Virgin Media O2 Switches on 5G+ in Brighton and East Sussex
Virgin Media O2 has activated its 5G+ standalone mobile service across Brighton and the wider East Sussex region. The rollout covers 14 major towns, 16 smaller towns and 252 villages, expanding O2’s high‑speed network footprint. The expansion is part of a £700 million (≈$890 million) mobile transformation programme aimed at delivering higher speeds and lower latency for compatible devices. The upgrade is expected to boost connectivity for local residents and businesses, paving the way for new digital services.
Welsh Government Selects Extending High-Speed Broadband Suppliers
The Welsh Government has appointed three suppliers—Airband, Fibrus and Openreach—for Lot 1 and Airband, Fibrus and Wifinity for Lot 2 of its Extending High‑Speed Broadband (EHSB) scheme. The program, funded with a reclaimed £70 m budget (approximately $90 m), targets roughly 29,000 hard‑to‑reach premises...
CityFibre Launches Nationwide 8.5Gbps Wholesale Product
CityFibre has launched an 8.5 Gbps wholesale broadband product across its UK‑wide full‑fibre network, making symmetric ultra‑fast speeds available to all ISP partners from 21 April. The rollout leverages the company’s XGS‑PON infrastructure, which already serves 4.36 million premises and aims for an...
Weekly Brief – 27/03/2026
Starlink has introduced a promotional $32/month (≈£25) satellite broadband plan, offering a $13/month discount for new customers who sign up before the end of April 2026. CityFibre is piloting BUKO’s traffic‑management system in Worthing, using sat‑nav data and Meta platforms...
Nexfibre Offering 2Gbps Connectivity to UK Youth Centres
nexfibre has partnered with charity UK Youth and Virgin Media O2 to deliver free full‑fibre broadband at speeds of 1 Gbps or 2 Gbps to youth centres across the United Kingdom. The pilot at Brentswood Hub in Haywards Heath marks the start...
Devon Residents Urgent to Sign up for Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme
Devon residents are being urged to apply for the UK government’s Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme before its August deadline. The scheme offers up to £4,500 (≈ $5,700) per eligible home or business, but vouchers require at least two premises, leaving isolated...
BT Reports over 3 Million Households Switched to Digital Landlines
BT announced that more than three million UK households have transitioned from the legacy Public Switched Telephone Network to digital landline services, marking a critical milestone in the nationwide PSTN phase‑out. The company plans to complete the switchover by the...
New Features — Broadband Quality Monitor (BQM)
ThinkBroadband has upgraded its Broadband Quality Monitor (BQM) with two data‑export features. Users can now download a single CSV containing twelve months of ping‑latency data, replacing the previous one‑day limit. A separate daily CSV for the prior day becomes available...
Ofcom Fines 4chan for Non-Compliance with the Online Safety Act
Ofcom fined 4chan £520,000 for breaching the Online Safety Act by lacking age‑verification, failing risk assessments, and not updating its terms of service. The regulator set a compliance deadline of 2 April 2026, after which a daily penalty of £800 will apply....
Four Million Residents in Scotland Covered by 5G+ Using O2 Mobile Network
O2 has launched a 5G+ (standalone) network that now reaches roughly four million residents across Scotland, covering 66 large towns, 175 smaller towns and 1,120 villages. The rollout replaces the earlier 4G‑dependent 5G deployments with dedicated small‑cell infrastructure, delivering lower...
Giffgaff Adds 24 Month Contracts with No Price Rise in Minimum Term
Giffgaff has introduced 24‑month full‑fibre broadband contracts that lock in prices for two years, avoiding the typical £3‑£4 annual hikes seen across the sector. The plans start at £25 per month for 200 Mbps, £28 for 500 Mbps, and £32 for 900 Mbps,...
Weekly Brief – 13th March 2026
Ofcom confirmed that AVS Group has not yet paid the £1 million fine, the £50,000 secondary penalty, or the £8,000‑per‑day daily charge for ongoing non‑compliance with the Online Safety Act, and is reviewing recovery options. Meanwhile, SpaceX’s Starlink has applied for...
Mobile Mast on Islay Resolves Another Total Mobile Not-Spot in Scotland
The Shared Rural Network programme has activated its second mobile mast on Islay, delivering 4G coverage to a previously total not‑spot. The green‑finished mast near Kilchoman extends service across 14 km of roads, paths and tracks along the island's western coast....
Still Reports of Ongoing iTalk Outage — Two Weeks On
The iTalk broadband outage has now lasted nearly two weeks, leaving thousands of ADSL and FTTC customers offline. iTalk, a reseller of Vodafone and TalkTalk wholesale services, has not responded to inquiries, prompting speculation about a wholesale migration or commercial...
