Mobile News

EE launches UK-first 5G ‘Fast Lane’ to beat network congestion

Staff Reporter — Thu, 20 Aug 2026 11:41:49 +0000

EE has launched a commercial 5G network slicing service for consumers and small businesses, promising priority connectivity.

Called “Fast Lane”, is one of the first attempts by a UK mobile operator to turn 5G standalone network slicing from a technology demonstration into a product customers can actually buy.

The Fast Lane service uses EE’s 5G+ standalone network to move eligible customers onto a dedicated network slice rather than leaving them competing with general traffic.

The technology is aimed at locations including stadiums, concerts, festivals, railway stations and busy city centres, where devices can suddenly pile onto the same network.

From trial to tariff

EE has been experimenting with network slicing for more than two years, including trials at Wembley Stadium, Belfast Christmas Market, SailGP in Portsmouth, the EE BAFTAs and this year’s Royal Welsh Show.

EE has been experimenting with network slicing for more than two years at venues incouding Wembley.

Fast Lane takes the technology commercial. The network monitors demand and, when congestion threatens performance, eligible connections can be shifted automatically onto the dedicated slice without the customer having to activate anything.

EE says this should allow customers to continue livestreaming, making video calls, accessing digital tickets, messaging or using navigation when the surrounding network is heavily loaded.

For small businesses, the more important applications could be card payments, ticketing and other mobile business applications at crowded events.

Premium access

EE is initially putting Fast Lane behind its premium tariffs. Consumers will get access through a new Full Works Pluspay-monthly handset plan, costing £5 a month more than the existing Full Works tariff and requiring a compatible 5G+ handset.

The package also includes unlimited maximum-speed data, worldwide roaming, unlimited smartwatch data, family data gifting, a premium inclusive extra, Anytime Upgrade and Network Boost.

Fast Lane is also available to new and re-signing small business customers taking an EE Full Works business plan with a compatible 5G+ handset.

EE will also begin displaying a 5G+ icon on compatible smartphones so customers can see when they are connected to its standalone network. It is already supported on some Android devices, with wider device support promised later this year.

A slice of the action

Network slicing has been touted as one of the major commercial advantages of 5G standalone. Operators can create virtual sections of a physical network with different performance characteristics.

Until now, much of the activity around slicing has remained confined to trials and enterprise demonstrations.

EE says its 5G+ network now reaches around 54 million people, equivalent to 78 per cent of the UK population, across several hundred towns and cities.

The operator plans to extend 5G+ coverage to 99 per cent of the population by the end of March 2030 as part of BT Group’s £40 billion UK investment programme.

Claire Gillies, CEO of BT’s Consumer Division, said: “Whether they’re live streaming a special moment from a sell-out gig or processing mobile payments and ticketing at a festival, Fast Lane helps keep customers connected even when thousands of people around them are trying to connect at the same time.”

Gillies: ast Lane helps keep customers connected

Virgin Media O2 renews digital inclusion partnership

Staff Reporter — Tue, 18 Aug 2026 10:26:35 +0000

Virgin Media O2 has renewed its partnership with Good Things Foundation which provides O2 SIMs with free mobile data, calls and texts through community organisations, libraries and O2 retail stores.

Virgin Media O2 and Good Things Foundation launched the National Databank in 2021 to distribute free mobile connectivity to people unable to afford it. More than 550,000 people have received free O2 mobile data.

O2 stores have accounted for almost a quarter of the O2 SIM cards distributed through the programme, giving the operator’s retail estate a significant role in delivering the scheme.

The National Databank has subsequently expanded beyond its original partners, with other UK mobile operators contributing SIMs and data to the programme.

The renewed agreement forms part of VMO2’s wider Responsible Business Plan it says have connected one million people experiencing financial hardship since 2021.

Good Things Foundation operates through a network of more than 5,000 community organisations across the UK.

Nicola Green, Chief Communications and Corporate Affairs Officer at Virgin Media O2, said:

“We’re proud of what we’ve delivered with Good Things Foundation, and we’ll build on our work to help tackle data poverty so we can connect more communities in need nationwide,” she said.

Good Things Foundation CEO Vicki Sellick (below) said the partnership would continue to provide connectivity to people unable to afford it through the organisation’s community network.

