Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

The American Content Delivery Network (CDN) and IT service company Cloudflare has committed to make several key changes in order to avoid breaking a significant chunk of the internet again, much as they did on two occasions between November (here) and, to a lesser extent, during early December 2025.

The biggest of the two events occurred on 18th November, when a huge chunk of the internet suddenly became sporadically inaccessible for several hours after Cloudflare pushed out a “wrong configuration” (i.e. a bug in generation logic for their Bot Management feature file) that “took down our network in seconds“.

Part of the problem stems from the difference between how Cloudflare deploys different types of updates. For example, when the company releases software version updates they do so in a controlled and monitored fashion. For each new binary release, the deployment must successfully complete multiple gates before it can serve worldwide traffic (e.g. deploying to staff traffic first and then a phased roll-out).

“If we detect an anomaly at any stage, we can revert the release without any human intervention,” said the company’s Chief Technical Officer, Dane Knecht, in a new blog (here). But Cloudflare doesn’t apply the same methodology to configuration changes, which are deployed instantly. “We give this power to our customers too: If you make a change to a setting in Cloudflare, it will propagate globally in seconds,” added Dane.

Cloudflare now acknowledges that the past two incidents have demonstrated that they “need to treat any change that is applied to how we serve traffic in our network with the same level of tested caution that we apply to changes to the software itself“. As a result, the provider has proposed to gradually make a series of changes to address this and to generally improve resilience, so that if an outage does occur again then it’s impact should be much less significant. All of this will fall under a new plan called: Code Orange: Fail Small.

Key Plans for Code Orange: Fail Small

➤ Require controlled rollouts for any configuration change that is propagated to the network, just like we do today for software binary releases.

➤ Review, improve, and test failure modes of all systems handling network traffic to ensure they exhibit well-defined behaviour under all conditions, including unexpected error states.

➤ Change our internal “break glass” procedures, and remove any circular dependencies so that we, and our customers, can act fast and access all systems without issue during an incident.

These projects aim to deliver iterative improvements as they proceed, rather than one “big bang” change at their conclusion. By the end of Q1 2026, Cloudflare expects to be in a position to ensure that all production systems are covered by Health Mediated Deployments (HMD) for configuration management (i.e. releasing config updates in the same way as software updates).

The company will also have updated its systems, by the same target date, to adhere to proper failure modes as appropriate for each product set and to ensure they have the processes in place, so the right people have the right access to provide proper remediation during an emergency.

“We understand that these incidents are painful for our customers and the Internet as a whole. We’re deeply embarrassed by them, which is why this work is the first priority for everyone here at Cloudflare,” said Dane Knecht.

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

Alternative rural internet provider Voneus, which has built a mix of full fibre (FTTP) and wireless (FWA) broadband networks over some of Wales and England’s most remote communities, have chosen Christmas to be the time when they give some Pembrokeshire homes 45 days’ notice of future service “termination” due to a local network “redesign“.

ISPreview hasn’t yet received enough feedback to assess exactly how many premises or customers are likely to be impacted by this, but it appears to be focused on a small number of customers in a remote area between Mathry and Castle Morris (SA62 5ES).

Customers in this area received a somewhat unwelcome pre-Christmas message from Voneus at the very end of last week, which informed them that the provider was busy “redesigning our network and the delivery of our services” and that, as a result of this, they would “no longer be able to provide you with the current [wireless] broadband service“.

Homes impacted by this have at least been given 45 days’ notice about the “termination” of their broadband service, although we should add that anybody who takes a VoIP based “digital landline” phone service from Voneus will also lose access to that on the same date.

Customer Email from Voneus

Dear XXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXX

We are writing to inform you that we are redesigning our network and the delivery of our services. As a result, Voneus will no longer be able to provide you with the current FWA broadband service.

Therefore regrettably, this notice provides you with 45 days’ notice of termination of your broadband service which will terminate on 2 February 2026.

If you have been paying for your broadband service, we want to assure you that all future billing from the date the broadband service terminates will also terminate. Advanced charges, where applicable, will be refunded automatically. There will be no further charges for your broadband service from us beyond the broadband service termination date.

If you currently have a VOIP digital landline service with us, please be aware that this service will also cease on the broadband termination date. We will retain your phone number for up to 45 days from the termination date. If you wish to keep your number, you must request your new provider to port this number within the 45-day window.

