Good news. UK ISP Sky Broadband and sibling NOW Broadband have today become the latest internet providers to launch a cheaper “social tariff” for home broadband and phone connectivity, which is being offered to consumers who are claiming Universal Credit or Pension Credit. The Government and Ofcom have spent the past two years trying to […]
Google Removes Dubious UK Broadband ISP Support Adverts
Internet search giant Google has removed two adverts, which appeared to offer support services to broadband customers on major UK ISPs, after an investigation by Which? claimed that “customers with internet problems [were] being duped” by “dodgy broadband broker adverts” that tried to sell packages on “shady” Supanet (Supatel). In this situation, consumers, who were […]
Vodafone Puts Ultrafast 5G Mobile Live in 12 New UK Locations
Mobile operator Vodafone has today announced that their new ultrafast 5G (mobile broadband) network has just started to go live across a further 12 UK cities and towns, including bigger locations, like the city of Coventry in the West Midlands, and smaller places, such as the town of Llantwit Major in Wales. At present the […]
From standardisation to implementation: A Middle Eastern perspective on 5G-Advanced
According to the GSA, forecasting over 200 live 5G networks worldwide in 2022. As such, the telecoms industry at large is already beginning to look ahead to the next step in 5G’s natural progression. Industry standards body 3GPP is already beginning work on Release 18, which contains within it the framework for 5G-Advanced.
Release 18 is expected to be published in March 2024, but what should we expect from 5G-Advanced?
“At present, 5G-Advanced content covers 5G traditional enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB)…
Telcos jointly agree to cut roaming fees between EU and Ukraine
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has caused an enormous humanitarian crisis, with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees recording that, as of April 9, over 4.5 million refugees have left Ukraine for neighbouring countries.
Now, a group of 27 European operators have announced their intention to jointly offer affordable or free roaming and international calls between EU and Ukraine…
Ericsson suspends business in Russia ‘indefinitely’
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in late February was met with immediate condemnation by the international community, swiftly followed by weighty economic sanctions. As a result of this global pressure, many international firms quickly paused their operations in Russia to align with these new policies.
Swedish vendor Ericsson announced that it would cease equipment deliveries to Russia in early March, with rival Nokia doing likewise.
Now, it seems that the Ericsson is preparing to take the next step, announcing that it has suspended its business indefinitely…
Chancellor Rishi Sunak Visits B4RN’s Rural Gigabit Full Fibre Project
The UK Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, appears to have taken some time out from questions over his family’s tax affairs to see how public investment is helping rural ISP B4RN (Broadband for the Rural North) to deploy a 10Gbps capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network to homes in the North Yorkshire hamlet of Cotterdale. The operator, which is […]
Rural ISP RunFibre Target 3500 Premises for FTTP by Early 2023
Bristol-based ISP RunFibre, which recently started building their own gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband network across rural parts of South Gloucestershire in England, has begun to “ramp up” the rollout of their new network and now aim to make 3,500 properties Ready for Service (RFS) by March 2023. At present RunFibre, which also sells broadband packages […]
Hyperoptic Asks Ofcom UK to Probe Broadband ISP Price Hikes
Full fibre broadband ISP Hyperoptic has today formally called on the UK telecoms regulator, Ofcom, to investigate the use of above-inflation mid-contract price rises and to consider reform that would allow impacted customers to terminate their agreement and switch providers, penalty-free. Annual price hikes are of course nothing new in this and other markets. Often […]
Growth in the Nordics: a perspective from N0r5ke Fibre
N0r5ke Fibre will be joining Submarine Networks EMEA in London for the first time next month. Ahead of the event, Total Telecom caught up with Anders Vik, Co-Founder of N0r5ke Fibre to learn more about the growth of the Nordics as a connectivity hub as well as to hear about the N0r5ke Viking Cable project.
N0r5ke Fibre secured funding for its N0r5ke Viking cable project last autumn. Please can you tell us more about the system??
Yes, it was a busy autumn for us last year. Firstly, we raised NOK 40m from management and existing investors during the summer. Then, we initiated a process with Arctic Securities where we structured a financing package for new investors consisting of a NOK 150m Nordic bond and a NOK 40m equity issue to fully finance the project…