Ross Appleton

A first for the UK, and for Europe! Today Virgin Media O2 switched on direct-to-device satellite mobile data, making the UK the first country in Europe to go live with this technology. It’s a huge step forward for connectivity and a proud moment for everyone who’s worked to bring it to life. For our customers, it means peace of mind in some of the most rural and remote parts of the country, many of which have long been known as not-spots. We’ve extended coverage across an area the size of two-thirds of Wales, keeping people connected when it matters most. So proud of our teams, partners, and the ambition behind this. And even more excited for what it signals about the UK’s digital future!

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Less is more, but this is also a sign of the updated role of a linear channel in 2026 compared to 1996 - today it delivers live events still of course, but it is moving towards not being the primary delivery method of the peak viewing hours as the world moved from a scheduled world to a release oriented on demand world.

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Safer SIMs an important strategic area for BT/EE 🚸 We expect EE's new Safer SIMs for U18s to prove very popular (with parents at least). So too their in-store appointments for help in setting up any phone (old or new) for appropriate child protections (available from mid August). 👨‍👩‍👧 Family plans are incredibly important to BT Group/EE in addressing the lower end of the market, together with their convergence plans. The company seems to be shying away from reintroducing a sub-brand at the value end of the market - a different approach to their reinvigoration of the Plusnet brand on broadband 📈 They probably feel that what they're doing is working just fine for now. They just had a really strong quarter on mobile contract net adds, counter to the network operator trends over the past few quarters, and well ahead of the MNO competition. We suspect that these new U18 plans will be a bolster in the coming quarters, and is a smart move in a strategically important space for them Thanks to Claire Gillies and Jonny Bunt for an engaging session on an issue that's arguably top of most parents' agendas. Enders Analysis James Barford Artemis Loynes #telecoms #ukmobile

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I am feeling very proud of the team today. We’ve spent time refining how we support broadcasters and a wider range of customers with playout - listening, adapting and making sure what we offer genuinely reflects how modern operations work. Many of us have worked as broadcasters and media owners, and therefore we are committed to tailor our product precisely for the people that use it. In this video, Alaina and I talk through what flexible playout looks like in real, day‑to‑day use. Nothing theoretical. Just the practical capabilities that broadcasters rely on us for: • Channels that scale up or down in real time • A hybrid model that fits the way your teams operate • Meaningful cost efficiencies compared with traditional setups • The resilience live broadcast demands. This approach to cloud playout at Arqiva has been shaped by our customers, our engineers and countless live events over the years. I’m incredibly proud of how the team keeps pushing to make it even more flexible. If you’re interested in how we support live content and multi‑platform delivery, Alaina and I break it all down in the video. Feel free to reach out if you want to know more. #playout #Arqiva Andrew Ioannou Vikie Bennion Ben Moon Alaina Hall Helen Knight Gaurav Jandwani Stuart Boorn Celia Varet Nathan Dixon Kenny Skillen James Lelyveld Keith F. Martin Richards Martin Gunn Bob Hannent Luke Williams

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Very proud to announce our partnership with BT to boost live streaming at scale for our customers in the UK #BT #MainStreaming #Streaming #Edge

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How do the mobile networks perform at the Royal Welsh Show? 🐑 Our latest event results showcase the mobile network quality across the Royal Welsh Showground both before and during the July 2025 event 📱 Mobile connectivity is now essential for the show - helping visitors stay informed and enabling businesses to process cashless payments. All 4 of the UK mobile operators were measured and their 'Essential Coverage' scores across the showground BEFORE the event were: 1. O2 - 100% 2. EE – 100% 3. Vodafone – 85% 4. Three – 53% Their 'Essential Coverage' scores across the showground were then re-recorded DURING the event to assess the impact of increased demand on network performance: 1. Three - 93% 2. EE – 92% 3. Vodafone – 48% 4. O2 – 1% Resultantly, the operators each saw the following change in their 'Essential Coverage' scores during the show: 1. 🟢 Three - ↑ 40% 2. 🔴 EE - ↓ 8% 3. 🔴 Vodafone - ↓ 37% 4. 🔴 O2 - ↓ 99% For context: 1. The data was collected through walk testing all pedestrian avenues 2. The survey taken before the event was conducted on the 02/07/2025 3. The survey taken during the event was conducted on the 22/07/2025 4. Streetwave defines 'Essential Coverage' as locations where a user receives at least 1 Mbps download, 0.5 Mbps upload speeds and less than 100 ms latency - allowing basic use cases like emails or web browsing to be run 5. Streetwave has had it confirmed that EE has recently deployed a permanent mast to the showground - while Three deployed a temporary mast during the show The Royal Welsh Show is Wales’ premier annual agricultural event, attracting over 200,000 visitors to celebrate farming, rural life, livestock competitions, and local produce 🥕 Special thanks to Peter Gwyn Williams and the team at Tyfu Canolbarth Cymru | Growing Mid Wales for conducting the surveys and supporting the analysis. I have attached a link to read the full findings in the comments. How was your experience at the show? #MobileConnectivity #TelecomsInsights #EventTechnology #RuralConnectivity #DigitalInfrastructure #RoyalWelshShow

