Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

Alternative broadband ISP CommunityFibre, which has invested c.£1bn to deploy a 5Gbps Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network across 1.342 million UK homes (inc. 185k businesses within 200 metres of their network) – mostly in London, have today announced that new customers on their fastest 2.5Gbps and 5Gbps package will now get a WiFi 7 capable Linksys router.

The official announcement doesn’t clarify exactly which models the provider has chosen to bundle, but we suspect it’ll be either the dual-band Linksys Velop Micro 7 or tri-band Linksys Velop Pro 7 because CommunityFibre state they’re using the company’s “latest generation” hardware. But one catch is that both models only have a 1 x 2.5Gbps LAN/WAN port, although the Pro does add 4 x 1Gbps LAN ports.

In addition, the provider has also thrown in a free £50 Xbox voucher (offer ends midnight on 22nd Dec 2025) with both of their 2.5Gbps (symmetric) speed full fibre broadband packages on a 24-month term, which are currently priced from £39 per month with free installation (prices increase annually by £2 each April).

Original article Total Telecom:Read More

News

BT has unveiled a new “sovereign platform” designed to give UK businesses and public bodies greater control over their networks, data, and emerging services such as cloud-hosted applications and AI.

The platform, announced on Monday, consolidates a suite of services that BT says will be delivered from UK-based infrastructure and supported only by staff located in the UK.

The company frames the move as a response to growing geopolitical uncertainty and a rising demand from organisations for stronger assurances over where their systems, operations, and data are controlled.

Jon James, chief executive of BT Business, described the initiative as central to adoption of new technologies.

“Sovereignty isn’t simply a matter of compliance or risk management – it’s key to unleashing the potential of AI, and ensuring resilient operations in an increasingly uncertain world,” he said. “Our pioneering launch reflects BT’s unique position as the digital backbone of the UK, and the only provider with the scale, capabilities and experience to enable true UK sovereign solutions.”

BT said the platform will underpin the phased rollout of new sovereign-branded voice, cloud and AI services “over the coming months” and that a sovereign option for a range of existing core products will be available through BT Business in the first half of 2026. The company emphasised its existing experience delivering secure services to critical public and private sector organisations and positioned the platform as a way for customers to choose levels of “sovereignty” appropriate to their needs.

The announcement comes as the UK government pushes an AI strategy focussed on the rapid growth of the country’s domestic data centre industry. BT is notably a founding member of the UK Sovereign AI Industry Forum helping to align the UK telecoms industy with this national objectives.

Industry observers say sovereign offerings are increasingly common as firms and governments seek to reduce exposure to foreign jurisdictional risk, protect sensitive information and meet tightening regulatory expectations. Critics, however, warn that claims of “sovereignty” can mask practical trade-offs , such as higher costs, reduced choice of suppliers and potential delays in accessing the latest global technologies , and that true technological independence is difficult to achieve in an interconnected global market.

BT has not published detailed technical specifications or pricing for the new platform. Customers and procurement teams will be watching for clarifications on data residency guarantees, auditability, third-party software components and whether services will be certified to government security standards such as Cyber Essentials or the UK’s upcoming standards for sovereign AI.

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Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

Broadband-based live TV streaming service Freely, which is supported by most of the major UK TV broadcasters (BBC, ITV etc.) and is an evolution – not (yet) a replacement – for the existing Freeview service (inc. Freeview Play and Freesat), has said they’re adding another 7 channels to the free platform via partnerships with Warner Bros. Discovery UK & Ireland and CNN.

The first of these channels, CNN Headlines (channel 305), has already gone live and will be followed in early 2026 by Quest, Quest Red, Food Network, DMAX, Really and TLC – which moves to free-to-air in January 2026. The new additions mean Freely will carry over 70 live channels via Wi-Fi, alongside more than 75,000 hours of on demand content. Further expansion is currently being planned for 2026.

