News

The decision follows Orange taking full control of the business earlier this year

Orange has wasted no time in dropping the MásOrange brand after taking full control of the business earlier this year.

The unit will now be known as Orange España, bringing the brand in line with Orange’s international portfolio of network operator businesses.

The companies’ commercial brands – Orange, Yoigo, Jazztel, MásMóvil, Pepephone, Simyo, Euskaltel, R, and Telecable – remain unaffected by the move.

“Orange España is one of the most recognised brands in our country and explains in a clear and simple way the company that we are today: the leading operator of the Spanish market by number of customers and by satisfaction with a clear vocation of investment, innovation and commitment to the digital development of our country,” said Meinrad Spenger, CEO of Orange España.

MasOrange was formed by the €22 billion merger of Orange and MasMovil’s Spanish units in 2024. It created the country’s largest telco, with around 1 million mobile and 7 million fixed-broadband subscribers. By the end of 2025, Orange had agreed to acquire full control of the business, buying out its joint venture partner Lorca for €4.25 billion.

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Press Release

Vodafone and Ericsson have successfully demonstrated two AI-powered voice services, real-time noise cancellation and language translation, running directly within the mobile network.

Vodafone Group and Ericsson have successfully trialed two pioneering, network-native AI-powered voice services that will transform the experience of a standard mobile phone call. The trial demonstrated real-time noise cancellation for crystal-clear audio, and in-call language translation to break down communication barriers, all without requiring specialized apps or new phone hardware.

The achievement is a key milestone from the companies’ joint “Core Network of the Future” program, an initiative designed to explore how advanced AI capabilities can be embedded directly into a communications service provider’s network, turning it into an intelligent platform for innovation. Delivering these services from within the network, rather than through individual apps or devices, means they can reach any customer on any handset by default, giving Vodafone a scalable route to introduce new capabilities to consumer and enterprise customers over time.

The technical breakthrough was made possible by integrating Vodafone-developed application server and AI engines with Ericsson’s IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), using APIs to seamlessly bridge telecom and AI domains. This architecture allows the network to apply AI-driven intelligence to voice calls as they are processed. The two use cases demonstrated were:

• AI-based noise cancellation: This service intelligently identifies and removes background noise in real time, ensuring call clarity for users in loud environments like busy streets, public transport, or construction sites.
• AI-based real-time language translation: This service translates a conversation between two different languages live during the call, enabling seamless communication between people who do not share a common language.

Marco Zangani, Director of Network Strategy and Architecture, Vodafone, said: “AI is giving the mobile network back its voice. More than 50 years after the first mobile call, innovation is accelerating and shifting back into the network. Over the past few years, we have built the infrastructure, data capabilities and safeguards needed to unlock AI for our customers to converse more clearly.”

Nadine Allen, Head of UK and responsible for Vodafone Group at Ericsson, said: “This successful trial with Vodafone is a critical demonstration of how network-native AI can redefine the mobile experience. By integrating Vodafone’s powerful AI capabilities with Ericsson’s core network and media processing technologies, we are proving that sophisticated services like real-time translation and noise cancellation can be delivered seamlessly. This is a crucial step toward creating more intelligent, programmable networks that unlock new value for customers.”

This successful trial reflects a wider industry shift already underway, as operators increasingly explore how to deliver AI-powered services natively through their networks. By moving intelligence from the device to the network, operators can accelerate innovation, ensure quality of service, and deliver new value to both consumers and enterprises.

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With the Pará and Maranhão branching units now on the seabed, both States are one step closer to a major enhancement of their digital infrastructure as future submarine cable branches are developed.

Dublin, Ireland, 16^th September 2026 – EllaLink, the first high-capacity fibre-optic submarine cable directly connecting Latin America to Europe, announces the two branching units dedicated to the Brazilian states of Pará and Maranhão have been successfully laid on the seabed as part of the Lum@link marine installation campaign.

The two units are now in place and ready to receive the future submarine branches to Salinópolis, in the State of Pará, and São Luís, in the State of Maranhão. They were laid at water depths of 3,920 metres and 3,690 metres respectively. Manufactured and installed by Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN), the units form part of the Lum@link system, which connects Cayenne, French Guiana, to the main EllaLink system.

A branching unit is a subsea device that enables a new cable branch to be added to an existing submarine system without disrupting the main route. By installing these units during the Lum@link campaign, EllaLink is ensuring that the future Brazilian branches can be deployed and activated without requiring additional deep-water intervention on the main system.  Planned years in advance, this strategic decision transforms a single route into a scalable network.