TIP and Cornerstone agree to speed mast site renewals

Staff Reporter — Fri, 14 Aug 2026 12:52:52 +0000

Telecom Infrastructure Partners and Cornerstone have agreed a long-term strategic partnership designed to simplify the renewal and management of mobile sites,

The agreement will establish a common framework for telecoms sites within Telecom Infrastructure Partners’ (TIP) managed portfolio It replaces site-by-site negotiations with a more consistent approach as agreements expire.

The companies say the arrangement should provide greater certainty for landowners, infrastructure providers and mobile network operators while making it easier to develop mobile infrastructure.

“Gcertainty for landowners, infrastructure providers and mobile network operators”

Cornerstone operates more than 16,500 sites and says around 60 per cent of the country’s mobile traffic passes through its infrastructure.

TIP and Cornerstone will create a shared portfolio of sites and adopt a consistent process for renewing site agreements.

A pre-agreed commercial framework will provide greater predictability over future costs and reduce the scope for protracted negotiations.

Site management and technical information exchange will be improved by having agreed procedures for resolving disputes and operational issues.

The significance for operators is less bureaucracy around the physical sites. Faster lease renewals can make future network investment easier to plan.

Cornerstone chief executive Pat Coxen said the agreement demonstrated the importance of long-term cooperation between the different parts of the mobile infrastructure ecosystem.

“The future of UK digital infrastructure will be built through long-term collaboration, responsible investment and strong partnerships that create value for everyone involved. We’re creating greater certainty for customers, landowners and partners.”

TIP director of strategic partnerships Mark McKenna said the agreement would bring greater consistency to the way telecoms site renewals are handled.

“We’re creating a more united and focussed approach while supporting continued investment in the UK’s digital infrastructure.”

Shared Rural Network brings 4G to national park not-spots

Staff Reporter — Fri, 14 Aug 2026 10:16:11 +0000

More than 150 Shared Rural Network mast upgrades are now live across national parks and remote areas, extending multi-operator 4G coverage across 5,684 km2.

The government-backed rollout is bringing improved mobile coverage to areas including the Yorkshire Dales, Lake District, Eryri (Snowdonia) and Loch Lomond and The Trossachs.

The upgraded sites use existing infrastructure to extend coverage from EE, Virgin Media O2 and VodafoneThree into areas where customers previously had access only to EE or, in some locations, no usable mobile coverage at all.

A total of 42 Shared Rural Network sites are now active within UK national parks. Of these, 25 are in England, 16 in Wales and one in Scotland.

The government says the wider SRN programme has now achieved its target of extending 4G coverage to 95 per cent of the UK’s landmass, a year ahead of schedule.

The latest rollout is intended to improve connectivity not only for rural residents and businesses but also for millions of visitors to Britain’s national parks.

Improved mobile coverage can allow walkers and tourists to access maps and location services, contact family members and, more importantly, make calls for assistance in remote areas.

For rural businesses, better coverage can also support card payments, online bookings and other services increasingly dependent on mobile connectivity.

Digital minister Ian Murray said: “You should be able to switch off in the countryside without being cut off from the help and services you need.

“These 150 masts are giving walkers, visitors and rural communities better access to signal when they are checking a route, contacting family, running a business or calling for help.”

Digital Poverty Alliance chief executive Elizabeth Anderson said rural communities had been particularly affected as essential services including healthcare, banking and education increasingly moved online.

“This is an important step in recognising the importance of reliable mobile and internet access to keep people connected in remote areas,” she said.

She added that improving coverage was only part of addressing digital exclusion, with access to affordable devices and digital skills remaining important issues.

The Shared Rural Network was agreed between the Government and the UK’s mobile operators to extend 4G coverage into commercially difficult rural areas by combining operator investment with public funding.

While the 95 per cent geographic coverage milestone represents a major landmark for the programme, the remaining five per cent includes some of the most difficult and expensive parts of the UK to connect.

Vodafone caught in Reform migrant storm over supplying SIMS to CARE4CALAIS

Staff Reporter — Thu, 13 Aug 2026 18:17:13 +0000

Furious Reform UK spokesperson for home affairs Zia Yusuf has written to the Vodafone board demanding answers over the network’s relationship with Care4Calais and alleged supply of 2,221 SIM cards to the refugee and migrant charity.

