Internet provider Cuckoo, which is the retail full fibre (FTTP) ISP for the consolidated AllPoints Fibre (Fern Trading) network and also offers packages via Openreach and CityFibre’s networks, has launched a new offer for Cycling UK’s 70,000 members that gives them a £50 bill credit when they join the service.

Plus, for every new sign-up, Cycling UK will also get an additional £75 to “create happier, healthier and greener lives through cycling“. All of this forms part of the provider’s new Community Referral Scheme (CRS). The ISP wants local sports clubs, youth groups and charities to benefit from referrals so they can use the money to improve facilities and fund their work in local communities across the country.

The new offer follows Cuckoo’s recent partnership Octopus Energy, which meant that new customers placing an order through Octoplus Rewards could get their hands on an Amazon gift card worth up to £200.

Sarah Howells, MD of Cuckoo, said:

“At Cuckoo, we believe in the power of connection beyond the internet, and we want to help communities and charities nationwide grow as we expand our own footprint. This scheme lets us channel success directly back into communities, fuelling feel-good initiatives and fairness across the UK.”

Alternative network operator and UK ISP Quickline has today issued a small progress update on their £44 million state aid supported gigabit broadband roll-out contract for South Yorkshire (Lot 20 – here) in England, which ultimately aims to reach 32,100 additional premises in hard-to-reach rural areas (plus 29,000 via a complementary commercial build).

In short, 1,700 homes and businesses in the villages of Barnby Dun and Hatfield Woodhouse, just north of Doncaster, now have access to gigabit-capable broadband under the contract and can order their new service from the operator.

Customers of the service will typically pay from £29 per month for 200Mbps symmetric speeds on a 24-month term with free installation, which goes up to £32 for their top 900Mbps tier (£49 after 24 months).

Project Gigabit itself aims to help extend 1Gbps (download) capable networks to reach “nationwide” coverage (c. 99% of the UK) by 2030 (currently over 86%). Commercial investment has already delivered more than 80% of this, which leaves the government’s scheme to focus on tackling the final 10-20% (mostly rural and some suburban areas), where the private sector alone often fails.

Network operator Openreach (BT) has confirmed that they will kick off their project to close around 4,600 of their legacy exchanges from 1st April 2025, starting with the introduction of a “stop sell” on new service provisions for an initial batch of 105 sites (due to complete by around 2030/31). This will impact various broadband, PIA and Ethernet services from ISPs.

Just to recap. Openreach currently runs c. 5,600 UK exchanges, but only c. 1,000 of these – the Openreach Handover Points (OHPs) – are used to provide nationwide coverage of modern “fibre broadband” based services (FTTC, FTTP etc.). However, the rollout of full fibre, combined with the retirement of copper lines and legacy services (ADSL, WLR etc.), will make it economically unviable to support both the old and new exchanges.

The operator thus formed a long-term plan to close the vast majority of their older exchanges – known as the Exchange Exit Programme. The aim is to conduct an initial closure of 105 priority exchanges by 2030, with the rest following gradually in the years thereafter. Openreach is already in the process of piloting the closure of an initial 3 exchanges (Deddington, Ballyclare and Kenton Road), with all of those set to have been fully decommissioned by the end of May 2026.

The key goal of this “hugely complex” process is to ensure that all customers are migrated safely and with minimal disruption, which means that the process cannot be rushed, and each individual exchange will thus move toward decommissioning through a series of phases over a period of around 4-7 years (depending upon the complexity of each exchange) – starting with a Stop Sell. After that comes various planning, build and customer migration phases (the latter lasts for c.2 years or more).

In terms of the 4-year approach, the first 3 years would focus on encouraging voluntary migration and using “stop sells” on old products (i.e. you can’t buy them any more), while the final year will involve “supported migrations” or the risk of your service being ceased if the retail internet/phone provider fails to achieve this (in theory, most consumers won’t notice the change). ISPs will also be expected to remove their kit from exchanges in the final year.

Openreach has previously warned that a tiny portion of premises may still be negatively impacted by exchange closures, such as in locations where Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband coverage has not quite achieved universal reach (the vast majority of closures take place after 2030, thus most of the UK will have been reached by FTTP lines). In those cases, the operator may be unable to provide FTTP to every single property (i.e. issues of prohibitively high costs and permissions/consents to cross private land etc.) and “in these scenarios, customers may need to seek an alternative provider or technology solution.”

The operator is also having to grapple with the thorny issue of Ethernet, Dark Fibre (DFX) and PIA (access to existing cable ducts and poles) solutions, which are still supplied by quite a few of the old exchanges. Alternative networks have previously warned that the costs involved with adapting to this could be significant (here) – risking their investments becoming unviable. However, it is known that both Openreach and network operators have been working to find as many viable solutions to these challenges as possible, with some success. But a few operators still expect difficulties.

