As countries around the world continue to battle the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic amid the new threat of emerging variants such as Omicron, Canada has reacted to its own growing case load (7% growth in new cases in the last 7 days) by making it a legal requirement for workers in federally…
Sky UK Offers a Merry Christmas with Free Calls, Data and Movies
It’s that time of year again when Sky’s various UK services (Sky Broadband, Sky Mobile, Sky TV etc.) give their existing customers some early Christmas presents, which typically take the form of various gifts, such as “free” movies, Premier League football matches, free mobile data (mobile broadband), and free calls. Naturally, the presents on offer […]
New UK AltNet Provider AllPoints Fibre to Build FTTP Broadband
A new London-based alternative network builder called AllPoints Fibre (APF), which is being backed by investment from the Fern Trading Group (advised by Octopus Investments), has today joined the UK market with a plan to deploy a new “open access” wholesale Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network that other ISPs can harness. The new approach came to light […]
CityFibre Start Legal Fight Over Ofcom Approval of Openreach FTTP Price Cut UPDATE
CityFibre has this week carried out their earlier threats by launching an appeal via the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) to challenge Ofcom’s recent approval of Openreach’s “Equinox” offer (here), which introduced a “major” price cut (details) to the incumbents Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband products for UK ISPs. Our readers may recall that the “Equinox” discount, which […]
ICO Fines UK ISP Virgin Media GBP50,000 for Email SPAMMING UPDATE
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has today hit broadband ISP and TV operator Virgin Media (VMO2) with a fine of £50,000 after they were found to have sent 451,217 direct marketing emails to people “who had previously opted out of marketing communications” from the same operator. The situation first came to the ICO’s attention in […]
DCMS wants Open RAN future as it plans 2G/3G sunset
Today, the UK government, via the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS), has announced a “joint ambition”, alongside mobile operators, to increase the use of Open RAN technology in national networks.
The plan is for 35% of the country’s mobile traffic to be carried over Open RAN architecture by 2030.
Open RAN is the concept of using standardised, interoperable RAN components, thereby allowing for multiple vendors to coexist effectively within one mobile network…
Grain Name Next 11 UK Towns and Cities for Gigabit Broadband
Alternative network ISP Grain has today named a list of 11 additional UK cities and towns that will shortly benefit from a rollout of their new gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband network, which includes a number of aggressively competitive areas where rivals are already deploying similarly capable infrastructure. The provider, which is being supported by an […]
Ofcom Reports Good UK Progress on Openreach’s Split from BT
Ofcom has today published their annual monitoring report, which finds that Openreach continues to “operate with a high degree of strategic and operational independence” from BT and there has been positive progress in take-up of their Physical Infrastructure Access (PIA) product by rival broadband ISPs. Only a few small issues remain. The annual report was […]
GTD welcomes Chilean Prat cable system
Chile has now officially inaugurated the Prat submarine cable, a move which it hopes will help further develop the country as a regional connectivity hub.
The cable spans around 3,500km down the west coast of Chile from Arica, at the company’s most north-westerly point, down to Puerto Montt in the south.
First announced three years ago, the Prat system was designed to deliver 4 Tbps connections to 12 cities along the coast…
Broadband ISP TalkTalk See Rising Internet Use Among Pensioners
Internet provider TalkTalk has today published the latest volume (4) of their UK “Internet Insights” report, which this time around focuses upon the impact of “silver surfers” and reveals that broadband usage among pensioners has grown by 69% from pre-pandemic levels (driven by increased streaming and online gaming). The data shows that internet usage among […]