The branching units were funded by the governments of Pará and Maranhão, with grant support from the European Union as part of a broader Amazon connectivity programme co-financed by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Group and the Agence Française de Développement (AFD) Group.

EllaLink has also completed the Cable Route Study (CRS) for both branches, covering offshore and landing routes, as well as preliminary permitting, environmental assessments and engineering activities.

Bringing the Amazon Basin onto the global submarine network

The branch to São Luís is being developed in partnership with ATI (Agência Estadual de Tecnologia da Informação do Maranhão) on behalf of the State of Maranhão.

The branch to Salinópolis is being developed in partnership with PRODEPA (Empresa de Tecnologia da Informação e Comunicação do Estado do Pará) on behalf of the State of Pará.

For two states that have historically relied on long terrestrial backhaul routes to reach Brazil’s international communication gateways, the impact will be transformative. Each branch will provide a dedicated submarine landing point and a high-capacity, resilient connection to Fortaleza, Cayenne, and the wider international network. This represents a significant improvement in both network capacity and reliability.

Together, the two states will benefit from an initial combined capacity of 17 Tbps, with substantial room for future expansion. Beyond increasing bandwidth, the programme aims to extend broadband connectivity to isolated communities and strengthen the resilience of public digital services in healthcare, education, business development  and e-government.

The programme also includes the deployment of SMART sensors capable of collecting environmental and seismic data to support climate and scientific monitoring initiatives, with the support of the European Union.

As with its other dedicated branches, EllaLink acts as an infrastructure operator. The company designs, builds, operates and transfers the ownership of the branch to its customer. The capacity carried on each branch is owned and commercialised directly and fully under the control of the states.

The two branches form the Brazilian component of the “Mais Conectado” project, for the Amazon region,  to be co-financed by the IDB Group and the AFD Group.  This project was showcased during the 2nd EU-Brazil Investment Forum in June 2026. The project is being delivered under the EU Global Gateway strategy and the EU-LAC Digital Alliance with the support of Team Europe.

Lum@link on track for service by the end of 2026

The branching units were installed as part of the Lum@link  marine campaign that began in mid-July 2026, when the cable ship CS Île d’Yeu departed from the ASN manufacturing facility in Calais (France), bound for Cayenne (French Guiana).

Lum@link  is a submarine cable extension of approximately 2,100 km that connects the new cable landing station in Cayenne to the existing EllaLink trunk system off Fortaleza.  The system will provide a direct optical connection between Cayenne, Fortaleza, and Sines (Portugal) and is expected to enter in service by the end of 2026.

Lum@link is being developed by SPLANG, the public company responsible for the digital development in French Guiana. The European Commission is supporting the project with a €29.9 million grant from the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) Digital programme, managed by the European Health and Digital Executive Agency (HaDEA). The system is also supported by investment from the Collectivité Territoriale de Guyane (CTG – local Government for French Guiana), and financial support from the Agence Française de Développement (AFD).

Carlos Brandão, Governor of the State of Maranhão, commented : “Maranhão is preparing today to take a leading role in the digital economy of the future. We are investing in high-speed connectivity, fibre optic infrastructure, cybersecurity, data centres and digital inclusion. This is a project that modernises the State, strengthens our economy and creates the conditions to attract investment and generate new opportunities. We want a Maranhão that is more connected, more competitive and, above all, one where technology helps reduce inequality and improve the lives of our people.”

Philippe Dumont, CEO at EllaLink Group, added: “Laying these two branching units is one of those milestones that is invisible from the shore but decisive for everything that follows. They are the physical foundation of the future connections to Salinópolis and São Luís, and they are now in place, on the seabed. The design of the branches is well advanced as well: cable route study is finalised, so marine survey can start as soon as Pará and Maranhão states have finalised their funding. Since its inception, the EllaLink system has been designed to welcome new markets step by step, and this is what that design was for.”

Viewpoint Article

Many of the customers who chose Cambium did so for good reason. That’s what makes this sting, says Jack Raynor, president of NetExperience.

Contributed by Jack Raynor, President, NetExperience

This month, Cambium Networks eliminated 53.6% of its global workforce and placed its UK subsidiary into administration, according to the company’s own SEC filing.

