Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

Mobile network operator O2 (Virgin Media) has today announced that they’ve completed a project to upgrade the network capacity and coverage of their 4G and 5G mobile (mobile broadband) services around a total of 700 postcodes across the coastal Scottish city of Dundee on the Firth of Tay estuary.

The upgrades, which took 12 months to deploy, form part of O2’s Mobile Transformation Plan, which is investing around £700m this year into their mobile network – “ensuring it is fit for the future and can keep up with increasing customer demand“.

All mobile network operators have to conduct similar work, so this is not unusual and comes against a backdrop of rising demand (i.e. the amount of mobile data traffic more than doubling on O2’s network in the past 5 years). Not to mention the need to withdraw their old 3G network. Sadly that’s all the information we get.

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

Network operator Netomnia (Brsk, Youfibre), which has so far rolled out their Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband network to cover 2.56 million UK homes (inc. 341,000 customers), has appointed industry veteran Matthew Skipsey to be its new Managing Director (MD) of wholesale ahead of an expected adoption by more ISPs.

At present Netomnia (Substantial Group), which recently became the first network operator to adopt 50Gbps (50G -PON) broadband technology (here), is aiming to expand the reach of their full fibre network to 3 million premises by the end of 2025 and then 5 million by the end of 2027 (inc. 1 million customers by 2028). The service is currently available across parts of over 90 UK cities and towns.

However, in terms of wholesale, the company has so far tended to remain a bit more vertically integrated by only selling packages to consumers and businesses via ISPs that are a part of the same group (Youfibre and Brsk). But ISPreview are now aware of several third-party retail ISPs that will imminently be joining this network as Netomnia moves to grow their focus on wholesale.

The latest sign of all this stems from the company’s decision to appoint industry veteran Matthew Skipsey to be their new MD of Wholesale. Matthew was previously the Network Strategy Director at All Points Fibre Networks (APFN) and the Co-founder, CTO & Head of Giganet before that. Going back further, he also helped to found Wessex Internet and held various senior positions at M12 Solutions.

Matthew Skipsey said:

“I’m delighted to join Netomnia as Managing Director of Wholesale.

I’ve always respected Netomnia and the wider Substantial Group companies. They continue to achieve some impressive numbers; including a capital-efficient build programme, fastest Alt-Net build and subscriber acquisition rate, powerful network and proudly are the second-largest Alt-Net in the UK. None of this would be possible without the exceptional people behind it.

I’m excited to lead Netomnia’s Wholesale division, which provides open access to Netomnia’s 2.56+ million premises for B2C & B2B full-fibre broadband, Ethernet and dark fibre opportunities. The network is on track to reach 3 million premises by the end of 2025, with plans to scale to 5 million by 2027.

I’d like to thank my ex colleagues at APFN, Fern Fibre, Octopus Investments and those from the original Giganet, M12, and Wessex Internet days as well as key suppliers who have supported me throughout my career in telecoms.

The next chapter will be very exciting and I can’t wait to get started!”

A stronger push into wholesale makes sense for an alternative network operator in Netomnia’s position, although its ability to break into this market may be constrained so long as it also continues to act as a competitor to its own future partners by running its own retail providers alongside them (conflict of interest). On the other hand, the operator’s growing network coverage and blistering speeds will be very attractive to a lot of ISPs.

At this stage we don’t yet know how much flexibility third-party ISPs on this network will have to differentiate their products from that of the existing group providers, but we suspect that the prices and package speeds will initially be similar to those offered by Youfibre and brsk.

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

Hull-based UK network operator KCOM, which has deployed their own Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband network across a big chunk of East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire (England), has announced that current Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Tim Shaw, is to step down. The outgoing CEO will hand over the reins to CFO Richard Schäfer on an interim basis.