TOTSCo Consults on Monitoring and Improvements to One Touch Switching
TOTSCo, the operator of the One Touch Switch (OTS) platform, has opened a consultation to address performance gaps after 18 months of operation and roughly 2.5 million broadband switches. The body highlights four problem areas – hub match success, failed messages,...
EXCLUSIVE March 2026 Update on Openreach Full-Fibre Roll-Out
Openreach added 363,513 full‑fibre premises in the past four weeks, bringing its total database to 21.75 million sites – 65.1 % of UK premises. In the last quarter the company passed FTTP to another 1.06 million locations and is on track to hit...
INCA State of the Altnet Report Says Altnets Moving Towards Monetisation
The INCA State of the Altnets report shows full‑fibre coverage reaching 19.7 million premises by the end of 2025, with live connections climbing 32% to 3.5 million. Growth is driven largely by customers switching from Openreach and Virgin Media, pushing the altnet...
All Points Fibre Networks Now Offering 1.7 Gbps and 2.3 Gbps CityFibre Full Fibre
All Points Fibre Networks (APFN) has upgraded its Aquila wholesale platform to deliver 1.7 Gbps and 2.3 Gbps multi‑gigabit speeds using CityFibre’s XGS‑PON technology, bringing its offering in line with other CityFibre‑based platforms. The 5 Gbps tier remains exclusive to Sky for now....
Home Unity Launches Retail Services over Freedom Fibre Network
Home Unity announced the launch of retail broadband services over the Freedom Fibre network, adding the provider to its portfolio of alternative networks. Freedom Fibre’s current footprint spans the North West and West Midlands, with plans to extend into Bristol,...
Virgin Media Owner Considering Other Broadband Takeovers
Telefónica, the owner of Virgin Media, says it will consider further broadband takeovers to bolster Virgin Media O2 against Openreach. The joint venture recently agreed a £2 bn acquisition of Netomnia, which will be folded into the Nexfibre platform alongside InfraVia...
Shared Rural Network Hits 50 Mobile Mast Milestone in Wales
Shared Rural Network (SRN) has upgraded 50 mobile masts in Wales, bringing the total UK upgrades to 119. The upgrades enable all four major operators—EE, Three, Virgin Media O2 and Vodafone—to provide 4G coverage from each site, boosting national coverage...
EXCLUSIVE: February 2026 Update on Broadband Availability Across the UK, Nations and Regions
The latest UK broadband audit shows gigabit availability climbing to 90.17% nationwide, while full‑fibre (FTTP) coverage now stands at 82.99%, just 0.01 points shy of the 83% milestone. Northern Ireland tops the chart with 97.18% gigabit penetration, whereas London records...
Weekly Brief – 6th March 2026
Openreach announced a hike in its FTTP expedite fee to £145, up from £125, effective 1 March, signaling tighter cost structures for rapid broadband deployments. Virgin Media O2’s Call Defence AI has now labeled over 1 billion nuisance calls, cutting answer rates by...
Ofcom Investigates Two Imageboard Sites over CSAM and Non-Consensual Images
Ofcom has opened an investigation into the provider of two anonymous image‑board services to assess compliance with the UK Online Safety Act. The probe focuses on whether the platforms have conducted required illegal‑content risk assessments and implemented safeguards against non‑consensual...
EE 8Gbps Trial Available to Sign up in Guildford/Woking
EE is rolling out a free XGS‑PON trial in Guildford, Woking and surrounding Surrey villages, offering up to 8 Gbps download and 800 Mbps upload speeds. Interested residents must register via the BT TrialCentre and will receive new fibre, an ONT and...
Leighton Buzzard Gains CityFibre Full Fibre Service in Linslade Area
CityFibre has launched full‑fibre service in Leighton Buzzard’s Linslade area, adding new streets—especially around Melfort Drive—to its Project Gigabit rollout. The network uses XGS‑PON technology, offering symmetrical speeds from 2 Gbps up to 5 Gbps, with the highest tier currently exclusive to Sky...
TalkTalk to Get £115m Funding Injection From Ares Management
TalkTalk secured a £115 million cash injection from Ares Management, comprising £65 million of senior debt and a £50 million short‑term facility to replace a £47 million debt due in March. The funding follows earlier capital raises of £235 million in December 2024 and £120 million...
O2 Confirms £700m Network Investment in 2026
O2 announced a £700 million network investment for 2026, reaffirming its Mobile Transformation Plan and matching the spend level of 2025. The funding targets upgrades to 4G and 5G, new mast installations and small‑cell deployments to boost reliability, capacity and coverage....