Yusuf demands to know how the SIMs were funded, what services they provided and whether Vodafone knew the immigration status of the people who ultimately received them.

He wants to know whether any of the SIMs remain active and whether the operator intends to continue its support for the charity.

Care4Calais provides support to refugees and asylum seekers in the UK and northern France, including people living in temporary accommodation and migrant camps.

According to the letter, Vodafone supplied 2,221 SIM cards to Care4Calais. He is seeking clarification over whether Vodafone or its charitable foundation paid for the connectivity and what calls, texts and mobile data were included.

He writes: “It may be that you were not informed about the decision to support Care4Calais. I therefore want to give you the opportunity to publicly disavow Vodafone’s distribution of pre-paid SIM cards to illegal migrants. If you didn’t know, you should review your procedures as – if Vodafone persists in aiding and abetting the invasion of Britain, you will face criminal sanctions under a Reform UK Government.

“A Reform UK Government will hold each and every officer and director of Vodafone Group Plc and all relevant subsidiaries personally and criminally liable for distributing SIM cards to illegal migrants. If found guilty, you would be liable to go to prison.

He also asks whether Vodafone believes its support could amount to “assistance or encouragement” of illegal entry into the UK.

2,221 SIM cards supplied to the refugee and migrant charity.

“Cancel SIMS”

Yusuf calls on Vodafone to cancel any SIMs supplied through the scheme that remain active and to end its relationship with Care4Calais.

The Reform UK chairman also asks whether Vodafone holds location or usage information relating to the SIMs and, if so, whether it would provide relevant information to UK or French authorities.

Mobile operators are subject to legal and regulatory requirements governing customer data, privacy and the circumstances in which information can be disclosed to law enforcement agencies.

The letter therefore raises a broader question for the telecoms industry over how corporate charitable programmes should operate when connectivity is provided indirectly to potentially vulnerable users whose individual circumstances may not be known to the network.

Vodafone stated: “VodafoneThree’s programme provides mobile SIMs to registered UK charities for distribution in the UK. Participating charities are regulated by the Charity Commission. All calls, texts and data are for UK use only.”

EDITORIAL: Back to the future of whacky phone experimentation

Staff Reporter — Thu, 13 Aug 2026 14:14:02 +0000

EDITORIAL: Every decade or so phone designers and engineeers produce an astonishing shiny thing and the marketing team is tasked with selling it to millions of consumers.

Honor’s new Robot Phone launched this week is the latest entrant to the ‘Hall Of Amazing Things You Never Knew You Needed’. Its camera emerges from the handset on a tiny robotic mechanism, allowing it to move, swivel, position itself and follow its subject. A bit like THAT scene from Alien.

The reaction from respected observers has been enthusiastic. FDM CCS Insight analyst Ben Wood, has used the device and describes it as “gadget-candy” and calls it an impressive statement of Honor’s innovation credentials.

ABI Research Chief Research Officer Malik Kamal Saadi goes considerably further, hailing it the “rPhone” and describing it as potentially the “iPhone moment” for consumer Physical AI.

It’s certainly an impressive demonstration of mechanical engineering, artificial intelligence and imaging technology.

But I have a question. Why?

The original iPhone solved obvious problems. Before iPhone, smartphones were compromised combinations of tiny keyboards, fiddly interfaces, styluses, small screens and primitive web browsers. Apple demonstrated a dramatically better way of doing things and millions of people immediately understood why they wanted one.

Nokia;s famous Communicator: Before iPhone.

What consumer problem is a camera on a robotic arm solving? Having spent the past 20 years enthusiastically pointing our cameras at things, apparently we’ve suddenly reached the limits of this exhausting activity and require the camera itself to crawl out of the phone Alien-style and do the pointing for us.

There will undoubtedly be applications. Content creators could use automatic subject tracking. Video calls could become more natural. A phone sitting on a desk could follow someone around a room. Developers will devise applications nobody has yet considered.

But that’s quite a long way from an iPhone moment. And we’ve heard this sort of thing before.

Manufacturer’s balance sheets are fiull of write-offs of tech that wasgoing to reinvent the handset. Samsung came out with its Galaxy BEAM projector phone and Nokia gave us the N-Gage (below) which combined a handset with games consoles?