Tim has been with the Macquarie-backed business for six and a half years, albeit only three years as its CEO. During that time he’s witnessed the continued expansion of their FTTP network, as well as the ongoing migration and retirement of their old copper line network. On the flip side, he’s also seen KCOM’s grip on its core market of Hull being eroded by rivals, such as Connexin (CityFibre) and MS3, and the operator has recently been nudged to embrace infrastructure sharing (here).

The announcement itself doesn’t say why Tim has chosen to leave, although we understand that he’ll be announcing his next move in due course (i.e. it sounds like he’ll be taking up a new role elsewhere). KCOM is clearly facing some challenges, not least from Ofcom’s forthcoming market review and its weakening hold over local infrastructure, thus the company might benefit from a fresh pair of hands and a new vision for the business.

Richard Greenleaf, Chair of KCOM, said:

“Our huge thanks go to Tim. He has led KCOM through a period of significant change, both for the business and in the wider UK telco market; throughout this, he has always kept the customer and service innovation at the heart of what we do. We wish him the very best for his next chapter.”

Tim Shaw, CEO of KCOM, said:

“Over the past four years, KCOM has been through some remarkable change. I’m immensely proud of the way the team has focused relentlessly on customer experience, embraced innovation and taken connectivity to even more homes in the region. KCOM is an iconic brand, and leading the business through its 120th anniversary last year was one of the great privileges of my role.”

A recruitment process for a permanent appointment is currently underway, led by the Board.

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

Consumers looking to join UK internet provider File Sanctuary, which sells broadband packages via Openreach and CityFibre’s national networks, may like to know that they’ve today launch a 2300Mbps (symmetric) speed package via the latter’s platform. The price starts at just £55 per month.

“We’re excited to bring 2.3 Gbps FTTP to our customers,” said Aaron Russell, Managing Director (MD) & Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at File Sanctuary. “This launch reflects our commitment to delivering future-ready connectivity with honest pricing and real human support.”

The unlimited usage 2.3Gbps package costs £55 inc. VAT per month on a 12-month contract term and with free installation. But the package doesn’t bundle a router, thus new customers must either use their own or pick from a choice of FRITZ!Box router models. The provider also claims they don’t do mid-contract price hikes, offer UK-based support and native IPv4 and IPv6 support (no CGNAT, but if you want a Static IP it’ll cost an extra £2.40).

Finally, customers can optionally pick a monthly (1-month) term, but you’ll then have to pay the £66 one-off installation charge.

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

The Telecoms Minister, Sir Chris Bryant, recently issued an important update on their efforts to boost growth by removing barriers to digital infrastructure deployment. The statement covered progress with flexi-permits and softening the rules for new mobile masts, but it also touched on how they intend to help get gigabit broadband into large residential buildings (blocks of flats / apartments).

The government’s recent 2025 Spending Review and 10-Year Infrastructure Strategy have already touched on some of the above topics. But Bryant’s latest statement also managed to add a few details about the Government’s plans that we hadn’t seen before.

For example, on the issue of adopting a more flexible permitting system (flexi-permits) for broadband related street works across England, Bryant said they expect to see the results from the evaluation of their most recent trial of this system in October 2025.

“Should that demonstrate positive results, we will promptly consult on the necessary legislative changes,” said the minister. Flexi permits mean that network builders can apply to local authorities for a single permit covering a wide geographical area, instead of numerous separate street applications.

Separately, mobile operators have long been pushing the government to make further changes in order to make it easier for them to deploy new mobile masts (here, here, here, here, here and here), albeit so far with only limited success. But Bryant said he would shortly publish a Call for Evidence on Permitted Development (PD) rights “as soon as possible“, which may “enable faster deployment” in the future.

Finally, Bryant also touched on the government’s approach to making it easier to deploy gigabit broadband into large residential buildings (blocks of flats / MDUs), particularly those where such deployments have been unreasonably refused or landlords cannot be contacted.

The government recently rejected an amendment about this in the Renters’ Rights Bill (here), although at the time they did pledge to examine what other interventions might be possible and Bryant said they plan to consult on related measures by the autumn.

