UK ISP Virgin Media UK (VMO2) has confirmed that they’ve just completed the expansion of their gigabit-capable broadband network – via Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP / RFoG) technology – to cover 6,400 homes in the West Sussex (England) town of East Grinstead. Eagle-eyed readers may recall that we first spotted Virgin Media expanding their coverage in the […]

Network operator Netomnia – supported by UK ISP YouFibre – has just quietly added two new towns in Kent (England) to the 2023 rollout plan for their 10Gbps capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband network, which has already been extended to cover 410,000 UK premises (up from 300k in November 2022). The operator, which is currently present […]

Some of UK broadband ISP Virgin Media’s phone customers, primarily those on their latest Hub 5 router who have been moved to their new IP (VoIP) based voice platform, have spent the best part of a year having to deal with lots of phantom “ghost calls” (no number calls). But a firmware fix is finally […]

The annual Broadband Genie 2023 survey has just named home broadband ISP Plusnet as the “Best Provider” of the year and also the “Best Value for Money“, while a variety of other internet providers also scooped various other awards across several different categories. The results were based off a survey of 5,042 broadband customers, which […]

Ofcom has today announced that they may revoke the current mobile operator licences – held by EE (BT), Three UK and O2 (VMO2) – for the unpaired part of the 2100MHz band (1900-1920 MHz), which was originally auctioned off in April 2000 to support the rollout of 3G mobile (mobile broadband) networks. Just to be […]

The Scottish Government has published a new Public Review (PR) consultation for Scotland, which reveals that some 447,170 premises might need state aid help under the UK Government’s £5bn Project Gigabit broadband rollout scheme in order to access 1Gbps speeds (rising to 1,281,434 if including ‘Under Review‘ premises). The project, which is targeted at upgrading […]

News

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said the $61 billion deal could see server prices increase, potentially warranting a more thorough investigation

The CMA is considering launch an in-depth investigation into US semiconductor specialist Broadcom’s acquisition of cloud computing firm VMware, suggesting that such a move could directly harm server competition.

Broadcom announced their takeover intentions in May last year, suggesting that the move would help them diversify the business, as well as generating approximately $8.5 billion of pro forma EBITDA within three years.

Antitrust regulators, however, were immediately suspicious that the deal would result in a loss of market competition, particularly driving up server prices for customers.

Now, the CMA have formally aired this concerns, telling Broadcom that it fears the deal will directly result in higher prices for UK businesses.

“Servers are a vital building block, functioning largely thanks to hardware products made by firms like Broadcom, working in unison with virtualisation software from firms like VMware,” said CMA Executive Director David Stewart. “We are concerned this deal could allow Broadcom to cut out competitors from the supply of hardware components to the server market and lead to less innovation at a time when most firms want fast, responsive, and affordable IT systems.”

The CMA said it was also concerned that Broadcom could obtain commercially sensitive information from rival companies that have a pre-existing relationship with VMware.

The regulator has given Broadcom until Monday 27 March to assuage its concerns, or else it will launch an in-depth investigation.

Broadcom says it is cooperating with the CMA to address these concerns, arguing that the deal will offer customers “increased quality, innovation, and choice”.

This is not the first time Broadcom may become stuck in a regulatory quagmire over a potential acquisition. Back in 2017, the company was attempting to purchase rival chip player Qualcomm in a deal that would have been worth $117 billion, before it was blocked by an executive order from President Donald Trump in 2018.

What impact would this deal have on the wider US telecoms industry? Join the experts in discussion at next week’s Connected America conference live in Dallas, Texas

Also in the news:
Fibre overtakes cable in the Netherlands
Ericsson IoT Accelerator to manage the connectivity for Lyft e-bikes and scooters
Spring Equinox? It seems Ofcom aren’t certain of the balance

Connected America: Keynote Preview

With less than a week to go until Total Telecom’s inaugural Connected America conference, here’s a taster of what to expect from the opening CXO Keynote Panel: Progress and Potential in 5G and Fixed Networks

With the US now entering the fourth year of its 5G era, now is great time to take stock of the journey so far. Is 5G living up to the hype?

In the opening keynote session at Connected America, The Wall Street Journal’s Sara Mascall will guide a panel of experts as they discuss the state of the US telecoms industry as it is today and the key challenges that still need to be overcome.

The panel will also consider the next steps in the country’s network evolution, including transitioning to cloud architecture, rolling out 5G standalone, and maximising the value of the mobile edge computing.

Finally, the session will explore the macroeconomic factors at play within the indstury today, from the impact of the global economic crisis to the surge of private equity investment in telco infrastructure.

“It’s an exceptionally challenging time for this industry and I’m eager to learn and hear directly how this is impacting organisations, the shifts we’re seeing, and the trends we can expect to see in the future,” said moderator Sara Mascall in a recent interview.

Meet the panel

(Moderator) Sara Mascall, SVP of TMT, The Wall Street Journal|Barron’s Group
Christopher Sambar, President – AT&T Network, AT&T
Prayson Pate, Solutions Marketing, Adtran
Elad Nafshi, Chief Network Officer and EVP, Comcast

It’s not to late to join us in Dallas! Get your ticket for Connected America and join your peers in the US’s most important connectivity event

Also in the news:
Fibre overtakes cable in the Netherlands
Ericsson IoT Accelerator to manage the connectivity for Lyft e-bikes and scooters
Spring Equinox? It seems Ofcom aren’t certain of the balance

UK ISP and digital network builder Connexin, which is investing £80m from Whitehelm Capital (now PATRIZIA) to deploy a 10Gbps capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband network across parts of Hull and Yorkshire (here and here), has today opened its new HQ in Hull’s K3 Business Park on Clough Road. The move is necessary because the provider “doubled […]

UK ISP BT and the West London Alliance (WLA), which represents the London Boroughs of Barnet, Brent, Ealing, Harrow and Hillingdon, have today announced a new £3.9 million partnership that aims to provide up to 15,000 “homes, schools and businesses with access to ultra-fast broadband” using full fibre technology. The project is being part-funded by […]