Freely is currently available on new smart TVs from manufacturers including Hisense, Bush, Toshiba, Panasonic, JVC, Sharp, TCL, Amazon Fire TVs and METZ. Most recently these have also been joined by some “Plug-in and stream” devices, such as a new box from Humax and PLEIO from Netgem TV.

Deep Halder, CCO of Everyone TV, said:

“These additional channels have so much to offer the Freely audience, further expanding the line-up for UK homes who are increasingly choosing to stream live TV. From global news delivered by CNN to the extensive portfolio of entertainment shows from Warner Bros. Discovery, who recently announced some exciting linear-first commissions of fan favourites including a new-look Mock the Week coming to TLC next year. Viewers will be able to easily and seamlessly access these brand-new shows, all in one place, for free, on Freely.”

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

Get ready for yet more online video content fragmentation as the CEO of American TV and Movie streaming giant HBO Max, Casey Bloys, has announced that its service will finally go live in the UK and Ireland during March 2026. But the platform will be going live in Italy, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Luxembourg and Liechtenstein first, on 13th January 2026.

Historically, if you wanted to watch HBO’s content in the UK (e.g. “It: Welcome to Derry,” “House of the Dragon,” “The Last of Us” etc.), then you would have had to pay for access via different platforms and channels, such as Sky TV (inc. NOW TV). Sky has already done a deal to ensure that they’ll still be able to carry the content (here), but others will now be able to subscribe directly to HBO Max instead.

The big uncertainty in all this is that HBO is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, which earlier this year revealed its plan to split into two separate companies, with HBO becoming part of the “Studios & Streaming” business. Suffice to say that several bids have already been made and the situation has created some uncertainty over what content HBO Max will actually end up carrying by the UK launch date.

HBO Max currently offers three main plans in the USA: Basic with Ads for $10.99/month or $109.99/year, Standard for $18.49/month or $184.99/year, and Premium for $22.99/month or $229.99/year. The Premium plan includes 4K content and streams on four devices simultaneously, while the Standard plan has no ads and streams on two devices.

At the time of writing we don’t yet know how much HBO Max will charge UK consumers for these, but we suspect the £ GBP price will follow a similar standard level to the USA (i.e. if you add 20% VAT then that gets you close to £10 per month for ‘Basic with Ads’). Whether consumers will appreciate having to pay for yet another streaming service, which further fragments their access to content, is another matter.

The news also comes in time for the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026, which will be broadcast live on HBO Max from 6th to 22nd Feb 2025, albeit not for the UK and Ireland since it won’t have launched yet.

Original article Total Telecom:Read More

News

The shares, purchased from the Kenyan government and Vodacom’s parent company Vodafone, give it a 55% stake in the business

This week, South Africa telecoms giant Vodacom has announced a deal to increase its stake in Kenya’s Safaricom to 55%, in a deal worth $2.1 billion.

The deal would see Vodacom acquire a 15% stake in the business from the Kenyan government and a further 5% stake from its parent company Vodafone.

Acquiring a controlling stake in Safaricom is part of Vodacom’s wider Vision2030 strategy, which aims to see the company grow its subscriber base to 260 million and greatly expand the company’s digital and financial service offerings by the end of the decade.

Safaricom is the largest mobile operator in Kenya, with around 50 million customers. In 2022, the company led a consortium to build a second national operator in Ethiopia, which has since gained around 10 million subscribers.

“This landmark transaction will mark a pivotal step in Vodacom’s journey to accelerate growth and deepen our impact across Africa,” said Vodacom Group CEO, Shameel Joosub. “Acquiring a controlling stake in Safaricom strengthens our position as a market leader, while at the same time unlocks new opportunities to drive digital and financial inclusion at scale in Kenya and Ethiopia.”

The deal is subject to typical regulatory approvals.

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Original article Total Telecom:Read More

Interview

At Connected Britain 2025, we caught up with Incognito Software Systems’ Sonya Goodanetz to discuss how speed alone is no longer enough for consumers

“Customers don’t buy technology. They buy products and services. You’ve got fibre and you’ve got speed – now what?”