Administrators are now searching for buyers for parts of the business, and the company has said it expects the remaining entities to be wound down. For the partners, resellers, and operators who built businesses on Cambium hardware, the practical questions are immediate. Who supports the deployed base? Where do firmware and security patches come from? What happens to margin if a forced re-platform lands on their own timeline and their own budget?

There’s no satisfaction in watching this play out. Many of the customers who chose Cambium did so for good reasons: competitive pricing, solid performance, and a workable margin. That’s what makes this sting: it wasn’t a bad decision. It’s the risk that comes standard with any single-vendor architecture, regardless of which vendor is chosen.

Related news
Sept. 17: Cambium Networks enters administration

That’s the part worth sitting with. This isn’t really a story about one company’s balance sheet. It’s a recurring pattern. In 2020, pandemic-era supply shocks stranded operators standardized on hardware from vendors with concentrated manufacturing. Today, AI-driven demand for memory is pushing component costs and lead times up industry-wide, squeezing margins operators thought they’d locked in. A vendor’s financial distress is just the latest variant of a risk that has always been present: when a network depends entirely on one company’s continuity, one company’s roadmap, and one company’s supply chain, risk management has effectively been outsourced to someone else’s balance sheet.

The instinctive response is to migrate to another proprietary platform. That’s understandable, but it doesn’t resolve the underlying problem: it relocates the same single point of failure to a different vendor’s name. The network is still betting on one company’s solvency, one company’s release calendar, one company’s supply relationships. If this year has proven anything, it’s that “established vendor” is not the same as “safe vendor.”

This is precisely the scenario the OpenWiFi Project was built to address. Rather than bundling hardware, firmware, and controller into one vendor’s decision, OpenWiFi decouples them: certified white-box access points validated across multiple ODMs and silicon vendors, an open, community-governed management protocol (uCentral), and a choice of commercial or private-cloud controllers that can be swapped without touching a single access point. If one hardware supplier exits the market, tightens supply, or runs into financial trouble, the fleet isn’t stranded, because no single company was ever the whole architecture.

For Cambium’s current customers, that flexibility may run deeper than a future buying decision. It’s worth examining, pending the necessary technical and legal groundwork, whether currently deployed Cambium access points could run OpenWiFi firmware. If so, and with Cambium’s cooperation, affected operators would only need to choose an OpenWiFi-compatible controller, not replace hardware already sitting in their sites. That path isn’t confirmed, but it deserves a look before anyone assumes a full rebuild is the only option.

That’s a materially different risk profile than choosing between competing closed platforms. It doesn’t eliminate business risk; it distributes it, the way any resilient supply chain distributes single points of failure, so one company’s setback doesn’t become every customer’s unplanned capital expense.

None of this is said with any pleasure about what Cambium’s employees and partners are going through. Job losses and forced re-platforming decisions are genuinely hard, and they deserve real support, not a sales pitch dressed up as sympathy. But the industry has now watched this pattern repeat across a pandemic, a component shortage, and now a vendor’s insolvency. Each time, the operators most exposed were the ones with the least architectural flexibility.

As the industry absorbs this news, the more useful question isn’t which vendor to move to next. It’s whether that next platform decision recreates the same dependency or removes it. Open, disaggregated architectures like OpenWiFi won’t prevent the next disruption; nothing can promise that. But they change what a disruption costs: a supplier swap, not a forced, unplanned rebuild.

Jack Raynor served as chair of the TIP OpenWiFi Project and currently sits on the OpenLAN Project Steering Committee. He is president of NetExperience, a founding member of the OpenWiFi community. He welcomes questions and discussion at Jack.Raynor@NetExperience.com.

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News

The UK’s largest fibre network operator is using AI tools to prevent thousands of full fibre broadband cancellations each month

Broadband engineers fast a myriad of obstacles when deploying fibre to customers’ homes, some of which can result in significant delays. When these issues occur, customers can feel left in the dark, unsure about the specific problems or when installation will ultimately be competed.

Now, Openreach says it is using two new AI services – Crystal Ball and Ask Me Anything (AMA) – to help keep customers better informed and improve satisfaction.

When an issue occurs during complex fibre installation, the AI-powered Crystal Ball pulls information from various sources, including notes from engineers, delay codes, survey outputs, and network topology, to predict the work required and whether it will take more or less than 10 days to complete.

This information is then communicated via text messages within 24 hours of an engineer’s visit, helping ISPs to keep their customers informed and manage expectations.

In tandem, Openreach’s generative AI AMA allows affected customers to ask questions about their installation processes and receive detailed information in response.