They were going to transform presentations and entertainment by putting a projector and console in your pocket. Except they didn’t.

Samsung came out with its Galaxy BEAM projector phone

Remember LG’s 3D smartphone displays which literally gave you a headache? Curved phones? Modular phones? Air gestures? Some were genuinely impressive but consumers mostly shrugged.

The problem wasn’t that the technology didn’t work It was that engineering ingenuity and llight bulb moments had been mistaken for consumer demand. y Honor’s Robot Phone is in danger of doing the same thing.

Think about it Smartphone designers and their finance departments are going nuts trying to reduce components and moving parts. Are we supposed to celebrate putting the complexity back?

A motorised camera mechanism has hinges, motors and mechanical components. It sticks out from the handset and it will presumably have to withstand thousands of movements during its lifetime.

“What happens when you drop it or dirt gets into the mechanism?”

What happens when you drop it or dirt gets into the mechanism? Does it survive three years of use? How much does it cost to repair? How easily can it be refurbished? What happens to water resistance? How much battery power does the moving camera consume? And what happens when somebody knocks the robotic arm while it’s extended?

These aren’t trivial questions in an industry supposedly becoming obsessed with longevity, repairability and circularity. There is something wonderfully ironic about designing smartphones to last longer while simultaneously attaching an additional piece of precision electromechanical engineering to them.

The most interesting thing about Honor’s concept isn’t actually the robotic camera. It’s the AI behind it.

AI can change our relationship with smartphones. Devices that understand context, anticipate what we need, recognise what we’re looking at and act on our behalf are a genuine change comparable with previous trends in mobile computing. But AI doesn’t automatically become revolutionary just because you attach a motor to it.

A smartphone can already see and, hear through its camera and microphones It understands location and movement through its sensors and can interpret all of that information using on-device AI. The interesting question is what the phone does with that intelligence.

Whether its camera can swivel around feels rather less fundamental.

There is another elephant in the room. We worry about smartphones, smart TV’s and even our cards eavesdropping oiur conversations and cameras watching us. Do you REALLY want a camera that follows your physical movements and picks up your conversations?

Privacy controls may make the system perfectly safe. But consumer perception matters. A camera that visibly tracks people around a room creates a very different psychological relationship from a camera sitting passively on the back of a phone.

Perhaps consumers will love it. Perhaps they’ll put a sock over it.

None of this means Honor shouldn’t have built it. Quite the opposite. The smartphone market needs innovation. The slab in our pockets has changed remarkably little in over a decade. Foldables attempt to break that convention. Physical AI may well be another.

Credit to Honor for trying something different rather than launching another handset whose revolutionary features are a tweaked camera and a speed bump to the processor.

But let’s keep it real. Calling every device with interesting new technology an “iPhone killer” does the technology no favours.

The iPhone wasn’t revolutionary because it contained impressive technology. It succeeded because people immediately understood what problems the technology solved.That’s the hurdle Honor’s Robot Phone still has to clear.

Maybe there will be apps that turn an AI-powered robotic camera into something indispensable. Maybe consumers will eventually wonder how they ever lived without a robotic appendage emerging from their handset.

Until then, we suspect Honor has produced a sophisticated and novel answer to a question nobody asked.

AO launches Vodafone-powered AO Mobile with £12 500GB tariff

Staff Reporter — Thu, 13 Aug 2026 09:52:44 +0000

Electricals giant AO has launched its own mobile service, becoming a light MVNO on the Vodafone network with Digitalk providing the technology platform.

AO Mobile launches with a single SIM-only tariff offering 500GB of monthly data, unlimited UK calls and texts and 15GB of EU roaming on a 30-day rolling contract.

The Ultimate 500GB tariff costs £12 a month for members of AO’s subscription scheme and £18 for non-members.

AO has confirmed to Mobile News that Vodafone provides the underlying mobile network and 5G connectivity, giving the new service claimed coverage of 99 per cent of the UK population.

The company is operating AO Mobile as a light MVNO, working with Digitalk as its mobile virtual network enabler (MVNE).

Digitalk provides the underlying platform, produces customer bills and manages customer accounts, while AO itself handles customer service enquiries.

