A year and a half has now passed since the MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale, Tim Farron (Lib Dem), highlighted the connectivity limbo (here) that several villages in Cumbria – including Ormside, Warcop, Hilton, and Murton – had been left in by the Government’s Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) programme. But locals have just been asked to wait a little bit longer.

Just to recap. Some or all of the aforementioned communities were originally in the process of being lined up to receive gigabit broadband (FTTP) via B4RN as part of the Government’s Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme (GBVS). But before that could proceed, BDUK unexpectedly placed the area into the scope of Project Gigabit’s regional supplier contract, which had previously been won by Fibrus the year before, in 2022 (here).

The situation would have been fine if it actually meant those communities being upgraded in a timely fashion, but it’s not quite so simple. The regional supplier contract includes two categories of intervention: Initial Scope, where the regional supplier should build as quickly as possible; and Deferred Scope, where BDUK wait and see whether commercial plans or voucher projects translate to delivery, but could then build if not.

Sadly, the aforementioned communities are all stuck in a Deferred Scope, which means they’re still waiting to hear whether or not Fibrus will be able to reach them. “For premises that are included in the Deferred Scope of contract, we will seek a price from the regional supplier, but will not authorise build unless and until they are re-classified as White. We will always either descope Under Review premises or defer build to them and we will always descope Grey or Black premises,” states BDUK’s policy documents.

Back in June 2023 the then Chancellor of the UK government, Jeremy Hunt, promised to “happily look into what has happened … We strongly support all rural areas having access to gigabyte broadband, as an important part of our policy. We have made a lot of progress on that. I will look into detail of what is happening in the hon. Gentleman’s area and get back to him.” But little has changed, which on Monday prompted another intervention by Tim Farron.

Tim Farron told parliament (here):

“Perhaps of greater concern are the places that are in scope, but in deferred scope. I want to name four parishes in my constituency, near Appleby: Hilton, Murton, Warcop and Ormside. Those are communities on very low speeds at the moment. Some people are forced, against their better judgment and almost against their will, to give money to Elon Musk to use Starlink instead of the very limited broadband opportunities that are available to them.

While those communities are within scope but in deferred scope, they wait for the contract holder, Fibrus, to give them a date, and because they are within deferred scope, nothing is happening on the ground to connect them. Also, they do not have access to the voucher scheme, which would allow them to work with our absolutely brilliant Cumbrian Broadband for the Rural North, otherwise known as B4RN, an award-winning community interest company that has connected so many homes throughout rural Cumbria to gigabit and greater broadband speeds.

So I want to press the Minister—this is my one ask of him—on whether he will ensure that those parishes I have listed, Ormside, Warcop, Hilton and Murton, are either given a date for connection under Project Gigabit, or are descoped so that vouchers can be made available and B4RN can then step in and fill the gap. We had a public meeting in the snow in Murton last December—next weekend it will be 12 months ago—where BDUK made all sorts of promises of which it has fulfilled absolutely none.

Will the Minister give personal attention to either descoping those communities so they can get broadband through the B4RN and the voucher system, or give Fibrus—and more importantly BDUK—a kick up the backside to make sure they bring the communities into scope, and give a date in the next few months so that those communities, which are very remote in many other ways, are connected properly to gigabit broadband speed?”

In response, the government’s new Telecoms Minister, Chris Bryant, told Tim, “I do not want to descope at this point, because I very much hope that we will get to a resolution in the next month, but he makes a strong point. If it proves necessary to abandon ship, as it were, he can come back at me on that.”

The response appears to indicate that some or all of the aforementioned villages might soon be included into Fibrus’ main deployment, but we won’t find out until around the turn of the year. Even if the deployment does end up being confirmed, then it remains unclear how long locals may have to wait before the new service actually arrives.

We should point out that there are plenty of other communities across the UK that have found themselves being placed into a similar position over the past couple of years.

