London Internet Exchange Increased its Network Capacity by 21 Percent in 2024
The London Internet Exchange (LINX), which handles a large chunk of UK and global data traffic through their switches via around 900 members (broadband ISPs, mobile operators etc.), has today revealed that they increased their connected network capacity by 21% over the past year, from 60.10Tbps (Terabits per second) in 2023, to 72.91Tbps in 2024. The exchange, which is also today celebrating 30 years of the internet, noted that during 2024 they achieved their highest-ever network traffic, with...
Eutelsat Tap Airbus to Build Next Gen OneWeb Broadband Satellites
European satellite operator Eutelsat has announced that they’ve selected Airbus Defence and Space (ADS) to build the first batch of 100 next generation (GEN2) broadband satellites for their global OneWeb network in Low Earth Orbit (LEO), which is a constellation that has been partly supported by the UK government. Expect various upgrades, such as 5G mobile support. OneWeb (aka – Eutelsat OneWeb) has 654 small (c.150kg) first generation (GEN1) LEO platforms in space – orbiting at an altitude of...
ISP Virgin Media UK Warns Parental Controls on New Devices Still Confuse
A new survey of 1,020 people in the UK, which was conduct by Strand Partners on behalf of broadband ISP Virgin Media (O2) and Internet Matters, has found that 44% of parents don’t know how to add safety controls or tools to the tech (devices) they’re planning to gift this Christmas. This is despite 82% being worried about their children having unrestricted access to the internet. The study notes that 1 in 10 parents are planning to give their child a smartphone as a present this Christmas,...
Softbank to invest $100bn in US AI
News The cash injection follows a $50 billion investment in 2016 SoftBank Group, led by CEO Masayoshi Son, has announced plans to invest $100 billion in the US over the next four years, a move that will focus on advancing AI and its related infrastructure. This investment aims to create 100,000 new jobs. Son made the announcement alongside President-elect Donald Trump, who praised the deal as a strong sign of confidence in the future of the US economy. Trump said that the investment shows...
BT’s network wrapped reveals how Brits connected with the biggest cultural moments of 2024
Press Release LONDON, 17th December: The UK has become a nation of split-screeners, secret streamers and event schemers according to new research commissioned by BT Group. ‘Network Wrapped’ is a new annual study that combines mobile and broadband data with consumer insights to reveal the latest trends around how the British public engaged with the biggest cultural moments of the year, both in-person and online. Era of split-screeners Whereas once families were more likely to gather around a TV...
Openreach Name Top 5 London Boroughs for Full Fibre Broadband Cover
Network access provider Openreach (BT) has today revealed the top five London Boroughs for coverage of their Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband network, which sees Barking and Dagenham topping the table with more than 8 out of 10 premises now able to upgrade to the new service. The boroughs of Bexley, Redbridge, Hillingdon and Merton then round off the remaining top five slots, although Openreach hasn’t provided any coverage figures for those. The network operator’s new full fibre network...
Lyca Mobile Warns up to 90 Percent of UK Staff Could Lose their Jobs
Troubled mobile operator Lyca Mobile, which is a virtual operator (mvno) on EE’s network, has reportedly told its UK workforce that the company is facing some “pretty serious challenges” and as a result of that almost 90% of their workers (up to 316 jobs) could be made redundant. Over the past couple of years’ the operator has certainly faced its fair share of “serious challenges“. For example, there was last year’s cyberattack (here), as well as the conviction of Lyca’s French entities for...
Voneus Face Rural Broadband Complaints in Shropshire and Powys
Rural broadband ISP Voneus, which has built a mix of full fibre (FTTP) and fixed wireless broadband networks across parts of Wales and England, has pledge to “increase community communication” after more than a hundred complaints about their service were raised by residents through two MPs for Shropshire and Powys. According to the BBC News, the complaints highlighted issues of connection drops, extremely poor speeds (sometimes sub-1Mbps) and customer support being slow to respond or failing...
Football Streaming Pushes BT to Record UK Broadband Traffic of 33.7Tbps
Broadband and telecoms giant BT (EE) has used a mix of UK network stats and a consumer survey of 2,000 adults to reveal how the “British public are engaging with the biggest cultural moments of the year“. BT also hit a record peak of broadband traffic on 4th Dec 2024, when streaming of Premier League Football helped push them to 33.7Tbps (Terabits per second). According to the operator’s new ‘2024 Network Wrapped‘ research, some 56% of people in the UK believe live sport provided the “most...
Ofcom UK Propose Tweak to 3.9GHz Band for Mobile and Wireless Broadband
The UK telecoms regulator has proposed an additional tweak to its existing licence for the 3.9GHz (3925 – 4009MHz) radio spectrum band, which would change the authorised frequency from 3925-4009 MHz (3.9GHz) to 3800-3884 MHz (3.8GHz). This could potentially make it more efficient for fixed wireless and 5G based mobile broadband services, such as those from Three UK. Just to recap. Mobile operator Three UK (H3G) previously asked Ofcom, in May 2024 (here), to consider making a useful technical...