Network operator CityFibre has this morning announced that they’ve begun the roll-out phase of their £108m state-aid supported Project Gigabit contract for the West & East Sussex (Lot 16 & 1) area in England. This will extend their 10Gbps capable FTTP broadband ISP network to an additional 57,000 hard-to-reach rural premises.

The figures given in Cityfibre’s announcement today differ from those they gave when the contract was announced in February 2024 (here), which specified a contract value of £100m and planned coverage for around 52,000 premises. This suggests that a modest extension may have taken place since the deal was signed, which is often due to changes in the commercial plans of rival operators.

Sadly, today’s announcement doesn’t provide any details of where CityFibre are starting to build or how long it will take to complete the deployment, which is a bit disappointing. But hopefully more information will be forthcoming in the future.

The operator, which is supported by various ISPs like Vodafone, TalkTalk, Zen Internet and more (Sky Broadband will follow in 2025), already covers around 4 million UK premises with full fibre broadband – mostly in urban areas – and their ambition is to eventually cover up to 8m (funded by c.£2.4bn in equity, c.£4.9bn debt and c.£800m of BDUK / public subsidy) – representing c.30% of the UK.

Greg Mesch, Chief Executive Officer at CityFibre, said:

“We are excited to bring full fibre connectivity to hard-to-reach homes and businesses across East and West Sussex, opening doors to new possibilities and enabling communities to flourish. This Project Gigabit rollout demonstrates our commitment to bridging the digital divide, ensuring that residents in rural areas can experience the benefits of enhanced connectivity.”

Sir Chris Bryant, UK Telecoms Minister, said:

“It is fantastic to see spades in the ground delivering lightning-fast broadband to hard-to-reach parts of Sussex, and connecting communities that need it most. This government investment delivers faster internet in turn helping businesses to grow, securing more jobs, and ensures everyone has the digital access they need to thrive in the modern world.”

Over the past couple of years CityFibre has secured nine Project Gigabit contracts, totalling over £782m in government subsidies to serve more than 464,000 hard to reach rural premises across Cambridgeshire, Suffolk, Norfolk, Hampshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, Berkshire, Leicestershire, Warwickshire, Sussex, Kent, Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire & Milton Keynes.

The network operator has also committed their own funding to help build commercially beyond those contracted areas (i.e. a total of £1.2bn in combined public and private investment or 1.366 million extra premises may be delivered as a result of these contracts).

News 

The FCC says the replacement process is more urgent than ever in the wake of the ‘Salt Typhoon’ cyberattacks late last year 

The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is pushing ahead with plans for a new spectrum auction to help pay for the removal and replacement of Chinese telecoms equipment from US networks.  

The Rip and Replace program, established in 2019, is an initiative by the FCC designed to help secure the US telco infrastructure by removing and replacing high-risk network equipment made by Chinese companies, particularly Huawei and ZTE.  The project was initially allocated $1.9 billion in public funding to support smaller operators to replace their equipment; however, demand for the funds far outstripped the budget, leaving the FCC with an almost $3.1 billion shortfall to complete the project as planned.  

Following years of pressure from the FCC, late last month the US Senate approved a bill allocating the required funding to the rip and replace initiative. The bill allows the FCC to borrow the required funding from the Treasury on the proviso that the funds are repaid with profits from upcoming spectrum auctions. 

As a result, the FCC is looking to push ahead with an auction of AWS-3 (1,695–1,710 MHz, 1,755–1,780 MHz, and 2,155–2,180 MHz) spectrum left over from previous allocations. 

FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel this week urged the commission to “quickly adopt rules” that would allow the spectrum auction to proceed and therefore fund the rip and replace programme “without further delay.” 

The urgency of replacing Chinese equipment from US networks has been highlighted by the high profile ‘Salt Typhoon’ cyberattacks on telecoms operators last year. 

“With ‘Salt Typhoon’ and other recent incidents, we are all acutely aware of the risk posed by Chinese hackers and intelligence services to our privacy, economy, and security,” said Rosenworcel. “Today’s proposal is a critical step toward finally filling the shortfall in the Rip and Replace program. I am confident that the FCC’s world-leading and award-winning auction team will meet this important moment.” 

“The cybersecurity of our nation’s communications critical infrastructure is essential to promoting national security, public safety, and economic security,” she added. “As adversaries grow more sophisticated, we need to modernise our defenses.” 

The Salt Typhoon cyberattacks, first reported in October, exposed the vulnerability of the US telecommunications infrastructure. The hackers exploited weaknesses in systems used for surveillance, giving hackers linked to Chinese state actors access to sensitive data and communications. 