Energy provider Electricity North West (ENW) has said its engineers were “left speechless” after discovering that a telecoms operator in the Lancashire (England) town of Burnley had erected a steel mast “just one metre away” from 132,000-volt overhead electricity lines. “One wrong move could have resulted in a death,” said ENW.

The “potentially fatal” situation in Burnley is said to have been discovered on Wednesday by ENW’s “tree cutting teams“, who were carrying out maintenance in the area. The team reported the situation immediately, and engineers attended the Kiddrow Lane site and quickly made the decision to switch out and earth the circuit for safety reasons. No customers were without power as a result.

You’d think that even the most basic understanding of science and electricity, the sort children tend to learn at the youngest of ages and that we all carry through our lives, would have avoided such a Darwin Awards level error of safety competence. But clearly, in this case, something has gone shockingly wrong, and we can all thank our lucky sparks stars that no lives were lost. This is about as dangerous as you can get.

As ENW states, the 132,000-volt network is the highest voltage they operate at. By comparison, even the standard 230 volts in a domestic property is more than enough to kill. Suffice to say, engineering standards require any assets to be several meters away from the 132kV network due to the possibility of the electricity jumping. At such high voltages, electricity can jump up to 3 meters through the air to a conducting material (e.g. like a tall steel mast!), making it live.

Paul Killilea, Electricity North West’s Asset and Investment Director, said:

“The incident seen in Burnley is incredibly serious and one that without a doubt could have been avoided.

I cannot stress enough that one wrong move could have resulted in a death. People need to be aware of their surroundings, particularly if they’re erecting steel poles, scaffolding or even ladders anywhere near our network.

Taking a moment can make all the difference, if you are unsure, pick up the phone and call us. We are more than happy to help and ensure work is carried out safely when in close proximity to the network.”

ENW added that their engineers remained on site until the installer attended and within several hours, the pole was taken down. Surprisingly, the release doesn’t state who the “installer” was, although the mast looks almost identical (example) to the smaller, more discreet, ones that IX Wireless (6Gi / Opus Broadband) are sometimes known to have been erecting around the town (they also deploy a much larger mast in other locations).

However, it is possible that IXW may not be the only telecoms operator using these in the area, so we’ve shot off a comment request to their press contact in the hope of gaining some official clarification. Anybody who sees anything dangerous in or around the power network should call their local network operator on 105.

Partner Article

The deployment, which Huawei says is the world’s first ‘large-scale integrated 5G-Advanced intelligent network’, will provide services to over 10 million people in the Chinese capital

China Unicom Beijing has deployed a far reaching 5G-Advanced network covering stadiums, schools, scenic areas, metro stations, commercial areas, residential areas, and other facilities in Beijing. 

The new three component carrier (3CC) network will provide 5G coverage for roughly 10 million customers within Beijing’s 4th Ring Road and the Beijing Municipal Administrative Center, 85% of which will use the latest 5G-Advanced technology.  

This 5G-Advanced network offers greater speeds (up to 10 Gbps), improved network capacity, spectral efficiency, and coverage versus existing 5G networks. These capabilities make the new network perfect for supporting the latest consumer use cases, such as immersive videos, UHD live streaming, and cloud gaming, according to China Unicom and it tech partner Huawei. 

But perhaps the most important aspect of this new network – at least from China Unicom’s perspective – will be its integration with AI and machine learning.  

The operator has built in end-to-end automation for sites based on user service data, including AI-powered optimization of provisioning, services, iteration, and inspection. This will not only help the sites to operate more efficiently, resulting in cost savings for the operator, but allow for the rapid deployment of new services automatically, without manual intervention. In this way, this automated process will reduce the provisioning time from days to minutes.  

These AI capabilities will require significant compute power to function effectively. As a result, China Unicom is deploying the necessary compute infrastructure alongside the sites themselves, allowing AI workloads to be handled locally, at the edge.  

China Unicom says it is the first operator to implement this network self-provisioning and self-optimisation in lightweight scenarios.  