Otherwise, Openreach have chosen the first 105 exchanges based on a variety of different factors, such as their FTTP coverage, location (avoiding resources contention), volume of Ethernet and optical customers served, and complexity of the exchange itself. In addition, issues of expiring leases and other cost impacts have also played a role.

The operator has also previously said that they would prioritise exchanges where the potential benefits of exit are highest (e.g. those with very high running costs). But just to be clear, the operator will NOT be withdrawing exchanges in areas where doing so would leave lots of existing customers disconnected (i.e. no fibre or FTTC alternatives).

The First 108 Exchange Exits (inc. Pilots)

Satellite internet provider Brdy, which offered a mix of satellite and wireless (5G) broadband solutions to rural parts of the UK, appears to be in difficulty after customers of the service started reporting a lack of support and connection problems. Shortly after that, the same users noted how their accounts had been taken over by rival ISP Bentley Telecom.

The first sign of difficulties surfaced at the start of February 2025, after several customers reported a loss of internet service and an inability to reach support. A few days later, the service suddenly returned, albeit with customers now finding that their service was being delivered by Bentley Telecom instead of Brdy.

“Dreadful. Cut off for 3 days without any warning. Recorded message on telephone to send them an email! How do you do that without a Broadband service. No mobile signal so had to use a friend’s phone to email them then still no reply. Satellite came back but now with Bentley Telecom,” said one of several disgruntled customers via TrustPilot’s Brdy Reviews page. Several other users echoed the same experience.

Digging deeper, ISPreview found reference to a court case that was filed on 28th January 2025 (CR-2025-MAN-000088), which gave “Notice of Intention to appoint an administrator“. A quick look on Companies House for Brdy Broadband Ltd (06759661) reveals that their accounts are several months overdue, while The Gazette shows that the company’s creditors held a meeting on 18th February 2025 to discuss “liquidation” of the business.

Creditors Meeting Statement (The Gazette)

Notice is hereby given, pursuant to Rule 15.13 of the Insolvency (England and Wales) Rules 2016 that the Director of the above-named Company (the ‘convener(s)’) is seeking a decision from creditors on the nomination of Joint Liquidators by way of a virtual meeting. A resolution to wind up the Company is to be considered on 21 February 2025 prior to the virtual meeting. Decisions regarding the Joint Liquidators remuneration and the formation of a liquidation committee may also be sought at the meeting.

James Fennessey of Azets, Titanium 1, King’s Inch Place, Renfrew, PA4 8WF and Matthew Richards of Azets, 2nd Floor, Regis House, 45 King William Street, London, EC4R 9AN are persons qualified to act as insolvency practitioners in relation to the company who, during the period before the meeting date, will furnish creditors free of charge with such information concerning the Company’s affairs as they may reasonably require.

In addition, when visiting Bentley Telecom’s website, we were greeted by the following message: “Information for Ex Brdy, Big Blue customers. No activation costs, and if you use the antenna you already have, you will be connected to Bentley Telecom service. Offer valid for former Open Sky, BigBlu, Brdy customers.”

ISPreview has contacted both of the providers in the hope of securing a comment.

Several broadband and mobile operators, including Vodafone, BT, EE, and Plusnet, have this week notified of a small but useful tweak to their mid-contract price hikes policy, which means that new customers who sign-up will not be hit by the price increase that was previously due to start around the end of March 2025.

In the past there have often been complaints from customers who signed up just before the introduction of an annual price hike, since it meant the monthly price they paid increased only a short period after joining the service for the first time. Many consumers rightly view this as being both confusing and unfair.

As everybody should know by now, Ofcom recently required telecoms providers to adopt a new approach to mid-contract hikes, which did away with the old percentage and inflation-based model – replacing it with one expressed in pounds and pence (here). The change meant that, until this week, the aforementioned broadband providers were all due to increase their monthly rentals by £3 extra every March or April.

For example, BT’s 900Mbps package, which currently costs £40.99 per month, was expressed as increasing in price to £43.99 “From 31 March 2025” and then £46.99 from “From 31 March 2026“. Similarly, Vodafone’s packages did the same, albeit with the change being effective from 1st April 2025 and 1st April 2026.

The tweak this week sees Vodafone notifying that their 1st April 2025 price increases will no longer apply to those taking out a new contract/package. Instead, if you’re taking out one of their packages today, for example, then your next mid-contract price increase will hit on 1st April 2026, rather than 1st April 2025. As we say, it’s a small change, albeit one that may carry a benefit for their newest customers.

