All UK government articles
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M&A
Eutelsat ‘in talks’ over €1.5bn fundraise to fuel LEO expansion
Satellite operator reportedly in discussions with existing investors, including the French and UK governments, to raise €1.5bn in funding, as it seeks to expand European-originated LEO space infrastructure …
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Public Affairs
UK calls on Navy to protect subsea critical infrastructure
UK government wants military to take a bigger role in protecting critical national infrastructure, especially subsea cables, as part of new defence strategy that encourages deeper public-private cooperation for national resilience.
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Weekly Briefings
BTwatch Weekly: public cash, automated networks, and UK exceptionalism
Latest from BT, including reports of an overseas B2B carve-out; a new Chief Digital Officer incoming; Reza Rahnama’s evolving ‘Dark NOC’ vision; and a setback in Openreach’s attempt to reform MDU access rights…
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Network & Infrastructure
BT secures slice of Welsh rural broadband funding
Duo to deliver £10m fibre to hard-to-reach premises in Wales under the Swansea Bay City Region’s Digital Infrastructure Programme.
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Weekly Briefings
UK Infrawatch Briefing: altnets prove worth, AI plans develop, nexfibre stalls
Latest from the digital infra scene in the UK, including: UK MVNO market reinvigorated by challengers; Kao Data schmoozes with DSIT; a £70m network upgrade contract floated in Wales; people moves; and plenty more…
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Weekly Briefings
BTwatch Weekly: legacy infra winds down; next-gen tech spins up
Latest from BT as it charges on with legacy network migrations, looks for new ways of monetising old assets, and prepares to build infra fit for an AI future; Better Workplace signed off with Manchester office opening; another multimillion-pound Project Gigabit subsidy secured, this time in Scotland; and a series of strategically significant personnel changes across the Group…
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Eventwatch
Digital Voice: BT dials up VM O2, gov to help reboot ‘beyond painful’ migration
With POTS shutdown a strategic financial imperative, BT belatedly embraces collaboration to reach remaining two million (many vulnerable) analogue subscribers, as the already delayed digital landline switchover deadline looms…
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Network & Infrastructure
Openreach banks £157m subsidy for Scottish fibre build
BT’s wholesale access arm confirms latest Project Gigabit regional contract as it continues to stack up government grants for fibre notspots and chase near-£1bn-scale BDUK jackpot. Builds on controversial £600m, Scottish R100 awards…
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Public Affairs
UK’s AI Growth Zone strategy — fit for purpose?
In-depth: As the UK government opens up its AI Growth Zone initiative for formal applications, industry leaders debate the value, variously describing it as everything from ‘ridiculous’ to ‘ambitious’, and running the risk of ‘fetishising’ location and creating a ‘real mess’, as well as presenting opportunity for the UK on a global stage. Includes reporting from Connected North…
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Weekly Briefings
BTwatch Weekly: M&A spotlighted in Europe; rural fibre the focus in UK
Latest from BT as the Group advances its UK retrenchment on multiple fronts; Openreach build continues at pace, with connections to boot; Global Fabric expands Google Cloud collab for greater scale, reach; Harmeen Mehta named CDIO at BT data centre partner Equinix…
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Network & Infrastructure
European telcos call on authorities to bolster subsea security
Collection of Europe’s largest telcos and subsea cable operators, including Orange, Proximus, Telefónica, and Vodafone, call for closer collaboration with the EU, NATO, and UK government to defend subsea infrastructure, following several high-profile incidents in recent years…
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Weekly Briefings
UK Infrawatch Briefing: supply vulnerabilities, vendors value altnets, aggregation opportunities
Latest from the digital infra scene in the UK, including: APFN breaking down national fibre barriers, Xantaro driving Wildanet’s ‘aggressive’ expansion; DSIT tackling UK’s vendor duopoly; people moves, and plenty more…
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Suppliers & SCM
In-depth: UK grapples with ‘high dependency’ in network supply chain after security risk clampdown
Deep dive: supply chain watchdog addresses risk of over‑reliance on Ericsson and Nokia in access networks and warns of Ericsson dominance in mobile core. Multi-vendor environment remains a goal, but complexities come with it…
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Weekly Briefings
UK Infrawatch Briefing: fibre consolidation, regulatory consideration, core reinvigoration
Latest from the digital infra scene in the UK, including fibre consolidation questions raised; Ofcom and government open up opportunities; Neos Networks plans a comeback; people moves, and plenty more…
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Network & Infrastructure
£50m bonus: Fibrus secures Cumbrian Project Gigabit extension
CEO Dominic Kearns talks to TelcoTitans as the Northern Irish altnet readies to deliver fibre to 21,000 premises as part of a £50m Project Gigabit contract extension in Cumbria.
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Suppliers & SCM
EE, IBM assemble ecosystem to rescue UK’s emergency services network
BAPCO Annual Event: Emergency Services Network contract holders EE and IBM build out programme supply chain, with calibre of partners adding confidence in the Home Office that ESN will deliver.
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Network & Infrastructure
Freedom Fibre becomes latest UK altnet to terminate Project Gigabit contract
Operator cancels £43m subsidy deal, the fourth contract to be terminated.
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Network & Infrastructure
ESN: UK mission-critical comms network has a new (potential) launch date
BAPCO Annual Event: Home Office programme lead lays out new, heavily-caveated Emergency Services Network milestones, with early integration testing this year building towards a late-2029 Airwave closure. Ifs and buts remain, and ‘race still needs to be run’…
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Network & Infrastructure
Shared Rural Network expands reach as BDUK cutback rumours swirl
Weekend reports suggest operators are irked by possibility that their coverage investment and network optimisation improvements could see the government scale back financial commitments to rural coverage…
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Interview
CityFibre sees commercial promise, ‘moral obligation’ in Project Gigabit
CityFibre’s public sector lead Andy Nash talks to TelcoTitans on the altnet’s emergence as a strategic government supplier for Project Gigabit, answering “the big exam question” on going beyond initial goals, and the moral duty of delivering rural connectivity…