“Large bandwidth can quickly improve user experience. Only by providing 10-gigabit network capabilities can we guarantee a gigabit experience for all users. This time, we’ve built a large-scale integrated 5G-Advanced intelligent network to bring a better experience to all China Unicom users across Beijing,” said Yang Lifan, Deputy General Manager of China Unicom Beijing. “We are confident that, based on Huawei’s advanced technologies and our smart operations capabilities, we will provide users in Beijing with an increasingly better network experience in the future.” 

5G-Advanced shines at Workers’ Stadium and the Great Wall 

As part of the public network deployment, China Unicom has paid special attention to the recently reopened Workers’ Stadium, one of the country’s largest football stadiums. The stadium will be supported by numerous 5G-Advanced 3CC sites, both inside and outside, allowing customers to receive download speeds of over 10Gbps. 

“Field tests recorded a downlink peak rate of 11.2 Gbps, allowing a crowd of up to 68,000 people to simultaneously and smoothly watch 1080p videos. Meanwhile, the uplink peak rate reached 4 Gbps, sufficient to support services like UHD shallow compression,” explained Huawei in a statement.  

The stadium’s 5G-Advanced network will also support novel use cases, including those related to the Internet of Vehicles (IoV), Internet of Things (IoT), and extended reality (XR) split rendering. 

Alongside Workers’ Stadium, another area receiving a significant 5G-Advanced network deployment from China Unicom is the Great Wall Scenic Area, situated roughly 70km northeast of Beijing. This area is one of the Great Wall of China’s best preserved and most picturesque sections, receiving over 1.4 million visitors annually.  

Here, China Unicom has worked with the local Yanqing District Government to deploy 5G-Advanced base stations at scale, offering the area 5G coverage both on the ground and at low altitudes of up to 300 metres. This ensures that visitors to the Wall and the surrounding area can enjoy uninterrupted network coverage wherever they are, helping to support tourism, logistics, and emergency rescue. 

As user demands on the network continue to increase and AI use continues to scale, 5G networks must continue to evolve. Telcos around the world will be watching this deployment from China Unicom closely, hoping to take key lessons for their own 5G-Advanced upgrades in the near future. 

News

The European parliament has approved Ursula von der Leyen’s selected commissioners for her second term as President of the European Commission

Earlier this summer, Ursula von der Leyen was re-elected as President of the European Commission, granting her a second five-year term as head of the European Union’s most powerful institution. Now, this week has seen von der Leyen’s selection of European Commissioners ratified by parliament, setting the stage for a new European regulatory era to begin next year.

“This is the Europe that I love. And this is the Europe my Commission will always devote itself to. Because I believe that our generation of Europeans must once again fight for freedom and sovereignty. For the freedom that the people of Ukraine are heroically fighting for. For the freedom to shape our own future in a confrontational and unstable world. But this freedom is not just an abstract word. It is about Europeans knowing that their families will be safe. Their country protected. That they will be able to afford to buy food or heat their homes, with decent wages and fair prices. That they will be able to seize opportunities. And that they feel in control of the change – and the speed of change happening – in society,” said von der Leyen said in a speech this week.

“Our fight for freedom may look different to generations past. But the stakes are just as high. And, honourable Members, these freedoms will not come for free. It will mean making difficult choices. It will mean massive investment in our security and prosperity. And above all it will mean staying united and true to our values. Finding ways to work with each other – and overcoming fragmentation. This is what I – and all 26 women and men with me – will strive for every single day. We are ready to get to work immediately.”

In terms of the incoming Commission’s priorities, von der Leyen spoke of closing the innovation gap between Europe, the US, and China, with a heighted focus on European R&D and international competitiveness. Digital technology, naturally, will be a keystone here, with Finland’s Henna Virkkunen being appointed to lead this strategic approach as Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy.

