Ten government-funded mast upgrades have now been activated in Scotland as part of the Shared Rural Network (SRN) – a programme brokered by the UK government and joint-funded with mobile network operators to improve mobile coverage in rural areas. Across the whole of the UK, 39 masts are now live as part of the SRN. […]

RootMetrics, an Ookla company, has revealed the findings of its bi-annual UK State of the Mobile Union report. As competition among UK mobile network operators continues to heat up, 5G availability saw continued improvement from all four operators, but the fastest 5G speed experience still remains undecided in H2 2024. In the second half of 2024, […]

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has decided Vodafone’s £16.5 billion (€19.9bn) merger with Three – creating the UK’s biggest mobile network with 27 million customers – should be allowed to proceed if both companies sign binding commitments to “invest billions” to roll out a combined 5G network across the UK. The network commitment would […]

The Vodafone and Three merger highlights UK telecom innovation, with major investments planned to boost network quality and deliver advanced technology for customers. In light of this, Sopro, the  B2B prospecting service, has analysed government data to reveal the telecoms industry is one of the most innovative in the UK. The industries engaging in innovation […]

The first publicly funded Shared Rural Network (SRN) Total Not Spot site has been switched on. The new site delivers 4G to areas that previously had no mobile broadband coverage from any operator. The development provides 4G coverage from all UK mobile operators, significantly enhancing connectivity for residents, businesses, and tourists. The mast on South […]

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has provisionally found that a multi-billion-pound commitment to upgrade the merged company’s network across the UK, including the roll-out of 5G, combined with short-term customer protections could solve competition concerns identified in September 2024 and allow the merger to go ahead. The CMA investigation – led by an […]

UK telcos Vodafone and Three’s response to the UK Competitions and Markets Authority’s (CMA) Notice of Possible Remedies (Remedies Notice) has been published. The pair disagree with the CMA’s Provisional Findings, suggesting the merger will be pro-growth, pro-customer, pro-investment and pro-competitive for the UK. “It is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform UK digital infrastructure with […]

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has provisionally found the proposed merger between telcos Vodafone and Three to be likely to reduce competition in the sector. In its initial investigation (called a ‘Phase 1 investigation’) which began in January 2024, the CMA found that the merger, which combines two of the four mobile network […]

File downloads take longer on O2 over 4G and 5G than on the other mobile networks, according to new research from regulator Ofcom. Ofcom’s latest Mobile Matters research report puts people’s experiences of using mobile networks across the UK under the microscope, based on crowdsourced data collected between October 2023 and March 2024. Ofcom analysis […]

Communications service providers (CSPs) have experienced substantial consolidation in recent years with 514 mobile and wireline M&A deals worldwide over the 2019-23 period, Omdia’s research shows. There have been more wireline M&A deals than mobile, with 392 wireline and 122 mobile M&A deals over the 2019-23 period. The mobile M&A includes prominent deals such as […]