The details on the above as still wafer thin, but the plans seem to be focused on creating a “new right for leaseholders to request a gigabit broadband connection and a duty for freeholders not to unreasonably refuse the request“.

Sir Chris Bryant said:

“To overcome barriers to deployment of gigabit-capable infrastructure in blocks of flats, we will consult on measures by the autumn to create a new right for leaseholders to request a gigabit broadband connection and a duty for freeholders not to unreasonably refuse the request. Working closely with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, we would seek to legislate for any resulting measures when parliamentary time allows.

Work is underway to ensure that delays arising from the higher risk building safety regime are addressed as soon as possible. We are working closely with the telecoms sector to understand the scale of the impact on telecoms deployment specifically, alongside developing appropriate remedies which will support the continued investment and rollout of 5G and gigabit broadband while upholding the government’s commitment to building safety.

We will accelerate the rollout of gigabit-capable broadband by tackling barriers to the deployment of underground broadband infrastructure. We have trialled the use of flexi-permits for street works and will see the results of the evaluation in October. Should that demonstrate positive results, we will promptly consult on the necessary legislative changes.

We will consider areas where planning laws and guidance might be changed to facilitate the deployment of mobile masts. To that end, we will publish a call for evidence on Permitted Development Rights as soon as possible. Subject to feedback received, any resulting measures designed to enable faster deployment of telecommunications infrastructure will be implemented as quickly as possible.”

All of the proposed measures are likely to have their detractors, particularly those within local communities who always object to new masts for a variety of reasons (visual impact, unsubstantiated health fears etc.).

Similarly, on the subject of flats/apartments, property owners will also have concerns that must be balanced in all this (i.e. insurance, conflicts with existing exclusivity agreements, damage to property, security, safety [e.g. fire, asbestos] and other liabilities etc.). Sometimes upgrading copper lines to fibre in MDUs (Multi-Dwelling Units) is a bit more involved than it may first seem.

Equally, some alternative networks would be concerned about any changes that might give Openreach an unfair advantage in the market, while a few others MPs have already raised concerns that the changes might allow network operators to force their installation costs onto property owners.

Some supplier-neutral technology solutions do already exist in the market that claim to overcome the problem of tackling tricky MDUs. But it remains unclear whether the proposed changes might benefit or hinder those.

Original article Total Telecom:Read More

The 5G modem is vital in the changing telecom landscape. It connects devices to ultra-fast, low-latency 5G networks.

Devices such as 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬, 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐬, 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈𝐨𝐓 𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐬 benefit from high-speed data, quick communication, and smooth connections due to 5G modems. This is why the 5G modem market is expanding rapidly.

𝐆𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 @ https://tinyurl.com/2muufj72

Tech companies are putting significant money into 𝐀𝐈, 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐝, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐝𝐠𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 to improve 𝟓𝐆 𝐦𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐬. Features like 𝐦𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢-𝐠𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐭 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐬, 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐲 𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐲, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐧𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐬𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 are becoming common.

The demand for 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 and 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐯𝐞𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐬, along with government backing for standalone 5G networks, is leading to the creation of new compact, multi-band, and mmWave-compatible modems. This greatly enhances the user experience.

𝐃𝐨𝐰𝐧𝐥𝐨𝐚𝐝 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 @ https://tinyurl.com/8nxym5my

𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐭𝐡 𝐃𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬:
🔸 𝐑𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐝 𝟓𝐆 𝐀𝐝𝐨𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: Telecom providers worldwide are launching 5G, increasing the need for high-speed modems for consumers and industries.

🔸 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞 & 𝐃𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭: As major smartphone brands introduce 5G models, the demand for both integrated and standalone 5G modems is increasing.

🔸 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐕𝐞𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐬: 5G modems are essential for V2X (vehicle-to-everything) communication, offering fast and reliable connections for autonomous vehicles.

🔸 𝐈𝐨𝐓 & 𝐒𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐂𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧: Billions of IoT devices, from smart meters to sensors, depend on strong 5G connections supported by efficient modems.