Senate Intelligence Committee Chair Mark Warner called the attack “the worst telecom hack in our nation’s history—by far.” Major companies like AT&T, Verizon, and Lumen were reportedly affected, raising questions about whether current cybersecurity protections are enough to prevent future breaches. 

In response, Rosenworcel recently proposed mandatory rules requiring telecom providers to have robust cybersecurity measures in place. Companies would also need to submit annual certifications proving they are up to date on cybersecurity risk management. 

Join the conversation around US telecoms at this year’s Connected America, 11-12 March in Dallas. Get discounted tickets here! 

Also in the news:
Italy to sign €1.5bn government contract with SpaceX, report suggests
Washington takes T-Mobile to court over 2021 data breach
SK Telecom prepares for North American launch of AI agent Aster

News 

The new wholesale arm will serve 250 telecommunications providers and resellers in Germany, and over 900 international customers 

Deutsche Telekom has announced that it will consolidate its national and international wholesale activities into one entity, named ‘T Wholesale’. 

The company says that the move “is intended to provide clients with streamlined solutions that address needs both within Germany as well as globally, reflecting the growing demand for integrated telecommunications services.” 

The new structure blends local expertise with international experience, providing strong support for cross-border projects, local regulations, and regional or global access. Telekom says clients can expect streamlined processes, quicker responses, better services, more competitive options, and cost savings. 

The newly combined company will be headed up by Dr. Kerstin Baumgart, the current Head of Wholesale at Deutsche Telekom, Current Head of DT-Global Carrier, Dimitrios Rizoulis, will retain his role, reporting directly to Baumgart. 

“Our partners and customers benefit from our international focus and the synergies that will allow us to better meet the challenges of a rapidly changing market,” said Managing Director Dr. Kerstin Baumgart in a press release. 

“We offer a portfolio from a single source, both in Germany and internationally, creating a seamless customer experience. As always, we remain committed to sustainable and collaborative partnerships with our customers,” she added. 

Keep up with the latest international telecoms news by subscribing to the Total Telecom daily newsletter 

Also in the news:
FCC plans spectrum auction to fund “rip and replace” of Chinese telecoms equipment 
Washington takes T-Mobile to court over 2021 data breach
Is there still a role for the rural ISP in tomorrow’s digital infrastructure? Beyond the Cable discusses

News

The data breach saw the personal details of 79 million T-Mobile customers compromised

The US state of Washington is suing T-Mobile over a massive data breach that affected millions of the state’s residents.

Back in 2021, T-Mobile revealed it had suffered an enormous data breach that saw the personal information of around 79 million of customers and potential customers stolen. Details compromised included customer names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, and driver’s license information.

While T-Mobile quickly took action to address the security failing, the operator was nonetheless faced with string of related class action lawsuits. In 2022, T-Mobile subsequently agreed to pay out $350 million in compensation to affected customers, as well as pledging to invest $150 million into its cybersecurity infrastructure.

The operator would later be fined $31.5 million by the Federal Communications Commission for its failure to protect customer data during both this incident and other cyberattacks that took place between 2021 and 2023.

In this latest lawsuit, the state of Washington asserts that the data breach, which affected 2 million Washingtonians, could have been avoided.

“T-Mobile knew for years about certain cybersecurity vulnerabilities and did not do enough to address them,” read a statement announcing the lawsuit.

The case also alleges that T-Mobile “failed to properly notify affected Washingtonians of the data breach, downplaying its severity and sending notices to affected consumers that did not disclose all the information that had been compromised”.

“This significant data breach was entirely avoidable,” said Attorney General Bob Ferguson, who filed the case. “T-Mobile had years to fix key vulnerabilities in its cybersecurity systems — and it failed.”

The scale and severity of cybersecurity threats to major telcos have been noticeably increasing alongside geopolitical tensions. Late last year, the US telecoms sector was subject to a major attack by Chinese hacker group ‘Salt Typhoon’, which attacked nine internet service providers in the US.

Senator Mark Warner, chairman of the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, called the intrusion the “worst telecom hack in our nation’s history” and is urging telcos to drastically tighten their security.

How is the cyberthreat landscape changing in 2025? Join the operators in discussion at this year’s Connected America conference live in Dallas, Texas

Also in the news:
VEON and Starlink to launch Direct-to-Cell Satellite connectivity in Ukraine
Swisscom completes acquisition of Vodafone Italia
Equinix to buy BT’s Irish data centre business for €59m

News

The operator says the agent can take proactive action to help customers with planning, execution, reminders and advice in their daily lives

SK Telecom (SKT) will bring its AI agent ‘Aster’ to the US market as early as March, the company has announced at CES.