As far as telecoms regulation is concerned, the other key figure being appointed to the Commission is Spain’s Teresa Ribera Rodríguez, who will become Executive Vice-President for the Clean, Just and Competitive Transition. Rodríguez will be tasked not only with accelerating the bloc’s decarbonisation, but also with overseeing its competitive landscape and State Aid framework.

Exactly how Virkkunen and Rodríguez will approach telecoms regulation remains to be seen, but the first significant indicator will likely be the legislative proposal for the Digital Networks Act, which Virkkunen will be required to prepare early next year. This Act will include a framework for the governance of the bloc’s telecoms sector and is likely to have a major impact not only for telcos but also Big Tech.

You can find the full list of Commissioners-designate here.

The UK’s telecoms landscape is changing rapidly. Join the operators in discussion at Connected North 2025 live in Manchester

Also in the news:
Sweden asks Chinese ship to return for investigation after Baltic Sea cable damage
Australia regulator dishes out midband spectrum for private networks
BT unveils new managed SASE service 

News 

The news comes just days after fellow African nation Chad approved Starlink to begin operations in the country 

Namibia’s Communications Regulatory Authority (CRAN) has ordered Starlink, the satellite internet provider owned by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, to cease business for operating without license in the country. 

While Starlink has filed an application for an operating license, the CRAN has yet to grant it, and has cautioned consumers against purchasing or using Starlink equipment.  

“The public is hereby advised not to purchase Starlink terminal equipment or subscribe to its services, as such activities are illegal,” said an emailed statement. 

“Investigators have already confiscated illegal terminals from consumers and have opened criminal cases with the Namibian police in this regard.” 

The escalation highlights Starlink’s ongoing challenges in establishing a foothold in Africa, where it faces regulatory hurdles and resistance from a number of state-owned telecoms monopolies. However since the start of 2023, Starlink has been launched in 15 African countries. 

Starlink’s services, which are promoted as helping to bridge the digital divide in rural and underserved areas, are often seen as disruptive to local telecoms markets. Indeed, this month Starlink has faced allegations of predatory pricing in Kenya, aimed at luring away customers from local service providers, though the national competition regulator says it will not be investigating the issue.  

Disruption from Starlink’s presence in national telecoms markets will only increase as the company begins to offer direct-to-device connectivity, which it is currently testing in the US with T-Mobile. 

It is worth noting that claims of operating without a licence is nothing new for Starlink. Similar issues have arisen in other nations, such as Cameroon, where authorities have also seized Starlink equipment for operating illegally. 

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

Also in the news:
VMO2 launches UK’s first 5G standalone small cells in Birmingham
BT says Labour’s budget will cost company £100m
Vodafone Spain and Telefonica complete FibreCo deal

News 

The group’s formation is timely, following the high-profile damage to subsea cables in the Baltic Sea earlier this month 

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the International Cable Protection Committee (ICPC) have joined forces to create a new advisory group focused on protecting submarine cables.  

Submarine cables carry over 99% of international data, making them essential for everything from online shopping and financial transactions to digital health services and education. However, is critical infrastructure is vulnerable to damage from fishing, anchoring, natural disasters, equipment failures, and potentially deliberate sabotage, with around 150 to 200 faults reported each year, according to data from the ITU. 

As such, this newly formed advisory body will bring together governments, industry leaders, and experts to develop best practices for protecting cables, speed up cable repairs and deployment efforts, and reduce risks to existing cables. 

“The formation of this International Advisory Body with ITU marks another step toward safeguarding our global digital infrastructure,” said ICPC Chair, Graham Evans in a press release. 

“By working together, we can promote best practices, foster international collaboration, and create a consistent approach to protect the vital submarine cable networks that underpin global connectivity,” he added. 

The advisory group currently includes 40 members, including government ministers, telecom regulators, and industry experts. It will be co-chaired by Bosun Tijani, Nigeria’s Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, and Sandra Maximiano, Chair of Portugal’s National Communications Authority (ANACOM). 

