Press Release

[Copenhagen, Denmark, June 20, 2024] Huawei partnered with global Communication Service Providers (CSPs) and industry players including China Mobile, Hong Kong Telecom (HKT), South Africa Openserve, Saudi Arabia STC, Tsinghua University, China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT) and Eastcom Software won the TM Forum’s Best Moonshot Catalyst Award 2024 in Sustainability Challenge with the project “Sustainable Telco by Green Network Evolution”. This project built a GNED (Green Network Evolution and Digitization) integration platform based on digital and intelligent capabilities to support green network evolution, energy saving and carbon emission reduction that is applicable to different scenarios in improving network capabilities, supporting new service growth and enabling sustainable development of the telecom industry. In addition, it also empowers the green development of different vertical industries.

CSPs around the world face many challenges in sustainable development due to policy supervision, economic environment, technology restrain and resources limitation. For example, the energy utilization of equipment rooms is inefficient, the development of new services is restricted and unstable grid power supply. Traditional network development and operation cannot meet the requirements of low-carbon, efficient, intelligent and safety. Based on the GNED platform, this project helps to break the data silos of communication devices, energy auxiliary devices, sensors and vertical industry management systems. It introduces clean energy such as solar energy, and implements network architecture evolution, old device retirement, and equipment room renovation, to ensure the “Clean energy”, “Energy efficiency” and “Empowerment” are effectively implemented.

Based on this innovative solution, CSPs can efficiently and securely promote green network evolution. For example, CSPs can build green sites in rural, highway and offshore scenarios without stable grid power supply. By introducing intelligent cooling integrated cabinets and inference appliances, the solution implements green and intelligent reconstruction of old equipment rooms, greatly improving the energy efficiency, governance level of equipment rooms and providing strong support for the development of new services. This solution also contributes to energy saving and carbon reduction for vertical industries such as smart building and campus. In this project, the team has successful developed several practical cases, including “China Mobile’s 318 All-Solar Highway,” “Openserve’s Intelligent CO Transformation,” and “China Mobile Guangdong’s Enablement for Green Smart Buildings,” which fully demonstrated the feasibility and effectiveness of the project solution.

A number of recent reports in the news media have put out warnings about this week’s early summer heatwave, some of which have even talked of “broadband blackouts“. But the reality is that this week’s heatwave is unlikely to cause any major problems for either consumers or ISPs, provided you’re sensible.

First things first, this week’s “heatwave” is relatively pedestrian and expected to peak in some areas at around 30c. On the one hand, that’s fairly hot for this part of the world, which means our office AC unit is likely to get a good workout. But on the other hand, it’s not a patch on the 40c+ heatwave that much of the country experienced in 2022 and is below the more typical and often location specific summer peaks of c.35-38c.

All electronic devices generally do emit some heat, even if you can’t always feel it, and the least efficient ones tend to produce more than most. Most router manufactures are aware of this and design their hardware to operate at temperatures of up to around 40c (this does vary a bit between manufacturers).

Sadly, an overheating broadband ISP router is something that can happen, although even many of the devices with a stated tolerance of up to 40c may actually continue to function for a handful of degrees past that point. But experiences do vary, and we should point out that your mobile phones, laptops, video game consoles, tablets and other sophisticated electronics may also run into their own issues.

However, a router that overheats, or which nears the point of overheating, will often do one of several things. The most likely outcome is that the device’s processor (CPU / APU) will throttle back and performance will be degraded, which could affect response times on the device’s User Interface (UI) and might also impact your LAN and WiFi speeds or connection stability. But this will also lower the heat output and protect the device.

Sometimes routers, just like other electronics, will get so hot that they restart themselves. But in most cases this is only temporary and the device will eventually return to normal, causing a short connection drop. Only very rarely does this result in complete hardware failure and, as we say, a 30c heatwave is generally well within the tolerance of most such networking kit.

Nevertheless, often all that’s needed to avoid any such issues is to use a bit of common sense, such as by NOT placing the device in locations where the temperatures can easily rise beyond the device’s rated maximum. In that sense, we’ll repeat the same tips we’ve given in the past.