🔸 𝐀𝐈 & 𝐄𝐝𝐠𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: 5G modems work with edge computing to provide real-time data processing. This drives innovation in AR/VR, healthcare, and manufacturing.

𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐚 𝐢𝐧𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬, 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰𝐬, 𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭, 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐭:

Ushmani
MarketIntelReports
http://www.marketintelreports.com

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

UK ISP BT (inc. Plusnet and EE) is due to reveal a change to their existing mid-contract pricing policy, which means that new customers who sign-up for a broadband package on or after 31st July 2025 (5th August with Plusnet) will be subject to a +£4 price rise on 31st March 2026 and then +£4 again on 31st March 2027 (up from the previous £3 increase).

Just to recap. At the start of 2025 Ofcom began requiring telecoms providers to adopt a new approach to mid-contract price hikes, which did away with the old percentage and inflation-based model – replacing it with one that must now set out such price rises “clearly and up-front, in pounds and pence, when a customer signs up” (here). This made annual price hikes clearer and more transparent, but not necessarily cheaper.

In response, many providers did as BT has since done by setting out a new pricing policy that would increase the price that customers pay by £3 extra per month from March or April each year (this will vary a bit for other providers). The first one hit this year and BT (including Plusnet and EE) had been on course to apply the same level again from 31st March 2026 and onwards.

However, ISPreview understands that BT and its associated ISPs are due to replace the +£3 policy with a larger rise of +£4, although this will only apply to new customers who sign-up on or after 31st July 2025 (we assume this will also include re-contracting customers after this date too). We’re currently attempting to get a comment from the operator, although the change is likely occurring to help balance the provider’s risk now that inflation has remained higher for longer than expected.

The above comment reflects the fact that Ofcom’s new approach naturally increases the risk for providers that previously adopted the CPI/RPI + 3-4% model for annual hikes, especially those that offer longer contract terms. The provider now has to balance that greater risk through their pricing (i.e. static pricing is harder to set over a longer period of time than one set against a dynamic level of inflation, which may go up or down).

Historically, when BT leads on pricing policy changes, others tend to follow. Put another way, BT’s decision to tweak their mid-contract rises upwards by an extra £1 per year is likely to be followed by other providers over the next few months.

Original article Total Telecom:Read More

We are thrilled to reveal the finalists for this year’s Connected Britain Awards, celebrating excllence across the UK’s digital ecosystem!

After careful review and deliberation, our judging panel has selected the standout entries in each category, showcasing the very best across the UK connectivity ecosystem.

Winners will be revealed live on stage during our Connected Britain Awards Ceremony:   Day 1, Wednesday 24 September at 6.30pm , on the keynote stage. The awards ceremony is open to all attendees of Connected Britain 2025. Please join us to find out the winners, celebrate success in the industry and network during our welcome drinks reception.

The Industrial Innovation Award

Ayrshire 5GIR Project with Anderson Stewart Castings

AWTG – England’s Connected Heartland (ECH) Project

Brady – BradyVoice

INNO Instrument – M9+ Fusion Splicer with View Pro Manager

Mills Ltd – Mills PSP Pole Tensioner

SkillsBase and Openreach – Cable Location Tool

B2B Service Provider of the Year

Elevate

F&W Networks

NETS International Group

Digital Council of the Year

Coventry City Council

Fylde Council

Glasgow City Council

North Ayrshire Council

Worcestershire County Council (NetworkonWheels)

The Barrier Removal Award

Ayrshire 5GIR Project

Glasgow City Council

Mova – On behalf of EE, Three, VMO2 & Vodafone (Shared Rural Network programme)

Openreach PIA Product

SCONDA Consortium (AWTG, Accenture, Freshwave, Mavenir, PI Works, Scotland 5G Centre, Three, University of Glasgow, University of Surrey)