You do not need to cancel your contract, as we will cancel your contract at XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX, SA62 5ES effective on the termination date.

We’re truly sorry for any inconvenience this may cause. If you have any questions or require further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact our customer support team directly at 0333 880 4141 (option 2) or via email at helpdesk@voneus.com.

Best wishes,

Voneus

Sadly, it’s not the first time that Voneus has caused frustration for some of the rural communities they serve in remote parts of Wales (here and here), although sending this latest message out immediately before Christmas week is perhaps not the best example of good timing. But a quick check suggests that at least some of this area is now covered by Openreach’s fibre (FTTP) network.

The move comes shortly after Voneus announced that they had strengthened their position for “long-term growth” with a business reorganisation and secured funding through to 2030 (here). But that same announcement also warned of how they’d be undertaking a “business reorganisation to ensure operational efficiency and future scalability,” which is expected to result in further job cuts and “outsourcing of some business functions” as the ISP looks to cut its costs.

ISPreview contacted Voneus for a comment about this yesterday afternoon and we await their response.

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

The Government has announced that South Western Railway (SWR) has launched a new one-year trial to deliver faster onboard WiFi (wireless broadband) for people travelling on journeys between London Waterloo, Portsmouth Harbour and Weymouth in England. The effort should complement recent work to deploy a new track-side fibre and 5G mast network (here).

The trial also means that the now publicly-owned train and rail operator can finally deliver around 97% WiFi service coverage through the New Forest, which is often one of the network’s most challenging rural “not spot” areas for onboard internet connectivity (roughly 20 minutes of the journey in this area would normally be left without usable WiFi).

As with some of the other satellite-based data backhaul solutions we’ve seen on other UK trains, the new trial – taking place on a Class 444 train – is being powered by Starlink’s mega-constellation of ultrafast broadband satellites in Low Earth Orbit (LEO).

At present this is just being deployed on a single train, but if successful the technology could be rolled out across other trains in the SWR fleet and may thus “encourage other publicly-owned operators to do the same“.

Rail Minister, Lord Peter Hendy, said:

“A good wifi signal can transform a journey and SWR’s wifi trial is a game changer for passengers.

With Christmas and New Year celebrations just around the corner, passengers travelling for the holidays can enjoy their journeys knowing they’ll stay connected – whether that’s to watch their favourite festive films, do last-minute shopping or catch up with loved ones at this special time of year.

This is exactly the kind of improvement rail operators under public ownership can deliver to put passengers first and make rail travel enjoyable for all.”

Peter Williams, SWR’s Customer and Commercial Director, said:

“We know how important reliable wifi is to our customers – it supports productivity, keeps people connected and entertained and makes rail an even more attractive and sustainable way to travel.

By bringing satellite technology to our trains, we’re covering some of the hardest-to-reach parts of the network and showing that seamless connectivity is possible wherever you travel. This is another big step towards improving the onboard experience for our customers and we are excited to see how it can benefit more routes across our network in future.”

Obviously, satellite solutions don’t have perfect coverage, particularly when it comes to some of the long stretches of tunnels on SWR’s line, which can temporarily break connectivity. But that’s where the ongoing efforts to improve track-side 5G and fibre upgrades could eventually help to fill the gaps.

In addition, the government are also running Project Reach, which reflects a public-private partnership that will deploy “ultra fast fibre optic cable” across 1,000 kilometres of major rail lines to help “eliminate mobile signal blackspots” in tunnels on “key rail routes” up and down the country (this could potentially be expanded to 5,000km in the future).

The multi-year project’s first installation of mobile infrastructure is expected to begin in 2026 and be fully rolled out by 2028, although it’s initially only focused on the East Coast Main Line, parts of the West Coast Main Line and the Great Western Main Line.

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

A few years have passed since we first reported on business-focused network operator GigaAir and their plan to deploy a new Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) and fixed wireless broadband network across parts of Scotland (here). The good news is that their combined network now passes in excess of 6,500 business premises across Glasgow City Centre.

According to the company’s boss, Alan Cameron, the combined network already reaches into areas such as the Merchant City and Candleriggs, the Buchanan Street corridor, the Financial District, Argyle Street, and is also extending into Queenslie and Bailieston.