ISPreview’s Top Tips for Keeping Broadband Routers Cool

1. Never place it in direct sunlight, obviously.

2. Never allow your pet to use the router as its own personal sleeping mat. Yes, it might seem cute, but the slim risk of this causing an electrical fault, fire or overheating is something best avoided. Just remember, cats can be jerks, so they won’t obey your orders and even placing said device within a ring of defensive orange peel may not be enough to stop their unwanted advances toward your personal centre of internet excellence.

3. Place the router on a hard and flat surface (ideally something cool), which should allow the air to move freely around it (especially below the device). Wall mounting the device can also help (vertically), provided the wall itself isn’t transmitting a lot of heat (e.g. south facing walls with no cavity insultation will get warmer). In other words, never put your router on a surface that doesn’t allow heat to escape (e.g. on a leather sofa).

4. Some older / cheaper routers and chipsets are more susceptible to heat problems, especially if they’ve had a lot of usage, and at the extreme you might need to consider buying a newer device. Mind you, having an ultra powerful device can sometimes be similarly problematic. Granted, this is a pretty rubbish “tip“, so let’s move on.

5. Consider buying a cheap laptop size cooling mat / pad for the router. Kit like this can be had for around £15-£30 (examples) and often includes a small internal USB fan, which is handy because some routers include low-power USB ports that can be used to run the fan(s). Alternatively, any old cheap fan pointed at the router will do, but this probably isn’t really necessary for a 30c heatwave.

6. If the heat is truly horrific in your home (i.e. 40c+), then it may be wise to switch the router off when not in use. In fact, get out of the house yourself and find shade. But don’t restart it too often if you’re on an older DSL (ADSL, FTTC etc.) based connection, as they don’t respond well to being repeatedly switched on and off during the day (can result in a loss of speed). But in our experience, there’s usually not much harm in turning it off once in the day for a period, although this really is a last resort.

7. Disable non-critical router services when not needed. The less the router has to do, the less heat it will produce and the faster it can operate. Some routers allow you to disable specific services (e.g. wifi, connection logs etc.) and, during hot weather, this can help to keep the device running smoothly. On the other hand, it’s probably best not to fiddle with these things unless you know what you’re doing.

8. Situate the router in the coolest room possible, which is often the lowest point in your home with the thickest walls. Unfortunately this might constrain the performance of your wireless network, thus there’s a careful balancing act to consider.

9. Buy Air Conditioning for your home, provided you can afford the energy bills or have a solar/battery system to off-set the usage.

Hopefully it goes without saying that pouring ice or ice water over your router, or even putting it in the fridge, are both things that should be avoided. If anybody else has some useful tips, then please feel free to add them into the comments below.

Mobile operator and broadband ISP Vodafone UK has this morning launched a new internet security service for their Pro II home broadband packages “at no extra cost“, called ‘Secure Net Home’, which is a combination of digital security and parental controls (filtering) that can be used on more than 150 connected devices in the home.

The provider states that their new Secure Net Home service includes various features, such as real-time protection against viruses and online threats (malware) for any device connected to WiFi. In addition, the parental controls it includes will enable you to create profiles for children, before assigning groups of devices to apply preferred controls for each individual user. This could include their mobile phone or laptop, as well as connected devices such as TVs or games consoles that they might have in their bedrooms.

The service also allows you to set customisable content filters, which ensure age-appropriate browsing across different / selectable types of content, such as adult content, social media, gambling, gaming and video etc. Parents can filter all of this by selected times too, or use the “Pause the internet” feature to restrict internet access on selected devices for an hour.

The new service is built into the operator’s bundled Ultra Hub Router (pictured) and can also be managed within the Secure Net App.

Rob Winterschladen, Consumer Director of Vodafone UK, said:

“We’re really excited to be bringing our best ever broadband security and family controls to busy households, delivering the ultimate in hassle-free security to families across the nation – and all at no extra cost for our Pro II customers.

Vodafone has been committed to helping parents navigate their family’s online use for well over a decade, with our wealth of digital parenting resources and partnership with NSPCC. We’re proud to be supporting parents further with Secure Net Home, providing them with even more practical tools to keep their children safe online.”

The service is now available for all new Pro II customers at no extra cost, while existing Pro II customers also have access to Secure Net Home free of charge (you need to activate it via the Vodafone Broadband App) – available to download through the Apple Store or Google Play.

