| 12 May 2021
In an interim update to its assessment of the UK’s fixed broadband and mobile networks, broadcast and telecoms regulator Ofcom has found an industry with aggressive infrastructure deployment during the time of the lockdowns declared in later 2020 and early 2021.
In the Connected Nations Update Spring 2021 edition report Ofcom found rapid growth in the availability of broadband offers capable of delivering Gigabit speeds for domestic households. It calculated that nearly 11 million UK homes (37%) were able to access such services by the end of January 2021, up from 7.9 million homes (27%) in September 2020. Ofcom attributed the increase largely to the continued rollout of Virgin Media’s DOCSIS3.1 technology to an additional 2.8 million homes, along with other providers extending their full-fibre networks to just under six million UK homes (21%), up from 5.1 million (18%) in September 2020.
| 28 April 2021
More than double the number of UK households are opting for super-fast broadband (more than 60mbps) since the start of the pandemic, according to research from comparethemarket.com.
The study found that households were searching for faster broadband options to cope with working from home: the first month of 2021 saw 80% of households who switched choosing broadband download speeds of more than 60mbps, compared with 34% at the start of 2020.
The increase in uptake of faster broadband packages has been accelerated by the onset of the pandemic and millions of households forced to work from home and attend school online, until recently. In January 2019, only 15% of households were switching to super-fast broadband deals.
| 01 April 2021
The speed at which Britain could benefit from the economic and social impact of billions of pounds of full-fibre infrastructure investment, including an infrastructure for high quality video services, could be improved by clear labelling and information on broadband services according to a new report by WIK-Consult.
The Impact of Labelling on Full Fibre Adoption was commissioned by CityFibre, a former altnet which has grown to be the UK’s third-largest full-fibre platform provider, to feed into a review currently underway by GigaTAG, the UK government’s taskforce for driving adoption of full-fibre and other gigabit-capable products. A labelling system is one approach being considered by GigaTAG.
| 10 March 2021
Broadband provider CityFibre’s UK rollout continues apace with Preston the latest city to receive a full fibre network upgrade.
CityFibre has invested £30m in the project, which will extend to business and residential addresses throughout the region.
Detailed planning is already under way for the network, which will provide a platform for a new generation of “smart city” applications, as well as the roll-out of 5G mobile services.
CityFibre has appointed Steve Thorpe as city manager to spearhead delivery of the Preston project, which is due to begin in May, with work expected to be completed within the next three years. He will be responsible for ensuring the full fibre network is implemented with minimal disruption while delivering maximum benefit for the wider community and will be the lead point of contact for all the city’s stakeholders.