Combined, these tools help to prevent more than 3,000 cancellations every month, according to Openreach.

“When an installation hits a snag, the worst thing we can do is leave people guessing. Crystal Ball helps us explain what’s happened, what needs to happen next, and when we expect the job to be done. And we’re going a step further with Ask Me Anything, giving customers the opportunity to ask questions in their own words and get the information and reassurance they need,” explained Chris Herbert, Director of Customer Service at Openreach. “That makes life easier for customers and for the providers we work with. It means fewer people have to chase for updates, and more orders stay on track.”

Both Crystal Ball and AMA are part of Openreach’s wider CXone Proactive AI Agent platform, which it says is designed to make customer communications “more proactive, predictive and conversational”.

AI is increasing becoming a key part of the customer journey throughout the telecoms industry. In a recent survey of telco leaders across the UK and US, 64% said their organisation was already using AI to steer customer journeys.

In future, customer experience will continue to shift from reactive support towards proactive, predictive, and personalised customer journeys that address problems before customers need to chase them.

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Press Release

First transatlantic cable built by a single operator in a decade expands EXA Infrastructure’s transatlantic core as demand for fibre-pair capacity accelerates

EXA Infrastructure, one of the largest dedicated digital infrastructure platforms throughout Europe, today announced the launch of EXA Meridian, a new 6,552 km transatlantic subsea cable between New Jersey, U.S., and Brean, UK. Scheduled to be ready for service in 2029, EXA Meridian will become the ninth transatlantic cable in EXA Infrastructure’s portfolio, adding significant new capacity and route diversity between North America and Europe, two of the world’s largest digital markets. It will also be the first transatlantic cable built by a single operator in a decade.

Demand for transatlantic infrastructure is growing as AI, cloud, and distributed data centre architectures generate more traffic between North America and Europe. At the same time, the largest capacity buyers are increasingly procuring spectrum and complete fibre pairs rather than individual wavelengths. EXA Meridian is purpose-built for this market shift. Designed with 24 fibre pairs, EXA Meridian delivers over 500 Tbps of scalable, long-term capacity for Hyperscalers, Neoclouds, financial institutions, government and research organisations.

The project has now reached Contract in Force (CIF) with subsea telecommunications specialist Xtera, marking a significant milestone in its development. The agreement follows extensive planning and early engagement with the supply chain, drawing on EXA Infrastructure’s team experience in delivering complex subsea systems. Xtera will act as a key supplier to the project, which is being led and delivered by EXA Infrastructure, a leader in delivery of wholesale transatlantic capacity.

Unlike a standalone subsea cable, EXA Meridian will connect directly into EXA Infrastructure’s existing owned network. A new cable landing station in Brean will connect the system through diverse terrestrial routes to Slough and EXA Infrastructure’s pan-European backbone. This integration into the wider platform will give customers an enhanced network mesh with multiple options for moving large volumes of data between North America and European regions, with greater choice over routes, resilience, and geographic diversity.

“Demand across the Atlantic is changing quickly. The largest customers are increasingly planning in spectrum and fibre pairs, and the capacity they will need towards the end of the decade has to be built now,” said Jim Fagan, CEO at EXA Infrastructure. “With a Ready For Service (RFS) date set for 2029, EXA Meridian will be the only cable with sufficient capacity to satisfy these large-scale demands.

“We have consistently committed to investing to meet strong demand. That means understanding where the market is going, securing the capital to act early and having the experience to execute when the opportunity arrives.

By integrating EXA Meridian directly into infrastructure that we own and operate across Europe, we can give customers greater route choice, resilience and accountability. It demonstrates the discipline behind our investment strategy and our confidence in continuing to build as commercial demand requires.”

EXA Meridian is already supported by significant anchor customer commitments, including leading Neocloud and Hyperscale players, providing strong commercial backing for the investment alongside tier-one suppliers secured to support project delivery. The system is targeted to be ready for service in Q4 2029.

How is the global submarine cable sector changing? Join industry leaders in discussion at Submarine Networks EMEA 2027, the world’s largest subsea conference

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News

According to reports, the UK wireless network business has become insolvent after months of financial struggle

Cambium Networks, Ltd., the wholly owned UK subsidiary of Cambium Networks Corporation, has filed a Notice of Intent to appoint administrators, according to reports from ISPreview.

By appointing administrators, the company is legally protected from creditors seeking repayment of debts.