Interestingly, the editors notes on this announcement also state that Vodafone’s broadband speeds on their Pro II plans “can reach speeds up to 2.2 Gbps in selected areas” (i.e. CityFibre’s new XGS-PON powered FTTP network), although it’s worth noting that they haven’t yet officially launched any packages faster than c.900Mbps. But we have been expecting the 2Gbps tier for some time now (here).

The Milton Keynes-based Complete Technology Group (CTG), which is a UK landlord advisory service that also runs Complete Fibre (i.e. they install full fibre broadband infrastructure into large residential buildings / MDUs), has announced that it will “withdraw its current service offer” from the market over the “coming months“.

Founded in 2020 to raise standards in the safety and quality of digital infrastructure, CTG says it has worked as a bridge for landlords and telecommunications providers, facilitating for both parties so residents living in blocks of flats (Multi-Dwelling Units) can gain access to safe, reliable, gigabit-capable full fibre (FTTP) broadband connectivity.

The company has so far partnered more than 20 landlords, but they appear to have been hit by the “current slowdown in [the] telecoms customers’ market“, which they say has “meant the company [have] been unable to scale sufficiently to continue its planned growth.” The slowdown being referenced most likely relates to the roll-out of full fibre, which has seen many alternative networks scaling back their plans due to rising build costs, high interest rates and competition.

In response, CTG has this morning informed ISPreview that they have “withdrawn [their] current services and ceased new activity while the Board undertakes a review to determine the future of its brands and assets“. Residents already receiving a service from an ISP connected to the infrastructure that Complete Fibre (CTG’s sister company) has built will NOT be affected, but all new installation activity has been “ceased“.

Chris McLain, CEO at Complete Technology Group, said:

“Our decision to manage a controlled withdrawal of our current services ensures we can honour all of our existing commitments for employees, landlords and telcos.

In the coming weeks, we’re focused on supporting our colleagues, all of whom are affected by the decision, and working with strategic partners to get the best outcomes for all stakeholders.”

Just to be clear, CTG’s sister company, Complete Fibre, installs full fibre infrastructure in MDUs, but this is designed to be harnessed by multiple Internet Service Providers to ‘plug and play’, reducing the need for multiple installations, and maintaining the structural integrity of MDUs.

However, deploying into MDUs like this can be expensive and we know that not every broadband operator always wants to work with this sort of solution, which can sometimes create a point of contention (i.e. some would rather control their own MDU installations, rather than be reliant upon a third-party).

CTG is currently in the process of directly contacting landlords, telcos or suppliers impacted by this decision.

Mobile operator EE (BT) has today announced that they’ve deployed “cell sleep” technology across their UK 4G (mobile broadband) network, which they “anticipate” could deliver total energy savings of up to 4.5m KWh per year – reducing both their demand on the local grid and helping to cut costs at a time of high electricity prices.

The announcement, which could be read as somewhat of a response to Three UK’s similar development (here), states that their new “cell sleep” software works by putting certain 4G (LTE) capacity carriers to sleep when the capacity is not needed – based on predicted periods of low traffic which have been established for each site through machine learning.

The system then automatically wakes up during busy periods, and is also configured to react to unexpected surges which might occur during scheduled sleep modes – in which event, the carriers wake up within a matter of seconds to serve demand without any interruption to customers.

The setup also supports an even lower power state, called “deep sleep“, which can be activated if required, such as during overnight periods of extremely low demand. According to BT, the technology is expected to deliver energy savings of up to 2 KWh per site per day, or 4.5m KWh per year across EE’s estate.

Greg McCall, Chief Networks Officer at BT Group, said:

“There is huge potential for energy savings across our networks by dynamically matching power consumption against network usage. The optimisation and roll-out of cell sleep technology to over 19,500 sites across the UK is a significant milestone in achieving this, and an important development in countering the massive growth in data consumption we’re seeing across our networks.”

The move complements the operator’s recent 3G switch-off, which is claimed to deliver energy savings of 17.44m KWh per year. Not to mention that EE has also been deploying more energy-efficient Radio Access Network (RAN) equipment, such as ultra-lightweight Massive MIMO technology, which they claim uses up to 40% less energy than the previous generation of radio equipment.