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MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS: ITV in talks to sell business to Comcast's Sky. Here's some UK news coverage of discussions between ITV and Comcast-owned Sky for the purchase of the UK free-to-air broadcaster at a valuation of GBP £1.6 billion. The deal comes at a time when competition from global streamers and services such as YouTube are placing significant competitive pressure on local national broadcasters and forcing markets to adjust and consolidate. This clip from the Channel 4 News, 7th November, 2025 #comcast #sky #itv #consolidation #acquisition

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We’ve launched a major new awareness campaign across the UK today reaching out to vulnerable telecare users ahead of the digital landline switchover 📞   Backed by the UK Government, and in partnership with BT Group, this campaign calls on telecare users, their families and/or carers to reach out to their landline providers ahead of the switchover to ensure the necessary support is provided.   With the switchover already underway in some areas, we are providing tailored support to our customers who use telecare devices to ensure a smooth transition 💙   More info here ➡️ https://lnkd.in/eVvrykvs

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Spoiler alert: Propositions rooted in customer insight survive the test of time. The idea for this prop came from multiple rounds of quant, qual and co-creation sessions with existing subscription TV customers. 7 years ago. We asked what frustrated them the most about their existing subscription TV provider. Their answer: being forced to sign up for content they didn’t need (sport enthusiasts who had to take entertainment content in order to watch sport), and struggling to cancel add-ons they didn't use because they had to call up and negotiate with a sales agent bonused on them keeping the content! The econometrics insight from the research: people don't actually like changing things. But they really like the reassurance that if needed, they can change them. My solution: taking the principles from BT Mobile (as I said, this was a while ago now!) and let customers flex... but make it TV. Add and remove content each month. Let customers do it online, when it suits them, with no need to talk to a real person, unless they want to. Want to watch the summer of cricket but not pay for sport all year? Sure. Grandchildren coming for Christmas and need access to 24/7 movies? No problem. Want to know what all the White Lotus fuss is about? Easy. And when the need for that particular content passes? And this was the REALLY important part… No. Questions. Asked. The formula is incredibly simple. Identify the customer problem / frustration and solve it / make it better. If you make the customer experience simple and intuitive then customers will stick around. If you get this and the pricing right, then you don’t need to worry about churn as you are offering exactly what the customer needs, when they need it, and with a contact strategy that suits them, not the business. The outcomes are mutually beneficial for customer and organisation. I came up with this idea in 2018. We then had some fun and games building it. We finally launched it as Flexible BT TV early 2020 at the height of Covid. In 2025 not only does it live on, but it’s in it's second iteration as Flexible EE TV. Only the best customer products and propositions were built on the brand new tech stack as part of the New EE launch in 2023. I’ve always been really proud that this was one of the few propositions that made the transition from BT to EE.   Seeing the post by EE this evening made me smile. So much hard work went into turning an idea into reality, by a lot of people… twice!!!! It's made me feel really proud to see my idea, 7 years after I came up with it, still relevant and at the front of EE’s current campaign activity. P.S. The execution is great Kelly Engstrom and team!

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With this article, BCi Digital continue to provide thought leadership and insight in the addressable advertising space. Next week, I’ll be at Connected TV World Summit in London, focussing on advertising solutions in a hybrid Broadcast/Broadband (HbbTv) world. The following week, John Bartlett and I will be at DVB World in Amsterdam, delivering a session on Addressable advertising using open standards, DVB-TA, HbbTV-TA for DAI. If you’d like to meet up for a chat about how BCi are innovating with our Ocelot and Opportune Ad management and decision systems, coupled with our Otter HbbTv client for connected TVs, or if you just fancy a coffee to discuss the Industry trends, please do reach out.