The group will meet at least twice a year, with the first virtual meeting planned to take place next month. A physical meeting at the Submarine Cable Resilience Summit in Nigeria will follow in February. 

The formation of this advisory group comes just days after a pair of submarine cables were severed in the Baltic Sea, putting the submarine cable industry under the international spotlight. An investigation into the cause of the damage is already underway, with European governments saying at the time that they feared the incident could be an intentional act of sabotage on behalf of malicious state actors.  

This week the Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson requested that Chinese cargo ship Yi Peng 3 return to Swedish waters as part of the investigation, as the incident occurred inside Sweden’s exclusive economic zone (the area of the sea to which a country has exclusive rights). The ship was in the area at the time of the damage. 

Just yesterday, it was revealed by the Wall Street Journal that the ship is currently surrounded European vessels after investigators suspect that the ship deliberately dragged its anchor 100 miles across the Baltic Seabed.  

The investigation is still ongoing and the ship’s crew is cooperating.  

“Neither sabotage nor an accident can be ruled out,” said Katja Bego, a Senior Research Fellow at Chatham House, speaking to Reuters. 

Join us at next year’s Submarine Networks EMEA in London. Discounted tickets available here! 

Also in the news:
VMO2 launches UK’s first 5G standalone small cells in Birmingham
BT says Labour’s budget will cost company £100m
Vodafone Spain and Telefonica complete FibreCo deal

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the United Nations Agency for Digital Technologies, and the International Cable Protection Committee (ICPC) have today formed a new ‘International Advisory Body for Submarine Cable Resilience‘, which comes hot on the heels of an ongoing dispute after two fibre optic cables were cut in the Baltic Sea last week.

Just to recap. Two subsea fibre optic cables, one linking Finland and Germany, and the other connecting Sweden to Lithuania, were damaged in less than 24 hours between 17th and 18th November 2024. The finger of suspicion soon cast its way toward the Chinese bulk carrier Yi Peng 3, which was outbound from St. Petersburg (Russia) in the Baltic and was in the vicinity of both breaks at around the same time.

The damage itself is suspected to have been caused after the Yi Peng 3 allegedly dropped and dragged its anchor across the seabed for more than 100 miles over both cables (something the captain should have noticed), with some investigators suspecting that the damage was deliberate (maritime maps normally reference cable locations, precisely to avoid this).

Whatever the reason, the ongoing incident has helped to highlight the vulnerability of these most vital of links. Damage to submarine cables is, however, not uncommon, with an average of 150 to 200 faults occurring globally each year and requiring about three cable repairs per week, according to the ICPC – it usually takes a few weeks to fix a break, but this depends upon the type of break, depth, weather conditions and various other factors.

Today most cable breaks occur due to accidents by deep sea fishing trawlers, as well as ships accidentally dragging their anchor over them, abrasion, equipment failure or marine life deciding to take a nibble (the latter is only really an issue for smaller / older cables that haven’t been buried).

In addition, US and UK intelligence officials have repeatedly highlighted the potential vulnerability of such cables to actions by hostile states. But whatever the cause of a given break, the new Advisory Body will aim to improve cable resilience by promoting best practices for governments and industry players to ensure the timely deployment and repair of submarine cables, reduce the risks of damage, and enhance the continuity of related communications.

Doreen Bogdan-Martin, ITU Secretary-General, said:

“Submarine cables carry over 99 per cent of international data exchanges, making their resilience a global imperative. The Advisory Body will mobilize expertise from around the world to ensure this vital digital infrastructure remains resilient in the face of disasters, accidents, and other risks.”

However, it’s worth remembering that cutting lots of transatlantic fibre optic cables within the same time window (i.e. what you’d have to do to cause a much more serious disruption), while a risk, is something that would be very difficult to completely prevent and carry out. The same sort of attack could similarly then be used against an aggressor.

