All United Kingdom (UK) articles
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Products & Services
CityFibre seeks B2B market share with Ethernet expansion
UK’s largest altnet has made Business Ethernet services available to more than 260,000 enterprises, claiming the expansion will enable its ISP partners to sell services in an “easier and more efficient” manner…
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Network & Infrastructure
VodafoneThree seeks ‘convergence opportunity’ with FWA plan, fibre altnet deal
Newly combined UK mobile giant sees promise in fixed, too, signing Community Fibre agreement to reach a total of 22.5 million FTTP premises. VodafoneThree expects the fixed broadband base to double, while Community Fibre “optimistic” about industry-leading take-up rates…
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M&A
BT said to explore TalkTalk takeover to fend off further customer losses
BT reportedly mulling opportunistic acquisition of financially and operationally challenged TalkTalk, which could help with shoring up defences against fibre altnets and competing in the low-cost broadband sphere. Includes fibre wholesale, copper shutdown, exchange consolidation intrigue…
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Partnerships & Alliances
Hyperoptic switches up strategy with Openreach infra deal
UK altnet signs deal to access “at least” one million additional homes, using Openreach’s fibre infra to provide broadband services, in a shift from its previous own-build strategy…
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M&A
Telefónica, MásOrange said to explore Vodafone Spain slice-up
Operators have reportedly held ‘informal’ talks over potential acquisition of Vodafone Spain, including potential to split up and purchase parts of the telco. If formalised, such a deal would face several hurdles before getting across the finish line…
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Weekly Briefings
BTwatch Weekly: chops and changes in CEO Kirkby’s first year
Latest from BT as the group reports on FY24–25, with CEO Allison Kirkby talking up progress made since she was appointed. Business has been restructured; more investment pledged to Openreach fibre build; and Consumer’s short-lived one-brand strategy has been uprooted…
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Financial & Performance
TalkTalk late to pay broadband suppliers amidst financial woes — report
TalkTalk has reportedly missed several deadlines for payments to key broadband suppliers such as Openreach and CityFibre, in latest sign of struggle from the debt-burdened UK telco…
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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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Financial & Performance
CityFibre ups the ante with 5Gbps fibre launch
New 5.5Gbps offering to be available across national footprint once XGS‑PON upgrade completed. While notably differentiating in the UK, 5G-10G services increasingly available elsewhere in Europe, and at low cost…
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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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Financial & Performance
Q1 FY25: Broadband glitch prompts DT to step up its tech game
Q1 FY25: DT results backdropped by rare reversal on German broadband user trends and signs of increased competitive pressure elsewhere in group’s footprint, adding to buildup of market and macro uncertainty amid management and stakeholders.
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M&A
Vodafone, Three complete UK merger to create ‘multi-dimensional’ mobile leader
Combination creates new UK mobile top dog with more than 27 million subscribers. Vodafone’s Margherita Della Valle has declared her European reshaping programme as ‘complete’ as the Group locks in VodafoneThree’s financial plans…
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Weekly Briefings
UK Infrawatch Briefing: APFN’s new platform, Avanti’s court win, Netomnia grows backbone
Latest from the digital infra scene in the UK, including: wholesale aggregation gathers pace; rural coverage ups and downs; Netomnia’s core capacity expansion; and plenty more…
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M&A
Intelsat–SES merger gets green light from UK competition watchdog
Satellite majors receive thumbs up from the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority to go ahead with $3.1bn merger, clearing a major regulatory hurdle in their mission to build a “stronger and more competitive” multi-orbit satco.
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Financial & Performance
BT FY24−25 Spend: ‘on and off’ contractors help keep cost-cutting on track
BT’s long-running cost-cutting campaign is in full swing, with headcount cuts driving the savings. Capex continues to rise despite earlier promises, but the (revised) peak is in sight…
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Financial & Performance
BT FY24−25 In-depth: another year of transition
Group CEO Allison Kirkby has called the past year one of ‘transition’, but insists a turnaround is imminent. ‘Revenue pressure’ (see, decline) reflects a challenging FY for all divisions, but strategic and structural change at the Group may have set it up for delivery next FY and beyond…
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Network & Infrastructure
EE densifies Westminster network with Ontix small cells tie-up
Ties with shared infra specialist and ambitious neutral host extended to 80 fresh sites in central London, in conjunction with assertive local authority. Learn more…
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Financial & Performance
BT holds off on international B2B sale until division proves its worth
FY24–25: BT Group CEO Allison Kirkby says carved-out BT International must show its value, with ‘runway’ needed for Global Fabric to do the same, ahead of a prospective offload. UK M&A remains on the cards too as BT looks to capitalise on SMB opportunity…
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Financial & Performance
Openreach seeks another gear as altnets gain and CPs flop
FY24–25: BT CEO Allison Kirkby has tossed earlier promises of lower capex, instead fuelling an accelerated fibre build “now that we’ve got the engine humming” to bolster a defence against altnet incursions, and make up for CP shortcomings…
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Network & Infrastructure
FullFibre becomes latest altnet to call off Project Gigabit contracts
UK altnet FullFibre “mutually” agrees with Building Digital UK to terminate two rural fibre contracts, after several other operators have cancelled subsidies under the Project Gigabit scheme in recent months.