News

Juniper Networks and European broadband operator Liberty Global, which is one of the parents of Virgin Media and O2 UK, have just completed a joint Proof-of-Concept (PoC) in the UK that demonstrated a “cost-efficient, software-programmable, secure and seamless way” to consistently connect services and applications hosted in disparate locations and across different cloud technologies. The PoC, which was built on a prototype of Juniper Cloud Interlink, essentially made it easier to bring...

Mobile network operator O2 (Virgin Media) has harnessed a Starlink based LEO satellite broadband connection for backhaul capacity in order to successfully expand their 4G mobile coverage across the remote rural Northumberland (England) village of Craster, which they say “previously had no coverage from any mobile operator“; 5G and fibre will follow. In case anybody has forgotten, O2 have spent the past couple of years conducting various trials of satellite-based backhaul solutions to help...

Feature Week: Trump on Telecoms Donald Trump’s return to the White House in 2025 has ushered in a new era for US telecoms and technology policy. His administration has wasted no time in making major changes, with key moves including the appointment of Brendan Carr as Federal Communications Commission chair and proposals for greater control over platforms like TikTok. With a focus on deregulation, free speech, and national security, Trump’s policy decisions are set to redefine the telecoms...

The Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy (JCNSS) has launched a new UK inquiry that will see cross-party MPs and Lords examine the growing threats to undersea fibre optic cables, which are described as being the ‘backbone’ of the world’s internet (broadband, mobile etc.) systems. The inquiry, which is simply titled ‘Undersea Cables‘, notes how over 500 cables carry around 95% of all international data, with demand set to increase in the coming years. Around 60 of those cables...

News The newly merged business will be one of the UK’s largest altnets with over 600,000 properties passed with fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) Today, UK fibre altnets FullFibre and Zzoomm have announced they will merge their operations. The deal will make the nearly combined entity one of the UK’s largest alternative fibre networks, with over 600,000 properties ready for service and over 65,000 existing customers. According to the companies, the deal will create “significant opportunities to...

Alternative broadband network builders Zzoomm and FullFibre Limited (Fibre Heroes), both of which have been rolling out multi-gigabit speed capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) ISP networks across different parts of the United Kingdom, have this morning announced that they’ve agreed to merge to create one of the UK’s largest Altnets. At present Zzoomm’s network, which is home to over 30,000 customers (15%+ take-up) and covers 202,000 premises (RFS), is currently available across parts of...

Wireless infrastructure provider Freshwave has teamed-up with Electracom Projects to deliver a 4G mobile signal – from all four mobile network operators (MNOs) – to the 50-storey ‘8 Bishopsgate’ development in the City of London (CoL), which will benefit local businesses inside the property. The building represents the latest flagship CoL development of Mitsubishi Estate London and Stanhope PLC. The 50-storey tower offers more than 900,000 sq ft of space, some 500,000+ sq ft of which is for...

Mobile operators Three UK and O2 (Virgin Media) have today announced that they’re partnering with the cloud communications platform, Sinch, to make RCS Business Messaging (RBM) available on iOS (Apple iPhone, iPad etc.) for their customers – previously this was only available to Android based phones and devices. The announcement, which comes shortly after Three UK introduced support for regular Rich Communications Services (RCS or “Enhanced Chat“) alongside the iOS 18.2 update (here), means...

New data from Ookla, which runs the popular Speedtest.net broadband connection benchmarking service, has revealed that Storm Éowyn (pronounced ‘Ay-oh-win’) triggered a “rapid, severe and sustained decline” in mobile performance across all operators in Ireland and parts of the UK, particularly Northern Ireland and Scotland, on a “scale not seen before“. The particularly nasty storm system, which was the result of explosive cyclogenesis (aka – a weather bomb), hit on Friday morning and tore its...

City-focused ISP Hyperoptic, which since 2011 has built an alternative full fibre (FTTP/B) network to reach “more than” 1.73 million homes in parts of 64 UK towns and cities, has informed its staff that 2025 will see a “reduced volume of work” and thus a potential reduction in their infrastructure teams of nearly 130 jobs (out of nearly 280 potentially impacted roles). The operator, which at the last update in July 2024 said they were home to a customer base of 340,000 (with a target of...