Weekly Brief – 27th February 2026
PXC has refreshed its wholesale platform, 1Portal, adding end‑to‑end automation and expanding orderable services to include Openreach SOGEA, CityFibre FTTP, Community Fibre and Freedom Fibre, with Trooli slated for future integration. Village Networks has lodged an Ofcom application for code...
Openreach Awarded Another Project Gigabit Type C Contract
Openreach has secured the Project Gigabit Type C Call Off 8 contract for Cheshire, valued at £37.5 million. The agreement replaces the earlier FreedomFibre deal and targets 18,500 hard‑to‑reach premises with full‑fibre gigabit service. Rollout is expected to begin in late 2026, adding roughly 3.2 % additional...
UK Reaches 90% Gigabit Broadband Coverage as Full Fibre Rollouts Continue
The UK has reached 90.04% gigabit broadband coverage as of 25 February 2026, up from 85.20% in October 2024. England now sits at 90.58% while Northern Ireland leads with 97.15%. Remote council areas such as Na h‑Eileanan an Iar and the Shetland Islands...
GoFibre Starts Full Fibre Build for 100,000 Premises Rollout in North East Scotland
GoFibre secured a £105 million Project Gigabit contract to deliver gigabit‑capable broadband to 63,000 premises across North East Scotland, with a commercial extension targeting 100,000 premises overall. The rollout will commence in early 2026 in towns such as Stonehaven, St Cyrus, Laurencekirk, Auchenblae,...
Ofcom Says Overall Phone and Broadband Prices Are Falling
Ofcom reports that UK phone and broadband prices are trending down, with high‑speed 900 Mbps plans now costing roughly half of what they did a few years ago. The regulator outlines ten practical ways consumers can cut costs, from switching providers...
Project Gigabit BDUK Update for February 2026
BDUK released its February 2026 update on Project Gigabit, showing that 21% of UK properties now have fibre built. The data, captured on 16 February 2026, reflects contract‑level construction across all regions. BDUK notes a reporting lag, meaning actual on‑ground progress may be slightly...
Nexfibre to Overbuild Old Virgin Media O2 Coax Network as Part of Netomnia Acquisition
nexfibre will finance the fibre upgrade of roughly 2.1 million Virgin Media O2 (VMO2) coax‑served homes that sit alongside the newly acquired Netomnia footprint. VMO2 will pay wholesale fibre‑access fees once the XGS‑PON network is live, with most deployments expected by...
Organisational Changes at Openreach to Take Effect From 1st April 2026
Openreach will implement a sweeping organisational overhaul on 1 April 2026, coinciding with the appointment of Katie Milligan as its new chief executive. The restructure introduces a dedicated Chief Customer Experience role, filled by Surinder Khatter, to head a newly created CX...
BDUK Release Gigabit Figures for October to December 2025
Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) announced that 56,000 premises received gigabit‑capable service in the October‑December 2025 quarter, bringing the cumulative total to 1,373,800 premises – roughly 4.1 % of UK households. The bulk of the new connections came from Project Gigabit contracts...
ANALYSIS: Exactly How Much New Fibre Is Virgin Media O2/Nexfibre Buying with Netomnia?
Virgin Media O2 and Nexfibre’s consortium is buying Netomnia for £2 billion, adding a 3.07 million‑premise full‑fibre footprint. Overlap analysis shows 0.38 m sites already in Project Mustang, 0.22 m in Project Lightning, 0.16 m in Nexfibre, and 1.77 m with only DOCSIS 3.1 coax. Post‑deal, VMO2’s...
InfraVia, Liberty Global and Telefónica Agree £2 Billion Deal for Netomnia
InfraVia, Liberty Global and Telefónica’s joint venture nexfibre has agreed to acquire Netomnia, the parent of YouFibre and brsk, in a £2 billion transaction. The deal consolidates a significant portion of the UK’s full‑fibre retail market under nexfibre’s control. It brings...
Zzoomm Brand Now Sold in Both FullFibreLtd and Zzoomm Areas
Zzoomm has become the sole retail brand for the combined 600,000‑premise footprint created by its merger with FullFibre Ltd. The integration, completed on time and on budget, consolidates the former BeFibre brand, which will soon redirect to Zzoomm, and unifies...
ASA Rules on Virgin Media Advert Following BT Complaint
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ruled on Virgin Media’s September 2024 TV spot that claimed the company was “Awarded Best Broadband Experience.” While the ASA concluded the claim was not misleading about technology, it found the advert failed to provide verifiable...