As part of the process, the administrators will seek sales of assets and business lines, with remaining entities in the group to be wound up through local processes.

Incorporated in 2011, UK-based Cambium Networks offers fixed wireless access (FWA), Wi-Fi, switching, and cloud management services to enterprises and ISPs. At its peak, the company’s products were used by over 10,000 network operators worldwide.

In the UK, the company was perhaps best known as a supplier of FWA-focussed altnet Airband, which was itself sold this month to rival altnet Voneus after an administration process.

Cambium’s financial struggles have been clear for some time, with the company’s stock price collapsing over the past four years from its peak in April 2021. Management attributed this slide to a softening of demand, stronger competition, and supply chain issues.

The company’s issues came to a head in March this year, when Cambium was delisted from the Nasdaq stock exchange after delayed reporting and SEC filing compliance issues.

Even more recently, Cambium cut 260 jobs worldwide, representing around 54% of its workforce.

With the UK business now in administration, Cambium’s future will depend on whether buyers can be found for its remaining assets and operations, leaving the company’s customers, partners and employees facing considerable uncertainty.

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World Communication Awards shortlist

For almost 30 years, the World Communication Awards (WCAs) has celebrated excellence throughout the global telecoms industry. From innovative technological breakthroughs to passionate community support, the WCAs shines a light on the organisations and individuals building our digital future.

The WCAs 2026 shortlist below represents a selection of some of the telecoms sector’s most exciting developments this year. Congratulations to all shortlisted companies.

The winners of the WCAs will be revealed at the World Communication Awards Ceremony on the 25 November at the Grand Connaught Rooms, London.

Book your place to attend the black-tie gala dinner and join the finalists here

5G Award

Airtel and Ericsson, Cloud-Native 5G SA Charging & Policy Platform

Deutsche Telekom and Mavenir, Energy efficient 5G Core

Jio Platforms Ltd., JPLs TelOS AI Suite and JioAirFiber

KT, Evolution of public safety communications through 5G SA

Spark and Ericsson, 5G+ in New Zealand

AI Innovation Award

AIS Thailand and Huawei, AIdriven-intelligent operations solution

Amdocs

AsiaInfo Technologies, AISWare Ontology Platform

China Mobile & Huawei, ICNMaster

Jio Platforms Ltd., JioBrain

Mobileum VoiceShield

Netcracker Technology

Rakuten Symphony, Rakuten AI for Telecom

Telenor AI Factory powered by Red Hat OpenShift AI

VOX Solutions, CLARA AI

Best Digital Transformation Programme

Airtel and Ericsson, Cloud-Native 5G SA Charging & Policy Platform

China Mobile (Shandong) & Huawei, Agentic BSS

KT, KT W-SDN

Netcracker Technology

Rakuten Symphony, Rakuten Site Management 2.0

Singtel, Nestlé partnership

Vodafone Portugal and Celfocus, OneX

Best Network Evolution Initiative

Airtel and Ericsson, Fastest Nationwide Multi-Technology RAN Software Upgrade Program

China Mobile and Huawei, Intelligence OTDR and FME mate

Deutsche Telekom, Horizontal TelCo

Netcracker Technology, Reinventing Network Operations for the Fiber Era

TURKCELL, Next-Generation Super C+L Backbone

vHive, vHive’s TowerAI for MNOs

ZTE and China Mobile, GigaMIMO

Best Operator in a Growth Market

Cellfie Mobile

PLDT and Smart

Turknet

Viettel Burundi (Lumitel), Powering Burundi’s Digital Rise in a Growth Market

Best Wholesale Operator

Sponsored by MDS Global

Colt

e&

RETN

Telin

Virgin Media Business Wholesale

Beyond Connectivity Award

China Mobile (Henan) and Huawei, The network productization solution

Moldcell, Moldcell Money and Moldcell VISA Card

O2 Telefónica Germany & Whalebone

PT. Telkomsel, Sight Sense by Telkomsel Enterprise

Singtel, Multi-domestic connectivity

Skylo

Cloud Award

China Mobile & Huawei, TICC (Telco Intelligent Converged Cloud)