The provider’s Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) network – partly delivered using Siklu (Ceragon), Terragraph and E-band wireless technologies – and older GPON powered FTTP has been around for a while. But we’re told that the addition of a 10Gbps capable XGS-PON powered full fibre network upgrade has occurred over the “past few months“, which gives them a bit of an edge in certain areas.

The first live customer connections on the new XGS-PON lines have only recently started to go live. But just to be clear, GigaAir is a wholesale-focused network provider, and their initial XGS-PON connections are being delivered in partnership with business provider Converged Communications.

Original article Total Telecom:Read More

The Chinese tech giant says AI agents will not only help telcos become more efficient, but will open crucial new revenue streams  

For many years now, the global telecommunications industry has been racing to achieve the somewhat amorphous goal of ‘digital transformation’, focused on replacing hardware with software, shift workloads to the cloud, and incorporate digital technologies. Today, in the age of AI, this digital transformation has become a mere stepping stone to a far more paradigmatic shift for telcos: the move towards comprehensive digital intelligence, incorporating AI and automation throughout operations.  

For Huawei, this is less a change in direction than it is the natural next step of digital strategy. Digitalisation of telco functions offered the industry a huge wealth of data, as well as the operational agility to begin using it effectively. Huawei first introduced a formal AI strategy back in 2018, aiming to use AI as a catalyst for this data boom across the telco sector. At that time,  AI served primarily as a reporting or analytical tool, offering insights and limited automation.    

Fast forward to 2025, and rapid advances in AI technology have seen the development of AI agents, fully collaborative operational partners capable of making data-driven decisions and acting upon them fully autonomously. The agentic AI revolution is already underway and, according to Huawei, telcos cannot afford to be left behind.    

Digital twins and Agentic AI combine for intelligent networks  

Huawei’s core AI strategy in the agentic AI era is built upon the powerful, synergistic convergence of two key technologies: digital twins and agentic AI.   

This fusion establishes a new operational paradigm where human expertise works in close collaboration with specialised, multi-layered AI agents. The digital twin acts as a virtual, real-time, and highly accurate replica of the physical network, creating a risk-free environment for experimentation.   

This virtual playground allows AI to explore complex scenarios, model failures, and test automated decisions without ever impacting live services. The AI then uses this simulation capability to move beyond simply reactive fault resolution, instead becoming a fully autonomous, intelligent system capable of accurately predicting faults, self-healing, and self-optimising in real time.   

This powerful combination, creating a new operating model for telcos, was at the heart of Huawei’s demonstrations at this year’s MWC Barcelona, including breakthroughs for both fixed and 5G networks.  

A multi-agent framework for O&M  

Operations and maintenance (O&M) is an area where this combination is particularly effective, with Huawei leveraging this dual strategy to achieve unprecedented levels of automation. The company’s approach is predicated on an AI multi-agent framework, where specialised intelligent agents operate and communicate across different network domains (e.g., transport, core, and RAN). These agents are tasked with specific functions, such as fault detection in a single domain or performance optimisation, but collaborate closely, using the predictive and simulation capabilities of the digital twin to contextualise their actions and resolve cross-domain issues.  

This collaborative structure enables a complete closed-loop automation chain, which Huawei describes as ‘perception–analysis–decision–execution’. The agents work in real time to intelligently detect subtle anomalies, rapidly demarcate complex cross-domain faults, precisely localise the root cause of issues, and initiate automated closed-loop handling.   

For operators, the benefits are significant. Faults can be identified and resolved in seconds rather than minutes, resulting in a much improved experience for customers. One customer reported consumer churn was reduced by 57% after incorporating these agents.  

AI with OSS/BSS  

The benefits of AI agents extend far beyond network management. AI agents can also be tailored for critical Business Support Systems (BSS) and Operational Support Systems (OSS) roles, driving up efficiencies and even generating new revenue streams.   

Huawei’s work in this area is built on its unified LLM Engine agent platform, which hosts numerous specialised agents. Human engineers can use simple language to present a problem to the agents on this platform and built-in Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) capabilities ensure that the agents answer the prompt using predefined data sets. This not only ensures the answers generated represent best practice, but also ensures data security, providing greater control over the data these agents interact with.   

Alongside lightweight analytics models, these agents can assist in complex, mission-critical decision-making processes. They transform cumbersome, multi-step business workflows into streamlined, intelligent interactions.  