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VodafoneThree Ofcom has told Keir Starmer and Rache Reeves it is pleased with the results of the VodafoneThree merger. In an open letter to Starmer and Reeves, chief executive Dame Melanie Dawes hailed early consumer benefits and the investment resulting Three merger. Dawes said consumers are already seeing benefits. Network integration has delivered faster 4G speeds for around seven million people across the UK, even at this early stage. Coverage has also improved sharply. Dawes said the merger has removed 16,500 square kilometres of mobile “not-spots”, boosting connectivity in areas that previously suffered from weak or non-existent signal. #business#financial#SME

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Yet another example of a telecoms operator selling off media assets, this time Telenor selling its stake in Allente (created by the merger of Canal Digital and Viasat) to its JV partner. I wrote about this trend in a recent Analysys Mason article, highlighting the sale of similar assets by other operators (even if TV is still a central component of many fixed broadband plans). I shouldn't really be surprised, but I do find it interesting how so many different operators follow such a similar strategy. https://lnkd.in/eQ3bBf9W

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“Everything seems brighter, everything is clearer, and the audio is great.” — AV design lead, BT Group As the UK’s leading provider of fixed and mobile communications, BT Group knows the importance of clear, reliable connections. As part of their Better Workplace Programme, they chose Huddly to deliver natural, AI-driven video and audio experiences that connect their teams across locations. Better collaboration with Huddly. #CaseStudy #HybridWork #SmartMeetings #Huddly https://lnkd.in/gwYVR7aF

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This morning Vorboss has formally announced our partnership with Roc Technologies to bring new solutions to Public Sector organisations in London. We have been working together for some time now and it's been really enjoyable. Our partnership is of course based upon complimentary best in class capabilities but we also both have a huge desire to demonstrate that there are credible and trustworthy alternatives to the incumbents. Together we will be relentless in helping Public Sector organisations drive their digital transformation agendas. https://lnkd.in/enQxTvhS

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Fair and balanced summary from telcotitans in relation to the on-going need for Ofcom to review PIA pricing models in the latest Telecoms Access Review. Fibrus is a large user of the Openreach PIA products in NI and GB and they work very well operationally for us. However, the current outdated per metre pricing model needs reviewed for rural builds to take into account distance between premises at 20 times greater than urban prems. Ofcom complete a telecoms access review every 5 years so time is of the essence to act now to properly review and update. #fibrus

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BT has completed the sale of its US government contracting arm, BT Federal, as part of a wider move to simplify the business and sharpen its focus back towards the UK and core international connectivity. Strategically, this looks less about retreat and more about prioritisation. Large incumbents can’t be everything everywhere, and concentrating capital and leadership attention on secure, multi-cloud connectivity and core markets may well create more clarity, internally and externally. Source - https://lnkd.in/e5AeJN8X

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“EE performed best in each of the nine major cities where local performance was analysed, including London 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿, Cardiff 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿, Edinburgh 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 and Belfast NI.” Small cell masts boosting mobile capacity in the busiest urban areas now at 1,500 - with the first deployments in towns and cities including Belfast, Bristol, Middlesbrough, Preston and Bolton this past year. #nationsandregions #networks umlaut company

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Many thanks to INCA - Independent Networks Cooperative Association for inviting me to be on the first panel at their ‘State of the Altnets 2026’ event yesterday in London. I really enjoyed the discussions throughout the day, and the chance to catch up with colleagues from across the altnet community. My sense is that market sentiment will improve this year, and my main messages during the panel discussion were: 1)       Some altnets are performing well (in terms of take-up and/or ARPU) – this is often overlooked by some market commentators – we need to get past the view that it’s all ‘doom and gloom’ 2)       Recent M&A activity, notably the nexfibre/Netomnia and Freedom Fibre/Truespeed transactions, is likely to have a positive and catalysing effect on the sector 3)       Gigaclear’s turnaround by its lenders is also expected to be positive for the market, and may re-open the possibility of a rural aggregation play down the line.

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