News

Viewpoint Article by Alfonso Alvarez, Deputy Managing Director at Cellnex UK The UK is at a crossroads. Levelling up, and the Government’s vision of a Digital Britain, are not only welcome but critical for the country to address competing and compounding crises. A collaborative approach is key to ensuring a connected future for the UK. Historically, rail has been at the heart of the UK’s prosperity, from steaming ahead in the industrial revolution, to connecting cities and workers. With 990...

News The new partnership will match Lynk satellites with BICS’ network, giving mobile network operators (MNOs) a new option for reaching some of the remote parts of the world Direct-to-device satellite connectivity is becoming an increasingly hot topic in the telecoms sector, with a flurry of dealmaking coming to light in recent weeks. This week’s announcement comes in the form of a new partnership between satellite operator Lynk and international connectivity specialist BICS, aiming to offer...

A new report from the Digital Connectivity Forum (DCF), an industry think-tank, has warned that the UK’s rollout of faster 5G based mobile broadband networks may struggle to achieve some of its much-hyped goals by 2030 because of an investment gap of around £3 billion to £5 billion. At present EE, Three UK, O2 (VMO2) […]

Viewpoint Article by Zinier The rapid growth of the fiber-to-the-premises market can be a mixed blessing. On the plus side, the opportunities for each player are enormous. With demand outpacing supply, if you can scale quickly and maintain high quality, the potential rewards are enormous. On the down side, there’s that pesky word “if.” Scaling to meet demand while also meeting all your key performance metrics – high productivity, low costs, excellent customer service, and so forth – is easier...

British-registered satellite operator OneWeb has teamed up with smart network provider Marlink to help the operator conduct the first at-sea trial of their new Low Earth Orbit (LEO) based maritime service for ultrafast broadband connectivity. The initial integration and evaluation will take place at Marlink’s Eik teleport (Norway), with installation and an on-vessel trial scheduled […]

Mobile operator Three UK has today announced that, as part of their measures to help tackle the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, they’ve enabled it so that customers can access seven financial advice and guidance websites without eating into their mobile broadband data allowance (i.e. zero rating). The move means that customers on Three UK’s mobile network […]

Mobile operator EE (BT) has today announced the next phase of its effort to rollout their ultrafast 5G based network across the United Kingdom, which among other changes, will extend its network across 14 further towns and cities. Interestingly, they’re also deploying the existing 2100MHz band for 5G in 14 different locations. At present, EE’s […]

The UK Government’s recent changes to Permitted Development (PD) rights for mobile infrastructure (here), which aimed to help extend 5G and 4G (mobile broadband) coverage in rural areas of England (e.g. allowing taller masts of up to 30 metres), appear to have been rejected in West Berkshire where the council has added new obstacles. The […]

News The refarmed spectrum will be invaluable for improving more modern mobile services, but the accelerated shutdown timeline could present an issue for millions of 2G and 3G customers Earlier this month, South Africa’s Communications Minister, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, proposed a framework for the shutting down of the country’s 2G and 3G networks by 2025, as part of the Ministry’s new spectrum policy. This week, the government has approved the proposal, suggesting that this accelerated timeline...

The new UK Prime Minister, Liz Truss, yesterday entered 10 Downing Street – after replacing Boris Johnson in the post – by acknowledging that “we need to build roads, homes and broadband faster” than they have been doing so far. But it remains to be seen whether that statement is more than just a sound […]