ISPreview understands that BT, EE and Plusnet are all due to adopt the same change tomorrow (1st March 2025), although the impact of this may vary depending upon how they set their usual discount pricing for each package’s contract term. We believe mobile plans may also see a similar change.

Network access provider Openreach (BT) has just revealed how much they’ll charge ISPs for their new symmetric 1Gbps speed Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) based broadband package, which is due to launch on 1st April 2025 and will initially only be available to locations being covered as part of their rural Project Gigabit contracts (here).

Just to recap. Openreach’s full fibre network has so far covered over 17 million premises (there are around 32.5m across the UK), but they aim to reach 25 million by December 2026 and have an ambition to reach “up to” 30 million by 2030. But the fastest FTTP package currently available to consumers on this network gives a top download speed of 1.8Gbps and 120Mbps upload (220Mbps for businesses).

The new symmetric tier goes beyond this by essentially offering customers the same 1000Mbps speed for both downloads and uploads. “On 1 April 2025, we will launch a new 1Gbps symmetric FTTP speed tier (i.e. 1000Mbps downstream and 1000Mbps upstream) to further enhance our GEA-FTTP portfolio offering. This speed tier will be available to all premises built to under the BDUK Type C framework contracts only,” said Openreach.

The 1Gbps symmetric FTTP speed tier will launch with the following prices (excluding VAT).

As usual, we must caveat that these are wholesale charges and thus do not include all of the many other elements that an ISP has to add in order to create the retail price that you or I will ultimately have to pay (e.g. 20% VAT, profit margin, capacity, service / network features etc.). So the monthly rental of £100 (or £120 if you include VAT) is, in reality, likely to be a lot more expensive at retail (c.£150+ seems likely).

The reality at this price is that Openreach are not going to be particularly competitive with other, more residential focused, alternative FTTP providers that already offer symmetric 1Gbps tiers for significantly lower pricing. At this price, the operator seems to be aiming more at small business customers, and this is underlined by the fact that it’s about twice the price of their asymmetric consumer 1.8Gbps package.

On the flip side, Openreach will be deploying this into areas where there are no alternative FTTP operators, thus they probably don’t have to worry too much about competition in these locations.. yet.

News 

AST SpaceMobile has been awarded a $43 million contract to support the US Space Development Agency (SDA), expanding its role in government satellite communications 

The agreement follows successful in-orbit testing of AST SpaceMobile’s BlueWalker-3 satellite under a previous contract in February last year. The company will deploy its Block 2 BlueBird satellites, which feature large phased-array antennas spanning 2,400 square feet, to improve connectivity. 

The SDA, part of the US Space Force, is responsible for advancing space-based capabilities to support military operations. AST SpaceMobile’s technology will contribute to strengthening communications in this sector. 

“This second contract supporting the SDA underscores the confidence in AST SpaceMobile’s innovative technology and its potential to support critical government missions,” said Chris Ivory, Chief Commercial Officer and Head of Government Business of AST SpaceMobile in a press release. 

“We are deploying groundbreaking technology to create robust and resilient communications solutions and to enable new use cases for the U.S. government.”  

AST SpaceMobile holds 3,500 patent and patent-pending claims and develops technology for both commercial and government applications.  

Join us at Connected America next month, 11-12 March in Dallas. Get discounted tickets here! 

Also in the news:
Mavenir and O2 Telefónica Germany renew cloud-native partnership
SAIC and Huawei partner to develop new smart EVs
PODCAST: The fight to win hearts and minds for rural broadband

News 

Telefónica Germany has renewed its collaboration with Mavenir, signing a five-year contract extension to transition its 4G and 5G voice services to Mavenir’s cloud-native IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem) technology 

O2 Telefónica Germany has signed a five-year contract extension with Mavenir to upgrade its 4G and 5G voice services with Mavenir’s cloud-native IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem) technology. 

The deal strengthens Mavenir’s role in O2 Telefónica Germany’s network evolution, replacing its virtualised IMS (vIMS) with a more flexible, scalable cloud-native IMS platform. The upgrade covers both fixed and mobile networks, serving the operator’s entire customer base. 

Mavenir’s IMS solution supports Voice over LTE (VoLTE) and Voice over New Radio (VoNR), ensuring seamless voice continuity across 4G and 5G networks. The cloud-native design, using stateless microservices and containerization, enables fast service deployment on public or private clouds. 

“It was a natural decision to extend our successful technology partnership with Mavenir, which has helped us to deliver our best ever quality of service to our customers and optimise our investment in agile network innovation,” said Matthias Sauder, Director Networks at O2 Telefónica in Germany in a press release. 