News

We sat in on the 5G and Connectivity track at this year’s a tech mobility focussed event MOVE in London, hearing from interesting speakers discussing connectivity in electric vehicle market, and diving into smart city and infrastructure issues that better connectivity can help solve

The first speaker of the day was Marc Sauter, Head of internet of things (IoT) product management at Vodafone, who shared his thoughts on how IoT connectivity can play a critical role in driving innovation and sustainability within the market, and how Vodafone’s IoT solutions are benefitting customers sustainably. 

We are given the example of Leaksafe, a UK-based company providing water leak detection and prevention systems in both commercial and residential buildings. They work with the property owners and managers to detect leaks and shut off the water immediately if one is found. Not detecting a leak quick enough can cause significant damage, which the insurance industry paid out nearly a billion pounds for in 2022. 

Vodafone partnered with the company to create a Narrowband-IoT (NB-IoT) leak detection solution, to stop the small leaks more quickly. This means that leaks and their exact location can be determined immediately. Once the device gets wet, it immediately sends a message to Leaksafe’s data platform using the NB-IoT. The owner or property manager gets an alert through text or an app, and can view the issue in real time through it. 

There are thousands of use cases for technology like this, which will increase the efficiency of infrastructure within our cities. “With IoT connectivity, you can connect anything, anywhere at any time, securely simply and at scale to transform businesses,” concluded Sauter. 

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

Also in the news:
Freshwave to deploy small cells in Manchester for VMO2
SGP.32: A reality check on the latest remote SIM provisioning standard
Vodafone Germany partners with FlyNex on industrial drone platform   

Today we’re taking our usual biannual look back to see how the average UK broadband download and upload speeds have changed across the fastest nationally available fixed line ISPs, mobile operators and Starlink (satellite) since the end of 2023. Overall, fixed broadband speeds have continued to improve, while mobile remains variable.

As usual the results in this report stem from web-based speed testing by consumers and are thus inevitably impacted by a number of factors, such as the rising coverage of faster networks (e.g. full fibre and 5G) and the associated level of take-up by customers. Due to this, it helps to understand any key changes in network deployments and there have been a few small changes since the last report (Ofcom’s data).

Fixed Connection
Jan 2024 Coverage (Sept 2023)

% Under 10Mbps (USO)
c.1% (c. 1%)

Superfast (30Mbps+)
97% (97%)

Gigabit-capable
80% (78%)

Full Fibre (FTTP)
62% (57%)

The first thing to note is that the roll-out of Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) technology has taken a bit of a hit over the past year, with many networks reporting job losses and slowing their builds due to wider market pressures (rising costs, high interest rates, competition etc.). Some have weathered this better than others, although there are still many operators with active builds (Summary of Full Fibre Build Progress) and a few have managed to accelerate their deployments (e.g. Openreach, Netomnia, nexfibre / VMO2).

Most of the gigabit-capable coverage continues to be fuelled by commercial roll-outs in urban areas (already reaching 80% of the UK), while the Government’s £5bn Project Gigabit programme (focuses on the final c.20% of unviable / rural premises) aims to help this reach over 85% by 2025, followed by “at least” 99% by 2030. Ofcom predicts the UK will achieve around 90-94% coverage by May 2026 (here).

In terms of mobile networks, both 4G and 5G coverage hasn’t changed all that much. Commercial 5G deployments showed the biggest rise, while the industry-led £1bn Shared Rural Network (SRN) project has made a little progress on boosting geographic 4G coverage and aims to cover 95% of the UK – from at least one operator – by the end of 2025.

Mobile Coverage

Jan 2024 Coverage (Sept 2023)

4G Geographic
81-88% (80-87%)

5G Premises (Outdoor) from at least 1 operator
unchanged (85-93%)

Fastest Major Fixed Broadband ISPs (H1 2024 vs H2 2023)

The data in this report has been gathered from Thinkbroadband’s independent speedtest database (inc. ISPreview’s Broadband Speedtest). The table only includes the largest and most established independent ISPs with strong national availability, but there is a separate table for smaller alternative networks on page 2 – these are difficult to include because they aren’t yet available to the majority of premises and don’t produce much test data due to fewer users.