New revenue streams with business agents  

Leveraging a comprehensive AI-Native strategy, agents in the BSS domain can also see AI agents deployed across a range of revenue-generating contexts. For example:  

• Customer Relationship Management (CRM): agents predict churn risk, and suggest hyper-personalised product bundles, moving marketing from mass campaigns to precise, data-driven targeting. In addition, in the B2B business domain, agents help account managers gain insights into lead opportunities, prepare materials for high-level visits, generate solutions, forecast profitability, and review contract risks, significantly improving business processing efficiency and accelerating business growth.  

• Convergent Billing System (CBS):  offering Design Agents can reduce the time to market for packages, significantly accelerating operators’ business innovation and revenue realisation. Throughout the billing process, Huawei CBS enables Intelligent Bill Run Management, Intelligent Invoice Agent, Intelligent Dispute Resolution, and Intelligent Dunning and Payment. CBS deeply integrates AI into the entire billing and business operations process this creates a zero-confusion billing experience for end-users, solidifying the foundation for sustainable business growth driven by superior customer experience. 

• Artificial Intelligence Contact Center (AICC):  AI is available for agents to help drive higher productivity and an enhanced employee experience, AI performs two broad functions, real-time call guidance and robotic process automation, through capabilities like post-call summarisation, suggest scripts to agents for targeted response, support agents with the right information through knowledge recommendations, AI-powered voice/chat/video bots for outbound marketing and leverages AI-powered insights about customers’ product and channel preferences to provide personalised marketing messages.  

• Mobile Money: agents assist in fraud detection and complex transaction monitoring, assuring security while streamlining customer enrolment and service usage.  

Ultimately, we are seeing AI used to streamline core business processes, reduce the time-to-market for new services, and drive substantial new revenue streams through more precise commercial execution. For Huawei, agentic AI will form the foundation of a new telco operating and business model, one in which autonomous intelligence drives efficiency, resilience, and, crucially, sustainable growth in an increasingly competitive market.  

A benchmark for digital intelligence transformation in telecoms  

Huawei’s recent recognition at the World Communication Awards reinforces that its vision for digital intelligence is already taking shape with global operators. The company secured the Silver Award for Total Experience, demonstrating how intelligent agents can transform enterprise engagement and service assurance. By reducing business processing time and speeding up repair cycles, these agents enable faster, more responsive interactions for enterprise customers.    

The second Silver Award, in the Best Digital Transformation Programme category, points to structural change within network operations. By combining automated diagnostics with closed-loop execution, operators are cutting manual workloads and accelerating fault resolution, while strengthening the commercial foundations for new digital services.   

Together, the wins underline how far Huawei has come since first introducing its AI strategy in 2018. What began with analytics and automation has evolved into collaborative AI agents that elevate customer experience, reshape O&M, and drive commercial outcomes. For operators pursuing digital intelligence, these awards signal a mature and scalable model for AI adoption, and a glimpse of the new operating model the industry is moving toward.  

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

The Government’s Building Digital UK agency has published their December 2025 update on the delivery progress of contracts that have been awarded under their £5bn Project Gigabit broadband rollout scheme. The update reveals that some 183,380 contracted premises (up from 167,770 in Nov 2025) have so far been covered out of a planned total of 1,002,210.

Just to be clear. The figures in this update are not directly comparable to the figures published in BDUK’s general statistics releases. Today’s report tracks the number of contracted premises to which a supplier has delivered a gigabit-capable connection under the main subsidy scheme, whereas the official statistics include the number of premises that have also received a gigabit-capable connection as a result of any public BDUK subsidy (i.e. that covers other schemes too, like gigabit vouchers etc.).

At present over 88% of UK premises can already access a gigabit-capable network (here) and Ofcom separately forecasts that this could reach between 91-97% by January 2028 (here). Most of this has been delivered by commercial deployments (predominantly focused on urban and semi-urban areas), but there are some areas in the final 10-20% of premises that are simply too expensive for commercial providers to tackle.

Project Gigabit was originally established in 2021 to help extend broadband ISP networks capable of delivering download speeds of at least 1000Mbps (1Gbps) to achieve “nationwide” coverage (c.99%) by 2030 2032 (here) – focusing on the commercially unviable areas (usually rural and semi-rural locations). The project has already committed most of its budget up to 2030, but there are still some contracts yet to be awarded and others that have been scaled-back or switched suppliers (here, here, here and here).