Both physical SIM and eSIM are supported from launch.

Customers can add up to nine additional SIMs to the same account, giving AO the opportunity to target households as well as individual subscribers.

AO declined to reveal its first-year customer acquisition target or longer-term subscriber ambitions, saying the figures were commercially sensitive.

AO pushes deeper into mobile

The launch takes AO beyond its established position as a retailer of SIM-free and contract smartphones and into the increasingly competitive UK MVNO market.

It also represents another step in the group’s expansion across the mobile device lifecycle.

AO acquired refurbished technology specialist musicMagpie in 2024, giving it a significantly bigger presence in smartphone trade-in, refurbishment and resale.

Adding connectivity means the group now has interests spanning new and refurbished devices, trade-in, resale and mobile service.

Rather than joining the industry push towards unlimited-data tariffs, AO has opted for a single 500GB proposition which it says reflects typical customer usage while keeping its offer simple.

AO founder and CEO John Roberts said the company wanted to remove complexity from buying mobile connectivity.

“We’ve been disrupting the status quo since 2000 to make things better, simpler, and cheaper for customers,” he said.

“We want to remove complexity and keep mobile simple so that it’s easy for customers to understand. Our pricing is transparent, our contracts are flexible, and our prices are fixed.”

John Roberts: “We want to remove complexity and keep mobile simple

Roberts said the company deliberately chose a single tariff rather than offering customers multiple combinations of data and contract lengths.

“AO members get 500GB for only £12 including 15GB of EU roaming every month. No gimmicks, no price rises in the first 12 months, no surprises and a rolling 30-day contract.”

He added: “We don’t need to tie you in because you’ll never want to leave.”

AO membership costs £39.99 a year and provides discounted prices across the retailer’s product range alongside benefits including free delivery, unpacking and recycling and 100-day returns.

AO World is headquartered in Bolton, is listed on the London Stock Exchange and employs around 3,000 people.

Hong-Kong firm targets dealers with 25pc commissions on virtual number app

Staff Reporter — Tue, 11 Aug 2026 14:54:58 +0000

Hong Kong affiliatte marketing agency Tierra Digital has launched a UK app offering business numbers, AI receptionist, IVR and eSIM services through a smartphone app.

Called SimBuster, the app wants to attract dealers and resellers with a new communications platform offering commissions of up to 25 per cent on phone number sales.

Its referral and commission system is built into the app, allowing partners to refer customers using tracked links or codes and receive commission on subsequent purchases.

Partners can earn up to 25 per cent commission on phone numbers and eight per cent on eSIM sales, with payments made by bank transfer.

SimBuster is a brand of Hong Kong marketing affiliate agency Tierra Digital and launched its iOS and Android apps this month.

The service combines mobile and fixed phone numbers, inbound and outbound calls and SMS, travel eSIMs and mobile top-ups with business features including automated call menus (IVR) and an AI receptionist.

Screenshot

It is aimed at firms and freelancers that want professional call-handling services without installing or subscribing to a PBX system.

UK mobile number access is supported through Three number ranges, while local and fixed numbers are hosted using BT-connected infrastructure.

International numbering, voice and SMS termination and eSIM connectivity are provided through wholesale telecoms and connectivity partners, subject to availability and local regulations.

Dealer channel

Tierra Digital is looking to recruit UK telecoms dealers, mobile retailers, affiliates and resellers to sell SimBuster services.

Commercial terms vary according to partner type, volume and market.

SimBuster has not disclosed customer or reseller numbers because the service only launched this month.

Founder and chief software engineer Oleksii Pimenov said the platform was designed to make business telecoms easier and cheaper for smaller companies.

“For too long, telecoms has been a highly technical and expensive area, meaning that only large-scale businesses could benefit from fully optimised services,” he said.

“Our app-based system allows anyone to deliver professional, tailored communications, wherever they are in the world.”

SimBuster is available now for iOS and Androi

SimBuster has developed its app, IVR and receptionist builder, call-flow and routing software and reseller commission system in-house. Its global backend uses AWS and Google Cloud infrastructure.

Users can create automated call menus such as “press one for sales, press two for support”, choose greetings and voices and set call-routing rules directly from the app.

The IVR and receptionist functionality is included with the purchase of a number rather than charged as a separate PBX service.

