Broadband ISP Wessex Internet has boosted their existing rollout of a new gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network in South England by securing a new contract to connect 35 public sites (schools, libraries etc.) under the ‘Gigahub Connectivity in Rural Dorset Project‘, which is supported by £900k from Dorset Council. Among the 35 sites included in this […]
Government Review Altice UK Stake in BT Over Security Concerns
Last year’s decision by Patrick Drahi’s Altice UK, which increased its stake in UK broadband and telecoms giant BT from 12.1% to 18% (here), has today been “called-in for a full national security assessment” by the Government’s Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy. Last year BT was widely reported to have hired the same […]
Patrick Drahi’s stake in BT scrutinised over national security
Today, BT has announced that it has received notification from the UK government that billionaire Patrick Drahi’s newly acquired 18% stake in the company is set to be examined due to national security concerns.
This comes as a direct result of a decision by business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng, who is exercising new powers granted to him by the National Security and Investment (NSI) Act 2021…
KCOM Extends UK FTTP Broadband Network to 300K Premises
Hull-based ISP KCOM, which is busy rolling out a Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband network across East Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire (England), has reported that their service now reaches over 300,000 premises across the region (up from the c.250,000 at the end of last year) and they’ve also got 150 wholesale partners. The Hull-based network provider has […]
SMARTY Mobile Offers 100GB SIM-Only 5G Plan for 12 Pounds
Mobile operator Smarty, which is a Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) on Three UK’s platform, has recently launched a discount that offers their new SIM-Only plan with 100GB data (mobile broadband), unlimited calls and texts, EU roaming, “superfast” 5G and a 30-day term for just £12 per month. Apparently the promotional price is available for […]
Rural Gigabit Broadband in Cornwall May Deliver Big Economic Boost
Research group Curia, which was commissioned by rural broadband ISP Wildanet, has today published a new report that predicts how the deployment of gigabit-capable broadband across rural parts of Cornwall in England could deliver £615m and an additional £111m per year for the economy up to 2030. At present Wildanet is investing £50m to deploy […]
European fibre networks to grow by over 50% in next five years
Following its annual conference in Vienna, the FTTH Council Europe has announced that Europe now has 200 million homes able to receive fibre-to-the-home/building (FTTH/B) services, with this number expected to increase by over 50% in the next five years.
Based on the latest data from Idate for the council…
ISP PlusNet in Low Key UK Launch of FTTP Broadband Packages
Internet provider Plusnet – often referred to as BT’s low-cost sub-brand – has, after years of waiting, today finally started to stealthily launch a new range of “full fibre” packages based off Openreach’s Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) powered broadband network, which is currently available to 7.2 million UK homes and businesses. Just in case anybody has forgotten. […]
Lithuania begins long-awaited 5G spectrum auction
While most of Europe is now in the process of rolling out 5G networks, the Baltic countries have been notably slow to adopt the new technology, having faced various delays to the auction processes, from the onset of the coronavirus pandemic to internal squabbles surrounding licencing obligations.
Latvia was the first of the three to successfully award spectrum back in January this year…
CityFibre Commit GBP17m to Build Full Fibre Broadband in Havant
CityFibre has announced that they plan to invest £17 million in order to deploy their gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband ISP network across “every home and business” in the Havant, Emsworth, Southbourne and Westbourne areas of Hampshire (England). The announcement is quite vague on detail, but a quick look at the planning permission details for the […]