Far from a rhetorical question, this is a major challenge facing ISPs in the UK, where strong competition is leaving providers struggling to attract and retain customers.

Speaking at Connected Britain 2025, Incognito Software Systems’ Senior Marketing Product Manager Sonya Goodanetz highlighted the rapid growth of value-added services (VAS) boosting average revenue per user (ARPU).

“We’re seeing a lot of competitive differentiation strategies, especially around value-added services,” she explained, highlighting cybersecurity offerings and traffic prioritisation for services like cloud gaming, as key areas for growth. “It’s about end-to-end quality of experience.”

Thanks to the latest technology, implementing VAS at scale is now quicker and easier than ever.

“Previously you’d put an agent on a device, test every make and model, and push it to market. By then, a year has passed and you’re starting all over again,” she explained. “The game has changed now. Being able to deploy apps onto residential gateways immediately delivers these value-added services.”

It’s imperative, Goodanetz says, that ISPs go beyond being “just a pipe” and gain a foothold into new verticals, whether that is healthcare or consumer IoT within the connected home.

Check out our full interview below:

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

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Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

Rural broadband ISP Quickline, which is building a new gigabit-capable full fibre (FTTP) and wireless (FWA) broadband network across rural parts of Yorkshire and Lincolnshire in England (3-Year Rollout Plan), has today announced that they’ve now covered 10,610 premises as part of their publicly subsidised Project Gigabit contract.

The alternative network actually holds several Project Gigabit contracts, but this one specifically relates to their £118.9m (public subsidy) contract for East Riding of Yorkshire and Lincolnshire (Lot 23) under the government’s Project Gigabit programme; this was announced back in July 2024 (here) and aims to reach around 72,000 additional premises over the next few years.

As of November 2025, the provider said they’d delivered 10,610 funded premises under Lot 23. A further 17,000 homes and businesses can now also connect to their network through associated commercial build activity, extending the reach and impact of the network even further.

Communities including Hollym, Tickton, Kilham and Langtoft in East Yorkshire and Anwick, Burgh le Marsh and Grainthorpe in Lincolnshire are just some of the places benefiting from all this.

Lauren Robson, Project Manager at Quickline, said:

“This contract area covers a huge geography, stretching from the very south of Lincolnshire right up to the North Yorkshire border, and we’re building in some of the most remote places. Reaching more than 10,000 funded premises is a fantastic milestone.”

Telecoms Minister, Liz Lloyd, said:

“We’re committed to levelling up digital infrastructure across the country, and this milestone shows real progress in connecting rural communities that have been left behind for too long … I am pleased to see Quickline not just delivering infrastructure, but also supporting community initiatives on digital education and inclusivity.”

Quickline is currently aiming to extend gigabit-capable broadband to a further 360,000 UK premises across thousands of rural communities (roughly 170k via publicly funded projects and almost 200k from commercial builds) and the provider hopes to end 2025 with a total of 200,000 premises passed.

Residential customers reached by their new full fibre network are typically charged from £22 per month on a 24-month term for 100Mbps (50Mbps upload) speeds with free installation, which goes up to £32 for their top 1000Mbps symmetric speed tier (reduced from £49).

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

Customers of home broadband ISP Virgin Media (O2), specifically those who take their Pay TV service (usually via one of their TV 360, Stream or v6 box platforms), may like to know that the service has now added support for Fox Corporation’s ad-supported streaming service, Tubi, at no extra cost.

Tubi, which claims to entertain over 100 million monthly active users across the world, is currently home to a vast catalogue of over 60,000 movies and TV episodes accessible to millions more households. A sample of titles available for viewers in December include Zombieland, Baby Driver, Bend it Like Beckham, Jack and Jill, Robin Hood (2018) and La La Land.

David Bouchier, Chief TV and Entertainment Officer at VMO2, said: “We are delighted to add Tubi to our offering, giving Virgin TV customers access to one of the world’s biggest offerings of world-famous movies, TV shows and documentaries at absolutely no extra cost. With Tubi, we know families can immerse themselves in even more must-see on demand entertainment on the Virgin TV platform.”