The fact that so much international trade is carried over the internet also means that other countries are likely to be harmed by such an activity, which in a conflict may include the attacking state (i.e. directly or indirectly). But for now, the greatest danger to such cables still seems to be maritime negligence.

Finally, the Advisory Body’s 40 members include Ministers, Heads of Regulatory Authorities, industry executives, and senior experts on the operations of telecommunication cables from across the world. The body will meet at least two times a year and the first virtual meeting is scheduled for December 2024. The first physical meeting is currently scheduled to take place during the Submarine Cable Resilience Summit, planned for late February 2025 in Abuja, Nigeria.

The UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has today updated their guidance for how broadband ISPs, phone, pay TV and mobile operators should communicate mid-contract prices hikes to consumers. The change is primarily intended to align their policy with Ofcom’s imminent ban on mid-contract price hikes that are linked to inflation and percentage changes.

Just to recap. The ASA introduced its original guidance (here), which was intended to help make sure that providers made their policies on mid-contract price hikes clearer and more transparent, back in mid-2023. At the time, it was still normal for providers to use confusing annual inflation-linked (CPI/RPI) price hikes that were often expressed using percentages, which many people tended to find confusing.

The original guidance recently resulted in several adverts from BT, EE, Plusnet, TalkTalk, O2 and Virgin Media being banned after they were found to have breached the ASA’s guidance (here). This occurred because the way they all presented their annual mid-contract price hikes was found to be “misleading“.

Since then, Ofcom has effectively moved to ban providers from doing mid-contract price hikes that are linked to inflation and percentage changes (here), which is due to be enforced from 17th January 2025. Instead, wherever telecoms or pay TV providers apply in-contract price rises, they must now “set these out clearly and up-front, in pounds and pence, when a customer signs up“.

In response, the ASA yesterday published updated guidance, which is designed to reflect Ofcom’s change and remove references to the old inflation policies etc.

ASA Statement

The guidance already provided that if the amount by which the customer’s monthly contract price would increase was known in advance, then it should be stated in full. The proposed amendments clarify that the full future monthly price and when it will rise are likely to constitute material information that the consumer needs to make an informed transactional decision. Because the means to calculate the future price will always be known in advance, percentage-based presentations of the price are unlikely to be sufficient to avoid misleading the consumer.

The prominence principles set out in the guidance remain the same. In short, ads for telecoms contracts that include (or have the potential to include) a mid-contract price rise are less likely to mislead if:

➤ Information indicating the presence or (in the case of variable contract) possibility of a price rise has equal prominence with the initial price claim

➤ Information on the nature of the price rise (the full future price in pounds and pence) is prominently featured within the main ad copy – no lower than one ‘step’ below the initial price claim

Several other changes have been made to remove references to inflation-linked increases that will no longer be relevant and to contextualise the guidance in relation to the Ofcom rule changes.

The guidance refers to underpinning law in the form of the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (the CPRs). This legislation will be replaced from April 2025 by the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer Act 2024. However, this will not affect the content of this guidance.

The amended guidance is naturally timed to take effect on 17th January 2025. The main principles under the amended text are as follows.

Updated Guidance principles

➤ An ad is more likely to comply when advertisers do not state or imply that a price will apply for the full minimum term of the contract, if that is not the case.

For example, wording such as ‘fixed’ or ‘£X for X months’ is likely to mislead if the price is due to rise before the end of the minimum term. Subsequent information detailing the mid-contract price increase is likely to contradict rather than qualify a claim that implies the price applies for the full contract.

➤ An ad is more likely to comply when information indicating the presence or possibility of a price rise has equal prominence with the initial price claim.

➤ An ad is more likely to comply when the future price statement is featured prominently within the main copy of the ad. Specifically:

• In static-format ads, no lower than one ‘step’ on the qualifications ladder (see Guidance on the use of qualifications) below the information signalling the price increase.

• In TV or video ads, within the main copy, rather than in superimposed text.