Orange Business and Red Hat

Rakuten Symphony, Rakuten Cloud

Virgin Media O2, Telco Cloud Innovation

Wind River, Wind River Cloud Platform

Connected Communities Award

DigitalC, Canopy

HFCL, Solar-Powered Public Wi-Fi Solution for Nigeria

TAIWAN MOBILE CO., LTD., 5G Smart Firefighting Rescue Assistance System

Telkomsel and Ericsson, Long-haul Microwave and Far Edge Core Solution – Nias

Viettel Solutions, Viettel Intelligent Transportation System

Customer Experience Award

Airties and Turknet

Moldcell

Sparkle

Telefónica, Telefónica Customer Portal (EYE)

TM Research & Development and Group Network Technology, AI-Powered Intelligent Fulfilment Platform

True and Ericsson, AI Based Customer Experience Analysis and Insights

Cyber Security Award

Aeris IoT Watchtower™

Jio Platforms Ltd., JPL’s Cybersecurity Suite

SK Telecom Co., Ltd., Q-HSM: Quantum Hardware Security Module

Whalebone Aura

Enterprise Service of the Year

Aquablue

Comviva, NGAGE for enterprises

Freshwave and Ericsson, 5G on Omni

Singtel 5G+ Mobile Workspace

Future Award

Cohere Technologies, Pulsone Multi-G for Mission Critical ISAC

KT, Building the Foundation for AI-Native 6G Networks with AI-RAN

Singtel, Singtel Hybrid Quantum-safe Network

SK Telecom, AI Routing

Infrastructure Award

Chunghwa Telecom Co., Ltd., International All-Photonics Network (APN) Infrastructure

Intellian Technologies

Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), Wi Fi@Higher Education Institutions (Wi Fi@HEIs) National Initiative

MOX Networks

Orange Wholesale

Singtel Digital InfraCo

stc Bahrain, 2Africa Pearls Submarine Cable

Sterlite Technologies Ltd., STL Neuralis

People, Culture & Digital Skills Award

Freemove Alliance

Moldcell

PT. Telkomsel, Polaris

TurkNet, Transformation programme

Platform Award

Amdocs, Amdocs BRAND/ON

Circles.co, Circles

Jio Platforms Ltd., TelOS AI Suite Platform

Rakuten Symphony, Rakuten Intelligent Operations

Singtel Digital InfraCo, Paragon

Vox Solutions

Satellite Telecoms Award

Mavenir, Full-Stack NTN Platform

Orange Wholesale

Space42, Thuraya

StarEdge, StarEdge Horizon

Telefónica Satellite Global Services

Social Contribution Award

DigitalC

Ericsson and Vodafone Idea, Robotsav Project

Moldcell, Moldcell Foundation

Palestine Telecommunications Company – Jawwal

PLDT and Smart, #KONEKTEDFORLIVELIHOODS

Smart Communications and Ericsson, Connect to Learn

Viettel Burundi (Lumitel), Lumitel Digital for Life

Viettel Group, School Internet Programme

VodafoneThree, Discovery: Setting a New Standard for Digital Inclusion

Zong 5G

Submarine Networks Award

Indigo Telecom Group

Singtel, Powering the Singapore-Johor-Batam AI and Data Centre Corridor

Sparkle

Telin

Sustainability Award

Airtel and Ericsson, Automated Software-Driven Carbon Reduction Program

Cohere Technologies, ECHO

Deutsche Telekom, Full Stack Energy Efficiency on Telco Cloud

SK Telecom and Intel Corporation, AI-Driven VRAN Resource Pooling

stc & Huawei, Intelligent Green Cloud Energy Saving Solution

The Data Award

AsiaInfo and China Telecom, Cloud Network Ontology Platform

Blue Planet, Blue Planet Intelligent Automation Portfolio

MTN, Data & AI transformation in CVM

PT. Telkomsel, Intelligent Data Quality & Operations Excellence (DQE) Framework

RADCOM, Neura AI Agent Suite

The Connected Britain Awards winners have been announced, following a highly successful Connected Britain conference

With a record-breaking number of entries this year, the Connected Britain Awards 2026 showcased the most innovative and exciting elements of Britain’s ever-growing and rapidly evolving digital economy. This year’s shortlist included a fantastic array of diverse organisations and individuals, all of whom were highly deserving of praise. 

A big thanks to all our award presenters and to our expert panel of judges for lending us their expertise in selecting the winners.

Access Innovation Award 

For this category the judges were looking for an entry that did something special to help deliver connectivity to a previously hard-to-reach location.  

The winning entry created a system that did exactly this, drastically cutting installation time, costs, and waste, finally making broadband delivery economically viable for many rural locations in the UK. 

