As the Future Network Programmes conclude, UKTIN is working with DSIT to reflect on the government-funded projects, outlining the key outcomes and the lessons learned to help improve future telecoms initiatives. 

The UK government will invest £20.4 billion in research and development this year, reinforcing the government’s commitment to back the UK’s R&D ecosystem to drive economic growth, raise living standards and fund public services. The aim is to position the UK at the forefront of global innovation and progress. 

• AT&T has successfully tested a new technology that can transport data at 1.6 terabits per second, which is four times faster than the current top speed on our network.
• For customers, this shows that AT&T’s network can now support faster and more efficient connectivity, improving the performance of internet services, including streaming videos, using AI applications, virtual reality, cloud computing, and more.
• The trial took place over a 296-kilometer route between Newark, New Jersey, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, using

A group of UK telcos led by Vodafone has launched a new bit of kit to keep the modem lights on during a power cut.

With the country in the midst of a somewhat abortive attempt to completely migrate from PSTN to VoIP, telcos are working overtime to assure vulnerable customers they will still be able to communicate when the mains electricity is on the blink.

The GSMA has announced the release of new specifications for Rich Communication Services (RCS), the chief upshot of which is secure messaging between Android and iOS devices.

The svelte announcement from the GSMA states that the new specifications for RCS include end-to-end encryption (E2EE) based on the Messaging Layer Security (MLS) protocol.

UK communications regulator Ofcom is ramping up its execution of new powers granted by the contentious Online Safety Act and will punish online platforms that censor insufficiently.

Online platforms had until yesterday to compile ‘a suitable and sufficient illegal harms risk assessment’.  Ofcom will start marking their homework to see if a) the risk assessment is suitable and sufficient and b) they’re acting on it. Ofcom says it will be ‘launching targeted enforcement action where we uncover concerns.’

Following on from the Secretary of State for DSIT’s speech at the Tech UK Conference which announced additional funding for 5GIR programme, DSIT has today confirmed that in, addition of the seven confirmed extensions, the remaining three regions will also receive extensions.

Following the landmark global SEP judgment in Lenovo’s favor by the UK Court of Appeal on 28 February 2025, Ericsson has refused to accept the interim licence terms.

Following the landmark global SEP judgment in Lenovo’s favor by the UK Court of Appeal on 28 February 2025, Ericsson has refused to accept the interim licence terms. As a result, the English Court of Appeal has officially declared Ericsson to be in breach of its FRAND obligations and an unwilling licensor.

It’s the era of box office events driving huge online traffic, and in the case of Taylor Swift, literally the ‘Eras’. During her tour she smashed records for the most mobile data used during a standalone concert at Wembley Stadium. And while Swifties streamed their favourite songs in 2024, we saw sports lovers also drive record highs of online traffic.

We are delighted to announce that UKTIN is set to continue from April 2025 with a set of activities which address priorities that have been refreshed in consultation with the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology (DSIT) Future Networks Programme. 

Vodafone UK and Ericsson have successfully reduced daily power consumption of 5G Radio Units by up to 33% in trial sites across London.