Why is phone signal so bad in London? Planning, of course Opinion Outdated planning laws that mean that dictate a pointless three-antenna limit on every phone mast are holding back progress, says Maxwell Marlow You may not believe it, but you can get a better signal at the top of Machu Picchu than you can standing outside of the Bank of England. I believe it. I was [...]
Landowners hit as government pushes through 5G rent cuts Tech Mobile network operators are set to cut rents on around 15,000 existing phone masts from April, City AM understands, dragging decades-old agreements into a new regime that has already allowed payments to landowners to be cut by up to 90 per cent. The move will bring legacy mast contracts, many signed with farmers, schools, hospitals [...]
Virgin Media O2 and Starlink race to fix London’s connectivity crisis Tech Virgin Media O2 has switched on its first ‘giga site’ in central London, a move aimed at improving mobile connectivity across the UK. The site, which combines low-mid and high-band spectrum with Nokia’s technology, can deliver speeds of more than 10Gbps, enough to support 2,000 simultaneous HD video streams. The move is part of the [...]
BT urges government action amid standalone 5G rollout October 2, 2025 BT has called on the UK government to remove regulatory barriers and accelerate mobile network expansion. The call comes as the FTSE 100 giant announced plans to deliver standalone 5G (5G+) coverage to 99 per cent of the UK population by 2030, four years ahead of rival operators’ stated projections. Speaking at the Connected Britain [...]
Vodafone and Virgin Media O2 strike £343m deal June 30, 2025 Vodafone has received a boots worth £343m from Virgin Media O2 just a few weeks after its mega merger with Three was finally approved. Virgin Media O2 has agreed to pay £343m for a tranche of mobile spectrum from Vodafone UK in a deal which is hoped will help shore up its network capacity amid [...]
London’s 5G rollout is being strangled by a failed legal model June 27, 2025 London’s position at the bottom of Europe’s 5G performance rankings is the direct result of a failed telecoms access policy that has deterred investment, triggered mass litigation, and paralysed rollout. The Electronic Communications Code (ECC), reformed in 2017 to cut costs for mobile operators, removed the requirement to pay market rents for infrastructure sites. Instead, [...]
Tesla back in court after 5G patents licence case was thrown out December 2, 2024 Tesla is back in English court this week as it aims to overturn a ruling that kicked out its 5G patents licence lawsuit
Virgin Media O2 sells Cornerstone Towers stake as revenue dips October 30, 2024 Virgin Media O2 has announced the sale of a stake in its mobile towers joint venture, Cornerstone, to infrastructure investor Equitix, bagging £186m in cash. The deal, which leaves the telco with just over 25 per cent of Cornerstone after selling 8.33 per cent, involves a 16.66 per cent stake in a holding company that [...]
Rachel Reeves to claim ‘party of business crown’ with Labour conference speech October 8, 2023 Labour are gunning for the ‘party of business’ crown as Rachel Reeves prepares to unveil a string of policies on planning, building and investment in a bid to woo the private sector. Speaking at Labour conference in Liverpool, the shadow Chancellor will pledge to speed up the race to get critical infrastructure built, drive growth, [...]
Vodafone boss: Social media’s a good thing – it tells us what’s happening September 11, 2023 Vodafone's UK boss on immediate feedback, the merger with Three, and his cycling summer holiday