BROWSING: UK

BT launches ‘multi-million-pound’ NB-IoT network for UK smart cities (etc)

BT has opened a new NB-IoT network in the UK to serve the smart cities space, alongside utilities, construction, and logistics services. The firm claims 97 percent population outdoor coverage for the new infrastructure, which rides on its EE-branded LTE network in the 1800MHz...

UK meter specialist B4T to use Heliot’s Sigfox network for upcycled water meters

Heliot Europe, Europe’s biggest Sigfox operator, has partnered with smart meter vendor B4T to offer Sigfox connectivity for the UK-based firm’s upcycled smart water meters. B4T’s Jellyfish range of meter devices track consumption and leaks in the water network; they can be retrofitted to...

Quantum-secure private 5G testbed opens in UK

A quantum-secure private 5G testbed that claims to protect against current and future cyber threats has opened in the UK, and is pitching for “customer engagement”. The project, which goes under the title Security Enhanced Virtualised Networking for 5G (SEViN-5G), is funded by Innovate...

Glasgow reveals plan to be “Europe’s largest IoT innovation hub”

The city of Glasgow in Scotland will be “Europe’s largest smart things and IoT innovation hub” – if the UK government and city council has its way. They have joined in a partnership with local startup group, the Smart Things Accelerator Centre (STAC), plus...

BT looks to repurpose UK broadband street cabinets as EV charging points

UK-based BT Group is looking to repurpose old street cabinets, traditionally used to store broadband and phone cabling, as electric vehicle (EV) charging stations. The firm’s innovation startup unit, Etc., has announced a series of pilots, starting in Scotland, to enable street cabinets to...

Vodafone and IoT pals equip low-carbon Industry 4.0 demonstrator in the UK

Vodafone has equipped an Industry 4.0 demonstrator project at the University of Sheffield in the UK with a range of IoT technologies so manufacturers can understand how digital tech can support their net zero and energy efficiency objectives. Vodafone is one of a number...

Nokia appoints UK engineering and IT services firm NG Bailey as private 5G reseller

Nokia has handed UK-based engineering and services firm NG Bailey a distribution contract to sell its private LTE and 5G solutions into the healthcare, manufacturing, education, infrastructure sectors in the UK. NG Bailey said it will open a 5G demonstration lab at its headquarters...

Smart meter data is stuck, says UK report – strangling innovation, sustainability

Not enough is being made of smart meter data in the UK, despite one of the most expansive and productive metering rollouts in Europe. The existing system for regulation and management of energy data is strangling tech innovation and sustainability drives, says Energy Systems...

Sigfox operator Heliot reengages UK channel with flexi pricing, hefty bonuses

European Sigfox operator Heliot Europe is ramping up its UK channel activity following its acquisition earlier this year of Sigfox networks in the UK and Ireland from Latin American Sigfox specialist WND. The UK arm of the Switzerland-based firm, which also runs Sigfox networks...

The 5G disconnect – why private network adoption is lagging (Reader Forum)

In today’s digital landscape, a highly secure and reliable network is a must-have. No matter the sector, traditional network infrastructure is struggling to keep up with the requirements of connected systems and businesses are under pressure to deploy new offerings constantly and rapidly. Enter...

Heliot Europe acquires and integrates Sigfox IoT networks in UK and Denmark

Heliot Europe, already the largest Sigfox operator in Europe, has said its new networks in the UK and Denmark have now been integrated into its infrastructure portfolio, which includes Sigfox networks in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia and Liechtenstein. The Switzerland-based firm acquired the UK...

Virgin Media O2 intros Nokia-made private 5G box-solution for UK SMEs

The business arm of UK-based operator Virgin Media O2, owned by Liberty Global and Telefónica, is offering a Nokia-made private standalone 5G (5G SA) network-and-compute system in a portable hold-all for “businesses of all sizes”. The logic is to make private cellular accessible to...

UK launches £40m 5G-IoT fund for local authorities to drive economy, services

The UK government has launched a £40 million fund for local authorities to deliver 5G-based IoT solutions to help in the fields of manufacturing, transport, agriculture, and healthcare, as well as with their own smart-city services. The money will go to create broad ‘5G...

Vodafone, Net CS deploy church-based Open RAN mobile sites in UK

The Open RAN mobile sites will be used to provide coverage to the surrounding rural communities Vodafone has partnered with mobile coverage services specialist Net CS to provide 4G coverage to rural communities around 11 Church of England parish churches across the U.K. Using Open...

Virgin Media O2 to cut 10% of its workforce

In Q2 2023, Virgin Media O2 lost 15,300 broadband customers and 1,500 mobile customers Virgin Media O2 announced plans this week to cut 2,000 jobs, becoming the latest telco to do so in the U.K., following rivals BT and Vodafone, which revealed plans to axe...

BT Group CEO announces departure

BT Group CEO Philip Jansen has confirmed plans to leave his role in the next 12 months After months of rumors, BT Group CEO Philip Jansen has confirmed plans to leave his role in the next 12 months. In March, U.K. newspaper The Mail on Sunday reported...

UK government commits £21m to deploy AI in the NHS – by winter

The UK government has committed £21 million to deploy artificial intelligence (AI) based technologies across the National Health Service (NHS) to help diagnose conditions such as cancers, strokes and heart conditions. NHS Trusts, geographically organised healthcare units within the NHS, will be able to...

UK selects LEO satellite company for rural broadband trials

OneWeb currently has a constellation of 618 LEO satellites Low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite communications company OneWeb has been selected for two broadband trials in the U.K. as part of the government’s Very Hard to Reach Premises connectivity program, which aims to deliver connectivity to...

BT taps AWS for ‘multi-million’ 5G MEC network for high-end IoT

BT has said it is to make a “multi-million-pound investment” in mobile edge computing (MEC), rooted in its LTE (4G) and 5G network infrastructure. Its mission is to bring enterprise services and applications closer to customers. It is working with Amazon Web Services (AWS)...

Private 5G specialist Celona goes global – chases Nokia’s lead, junks ‘Frankenstein’ systems

Private networking specialist Celona has it in for Nokia. Some way through a pre-brief about its MWC news – about expanding beyond LTE to support 5G in the US, and beyond the US to support a range of 5G bands in global markets –...

BT makes an Industry 4.0 sandwich – from a fortified private 5G loaf

As promised and previewed last week, here is a full transcript of the interview with Marc Overton, managing director of BT’s industrial go-to-market business Division X – from a conversation a couple of months back, at the UK operator’s annual Robotics Festival at its...

UK secures support from key allies for its 5G supply chain vision

The UK government previously announced efforts to increase the share of open and interoperable equipment in domestic networks The governments of Australia, Canada and the United States have backed guidelines for telecoms companies, developed by the U.K., designed to build a more competitive and secure...

Celona on CBRS-bashing by old telco crowd – plus global expansion, growth verticals

Last month, the CBRS community in the US made a swift counter-strike, in the form of a joint letter to the FCC and NTIA, against a report by telecoms lobby group CTIA that said private and shared cellular is bad for the US economy...

Keg tracking with Konvoy – how the beer industry got buzzed on IoT

Australian outfit Konvoy Group started three years ago, in the summer of 2019, as a keg rental business, offering logistics support to craft brewers in its home country. It has, in the meantime, expanded its services portfolio, launched in international markets, and signed with...