At this point it’s worth remembering that all of the listed contracts were awarded at different times and are thus at very different stages of development (some started several years apart). A few of the listed contracts have already completed their delivery, such as Wessex Internet’s roll-out for North Dorset and GoFibre’s roll-outs for County Durham and North Northumberland.

Project Gigabit – Contracted Premises and Built Premises by Contract (Dec 2025)

We should point out that CityFibre’s progress under the £58.6m (public subsidy) contract for rural parts of Nottinghamshire and West Lincolnshire (Lot 10) needs to be taken in context, since Connexin originally held this until only a few months ago when they were acquired by CityFibre. Connexin only began the build phase at the end of last year (here), thus its delivery has been stuck in limbo due to that consolidation.

The above is an example of why it’s important to understand the context behind each contract before judging its delivery progress, since a face-value assessment will overlook key realities. Speaking of which, some of the contracted figures may differ from the original announcements, which reflects the usual contract modifications (i.e. the scope of delivery can increase or decrease, such as due to commercial builds by other operators going further than expected or builds costing more than expected etc.).

For some extra context, you can check out the previous figures for November 2025 (here) and October 2025 (here).

Original article Total Telecom:Read More

Viewpoint

At this year’s Connected Germany, Dr. Frederic Ufer launched the conference with a loud and-clear message: We must shift our focus from simply building networks—to activating them. This idea permeated every session and underscores a new path forward for the broadband industry.

We have long measured success by evaluating “homes passed.” But the reality is this: Just building a network doesn’t guarantee demand or value—and it certainly doesn’t generate recurring monthly revenues for the network operator or ISP.

Instead, activation, quality of experience, and genuine customer proximity determine whether investments pay off and whether fiber truly becomes part of people’s everyday lives.

That set the stage for my session, and the main question I would ask: How do modern network architectures enable exactly this kind of activation—technically, operationally, and economically?

Three Major Challenges From Old Architectures and How They Block Activation

In many European markets, active point-to-point (PtP) technologies and historically grown structures still dominate. Yet they bring three major challenges:

1. Unmanaged customer demarcation points
2. High ongoing costs due to many (often smaller) active outdoor cabinets
3. Complexity caused by multi-vendor environments and siloed BNG architectures

The problem: Such networks are difficult to automate—and even harder to translate into exceptional customer experiences.

The Shift Begins With XGS-PON: Less Complexity, More Activation

The operators we work with—in Germany and internationally—have made a clear decision: New regions, as well as existing active PtP networks, are built or migrated exclusively to XGS-PON.

Why? Because PON immediately removes barriers:

• Passive cabinets instead of costly active sites
• Higher customer density per aggregation point
• Controlled demarcation at the customer premises
• End-to-end service quality
• Lower susceptibility to faults
• Measurably lower OPEX

In short: PON creates a simplified network that can be cleanly controlled and scaled. And that is the prerequisite for any serious activation strategy.

The Next Step: Consolidation Onto a Unified Software Platform

While Germany is still heavily focused on the technology transition, operators in other regions have already reached the next level: The traditional BNG is replaced by a disaggregated, software-based platform.

This platform consolidates everything within a single software platform:

• Routing
• BNG functions
• Subscriber management
• Provisioning
• Local or centralized OLT management

The result:

• One end-to-end workflow
• Fewer systems, fewer errors
• Easier technician training
• Seamless upgrades, including future technologies like 50G-PON

Less infrastructure, more control. Less complexity, more activation.

Then Comes Robotics… Proof of Why Activation Matters Now

The keynote provided an example that brought everything together: The upcoming use of humanoid robotics requires millisecond-level latency—a technical requirement that neither DSL nor cable could ever meet.

The message was clear: Only activated fiber connections provide the foundation for AI, robotics, industry, healthcare, and everyday digital services.

If networks are built but not used, the entire economy loses.

Automation Is a Necessity, Not a “Nice-to-Have” (If You Want to Move From Reactivityto Proactivity)

In my session, I showed how operators are already working proactively today, rather than
waiting for fault reports.

With solutions such as Calix Operations Cloud, network operators can:

• Detect “dying” optics early
• Automatically monitor ports
• Analyze patterns
• Drastically reduce costly field technician deployments
• Prevent customer tickets before they occur

Activation does not happen at the point of sale. It happens in operations.