“Mavenir’s clear leadership in network functions virtualisation led to its initial selection and has since delivered transformative new capabilities across our operations. As the world embraces the opportunities being created by artificial intelligence and automation to open interfaces for digital transformation, Mavenir’s Cloud-Native IMS will be a core enabling platform for our ongoing network evolution and unlocking new routes to value for our business and our customers.” 

O2 Telefónica Germany recently received a ‘very good’ rating in the 2025 Mobile Network Test by connect magazine. The extended partnership with Mavenir aims to further improve service quality and accelerate digital transformation. 

News

This article was written by Grace Dawes, Editor of Movemnt

Chinese state-owned automaker SAIC Motor and global tech giant Huawei have signed an agreement to create a smart new energy vehicles

The two companies will reportedly work together on product definition, manufacturing, supply chain management and sales and services, to create intelligent new energy vehicles (NEVs) and jointly bring users a smart mobility experience.

At present, SAIC has launched the “seven major technology bases” with internationally leading technology levels, including three major vehicle platforms of pure electric, hybrid and hydrogen energy, as well as batteries, electric drives, super hybrid systems, and full-stack solutions for smart cars.

Huawei has launched a number of smart car products in China with its partners, incorporating smart driving, smart cockpit, smart driving control, and software-defined cars to build a new smart travel experience.

In 2024, the country announced the first batch of L3-level intelligent connected vehicles to enter the pilot list for road access, and SAIC became the only company to be selected for both passenger car and commercial vehicle projects.

The partnership reportedly hopes to push the Chinese auto industry to new heights in the era of intelligence and strive to provide drivers with a more intelligent, convenient and safe travel experience.

More bad news today as alternative rural broadband ISP Wildanet, which is busy deploying a gigabit speed full fibre (FTTP) network across rural parts of Cornwall and Devon in England, has revealed that “external forces” have pushed them into a period of restructuring that is expected to result in a loss of up to 35 jobs (roughly 18% of the workforce).

The operator, which originally started life as a Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) provider in the same area, has recently been building a fibre broadband network – both commercially and via public investment – and is estimated to have so far covered around 30,000 premises (Ready for Service). Since 2023, Wildanet has also secured several contracts – worth £77m in public investment – to deploy FTTP to over 37,000 premises across Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly under the UK government’s Project Gigabit scheme (here and here)

However, the provider is understood to have been coming under the same pressures as many other UK network operators, which typically stems from issues such as high interest rates, rising build costs, competition and the associated difficulty of being able to raise fresh investment.

The situation has frequently been causing similar operators to re-focus their efforts away from new network build and more toward greater commercialisation. Consolidation may then become another option.

A spokesperson for Wildanet said:

“Wildanet runs a dynamic operation which is rolling out a major full fibre digital infrastructure upgrade for Cornwall, while at the same time as evolving the business into becoming a leading South West internet service provider (ISP) and it is important we ensure the long-term sustainability of our operations to continue delivering market choice and leading-edge connectivity to the region.

Like all organisations we must continually review our resource requirements in response to the changing needs of our business, the shift in skill sets required as we evolve and the need to adapt to external forces affecting our business.

We are reviewing our resource requirements to align our business with the future full fibre roll-out strategy in the South West. This is in response to increased costs and the need to remain competitive in a rapidly evolving marketplace as well as addressing the changing skills that our business requires as we move forward with our business plan.

We are currently undergoing a consultation with our staff regarding roles impacted by the evolving needs of our operations. At this stage, we cannot confirm exactly how many roles may be impacted, as some positions may be restructured to align with the business’s strategic needs, although we anticipate the number of roles to be affected to be no greater than 35, representing 18% of our current workforce. Where reductions are unavoidable, we are focusing on redeployment, retraining and voluntary opportunities to minimise the impact of any job losses as much as possible. New opportunities have been created in areas such as our sales team for which we are inviting applications from our colleagues in the first instance.

Our priority at this time is to support our people through this transition.

Our commitment to continue delivering and building a new full fibre network across Cornwall, servicing our customers, our investment in our training academy, apprenticeship programs and our position as a pioneering B Corp remains unaffected.”

At the time of writing, it’s not yet clear what this will mean for the fate of Wildanet’s contracts under the government’s Project Gigabit programme, although other operators in this boat have tended to scale-back or pause their commercial builds in order to stay focused on the state aid project. We will attempt to seek an answer to this and report back later.

UPDATE 11:49am

Wildanet has informed ISPreview that this “won’t impact” on their ability to deliver on those Project Gigabit contracts.