Tim Höttges to remain at the helm of Deutsche Telekom until 2028
News The announcement coincides with a leadership shuffle that will see Srini Gopalan, current head of Deutsche Telekom’s Germany business, become COO of T-Mobile Tim Höttges, Deutsche Telekom’s CEO since 2014, will remain in his role until the end of 2028 after the Supervisory Board extended his contract two years ahead of schedule. Höttges has been credited with transforming Deutsche Telekom into a global leader, steering initiatives like the 2020 T-Mobile–Sprint merger in the US and the...
A ‘vulnerable soft underbelly’: UK joint committee explores subsea cable security
News The news comes as yet another submarine cable is damaged in the Baltic Sea, with authorities suspecting deliberate sabotage The Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy (JCNSS) is set to explore the security credentials of the UK’s submarine cable ecosystem as part of a new industry enquiry. In its announcement, the government noted the UK’s reliance on its 60 existing submarine cables, warning of the potential disruption that damage to multiple cables at once would cause the UK....
VMO2 bring connectivity to rural notspot with Starlink
News UK mobile operator Virgin Media O2 (VMO2) says the satellite communications constellation has brought mobile coverage to the village of Craster in Northumberland for the first time VMO2 is making good use of SpaceX’s Starlink this week, leveraging the satellite technology to enable connectivity to the previously unconnected village of Craster. Starlink is providing satellite backhaul for a new mobile tower that has been deployed to serve the village. The new mast will provide reliable...
Telecom policy objectives come into focus in Trump’s first days
News A spate of recent changes has brought several telecom policy objectives of Donald Trump’s administration into focus, but questions remain. By: Brad Randall, Broadband Communities Changes have been coming fast and furious during the first days of Donald Trump’s presidential administration, and the FCC has been far from immune. New leadership at the Federal Communications Commission has wasted little time changing directions, signifying that business as usual is over. Shortly after being...
Ofcom UK Propose to Cap the Wholesale Price of Bulk Business Texts
The communications regulator, Ofcom, has today proposed to cap the wholesale price charged by mobile network operators (e.g. EE, O2, Vodafone and Three UK) for the delivery of automated text messages, known as application-to-person (A2P) SMS, which are widely used by business and organisations across the public and private sectors. Such messages are often sent, for example, by the NHS when issuing medical appointment reminders, as well as parcel delivery notifications, and one-time passcodes...
Scotland Tenders for £43m Gigabit Broadband Rollout in Fife, Perth and Kinross
ISPreview has spotted that the Scottish Government (SG) yesterday published a contract notice for the Fife, Perth and Kinross (Lot 4 – Scotland) area under the UK’s £5bn Project Gigabit broadband roll-out scheme, which is expected to expand full fibre (FTTP) connectivity to an estimated 28,441 premises in hard-to-reach (rural) locations. Firstly, it’s important to point out that the SG is already working to expand FTTP coverage in these areas as part of their existing £600m Reaching 100%...
Liberty Global and Juniper Networks Test New Multi Cloud Tech in the UK
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...
O2 UK Use Starlink to Bring 4G Mobile to Rural Village of Craster
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...
Trump on telecoms: The story so far
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...
Cross-Party Inquiry Examines Threats to Undersea UK Internet Cables
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...