All United Kingdom (UK) articles
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Network & InfraVM O2 advances Giga Site rollout amidst UK network upgrade race
Operator reaches the halfway mark in its rollout of new, high throughput Giga Sites, contributing to broader, £1.4bn mobile upgrade programme. Achievement highlights ongoing race between operators to improve network quality, with VM O2 and VodafoneThree seeking to catch up to BT…
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Products & ServicesUK fibre: TiVo’s Freely momentum unlocks altnet multiplay
Interview: As customer retention becomes paramount, UK fibre service providers are re-evaluating the strategic value of multiplay. Several altnets are at contract stage with streaming TV platform provider TiVo as sell-out success of the Freely-enabled Aero puck helps make the case for convergence…
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Financial & PerformanceEutelsat/OneWeb: UK’s £500m LEO satellite bet loses two-thirds of value in six years
As now-parent Eutelsat painfully pivots from geostationary to low Earth orbit infrastructure, the UK’s £342m loss on its controversial OneWeb rescue faces fresh scrutiny. Despite the substantial loss of value, government officials maintain that LEO commitment remains crucial to the nation.
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AnalysisReality check: assessing telco claims of Europe’s High-Risk Supplier crackdown cost — Strand Consult
Guest analysis: with 30% EU exposure remaining, concentrated on 5G RAN, specific countries and three big telcos, John Strand considers media and industry warnings of HRS rip-and-replace costs overstated, evidencing Denmark, the UK and other European markets as showing transition can be managed without derailing 5G rollout. In an age of national security, he also deems it essential for securing future mission-critical contracts.
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Public AffairsVodafone avoids court in no-admission settlement with UK franchisee claimant group
Vodafone has drawn a discreet line under a high profile dispute with dozens of UK franchise partners, reaching an out-of-court settlement that should minimise further reputational broadsides over allegations of unscrupulous pandemic-era behaviour.
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Financial & PerformanceSpanish upstart Digi goes public, nets €150m for expansion
Low-price disruptor Digi Spain bolsters its challenge to rivals Telefónica, MásOrange, and Vodafone Spain with an over-subscribed stock market float.
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Network & InfraUK infra body sees Project Gigabit progress as DSIT ups budget
The government is signalling confidence in Project Gigabit, increasing funding and reaffirming delivery targets even as concerns persist over supplier finances, rollout delays, and the long-term viability of parts of the fibre market.
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Analyst BriefingTelefónicawatch: core market cutbacks
Analyst Briefing: Round-up of developments at Spanish incumbent, including cost reduction plans in Spain and Germany, and B2B tie-ups with CrowdStrike, Crout, Thales, and others. Read more…
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Analyst BriefingBTwatch: Verizon venture and AI RoI chase
Analyst Briefing: The latest from around BT, including the answer to the Group’s long-pending international B2B question; a £130m NetOps deal in Scotland; and execs lay out the path to AI for revenue and returns, not just cost-cutting. Plus more from EE, Openreach, elsewhere…
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M&AFrom bitter critic to anchor investor: Xavier Niel replaces e& as Vodafone’s largest shareholder
In-depth: Audacious French telecoms tycoon snaps up e&’s stake in a €5bn transaction. Niel expresses confidence in strategic direction and ‘value creation potential’, just two years after expensively venting frustration at ‘mismanagement’…
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PeoplewatchOpenreach commercial exec joins nexfibre as CCO
Ex-Openreach commercial and wholesale leader Ses Indy recruited as Chief Commercial Officer at nexfibre. The altnet views the exec’s experience as valuable as it seeks to become a ‘scaled’ challenger to Openreach, and as it moves forward with proposed Substantial Group acquisition…
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Public AffairsVirgin Media O2 hit with £28m fine over contract cancellation failings
UK watchdog issues “largest ever fine” under consumer protection rules after finding that VM O2’s ‘two-tier’ agents system and tactics served to delay or prevent customer switching. Fine comes after operator has invested in significant user experience improvements, following separate pushback over consumer practices…
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Analyst BriefingVodafonewatch: the making of a pan-African telco giant
Analyst Briefing: Vodacom takes a majority stake in Safaricom; Vodafone and Google Cloud get ‘pragmatic’ with a network autonomy blueprint; another Tomorrow Street alumnus picks up a Vodafone commercial deal; and we record the latest senior exec changes from Germany and beyond…
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Analyst BriefingUK Infrawatch: CMA weighs nexfibre–Netomnia options; CityFibre strengthens Vodafone ties
Analyst Briefing: Latest from the digital infra scene in the UK, including CMA priorities for Netomnia/nexfibre review, competition growing from multiservice propositions, CityFibre spins out a new wholesale aggregator, and plenty more…
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Products & ServicesUK telcos eye 2026 for latest number verification API launch
BT and Virgin Media O2 set to launch Number Verification 2.0 API during 2026, with Vodafone — having already deployed the technology in the UK — moving to roll out the technology in other European markets. Operators highlight new capabilities unlocked with the latest version, and success of close collaboration on wider API rollout…
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PeoplewatchBT Peoplewatch: UK rivals trade Networks R&D and SMB leaders
July 2026 edition, featuring: the introduction of VM O2’s Catherine Amran to lead BT’s small business segment; networks R&D fellow Maria Cuevas moving the other way; a new BT Mobile product lead being appointed, following the B2C relaunch; and Gavin Patterson picking up another boardroom seat.
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Partnerships & AlliancesDT, Orange, VM O2, Vodafone join new European advertising venture
The European Media Marketplace is established with the ambitious aim of providing a counterweight to dominant US tech giants in the digital advertising space.
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Operations‘Reimagine, rethink, rewire’: BT wants AI to go beyond mere cost-cutting
DTW Ignite: Peter Leukert, Claire Gillies, and Gabriela Styf Sjöman showcase BT’s effort to get to the true value of AI: new revenue streams, strengthened customer trust, and reimagined network operations…
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PeoplewatchBT research expert Maria Cuevas joins rival Virgin Media O2
BT Fellow and research expert Maria Cuevas takes up technical strategy post at rival Virgin Media O2, bringing more than 25 years of experience, including in networks R&D. Exec moves as VM O2 juggles multiple technology transformation initiatives across AI and networks…
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Network & InfraVodafoneThree turns to video AI to streamline mobile network upgrade
UK network operator deploys Vyntelligence tech to enable remote site audits in a bid to improve safety and efficiency as it delivers a massive £11bn network integration and upgrade programme.