Openreach asks the public to report suspected metal theft
Openreach, along with Crimestoppers are teaming up with metal recycling firm EMR to help combat the rise in copper theft from the Openreach network. Openreach says that since April 2024, more than 100,000 people have lost access to their home phone line or broadband due to the theft of 153km of copper cable.
Altnet Gigabit IQ teams up with Disking IT for cybersecurity
Gigabit IQ has teamed up with Disking IT to incorporate their cybersecurity and managed IT expertise into the connectivity offering. The offering will include managed Wi-Fi and networking, along with cybersecurity services, IT support and consultancy.
“Partnering with Disking IT allows us to significantly strengthen our business offering by combining ultrafast full-fibre broadband with trusted cybersecurity and managed IT expertise. Together, we are creating a more secure and resilient digital environment for organisations across the UK.”
Mashood Ahmad, Founder, Gigabit IQ
Community Fibre financial results show customers up 23%
As of Q1 2026, Community Fibre are now showing a penetration rate of 33% across its network, with approximately 424000 customers, up 23% year-on-year. The company say they have passed over 1.4 million homes with more than 185,000 London-based businesses within 200m of the network. The company said it is restarting its network building to expand the network beyond 2 million homes and businesses.
BT launches BT Mobile
BT is relaunching its BT Mobile brand in an effort to offer simple mobile plans for its BT broadband customers. Plans for the new services will start from £9 per month for 10GB of data when bundled with BT broadband. Services will include EU roaming as part of the contract, and all services are currently on a 30-day rolling contract. If you need a new device or are looking for a new phone, BT is pushing you towards its sister brand EE.
This introduction looks like a shift from its plan to try to move BT Consumer services across to EE as the main brand, with services such as BT TV rebranding to EE TV. Perhaps there is a stubborn cohort who are attached to the BT brand who are unwilling to move across, and introducing new BT services will help avoid them defecting to another company.
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Openreach’s self-interest is breath-taking. I reported a tree, weighing on the line, as did many others. Complete waste of time: lat/lon not good enough for offshore agent – had to find a postcode myself (no houses near and who has a postcode map in their head?), claimed landowner responsibility – but couldn’t say who was the landowner “for data protection”, and they don’t employ tree-cutters for ongoing or preventative maintenance in any case. Months later it that took out service for several hundred people. Entirely foreseen and preventable. Days without service and a scramble to make an “emergency” fix in poor weather. Reality is copper on the balance sheet is Openreach’s legacy gift from the GPO/UK taxpayer, and their execs want to defend their bottom line.
You’ve hit the nail on the head, as they say, but reporting a preventable situation from happening could be wasting your time. The problem of removing the tree branches, and saving thousands of Pounds, was too complicated for those in charge to handle. Reporting criminals stealing copper wire from Openreach, or anyone else, is due to fail and soon as they are brought before judge “Richard Head,” as Ken Dodd used to say.