WM5G – Simplifi: Unlocking Barriers to Accelerated Connectivity Deployment

Digital Skills Award

Liverpool City Region Combined Authority – Digital Inclusion Initiative

marXact: UNI-Complete

NetoAI Solutions Ltd – TSLAM, T-VEC, NetBench

Norfolk County Council – Tech Skills for Life

Three UK – Three Discovery – Empowering in Education

TMT First – Digital Device Repair Technician Apprenticeship

The Smart Places Award

Cambridgeshire CORE HDD Consortium (Cambridgeshire County Council, AWTG, Benetel, Ontix, Gooi, Wolfram, University of Surrey & University of Cambridge)

Coventry City Council

North Ayrshire Council

The Access Innovation Award

Openreach – Baltasound, Isle of Unst, Shetland

Dorset Council: Connected Steam Train

Tarana Wireless – Gigabit 1 (G1) Platform

The Borderlands 5GIR Programme

Calix Intelligent Access

The Sustainability Award

BT Group – Networks Data Centre Optimisation Programme

Comex 2000 (UK) Ltd

F&W Networks

SCONDA Consortium (AWTG, Accenture, Freshwave, Mavenir, PI Works, Scotland 5G Centre, Three, University of Glasgow, University of Surrey) 

STL – Eco-labelled Optical Fibre Cables

TXO  –  i-TRAC Network Asset Management Platform

Project Rollout Award

CityFibre

Fibrus

NETS International Group

Openreach

The Wireless Innovation Award

Airband Community Internet

Alpha Wireless – Fusion Streetworks Platform AW4032 

Elevate – Point-to-point Rooftop Wireless Dedicated Business Internet 

VMO2 + Mavenir – Mobile oRAN for High Demand Density

Weblib – Ucopia

Wireless Coverage – WISDM SaaS Product 

Community Improvement Award

Coventry City Council – #CovConnects Programme

Digital Poverty Alliance & Currys – Tech4Families

Liverpool City Region – Digital Inclusion Initiative 

Quickline – Cones & Rural Broadband Book

Space East

Three UK – Free Skills Training

Wigan Council – Tech Time: On Tour

WM5G + Wolverhampton, Coventry, Birmingham Councils

Broadband Provider of the Year

Fibrus Broadband

Highland Broadband

Lightning Fibre

Enterprise Solution of the Year

Freshwave – Omni Network on the ANDREW RP5000

Deepomatic

Lifemote – SelfCare

TRANSATEL – Ubigi for Business

Sonalake – SwitchedOn Fibre

IQGeo – Network Manager Telecom

The Rising Star Award

Shortlist to be announced.

Startup Award

Shortlist to be announced.

Click here to find out more about getting involved in our Startup Village.

Join these amazing companies and many more at Connected Britain 2025, the UK’s largest digital economy event

Also in the news:
US judge rules Huawei must face charges of fraud and racketeering
Optus ditches football rights to focus on telecoms
Nokia launches digital twin platform Enscryb to digitalise energy sector

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

Broadband ISP and mobile operator Virgin Media and O2 (VMO2) has this morning informed ISPreview that they’ve created and launched a new AI (Artificial Intelligence) tool, Lumi AI, which aims to “drive its customer service turnaround strategy” by helping customer service agents to provide “faster, more effective and more personalised” support.

At present VMO2 already uses some other AI tools for different tasks (more on this later), which the company claims has already helped to reduce customer complaints – by more than 50% – over the past year (first-time resolution has also increased, which means fewer follow-up contacts are needed). The new Lumi AI tool builds on this by helping the provider’s support agents by analysing conversations in real-time and providing “helpful prompts” based on millions of previous conversations on the same topic.

During an interaction with a customer, Lumi AI will advise an agent if a customer may need more information on a specific point, or suggest a specific resolution which helped a different customer with a similar query or issue. It can also be used to recommend products and services that are most likely to be of interest to a customer, enhancing the value they receive from their package.

Lumi AI is currently being piloted among a cohort of Virgin Media and O2 agents across care, telesales and retentions. The system is to be “rolled out more widely over the coming weeks and months“, including in the new 500-strong team recently launched in Manchester to resolve the most complex and sensitive customer issues.