Promotional pricing starts at around $5 for one month or $19.99 annually for a number. National-rate numbers are free, while calls start from two cents per minute and bundles from $3 for 300 minutes. SimBuster says equivalent pricing is available in sterling.

Customers can start with a phone number and IVR service and add calling, AI minutes and other services when required.

Envirofone links device trade-ins to gorilla conservation in ZSL partnership

Staff Reporter — Tue, 11 Aug 2026 13:39:41 +0000

Envirofone is donating at least five per cent from device trade-ins to gorilla conservation programmes under a partnership with the Zoological Society of London.

The trade-in and refurbished device specialist has launched a dedicated trade-in scheme with ZSL (Zoological Society of London), the conservation charity behind London Zoo.

Consumers trading in phones, tablets and laptops through the scheme will receive the normal value for their devices. Envirofone will make an additional donation equivalent to at least five per cent of the trade-in value to ZSL’s gorilla conservation work.

The partnership is intended to highlight the connection between consumer electronics, demand for raw materials and habitat loss.

Materials used in smartphones and other electronics include cobalt, much of which is sourced from central Africa. Envirofone and ZSL say extending the working life of devices can help reduce demand for newly extracted materials while generating funds for conservation.

The partnership is intended to highlight the connection between consumer electronics, demand for raw materials and habitat loss.

Envirofone says it has processed more than 30,000 direct consumer trade-ins over the past 12 months, paying almost £3 million to consumers.

It claims more than 90 per cent of devices it receives are refurbished and returned to use, avoiding an estimated 9,500 tonnes of CO2e during the past year.

Customers can participate through a dedicated Envirofone/ZSL trade-in page, including visitors to London Zoo.

Envirofone CTO Sam Hargreaves said the relationship between the mobile industry and gorilla conservation was closer than many consumers realised.

“Every device we take back is one less phone sitting in a drawer, and one less reason to mine the materials that go into creating a new one.

“Partnering with ZSL felt like an obvious fit for us. Gorilla conservation and the tech industry are more connected than most people realise.”

Envirofone CEO Matt Green said the scheme was intended to give consumers an additional reason to trade in unused technology.

“We want our customers to see that trading in their old device can help make a real difference to the world we live in, as well as put extra money back into their own pocket.”

ZSL head of corporate partnerships Daniel Murray said the partnership would highlight the relationship between technology consumption and the natural world while raising money for conservation programmes.

New upgrade scheme lets EE Flex Pay customers swap phones while still in contract

Staff Reporter — Tue, 11 Aug 2026 11:19:24 +0000

An Early Phone Swap service will allow around one million EEcustomers to trade in their handset and upgrade up to 12 months before the end of their device agreement.

The scheme is available immediately to eligible customers on EE Flex Pay contracts and allows them to switch to any new or refurbished handset offered by the operator.

Customers hand their existing device back to EE, and the trade-in value used to clear the outstanding balance on their current device agreement.

If the handset is worth more than the amount still owed, EE says it will pay the difference directly into the customer’s bank account.

There is no additional Early Phone Swap fee, although customers must take out a new device credit agreement with a 24-month airtime plan.

To qualify, customers must have made at least 12 monthly device payments and have no more than 12 months remaining on their existing agreement. The service cannot be used during the final month.

Devices must also be in working order, able to power up and have security features such as Find My Phone disabled. Lost, stolen or blocked devices are not eligible.

The launch coincides with EE expanding its Flex Pay financing options with new 12 and 48-month terms alongside its existing 24 and 36-month plans.

EE says customers can spread the cost of new or refurbished devices interest-free, including handsets from its recently introduced “Very Good” refurbished range.

Early Phone Swap could also encourage a greater flow of relatively recent devices into EE’s refurbishment and secondary-market channels by bringing handsets back from customers earlier in their lifecycle.

Sharon Meadows, managing director of marketing and commercial at EE, said: “We know our customers want the very best devices and the freedom to get the phone they really want.

“Early Phone Swap puts that power firmly in their hands, letting them swap their old phone and get something new every year at no extra cost.”

EE operates more than 400 stores and says almost 90 per cent of the UK population lives within easy reach of one of its retail locations.

Meadows:something new every year at no extra cost