Emtelle – Rapid Customer Connect 

Indoor Connectivity Award  

The winner in this category pulled off a remarkable engineering feat, delivering high‑capacity 4G and 5G coverage at three locations, positively impacting millions of users. 

Wireless Infrastructure Group 

Customer Champion Award  

Combining proactive network management with outstanding local support, this entry demonstrated a true customer-first philosophy backed by exceptional satisfaction and retention scores. 

Lightning Fibre 

Highly commended: 4th utility Rise 

Barrier Removal Award 

This entry delivered a masterclass in collaboration and leadership by creating an open-access framework to simplify asset access, lower deployment costs, and accelerate fiber rollout. 

West Sussex County Council for OpenAccess West Sussex 

Startup of the Year 

ZIM Connections

Sustainability Award 

Challenging the throwaway culture of tech, the winning entry in this category sought to prevent e-waste through high-quality engineering and prioritizing ‘longevity by design’.  

FRITZ! & Zen 

Mobile Service Provider of the Year  

The winner in this category demonstrated a European first, deploying exciting new network capabilities that could reshape the approach to mobile connectivity across the UK. 

Virgin Media O2 – O2 Satellite 

Highly commended: VodafoneThree 

AI Innovation Award 

Turning back-office audits into live, real-time field support, the winning solution slashed telecom fault rates by up to 50% within 60 days and set a new benchmark for AI operational value. 

SkillsBase Forge 

Highly Commended: Zyxel One powered by Lifemote 

Data Centre Project of the Year 

This winning project delivered a resilient, sustainable data centre transformation, notably making use of waste heat to benefit a local campus. 

Advanced Power Technology and Schneider Electric 

Broadband Provider Award 

Proving that mastering the basics drives extraordinary results, this provider achieved an outstanding NPS, near-zero churn, and market differentiation through early Wi-Fi 7 rollouts. 

Connect Fibre 

Highly commended: Fibrus

Enterprise Solution Award 

This team introduced a transformational solution that addresses complex enterprise connectivity challenges while delivering clear operational flexibility. 

Antevia Networks – 5G Shift Private Network Solution 

Strategic Deal of the Year 

The winner here is potentially the landmark deal of the decade in UK connectivity, structured to unlock massive long-term investment, competitive scale, and enhanced connectivity across the nation. 

VodafoneThree 

Infrastructure Builder of the Year 

Using a holistic approach to network deployment, this specialist delivered a Project Gigabit contact ahead of schedule working in one of the UK’s most challenging environments. 

Viberoptix 

Digital Skills Award 

For this entry, the judging panel was highly impressed by a targeted, scalable digital skills initiative that directly tackles digital exclusion and builds long-term confidence across local communities.  

Norfolk County Council – Tech Skills for Life and Digital Skills Team 

Highly Commended: Kent County Council, Medway Council and East Kent College Group 

Public Sector Partner Award 

This award celebrates a private company that has done exceptional work in partnership with public sector organization.  

The winning partnership deployed IoT at scale, showing a high level of cooperation and effectively shifting property maintenance from reactive to predictive, potentially having a major impact on residents’ health.  

iOpt & ng homes 

Public Sector Trailblazer Award 

While the previous award celebrated those working with the public sector, this award goes to a public organization itself. 

This entry overcame tough engineering hurdles to add an additional layer of connectivity to services, positively impacting thousands of users every day. We hope to see similar initiatives repeated across the country. 

Scotrail for their Starlink satellite integration 

Highly commended: The Scottish Government   

Rising Star Award 

The judges were blown away by this individual’s early-career leadership, with one judge saying: ‘These achievements are exceptional for any age, and remarkable for such an early career stage.” 

The winner has already led major fibre deployment projects and delivered remarkable infrastructure impact well beyond their years. 

Cameron Moir, GoFibre 

 Highly commended: Emily Jones, TTB CircularIT & Harry Turfrey, CityFibre

OSS/BSS Innovation of the Year 

A standout story in network automation, this entry leveraged an AI-powered digital twin to deliver massive efficiency benefits, both in network deployment and ongoing operations.  

Virgin Media O2 – Challenger OSS 

Community Improvement Award 

This inspiring project stood out for tackling a major challenge facing our industry and society at large: nurturing the next generation of STEM professionals. This initiative focused not only on educating, but on empowering underserved local communities with transformative technology skills beyond the basic curriculum. 

Littlegarth MicroBotics 

Highly commended: Wessex Internet