Conclusion: If You Want Activation, You Must Simplify

“Homes passed” is an important foundation, but “homes activated” is what truly matters. Activation is only possible with architecture that enables automation, efficiency, and experience.

The path forward leads through:

• XGS-PON
• Consolidation onto a software platform
• Automated operating models
• Clear customer experiences instead of a technology-first mindset

With XGS-PON and automation, networks are not just built—but used, experienced, and
deployed to create real value.

This viewpoint was provided by Udo Abt of Calix who were sponsors of Connected Germany 2025. You will also be able to meet Calix at Connected Britain 2026, find out more here.

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

The LCR Connect network, which is a £32 million joint venture that has rolled out a new 350km long multi-gigabit speed full-fibre (broadband and Ethernet) network for businesses across much of the Liverpool City Region, has today celebrated making their 1,000th connection after going live last year.

Launched to tackle poor connectivity and power inclusive growth, LCR Connect now provides gigabit-capable services to organisations of every size – some examples include Everton’s new Hill Dickinson Stadium, SciTech Daresbury, the Cavern Club, Pret A Manger, National Museums Liverpool, the M&S Bank Arena, Baltic Creative and DoubleTree by Hilton etc.

The network itself, which is 50% owned by the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority (LCRCA), currently covers more than 32,000 local businesses and organisations in the region. But unlike national operators, profits from LCR Connect will be reinvested into the local economy, keeping value in the region’s “local wallet”.

Steve Rotheram, Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, said:

“The Liverpool City Region is forward-thinking, dynamic, and ahead of the curve when it comes to critical infrastructure. LCR Connect is not just about faster internet speeds – it’s about creating the foundations for businesses and communities to thrive in a digital world.

“Reaching 1,000 connections is proof that this network is delivering real results and real impact for our economy. This is digital connectivity that goes beyond broadband connection. I’d encourage any local businesses or organisations who aren’t already signed up to seriously look into all the benefits.”

Daren Baythorpe, CEO of ITS Technology Group, LCR Connect’s delivery partner, said:

“Reaching this milestone is a great achievement and shows that businesses large and small are choosing LCR Connect because it gives them the speed, resilience, and reliability they need to compete. From legal firms and creative agencies to stadiums and museums, we’re seeing the benefits ripple right across the region. Resilient fibre plays an essential role in the very fabric of modern business, underpinning the services, systems, and experiences that organisations rely on every day.”

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

Newly merged mobile and broadband operator VodafoneThree (Vodafone and Three UK) has today announced that they’re bringing over 400 customer contact jobs, which were previously based in India, back to the United Kingdom. The roles will now be based out of the Belfast and Sheffield centres of the operator’s partner, Concentrix.

Despite the fact that mergers of major companies often result in some redundancies as roles are reduced to remove duplication and improve efficiency, there can sometimes also be areas where they’re increased or improved and this seems to be one of those examples.

The newly onshored roles, delivered by partner Concentrix, will focus on Vodafone and Three UK specialist care and sales, with 200 based in Belfast and 200 in Sheffield. Recruitment for these has already started and training of new agents is said to be underway in Belfast. The new recruits will add to the 830+ customer specialists based in the existing Stoke and Glasgow locations.

Across the UK, around 9,000 engineering, construction and maintenance jobs will also be created through the business’s £11 billion investment in upgrades to their existing networks and services (e.g. the deployment of 5G Standalone technology), rising to 13,000 during the peak of the build

Jon Shaw, Consumer Operations at VodafoneThree, said:

“We firmly believe in having care teams where our customers are, and that means having teams based across the UK. It’s an exciting time to join VodafoneThree as we build the UK’s best network and set new standards for customer care in the industry.”

Lord Stockwood, Minister for Investment, said:

“This is a major boost for our digital and tech sector, which will not only create over 400 jobs in Sheffield and Belfast but open up new opportunities for local communities and put more money in people’s pockets. Our modern Industrial Strategy is all about unleashing the potential of our cities and regions, so it’s great to see VodafoneThree investing and creating opportunity in every part of the country.”

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

The Government has today published a new consultation on reforming planning rules, which is seeking feedback on whether they should further change planning rules and update policy guidance to help “accelerate the deployment” of digital infrastructure (full fibre broadband and 5G mobile etc.).

