit-capable broadband across Devon (England) could generate £1.125 billion of new business gross value added (GVA) for the county by 2030. The report was designed to assess the potential impact of gigabit-capable broadband […]
ISP Sky Broadband UK Accidentally Confirms New WiFi 6 Router
Customers of UK ISP Sky Broadband may like to know that the latest release of the provider’s ‘My Sky‘ app for iOS users appears to have officially confirmed the existence of both their new “WiFi Max” (mesh system) home coverage guarantee and a Wi-Fi 6 capable router for consumers. At present, we still don’t know […]
Vodafone warns of investment cuts if Three merger is blocked
News Vodafone CEO Ahmed Essam has warned that if the Vodafone–Three merger is stopped by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), vital investments in digital UK infrastructure will be prevented This week, the head of Vodafone UK has stressed to regulators that the planned merger between Vodafone and Three will be critical to achieving the government’s 5G rollout targets. CEO Ahmed Essam told The Times that if the deal is blocked the group “won’t be able to invest as much, and we won’t be...
BT CEO Philip Jansen preparing for exit in 2024
News Succession planning is already underway, with Jansen expected to step down from the role of CEO in the next 12 months Today, BT has confirmed media reports from the past weekend, announcing that they are currently preparing for Group CEO Philip Jansen to leave the role over the next year. According to BT, planning to replace Jansen is already underway, with candidates already being considered for the position. “The succession process to replace Philip is something that the Board was well...
FACTCO Bring Gigabit Broadband to Rothbury in Northumberland
Network builder and UK ISP FACTCO has today announced that their new gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband network has finally started to go live in the rural Northumberland (England) town of Rothbury, which comes almost three years after the project (here) was first announced. At present the local deployment, which has been partly or fully funded […]
Netomnia passes half a million premises with full fibre
News The UK altnet says its full fibre rollout is accelerating at an “exponential” pace, aiming to reach one million premises passed by the end of the year The announcement means that over 500,000 homes and businesses will now have access to speeds of up to 10Gbps on its XGS PON fibre infrastructure. The company already provides services to roughly 40,000 customers via its sister company YouFibre. The milestone is a significant progression towards the company’s growth targets to pass one...
Vodafone Warn Gov 5G Targets to be Missed if Three UK Merger Blocked
The CEO of mobile operator Vodafone, Ahmed Essam, has indirectly warned regulators that a decision to block its attempted merger with Three UK (CK Hutchison) would result in them cutting their investment in digital infrastructure (5G broadband etc.) and being unable to deliver on the Government’s goals. Last month saw the operators reveal that they’d […]
Digital Infrastructure Adds 5 Locations to UK Full Fibre Rollout
Network builder Digital Infrastructure – supported by broadband ISP BeFibre – has today announced that their new gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) infrastructure has added another five locations to their rollout plan for the United Kingdom and this time they’re all in South Yorkshire (England). The operator, which began its rollout in 2021 and aims to cover […]