Apparently more than 95% of viewing on Tubi is on–demand movies and TV shows, although it recently launched over 30 Free Ad-Supported Streaming Television (FAST) Channels with key partners such as Lionsgate, A&E, Banijay, and Filmrise.

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

A new set of TikTok videos have recently gone viral – after being viewed over 4 million times – for their depiction of two neighbours arguing over whether or not Openreach have dug up the wrong garden, while engineers are busy laying a new fibre optic broadband cable in the background. But there seems to be a key bit of context missing from the debate.

According to the BBC’s description of the event, Melanie Abbott returned home to find that Openreach’s engineers had, without asking her, dug a trench along the edge of her front lawn in Milton Keynes (England) to run the new cable; something that would certainly irritate most people. At the same time, Ms Abbott’s neighbour, who claims to have apologised, said she was only expecting a narrow trench to be dug by hand within her boundary, not a much wider one on her neighbour’s lawn.

The whole event is covered by a series of TikTok videos, which sadly contain too much swearing for us to share directly. But suffice to say that Ms Abbott disputes, somewhat strongly, her neighbour’s explanation. This has naturally resulted in a lot of people questioning why Openreach dug up the wrong garden in the first place (note: they seem to have used third-party contractors), which is a valid point, as we’d normally expect a wayleave (legal access agreement) to be signed by the property owner first.

The catch is that, according to Openreach’s engagement with the local council, both properties are said to be council owned and not private. In that situation, Openreach would first need primary permission from the council and don’t need to secure a wayleave agreement from either tenant. Engineers may still ask practical permission from the tenant(s), but this is usually more for the purpose of agreeing where the cable will go and is not the same as a legal wayleave.

An Openreach spokesperson told ISPreview:

“Our engineers always need permission to dig when crossing private property and have to apply for a wayleave – a legal agreement between us and the landowner – to cross or dig on land that belongs to someone else to provide service to a third party. We’re currently talking to the local council and investigating further to check whether all the rules were followed in this case.”

As above, the reason Openreach are currently checking with the local council is because the two properties involved are said to be council owned. But the whole situation remains quite confused, and there may well be other aspects that have not yet been completely understood or clarified, which are hard to investigate without knowing the exact location of the incident.

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

The Fern Trading (Octopus Investments) backed company Vitrifi, which was first incorporated back in 2021 and offered a cloud-based software platform to help alternative network providers (altnets) offer wholesale products (details), appears to have filed a new notice stating their intention to appoint an administrator.

The notice itself (here), which was first filed on 1st December 2025, doesn’t reveal much and has yet to appear on either The Gazette or Companies House (this usually follows later). Administration itself often occurs when a company, such as one that is in financial difficulty, is put into the hands of an administrator. The administrator then decides whether they can help the company to continue running or sell it off for a good price.

Once in administration, the company is often protected from legal action by people or organisations who are owed money (creditors). Administration can also mean that the company may not have to pay all its debts in full, but if deemed necessary, they can still be wound up.

The cause of Vitrifi’s predicament is currently unclear, although there are now quite a few wholesale platforms vying for dominance in the UK’s embattled fibre optic broadband market (e.g. Zen Internet’s Fibre Hub, PXC, APFN itself and more).

The records on Companies House also show quite a few recent Directorship changes and their latest annual accounts reported a loss for the year of £10.73m (2023: £9.45m), with net liabilities of £16.72m (2023: £5.98m) and a turnover of £155,704 (2023: £446). The average number of employees during the year was 56 (2023: 46).

One of the company’s main clients was another Fern Trading backed operator, Vorboss, which could be impacted by the news. Vitrifi recently stated that they were playing a “key role in powering Vorboss’s newly launched business fibre connectivity solution designed to transform public services across the capital” (here)

ISPreview contacted both Vorboss and Vitrifi for a comment on Wednesday and await a response.