In case anybody has forgotten, the Government’s manifesto (here) previously made clear that they would be making a “renewed push to fulfil the ambition of full gigabit and national 5G coverage by 2030.” This was later supported by the expression of a desire for more flexibility in the planning system (here), which might make it easier to deploy new infrastructure – those who oppose new telecoms poles and masts will be watching closely.

Naturally, broadband and mobile operators have not been shy about producing their own wish lists for what this could mean (here, here, here and here), which often echo a strong desire for the full embracement of flexi-permits and the cancelling of plans for street works charging. Not to mention those that continue to push for easier access to run new fibre into blocks of flats (this is now happening) and the many calls for greater infrastructure sharing etc.

All of this is in service of meeting some key targets, such as the £5bn Project Gigabit programme and its aim of helping to extend gigabit broadband (1000Mbps+) ISP networks to “nationwide” coverage (c.99% of UK premises) by 2032, focusing mostly on the final 10-20% in hard-to-reach areas.

The government also retains an ambition “for all populated areas” to have access to Standalone 5G (5G SA) based mobile broadband technology by 2030. 5GSA is currently already available across 83% of areas outside of premises in the UK, or 47%-65% when looking at the range across different mobile operators.

However, while the government’s recent 10-Year UK Infrastructure Strategy (10YIS) did confirm a push to better tackle blocks of flats and to “bring forward“ a more flexible permitting system (flexi-permits), it was rather short on any other changes or key planning reforms that might be required.

The new consultation

The new consultation on planning reform, which is open for feedback until 26th February 2026, doesn’t yet set out any final proposals and is instead more of a call for evidence on what changes need to be made in order for digital infrastructure to be “built faster“.

The primary focus here is on England (planning is a devolved matter), but the consultation does also encourage views from stakeholders in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland on interactions with their planning frameworks, and on any cross-border implications.

Consultation Focus (Extract)

Time spent navigating planning requirements and securing approvals could add time and cost to deployment, delaying the rollout and upgrading of mobile and fixed networks and the infrastructure needed to deliver 5GSA’s benefits for businesses, public services and consumers. Planning application statistics suggests that the vast majority of prior approval applications submitted under permitted development rights (across all sectors) are approved.

However, applications for telecoms infrastructure make up a small proportion of total applications and are not separately identified, therefore it is not possible to draw conclusions from these statistics, and we hope to collect relevant information with this call for evidence.

Industry reports a significant proportion of prior‑approval applications are refused. Initial industry views suggest that where network operators are refused planning permission they often appeal the planning decision and a large share of appeals  get overturned by the Planning Inspectorate.

The process for appealing a planning decision can extend deployments by up to a year and add material cost. Industry states that if permitted development rights were changed to prior notification instead of prior approval, it would improve the speed of deployment.

We have identified several areas where we seek additional evidence and information to determine whether further reforms to planning rules are necessary to support the government’s nationwide coverage ambitions. These policy areas include:  

• temporary redeployment after a Notice-to-Quit (NTQ)
• expanding permitted development rights for larger rooftop infrastructure on protected land
• expanding permitted development rights for ground-based masts
• bringing fibre-exchanges into permitted development
• small cell systems and lifting restrictions on size
• updating the Wireless Code of Practice
• new build connectivity – mobile
• rail connectivity
• assessing the impact of previous planning reforms

We welcome evidence—quantitative and qualitative—on the scale of benefits, the adequacy of safeguards, and any additional steps that would make the system work better for communities and for the deployment of digital infrastructure.

In considering these reforms, the government will ensure that changes to planning rules maintain robust safeguards for national security. This includes protecting defence assets and critical national infrastructure, and ensuring that accelerated deployment does not compromise security requirements. We welcome evidence on how planning processes can balance faster rollout with these essential security considerations.

As usual, the government will need to walk a difficult line between fostering greater flexibility and causing further frustration for land and property owners, while at the same time needing to be mindful of vocal communities that don’t always appreciate the new infrastructure being built. The latter recently caused the launch of new ‘Best Practice Guidance’ for gigabit broadband operators (here) and the effectiveness of this is still being assessed.

Subject to the evidence received, the government added that they may consult on specific draft measures and bring forward secondary legislation where appropriate.