Australia’s National Broadband Network (NBN) has marked a historic milestone by utilizing cutting-edge 100G PON technology to achieve speeds of 83 Gbps on its live full fibre access network. This breakthrough, claimed as a world first, signifies a significant leap in broadband capabilities for Australian consumers.
The clock is ticking for the Federal Communications Commission’s Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), offering qualified households valuable monthly internet discounts. However, with the fund balance dipping below $1.8 billion, the financial resources may only last until April. Several providers have presented strategies to maintain continuity, offering budget-friendly plans of as low as $10.
Rumors of a impending merger swirl around two of UK’s pivotal alternative network providers. Such union could massively boost FTTP coverage across the UK. Amid speculations of rapid network consolidation and shared investment, this collaboration signifies a vital shift in UK’s fibre market. However, the union also begets challenges in terms of subscriber transition and meeting regulatory deadlines.
Boldly setting a new trend, British mobile network operator EE introduces a direct ‘pounds and pence’ pricing structure allowing easy-to-understand mid-contract price alterations. Putting an end to the perplexing use of complex indices like CPI or RPI, this simplified approach, commencing from 31 March 2025, has announced certain monthly hikes that resonate with essential consumer electronics and services.
Project Gigabit, an ambitious initiative from the UK government, is rapidly enhancing the nation’s digital connectivity across rural locales. Recent updates from this £5 billion venture depict encouraging progress, with a significant leap in gigabit broadband coverage from 6% in 2019 to 81%. The project aims to extend this coverage to virtually every UK premises by 2030.
At the recent Embedded World event, Qualcomm, the US mobile chip giant, has introduced a new wifi System-on-Chip (SoC) named the QCC730 Wi-Fi solution. This innovative chip boasts an impressive 88% reduction in power consumption compared to previous equivalents, making it a game-changer for battery-powered IoT (Internet of Things) devices.
Broadband aficionado, LilaConnect, gears up to provide a defining stride to residents and businesses in Leek and Stoke-on-Trent. It aims to elevate digital living by expanding its highly promising gigabit full-fibre network to over 6,900 properties in the course of 12 weeks. The impact is massive! Visible improvements include swift data transmission, a stable network, and low latency favouring seamless online activities.
In a significant move, AT&T has pledged an additional $3 billion investment by the end of the decade to address the digital divide in the United States, bringing its total commitment to this cause to $5 billion. This announcement comes as part of the telco’s ongoing efforts to ensure more Americans have access to affordable high-speed internet.
The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is gearing up for a pivotal vote on April 25 to reinstate net neutrality, a move that has stirred controversy, particularly among Republican commissioners.
With the looming switch-off of ISDN and PSTN circuits, businesses in the UK will have no choice but to update their phone systems to the cloud before December 2025. This is when the old networks will be turned off. These older networks are being replaced with newer technology, such as VoIP as well as the discontinuation of ISDN and PSTN; broadband lines with a dial tone such as ADSL and FTTC are also being discontinued and replaced with new products such as SOGEA and FTTP (Fiber to the Premise).
