Ofcom’s easy broadband switching process set for delay

A deadline for broadband providers to implement Ofcom’s new easy switching process is likely to be missed.

The ‘One Touch Switch’ process intends to make it easier for customers to switch their broadband provider.

Research from Uswitch found that over a third (36%) of broadband customers have never switched their provider. Many households could be missing out on savings which could help ease cost-of-living pressures.

“As broadband customers across the...

24 March 2023 | Broadband

AT&T is all-in on Nvidia’s AI solutions

AT&T is tapping Nvidia’s expertise in artificial intelligence across its operations.

As the gatekeepers of our communications, telcos have access to vast amounts of information. The 590PB of data that AT&T process on a typical day is equivalent to around 6.5 million 4K movies.

However, turning all of this data into actionable insights can pose a serious challenge.

AT&T will use Nvidia’s AI Enterprise software suite to enhance its data...

22 March 2023 | AT&T

Amazon unveils terminals for its Starlink rival

Amazon has unveiled its first Project Kuiper terminals as it prepares to go head-to-head with SpaceX’s Starlink.

Project Kuiper is Amazon’s plan to build a constellation of 3,236 satellites in low Earth orbit to provide high-speed internet anywhere in the world.

“Our goal with Project Kuiper is not just to connect unserved and underserved communities, but also to delight them with the quality, reliability, and value of their service,” said Rajeev Badyal,...

15 March 2023 | Broadband

Hackers steal the data of millions of AT&T customers

A vendor hack has resulted in the data of millions of AT&T customers being stolen.

AT&T is sending emails to around nine million customers to alert them of the theft of their data.

The attackers did not breach AT&T directly but compromised the systems of a marketing vendor used by the US telecom giant.

All impacted users had CPNI (Customer Proprietary Network Information) stolen, including phone numbers, full names, and email addresses. A smaller...

13 March 2023 | AT&T

Full fibre rollout set to give Newcastle £440 productivity boost

A report commissioned by CityFibre, the UK’s largest independent full fibre platform, has identified that Newcastle stands to be a huge beneficiary from the rollout of future-proof full fibre infrastructure which is now well underway across the city.

The study by the consultancy Hatch, (Economic Impact of Full Fibre Infrastructure from CityFibre’s Network), estimates that, over a fifteen-year period, the positive impacts of CityFibre’s £62m investment in Newcastle will...

8 March 2023 | Broadband

Virgin Media O2 makes multi-million-pound investment with new central London HQ

Virgin Media 02 office.

Virgin Media O2 has made changes to two of its main offices in the south of England with a multi-million-pound investment to create a new state-of-the-art UK headquarters in Paddington Central.

The investment follows a comprehensive review of its property portfolio which will see existing sites in both Hammersmith and Slough close by the end of next year. Employees will come together across the existing Virgin Media O2 office in Green Park, Reading, and a new office in Paddington,...

6 March 2023 | Operators

Mobile sector deploys Open Network APIs and preps for new era of digital services

Someone holding a smartphone.

The GSMA, an industry organisation that represents the interests of 750+ mobile network operators worldwide, has launched an initiative called GSMA Open Gateway, a framework of universal network Application Programmable Interfaces (APIs), designed to provide universal access to operator networks for developers.

Launched with the support of 21 of the mobile network operators, the move represents a paradigm shift in the way the telecoms industry designs and delivers services in an...

27 February 2023 | Networks

EU greenlights Vodafone-Altice FTTH plans

The EU Commission has given the green light to a joint venture between Vodafone and Altice to deploy fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) across Germany.

The joint venture is called FibreCo and will see the partners deploy FTTH to up to seven million homes over a six-year period.

Nick Read, CEO of Vodafone Group, commented:

“This partnership builds on Vodafone’s significant next-generation network with Altice’s industrial expertise and proven Fibre-to-the-Home...

21 February 2023 | Broadband

Vodafone demos flying real drones in the metaverse over 5G

Vodafone has demonstrated how real-life drones can be piloted in the metaverse over a 5G network.

The low-latency aspect of 5G enables new use cases that were not possible over previous generation networks.

One early 5G application was cloud gaming. Longer-term, 5G combined with advancements in robotics will enable remote surgery when a patient isn’t expected to make it to a hospital or when a specialist is based elsewhere in the country (or even the...

20 February 2023 | 5G

Babcock awarded £400M contract to operate military satellites

Babcock and its partners have been awarded a £400 million contract to operate the Skynet military satellite communications system.

Skynet is the UK’s satellite system that enables communications to be sent from anywhere in the world back to the UK and its allies.

Defence Procurement Minister Alex Chalk KC said:

“Space is increasingly important for maintaining battlefield advantage.

The UK’s next-generation military satellite communications...

15 February 2023 | Legislation & Government