Naturally, there are caveats to consider with speedtest based studies like this, not least because the results tend to be more reflective of take-up than network availability. For example, some ISPs may have a much larger proportion of customers on slower copper-based (ADSL or FTTC) lines, which can weigh against anybody on faster FTTP packages with the same provider (i.e. pulling average speeds down). The opposite can also be true.

Average Download Speeds – Top 8

No.
Operator
H1 – 2024 (Top 10%)
H2 – 2023 (Top 10%)
Change %

1.
Virgin Media
280Mbps (675.4Mbps)
264.5Mbps (626.6Mbps)
5.86%

2.
Zen Internet
199.1Mbps (607.1Mbps)
165.4Mbps (506.3Mbps)
20.37%

3.
Vodafone
179.7Mbps (545.2Mbps)
134.8Mbps (430.3Mbps)
33.31%

4.
BT
116.8Mbps (313Mbps)
93.7Mbps (231.5Mbps)
24.65%

5.
Sky Broadband
74.3Mbps (142.6Mbps)
61Mbps (127.5Mbps)
21.8%

6.
Plusnet
71.5Mbps (147.7Mbps)
58.5Mbps (103.6Mbps)
22.22%

7.
EE
68.3Mbps (103.8Mbps)
72.1Mbps (108.5Mbps)
-5.27%

8.
TalkTalk
64Mbps (114.2Mbps)
64.8Mbps (107.8Mbps)
-1.23%

Average Upload Speeds – Top 8

No.
Operator
H1 – 2024
H2 – 2023
Change %

1.
Zen Internet
106.2Mbps
58.3Mbps
82.16%

2.
Vodafone
73.1Mbps
55.5Mbps
31.71%

3.
Virgin Media
39.2Mbps
34.4Mbps
13.95%

4.
BT
24Mbps
20.7Mbps
15.94%

5.
Sky Broadband
16.7Mbps
14.9Mbps
12.08%

6.
EE
16.4Mbps
19.5Mbps
-15.9%

7.
TalkTalk
15.7Mbps
17.6Mbps
-10.8%

8.
Plusnet
15.4Mbps
13.1Mbps
17.56%

Overall, the average download speed of the top national providers was 131.7Mbps (up from 114.35Mbps) and the average upload speed hit 38.3Mbps (up from 29.25Mbps). Vodafone delivered the biggest (33%) uplift in download performance over the first half of the year, while Zen Internet saw a massive (82%) increase in upload speed. But otherwise most of the changes were in positive territory and about what we’d normally expect.

The exceptions to the rule this time around were EE and TalkTalk, both of quick recorded an unexpected fall in download performance, which seemed to get even worse for uploads. At the time of writing we couldn’t point to any particular reason for why this occurred and it will be interesting to see if they recover for the end of this year.

Finally, Virgin Media launched their new 2Gbps plan earlier this year and a symmetric speed add-on, but we weren’t expecting much of an impact from those changes as they currently only impact people covered by the new nexfibre network (1 million premises).

Satellites

We’ve also been keeping track of the results for SpaceX’s satellite based Starlink broadband service. Sadly, not enough data exists to include other satellite platforms or providers, but that may change in the future. Otherwise, Starlink’s download performance appears to have declined during the first six months of 2024, while their upload speeds have increased.

 
H1 – 2024 (Top 10%)
H2 – 2023 (Top 10%)

Download
90.7Mbps (156.9Mbps)
105.2Mbps (171.3Mbps)

Upload
11.2Mbps (16.4Mbps)
8.8Mbps (13.3Mbps)

Now flick over to page 2 to see how the fastest full fibre alternative network (altnet) ISPs and mobile operators performed.

Some of Vodafone’s UK customers have questioned the mobile network operator’s claim that their inclusive roaming feature comes at “no extra cost”, particularly after a stealthy 22p call connection fee was introduced. But you’d have to dig deeper into their website to find it and the charge doesn’t apply to everybody.

A number of Vodafone’s mobile plans currently come with roaming equipped – usually “Xtra: Inclusive roaming in 83 worldwide destinations” or “Inclusive roaming in 51 European destinations“. Both of which are promoted as allowing customers in related countries to “use your UK allowance of data, minutes and texts at no extra cost“.

