TalkTalk, the UK’s fourth-largest broadband provider, is seeking £200 million in urgent funding to prevent collapse. Facing £1 billion in debt, the company aims to meet repayment deadlines by restructuring and attracting new investors. Despite serving 3.8 million customers, mounting debt pressures have amplified financial insecurities amidst fierce competition.
BT faces a £17.5 million fine from Ofcom after a network fault disrupted 14,000 emergency calls for over 11 hours. This outage highlights the necessity for robust VoIP systems in emergency services.
BT Group, Nokia, and Qualcomm have successfully tested 5G Standalone (SA) 5CC carrier aggregation at Adastral Park, making BT the first European operator to achieve this milestone. Utilizing Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 5G Modem-RF system and Nokia’s 5G AirScale portfolio, the tests achieved downlink speeds of 1.85 Gbps, highlighting the potential of 5G SA.
Telecom Italia (TIM) celebrates the successful sale of its fixed-line grid to the Optics BidCo consortium, led by investment firm KKR. This strategic move aims to reduce TIM’s significant net financial debt and marks a first in major European telecom history.
Ofcom has fined BT £2.8 million after its subsidiaries, EE and Plusnet, failed to adhere to consumer protection regulations. The UK regulator’s investigation revealed that both companies neglected to provide clear contract details to numerous customers before they signed up for services.
New research conducted by consultancy Cluttons in collaboration with YouGov has revealed significant doubts among Conservative MPs regarding the UK’s ability to achieve government targets for nationwide standalone 5G coverage by 2030. The study, which surveyed 104 MPs and 556 local councillors, found that only one-third of Conservative MPs (34%) expressed confidence in meeting the ambitious targets set by the government.
BT has announced a two-year delay in the shutdown of the UK’s copper-based phone lines, now scheduled for 2027 instead of the original 2025 target. The decision was subtly revealed in the company’s 2023 financial results and later confirmed through a press release.
BT Group has reported a slight revenue increase to £20.8 billion, a 1% rise from last year, driven by price hikes for broadband customers, robust sales of fibre products in Openreach, and growth in the consumer division. However, the company’s pre-tax profits dropped sharply by 31%, falling to £1.18 billion, despite a 2% rise in adjusted EBITDA, which reached £8.1 billion.
BT has announced a significant triumph, securing a $70 million contract to revamp and bolster the IT infrastructure of the Devon & Cornwall and Dorset police forces. This transformative deal encompasses a broad spectrum of IT solutions essential for operational efficacy.
A recent market study by INCA (Independent Networks Cooperative Association) and Point Topic reveals that alternative network builders in the UK have collectively expanded fibre infrastructure to more premises than BT’s Openreach unit. By the end of 2023, UK altnets had reached 12.9 million premises with fibre, exceeding Openreach’s coverage of 12.8 million.
