Virgin Media Business Wholesale, a division of Virgin Media O2, has significantly upgraded the Manchester Equinix MA5 data center with advanced high-capacity fibre routes, enhancing connectivity in Manchester and the broader north of England. This upgrade positions the Manchester MA5 as a crucial node within Virgin Media Business Wholesale’s extensive network, which includes over 160 data centers across the UK.
In the United Kingdom, a significant transition is underway as the nation shifts from traditional analogue landline services to modern, IP-based digital systems. This change, mirroring a global trend towards digital communication solutions, aims to enhance service quality for the majority of consumers. However, it has raised concerns for certain vulnerable groups who depend on the older technology and may face challenges, particularly during power outages, which could impact their ability to reach emergency services.
Virgin Media expands its gigabit network Virgin Media has successfully upgraded 1.5 million additional premises to DOCSIS 3.1, allowing users to achieve internet speeds exceeding one gigabit per second. Over half of the 15.5 million subscriber homes in the UK may now get gigabit services thanks to this latest initiative. The network improvements were made at a variety of sites around the United Kingdom, including cities such as Bournemouth, Bristol, Northampton, Southampton, Wolverhampton, Wigan, and York. VMO2 will continue to roll out DOCSIS 3.1 improvements throughout the rest of its network, after earlier stating that they will have updated their whole footprint by the end of 2021. Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/hj4emdmf Avature in partnership with DIDWW Avature has teamed up with DIDWW, an international telecom operator that offers high quality VoIP services. By using DIDWW’s two-way SIP services, Avature will be able to maintain continuous communications and worldwide connection across…
Swedish vendor Ericsson has signed an agreement to provide a 5G “core” to Virgin Media O2, a new company established by a merger between Virgin Media and the mobile operator O2. Ericsson will build a VMO2 standalone 5G core, that will incorporate 4G and non-standalone 5G cores, to create dual-mode 5G core, as referred to by Ericsson. The vendor has been a supplier to mobile operator O2 UK for quite some time now. The previous deal between the two companies focused on an ongoing “network modernization program” that was introduced in June 2020. Since the older core used by O2 was also that of Ericsson, it was appropriate to continue with the same technology vendor. Moreover, the new agreement also allows Virgin Media O2 to provide a standalone 5G service. UK operators have based their 5G launches on a “non-standalone” architecture that allows the 5G RAN to revert…
The new UK joint venture between Liberty Global and Telefónica officially became operational on 1 June, merging the two household names to form Virgin Media O2 (VMO2). This joint venture has committed to providing a unique choice to consumers and has also promised to boost the UK economy. While, at the moment, the company is not changing any of its current services, later this year it plans to offer seamless broadband, entertainment and mobile services all in one place. The Liberty Global-Telefónica merger is devoted to investing at least £10bn in the UK over the next five years. This investment will help businesses further contribute to the UK Government’s goals of connectivity, upgrading infrastructure all around the country, creating stiffer competition and providing a wider variety of choices for customers. The merger instantly makes the new business one of the largest in the UK, with 47 million…
Vodafone Germany to build new base stations and 5G Vodafone Germany has announced that it will undertake more than 7,000 mobile infrastructure construction projects including 3,000 5G projects, which it estimates will support 9,000 5G antennas. The projects will take place in the current financial year, which began in April. The company says it has exceeded its 5G coverage targets by expanding the network to 25 million subscribers, and estimates that it will soon cover 30 million consumers with 5G. In addition, Vodafone has also announced that it is swapping the L3G spectrum for LTE by switching 18,000 3G sites to 4G ones this summer. Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/a5a7txbf Virgin Media shares its sustainability results Virgin Media released its latest sustainability report this week, which examines the ways that the company has supported its employees and customers during the pandemic and how it continues to deal with the climate crisis.…
Vodafone launches standalone 5G services in Germany Vodafone has announced the launch of its standalone 5G services in Germany. Vodafone Germany, working with Ericsson, Qualcomm, and Oppo, has upgraded around 1000 mobile sites in the 3.5 GHz range, switching them to an independent 5G core network that no longer relies on 4G. Vodafone claims that “latency times of 10 to 15 milliseconds are possible – that’s as fast as the human nervous system.” This initiative will deliver the SA 5G experience to 170 cities and municipalities, including major cities such as Berlin, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich and Düsseldorf. Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/5dvhudhr Nokia to supply China Mobile with software-defined networking technology Nokia gained a major cloud win when China Mobile chose the vendor to supply software-defined network (SDN) technology for its public cloud service expansion. As part of the transaction, Nokia will provide its Nuage Networks Virtualized Cloud Services, that include…
The Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg), the Irish national regulatory authority, and the current Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment Richard Bruton TD have signed new regulations that will allow the release of additional radio spectrum to create extra capacity for mobile phone and broadband services. These are temporary measures taken in response to a sharp increase in the use of mobile networks, as people rely more heavily on their operators to communicate and stay connected during COVID-19 social distancing. According to ComReg, mobile operators have coped well with increased usage so far, but they have currently less headroom to accommodate further spikes in demand. ComReg Commissioner, Jeremy Godfrey, said, “The provision of this spectrum will help the mobile providers cater for the increased demand on their networks. ComReg will continue to work with industry and will support operators so that telecoms networks may continue to meet demand…
Entegro, an Irish tech company which designs and deploys fiber and hybrid gigabit networks, has announced the opening of its new Fiber Network Design Centre of Excellence. Based in the Danville Business Park on the edge of Kilkenny City, Ireland, the company’s new facility is set to create 50 jobs over the next 18 months. Currently employing 100 people, Entegro said it has immediate vacancies for planning and design, fiber planning, GIS and other engineers. “We’ve nine different nationalities working on our 100-strong team here in Kilkenny, at our Dublin hub and in the UK,” said Fintan Shortall, Director of Business Development at Entegro. “From our headquarters in Kilkenny we’re building networks across Ireland, the UK and into the US. We’ve built a very strong team and together, we will significantly increase our turnover.” Jim Doyle, Managing Director at Entegro, underscored that the company is passionate about delivering network…