However, following recent holiday periods (e.g. Easter and Spring Half Term), we’ve had a small number of conflicting complaints from Vodafone customers about their call charges. A couple of which complained that they’d been hit with an unexpected call connection charge (22p) while abroad in one of the supported countries (e.g. when calling a local French number from inside France).

The good news is that this charge appears to have been levelled in error and has since been corrected for one of those affected (example). The operator confirmed that the aforementioned plans do, in fact, allow customers to “call and text back to the UK and within the country you’re roaming in at no extra cost.”

On the other hand, Vodafone does state that a new 22p charge was still introduced during February 2024, albeit only for when making calls from one EU country to another when roaming (this should only impact new customers after that date).

A Vodafone spokesperson told ISPreview:

“If you’re a Vodafone customer on a plan that includes 51 European destinations or 83 worldwide destinations, and you’re roaming in one of these destinations, your plan allows you to:

– Call and text back the UK and within the country you’re roaming in at no extra cost
– Use the data in your plan – up to our fair use policy limit of 25GB
– Receive calls and texts at no extra cost

These are genuine ‘roam like at home plans’ so, mimic the behaviour of being in the UK, which means calls to countries other than the UK or the one you’re roaming in are charged at international rates. If you have one of our International calls Extras, these also work when roaming in one of these destinations, just as they do when you’re in the UK.

We introduced a change in February of this year to charge for calls from one EU country to another when roaming. This only impacts new customers, so customers on plans before this date are unaffected by this change.”

At the time of writing, the “new” calling charge doesn’t get mentioned if you follow the “See plan details ->” link on their mobile plan summaries, which will in turn only take you through to their Global Roaming page that also makes no mention of the 22p “international” call connection charge. But it does show up if you dig deeper into their site and find the Travelling Abroad page, which highlights it for international calls to Zones A and B (Europe).

News 

The acquisition was first announced last January 

The UK Competition and Markets Authority has opened an inquiry to investigate whether Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s commencing acquisition of Juniper Networks for $14 billion would cause competition concerns in the market. 

The CMA “is considering whether it is or may be the case that this transaction, if carried into effect, will result in the creation of a relevant merger situation under the merger provisions of the Enterprise Act 2002 and, if so, whether the creation of that situation may be expected to result in a substantial lessening of competition within any market or markets in the United Kingdom for goods or services,” read the official statement. It invites any interested parties to submit comments on the transaction. 

Back in January, HPE announced that it would acquire Juniper Networks in an all-cash deal of approximately $14 billion, equating to $40 per share. After the acquisition, HPE estimates that its networking business will double, as the “explosion of AI and hybrid cloud-driven business is accelerating demand for secure, unified technology solutions that connect, protect, and analyse companies’ data from edge to cloud,” the companies said. 

“HPE’s acquisition of Juniper represents an important inflection point in the industry and will change the dynamics in the networking market and provide customers and partners with a new alternative that meets their toughest demands,” said HPE President and CEO Antonio Neri in a press release. 

If approved, the combined entity will be run Juniper CEO Rami Rahim who will report to Neri. 

In a statement, the CMA confirmed that phase one of the investigation would begin on 20 June. The investigation will run until 14 August, when the CMA will decide if moving to a second phase if necessary. 

Investigations by the CMA into such large transactions are not unexpected. Back when the deal was announced, the two companies expected the deal to close by early 2025 at the latest, pending regulatory approval. 

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

Also in the news: 

Global Telco AI Alliance sign LLM JV
Telenor teams up with AWS for sovereign cloud service
Nvidia and HPE team up for gen AI solution

The mobile operator division of supermarket chain ASDA, which is powered by a virtual operator (MVNO) agreement with Vodafone, has just introduced a new promotion that cuts the price of their 10GB and 25GB Pay As You Go (PAYG) mobile plans in half for the first 6 months of service. But only if you set it to auto-renew.

The move means that new customers of their 10GB’s (mobile broadband data) plan will now pay just £8 £4 per month, while their 25GB plan is £15 £7.50. Both plans include unlimited minutes and calls, a 30-day term and inclusive roaming in 46 European destinations.

The new promotion is set to run until 31st August 2024.