Aster is SKT’s newly developed AI agent, which the operator says can go beyond merely answering questions for customers and instead can perform “essential tasks in daily life”. The agent operates much like a personal assistant, not only answering customer questions but making relevant suggestions related to planning, execution, reminders and advice.

“If a person on a business trip in Las Vegas asks about what to do on the final day of the trip, Aster figures out the user’s needs by suggesting shopping spots, restaurants or theaters, and draws up a feasible schedule,” explained the head of SKT’s GPAA Business Division, Chung Suk-guen.

“Aster’s ability to find solutions through user-agent interactions sets it apart from other AI services,” he explained. “The service simplifies decision-making and enhances productivity by guiding users step-by-step.”

Aster’s development was first announced in November last year at SKT’s AI Summit in Seoul. According to Chung, however, SKT has been targeting a global audience for Aster from the outset, with the expensive process of building an AI service meaning launching only in Korea would have been too unambitious.

“Scale is vital for an AI service because it requires significant investment. We concluded that creating an AI service tailored only to several tens of millions of people in Korea holds little meaning,” explained Chung.

SKT’s ultimate goal for Aster is to use the agent as a unified platform through which customers can more easily leverage a broad range of tech solutions; for example, the company is pursuing a partnership with tech firm Perplexity, which offers a generative AI-powered answer engine service.

“Our goal is to establish market influence so that Big Tech views us as a valuable partner,” Chung said.

Aster will begin beta testing in the US in March, with a commercial launch targeted for the second half of the year. Launches in additional countries are expected to follow in 2026.

Keep up to date with all the latest telecoms news from around the world with the Total Telecom newsletter

Also in the news:
VEON and Starlink to launch Direct-to-Cell Satellite connectivity in Ukraine
Swisscom completes acquisition of Vodafone Italia
Equinix to buy BT’s Irish data centre business for €59m

Podcasts

The marketplace is changing fast. But is there still a role for the rural ISP in tomorrow’s digital infrastructure? We’re joined by Steve Smith, the CRO of LiveOak Fiber, to discuss.

By: Brad Randall, Broadband Communities

Catch the full episode here:

LiveOak Fiber has been expanding their footprint across rural North Florida and Southern Georgia. Yet, according to Steve Smith, the internet service provider’s chief revenue officer, the company maintains distinct advantages by keeping a local focus.

“Our strategy is being mission focused,” Smith said, speaking about how ISPs can also set themselves apart in an increasingly competitive marketplace. “We’re committed to improving the quality of life in the communities we serve.”

Additionally, Smith said those values are then discussed at every one of LiveOak’s employee meetings.

“These values are real,” he said.

For the first time since 2021, the final quarter of 2024 was not the most prolific period of the year for cyberattacks. The attack rate peaked at 2,192 per day in the third quarter of 2024 before declining to 2,063 per day in Q4. Despite this reduction, the final three months of 2024 were only the third quarter on record when the average number of cyberattacks encountered by UK businesses exceeded 2,000 a day.

Previously, 2023 was the worst year on record for cyberattacks on UK businesses, when companies encountered an average of 720,252 malicious attempts to breach their systems each. Before 2024, the average number of attacks in a single quarter had only exceeded 2,000 in Q4 2023.

Remote IoT devices attract most cyberattacks 

Hackers attacked remotely controlled devices connected to the Internet of Things most frequently in 2024. Business firewalls encountered more than 161 daily attacks targeting applications such as building control systems, security cameras, networked printers, remote monitoring, and industrial automation systems. 

Web applications, remote desktop software, and company databases were also frequently targeted, with businesses typically attracting more than 20 individual attacks daily for each of these systems in 2024.

Beaming tracks a quarter of hackers to locations in China

Beaming’s analysts identified over a million IP addresses being used to launch cyberattacks on UK businesses in 2024 and traced almost a quarter (241,019) of them to locations in China. Beaming also identified significant and increasing volumes of cyberattacks that appeared to come from areas inside India (87,144 attacking IP addresses) and the USA (81,112) in 2024.

Sonia Blizzard, Managing Director of Beaming, said: “The rise of automated cyberattacks means the internet has never been more dangerous, and we expect it will become even more so as hackers use AI. The good news is that we are not seeing record numbers of companies crippled by hackers because businesses have got better at protecting themselves and ISPs such as Beaming are working hard to prevent malicious activity at a network level.”