Alan Stott, VMO2’s Director of Customer Contact, said:

“We know that when a customer needs to contact us – whether over the phone or online – they simply want to get through to us without long delays, they want to ensure we understand their issue and they want a satisfactory resolution as quickly as possible.

Through investing in new digital tools and leveraging the expertise of partners, we are making real strides in improving the Virgin Media O2 customer experience. Far from replacing our human workforce, AI technology is helping to create a team of super-agents better equipped and more empowered to resolve customer issues first-time.

With complaints falling, and call transfers and waiting times down as well, our transformation strategy is well under way and making good progress, but we can’t afford to stand still. Technology is evolving more rapidly than ever before and we’ll continue to work with our partners to explore new and innovative solutions that deliver a consistently exceptional, industry-leading customer experience.”

In terms of the other AI tools that VMO2 are deploying to boost their customer service and support quality, the first is a new AI-powered customer contact centre service, from Amazon Web Services, which went live in early 2025 and allows a customer to explain the reason for their query at the beginning of the call before instantly routing them to the most relevant team (i.e. reducing the likelihood of an agent having to transfer a customer elsewhere). This has improved ‘first time resolution’, which is up by 8% over the past 6-months, with “70% of complaints now fully resolved within 24 hours“.

The new AI tools also provides support agents with a more holistic view of the customer they are speaking to (e.g. details of previous calls/interactions), which makes it easier for them to identify the context of a call without the agent needing to pull everything up manually. In addition, new software is also being used to analyse conversations and highlight customers that may be vulnerable or have additional needs.

Finally, an Auto Call Summarisation tool has been deployed that actively listens to the conversation and concisely captures the salient points discussed. This cuts down on support agents needing to take manual notes, as it’s done for them, and allows greater focus on the customer who also benefits from being sent a post-call summary.

The most recent consumer complaints data from Ofcom (here) does appear to show a clear and consistent level of improvement over the past year. For example, back in Q1 2024 Virgin Media were seeing around 18 complaints per 100,000 customers for their broadband services, but this dropped to 11 in Q4 2024 (the industry average is c.9). O2 has also seen a similar trend.

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

Network access provider Openreach (BT) has today revealed that they’ve just put their 5000th EV (Electric Vehicle) on the road to support their broadband and phone engineers (up from 4,300 at the start of 2025). The move marks a key milestone on their plan to become carbon-neutral by March 2031.

The operator, which manages the second-largest commercial vehicle fleet in the UK (i.e. 23,000 vehicles), are currently aiming to upgrade the “vast majority” of their diesel-powered vans and cars to EVs by the end of March 2031 (supporting their Net Zero target for the same date). Openreach claims the 5,000 confirmed today are expected to save more than 10,000 tonnes of carbon emissions annually.

To support the transition, Openreach have been installing EV charging points at operational sites and engineers’ homes to support convenient overnight charging. So far, over 2,500 chargers have been installed, making the shift to electric smoother and more accessible for engineers across the UK.

The company has also previously built a partnership with First Bus, so engineers can charge their vans at First Bus depots, taking pressure off public charging points and making life easier for those who live in flats. Most of the network operator’s latest EVs have come from four manufacturers – Ford, Stellantis, Toyota, and Renault (BT and Openreach have previously also purchased some EVs from Vauxhall).

Clive Selley, CEO of Openreach, said:

“As we continue our work to connect homes and businesses to the UK’s most reliable broadband technology, we also want to help build a cleaner, greener future.

We know the impact our operations have, so seeing our 5,000th electric van on the road is a proud moment for everyone at Openreach. By continuing to upgrade our fleet, and by installing EV chargers in our engineers’ homes and our operational sites – we’re removing barriers to adoption, improving air quality, and supporting the communities we serve.”

Openreach now expects to add a further 2,000 EVs to its fleet by the end of March 2026, as well as ongoing investment in charging infrastructure.