The following approaches are unlikely to give adequate weight to the significance of this material information:

• an asterisk linking to information more than one ‘step’ below the price claim

• a link that has to be clicked on or hovered over with a cursor in order to access the information

• in a radio ad, featuring the information only in the terms and conditions that follow the main copy

If the minimum contract term is greater than 12 months and therefore there will be more than one tiered increase, the ad should make that clear.

➤ Ads are more likely to comply when advertisers are mindful of the time of year when the ad is being published, relative to the timing of any compulsory annual increase, to avoid misleading consumers. In particular:

• Ads are less likely to mislead if consumers will be charged the monthly price stated in the ad at least once before the upcoming increase is applied.

➤ An ad is more likely to comply when advertisers make clear when a price rise applies to only one element of the contract.

➤ Where a variable telecoms contract is linked to another product (for example, another telecoms contract, a device finance plan, or a TV or other content subscription service), exiting the variable contract following a price increase may affect the status of the other product.

Where applicable, ads should make clear that if consumers exit the contract for the variable product due to a price rise:

• They will lose a linked product;
• The price of a linked product will increase; and/or
• They will incur charges as a result of terminating a linked product

➤ For ads for variable contracts, where a product listing is included on a webpage with multiple other listings, then it may be sufficient to link each price statement to one or more qualifications providing further information, further down the page – provided the qualification is sufficiently prominent and visible at all times without having to scroll down the page.

Contract-free mobile provider VOXI, which is the virtual network operator (MVNO) sibling of Vodafone, has today launched a series of Black Friday discounts across their Pay Monthly SIM Only 4G and 5G plans, which quadruples or more the included data (mobile broadband) allowance for new customers.

For example, VOXI’s entry-level £10 per month plan now comes with 80GB (GigaBytes) of data instead of 20GB. The same plan also includes unlimited calls, text, picture messages and social media usage (WiFi Calling, 4G Calling and Visual Voicemail are also supported). Similarly, the operators £20 plan now comes with 500GB of data instead of 100GB, while also adding unlimited social media, music and video.

The promotions, which also include various discounts on their Smartphone handsets and bundles, will be available for new customers to take until 2nd December 2024.

Alternative network operator and ISP Quickline, which is deploying gigabit-capable broadband networks (FTTP and wireless) across rural and semi-rural parts of Yorkshire and Lincolnshire (England), has today become the latest provider to launch some big Black Friday discounts on their packages and Amazon vouchers worth up to £1,000.

Building on their current half price for 12 months offer to new customers taking any of their packages, for the Black Friday weekend (until 11:59pm on Monday 2nd December) Quickline says they’re also giving away Amazon vouchers to all new customers with the value of the voucher ranging from £30 to £1,000. The size of voucher you receive will be decided by a prize draw – outcome to be revealed on 3rd December.

Packages start at £14.50 per month (£29 after 12-months) for a 200Mbps symmetric speed broadband service with a free router and installation, which goes up to £24.50 per month (£49) for their top 1000Mbps tier. The provider also promises “no in-contract price hikes” and 24/7 tech support 365 days a year.

Ben O’Leary, Head of Product and Proposition at Quickline, said:

“We’re passionate about bringing cutting-edge technology and reliable internet to rural communities that have been left behind for far too long. Our Black Friday deal is not just about great savings, but also spreading a little extra cheer with our Amazon voucher giveaway. It’s the perfect time to make the switch to faster, more reliable broadband – just in time for Christmas.”

The provider’s original ambition was to cover around 500,000 premises in rural and semi-rural areas across Northern England and beyond with “ultrafast broadband” – via both FTTP and FWA technologies – “by 2025” (here). Some 200,000 of those rural premises were due to be tackled by their wireless network, with the rest coming from FTTP.

However, since then they’ve secured several state-aid funded Project Gigabit contracts, which will bring full fibre broadband with public funding to almost 170,000 premises in mostly rural areas, which rises to 360,000 when you include the provider’s complementary commercial build.