The Comms Council UK, which represents the United Kingdom’s national Unified Communications and Voice-over-Internet-Protocol (VoIP) phone industry, has today announced that they’ve appointed new Chair, Tracey Wright, to replace Eli Katz, who, after 20 long years of service, stepped down as Chair on the 6th of January 2025.

Tracey has been selected by CCUK’s Council in light of her past contributions to the association and industry. These include leading CCUK’s Industry Developments Working Group, and co-founding the Women in Telecoms group, which now supports 188 members. She will act as Chair in a voluntary capacity, leading the Council in acting as the voice of advanced communications in the UK, alongside her role as MD of Magrathea, a CCUK member.

Meanwhile, Eli Katz has been conferred with the title of Lifetime President by the CCUK Council. Eli’s tenure began with the establishment of CCUK (then known as ITSPA) in 2005, with him overseeing the association’s significant growth from a founding group of 12 members to its current thriving community of 100 companies. These include network operators, service providers, consultants and more.

Tracey Wright, Chair of CCUK, said:

“I am thrilled to be stepping into the role of Chair in an exciting year for CCUK as we celebrate our 20th anniversary. I’ve been involved in the association from the beginning, and we’ve gone from strength to strength; with a whole lot more to come in 2025. Alongside some celebrations and reminiscing, I will ensure that CCUK remains a leading voice in the sector as the UK moves to all-IP communications and remain laser-focused on key issues for our sector, including fraud, the upcoming Fixed Voice Telecoms Market Review and continuing to champion women in telecoms.”

Little-known fixed wireless ISP Kijoma Broadband (Kijoma Solutions), which generally covers rural parts of West Sussex, Surrey and Hampshire in England, appears to have vanished (including email and website) after appearing to suffer a service outage that started just before 9am yesterday morning.

Firstly, there’s a good chance that many of our current readers might never have heard of Kijoma, which wouldn’t be surprising as the last time we had anything to report on them was a decade ago. But despite the market’s many changes, the little provider has continued to operate, and their most recent micro company accounts show that they’re home to just two employees with £154.4k in capital and reserves (down from £174.6k in 2022)

However, Thinkbroadband reported last night that the ISP was being impacted by a service outage that started yesterday morning and is still ongoing, which they claim could possibly be due to an outage on one of the operator’s backhaul (capacity) links. The situation also appears to have taken Kijoma’s website and email offline.

At the time of writing, the provider has not issued any public service updates about the situation via their social media channels (these haven’t seen any posts for years – see on X and LinkedIn). We have attempted to contact the provider via LinkedIn for a comment and will report back if they respond.

Customers of budget internet provider TalkTalk, specifically those who take their Pay TV service, have had it confirmed that the ISP will be phasing out their single billing integration of Sky’s NOW TV streaming service (i.e. customers will no longer be able to add NOW TV Plans to a single bill from the ISP). Netflix integration was also removed last month.

The change was first spotted earlier last month after several of the ISP’s customers noticed (community forum) that they could no longer add NOW TV’s streaming plans (e.g. NOW TV Entertainment or Cinema) to their existing TalkTalk service (credits to one of our readers, Mehran, for the news tip).

As one customer, Nick_89, asked: “Why has TalkTalk taken the decision to end the association with Now TV because if I make any changes to the Now boosts I won’t be able to get them back. Does TalkTalk really think people will sign up for what is essentially a Freeview plus box for £5 per month? It’s Freeview! Most TV’s have the apps that are on the TalkTalk TV box anyway.”

According to a member of TalkTalk’s support team, the ability to add both Netflix and NOW TV to an existing TalkTalk bill/account has now “been withdrawn” and is “no longer available” (i.e. customers would need to go directly to NOW TV in order to add a subscription): “For now, existing subscribers will still continue, however this will be phased out at some point in the new year. Customers will be contacted beforehand when this happens. As yet I have no dates for this“.

A spokesperson for TalkTalk told ISPreview:

“We regularly change the offers available to our customers. We do not currently have any NOW or Netflix deals available with TalkTalk TV, but customers can continue to access these streaming services through their TalkTalk TV device. TalkTalk TV customers with an existing NOW or Netflix subscription via TalkTalk can continue to use their package.”

The mention of Netflix above relates to the fact that the ability of existing customers to be billed for this through TalkTalk was separately stopped on 9th December 2024. In a brief web update, Netflix said (here): “Netflix billing through TalkTalk is not available for new or rejoining customers and will be unavailable for existing customers as of December 9, 2024. If you are currently billed by TalkTalk, you need to update your payment method to continue enjoying Netflix.”