UK led European full fibre rollout in 2023 but lags in uptake

The UK added 4.7 million homes to its full fibre broadband footprint in the year leading up to September 2023, outpacing every other European country.

According to the latest market report from the FTTH Council Europe, this rapid expansion brought the UK's total fibre homes passed to 17.1 million—ranking it third in Europe behind France (26.3 million) and Turkey (18 million).

Given the UK's population size and need to catch up on fibre deployment, its leading position...

21 March 2024 | Broadband

Automotive leads eSIM adoption for IoT as new trends emerge

The automotive industry is emerging as a frontrunner in the adoption of embedded SIM (eSIM) technology for Internet of Things (IoT) applications, according to a recent study by GSMA Intelligence.

As eSIM functionality becomes increasingly available in new connected vehicles, collaboration between operators, eSIM vendors, and auto manufacturers is on the rise. Additionally, regulations mandating emergency call (eCall) functionalities are further propelling eSIM deployments in the...

13 March 2024 | IoT

Berlin is Europe’s 5G performance leader

A new report finds that Berlin has the best overall 5G mobile network performance across 10 European capitals. 

The comprehensive benchmark, conducted by network testing firm MedUX, analysed the quality and speed of 5G services in major cities across Europe.

For the report, researchers drove over 4,000 kilometres across 10 countries during 2023 to conduct network tests to grade "Quality of Experience" for average consumers.

Berlin edged out second-place...

14 February 2024 | 5G

RootMetrics: Three overtakes EE for best UK 5G network 

RootMetrics has unveiled its latest UK mobile report based on over 600,000 tests conducted in the second half of 2023.

The results cover the entire spectrum of user experiences, spanning the UK, individual nations, and 16 prominent metropolitan markets. Here's a breakdown of how the key players—EE, Three, Virgin Media O2, and Vodafone—performed during this extensive testing period.

EE maintains overall dominance

For the 21st consecutive time, EE clinched the...

29 January 2024 | 5G

Dell’Oro forecasts RAN market downturn to continue

The global Radio Access Network (RAN) market will continue its downturn over the next few years, according to a new report from Dell'Oro Group.

Dell'Oro forecasts that RAN revenues will decline at a compound annual growth rate of one percent through 2024. This comes on the heels of massive 40 percent growth from 2017 to 2021, when the market was boosted by initial 5G network builds.

Growth stabilised in 2022 but is expected to drop sharply in 2023, led by a pullback in...

23 January 2024 | 5G

Connected Nations: UK full-fibre broadband reaches 17M homes

A record-breaking 17 million UK homes now have access to full-fibre broadband, according to Ofcom's latest Connected Nations report released today.

The report highlights the advantages of full-fibre broadband, emphasising its increased reliability and resilience compared to traditional copper-based networks. 4.6 million households have already made the switch.

Analysis indicates that providers experience fewer faults on their fibre networks, contributing to a smoother...

19 December 2023 | Broadband

AI to curtail revenue leakage in 5G roaming connections

According to Juniper Research, AI solutions will curtail “revenue leakage” in 5G roaming connections.

The research suggests that average revenue leakage per 5G roaming connection will decrease from $1.72 to $1.20. This significant reduction is attributed to the strategic implementation of AI-based segmentation by telecom operators, marking a pivotal advancement in monetising data-centric users.

Revenue leakage pertains to the value of services provided but not...

11 December 2023 | 5G

In the fast lane: Analysing the UK’s leading broadband players

Opensignal has conducted an in-depth analysis of the real-world fixed broadband experience across the UK. The study provides a national overview as well as detailed insights into five major cities: Belfast, Cardiff, Edinburgh, London, and Manchester.

National broadband landscape

The UK's fixed broadband market is witnessing rapid evolution, with national telecoms regulator Ofcom's analysis pointing to a potential surge in full fibre (FTTP) coverage from 15.4 million properties...

6 December 2023 | Broadband

Mobile data traffic in Europe to almost triple within five years

The GSMA predicts that mobile data traffic in Europe will almost triple over the next five years, fueled by the expansion of 4G networks in central and eastern Europe and improvements in 5G coverage and capacity.

The analysis shows that 5G subscribers are interested in adding high-bandwidth services like gaming, extended reality, and video streaming, which will require continued network investments by operators expected to spend over €198 billion upgrading networks by...

23 November 2023 | 5G

5G-Advanced poised for enterprise success, but challenges persist

The rapid adoption of 5G in the past three years marks a significant milestone, making it the fastest-adopted cellular generation to date. However, a report commissioned by InterDigital and conducted by ABI Research warns that 5G has yet to fully realise its potential in unlocking new business opportunities.

The report outlines that while the foundational development of 5G has enhanced network capacity, speed, and latency, mobile operators have struggled to tap into the enterprise...

15 November 2023 | 5G