Telecom news

• Can the UK’s telco giants course correct?

  29-05-2023 06:00
  BT and Vodafone have unveiled large job cuts, but investors await evidence they can prosper
  
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• The e-scooter isn’t new – London was zooming around on Autopeds a century ago

  24-12-2025 08:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  The e-scooters that clutter up pavements may seem like a new thing, but a hundred years ago, there were already people zooming around London on powered scooters.
  Lady Florence Norman 1916 (street background expanded)
  These were the Autoped, an American import that was once popular enough to regularly appear in the newspapers before vanishing seemingly without a trace.
  Invented in the USA in 1915, they first appeared in London in 1917, despite a ban on imports during WWI, and really took off when
  
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• Mummers, wassail and folklore: Bankside marks Twelfth Night with free riverside revels

  23-12-2025 13:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  Bankside’s annual Twelfth Night revels will return on Sunday 4th January, as the Lions Part troupe of actors perform a mummers play for free.A festival, to mark the end of Christmas and the wassailing of the apple trees to wake them from their slumber, is a staple of English customs, and the Lions Part performs an urban rendition each year.
  If you are fond of “ye olde english traditions”, then you’re bound to love this.
  The revels begin outside Shakespeare’s Globe t
  
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• Old trains, new wheels: Southeastern’s train wheels heads to Crewe for a major refresh

  23-12-2025 11:40 via ianvisits.co.uk
  Nearly 100 Southeastern trains are to get their wheels refurbished after signing a £20 million contract with Alstom.
  General view of Slade Green and sidings with Networker units (c) Network Rail
  Southeastern’s Class 465 Networker fleet first entered passenger service in 1992, and the overhaul enables Southeastern to keep operating them while it waits for a replacement set of more accessible trains in a few years time.
  The maintenance project will see the wheel bogies that sit underne
  
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• From soggy piles to wooden beams: Inside Colindale’s new timber tube station

  23-12-2025 07:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  After a couple of years of building work, London Underground’s first* modern tube station built using timber construction has opened to passengers at Colindale on the Northern line.
  From this
  To this
  The new open-span entrance, topped by a timber roof, replaces a much smaller structure that was built after the original entrance was damaged during the Second World War. As well as subtle references to the area’s aviation heritage through the use of glulam timber, the station’s or
  
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• National Portrait Gallery buys rare photographs of Ada Lovelace for the nation

  22-12-2025 13:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  The only known photographs of mathematician and computing pioneer Ada Lovelace have been acquired by the National Portrait Gallery just before they were expected to be sold to a private buyer.
  (c) Bonhams
  Ada Lovelace was an English mathematician and writer, and is chiefly known for her work on Charles Babbage’s proposed mechanical general-purpose computer, the Analytical Engine. She was the first person to realise that the machine had applications beyond pure calculation, and is widely re
  
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• London’s Alleys: Ransom Walk, Charlton, SE7

  22-12-2025 08:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  This short passage in Charlton that runs under the mainline railway spends most of its life as a very quiet little passage, and occasionally throngs with huge crowds. That’s because it happens to be one of the routes to Charlton football club stadium, but as a passage, it owes its origins to the thing that gives the stadium its nickname – The Valley.Long before there was a football stadium here, there was a large sand-and-chalk open-air mine excavated for building materials. And to g
  
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• Christmas and New Year rail travel in London: Day-by-day guide to closures and reduced services

  19-12-2025 14:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  It’s Christmas time when the trains all go to sleep, but the maintenance teams get busy repairing the railways. Despite how busy the getaway rush feels, during the Christmas slowdown, there are far fewer travellers, so it’s a less disruptive time to carry out major engineering works.
  Festive travel
  During the Christmas period, over £160m of major investment projects will take place across the network.
  In the run-up to Christmas, trains and stations are expected to be particular
  
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• Winter sale on tickets to Starlight Express

  19-12-2025 13:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  The famous roller skating trains have returned in a revival of the 1980s classic, and there’s a sale on tickets at the moment, with tickets now available from £25.Starlight Express is a dazzling spectacle for the senses, performed entirely on roller skates. At its heart is Rusty, a humble steam engine with dreams of winning the crown — and the affection of a glamorous coach.
  As a child drifts into sleep, wheels begin to spin, toys spring to life, and a touch of magic transforms
  
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• Where does Black Tom toll the Devil’s Knell? Welcome to the King William College quiz

  19-12-2025 12:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  If you want to spend Christmas cursing, then King William College’s famously difficult annual quiz has been released, and you’ll need a large supply of headache pills to cope with the questions.
  King William’s College General Knowledge Paper (GKP)
  King William’s College, based on the Isle of Man, was founded in 1833, using a legacy itself established in 1668, and in 1904 set its first annual general knowledge test, known as the General Knowledge Paper (GKP). Once a privat
  
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• The ancient Trial of the Pyx is moving to Mansion House in 2026

  19-12-2025 10:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  For the first time in its centuries-long history, the ancient Trial of the Pyx will take place next year inside the Lady Mayor of London’s official residence at Mansion House.
  Preparing for the trial at Goldsmiths’ Hall in 2025 (c) ianVisits
  The what?
  The Trial of the Pyx is an annual court case that puts the Royal Mint on trial to validate the quality of the coins it has produced over the past year.
  Why?
  Because the security of the coins of the realm is a serious matter, and althoug
  
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• Santander Cycles to get self-charging e-bikes and new smartphone app

  18-12-2025 17:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  TfL’s cycle hire scheme is set to upgrade its e-bikes next year so they can be recharged when docked, rather than swapping batteries as currently happens.There are currently 2000 e-bikes in the Santander Cycle fleet, leading to a significant increase in longer hires.
  At the moment, staff visiting the docking stations swap out the batteries when they are low on power, but this risks bikes being unavailable if they are not checked regularly.
  With the docking station recharge, that problem sh
  
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• The Union flag that led Nelson’s fleet at Trafalgar may be saved for UK museum

  18-12-2025 16:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  The Union flag that led Nelson’s fleet at the Battle of Trafalgar could be bought by a UK museum after an export bar was imposed following its sale at auction.The Union Flag flew from the Royal Sovereign, the ship that led the British charge at the Battle of Trafalgar, and still features burn marks and splinters inflicted during the battle.
  It was recently put up for sale and sold for £450,000.
  This flag is believed to have been made and maintained by sailors aboard the Royal Soverei
  
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• January bargain: Heath Robinson Museum drops £8 ticket for pay-what-you-can Fridays

  18-12-2025 15:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  If you’ve never visited the Heath Robinson Museum in north London, then maybe January will tempt you with a cheap tickets offer.
  Heath Robinson Museum (c) ianVisits
  Every Friday in January 2026, entry tickets will be “Pay What You Can” instead of their usual £8 entry charge. There’s no need to book online, just turn up at the museum and let them know how much you would like to pay.
  The ticket gives you entry to the entire museum, including the Heath Robinson art gal
  
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• Step-free access work at Wandsworth Town station to start in February 2026

  18-12-2025 14:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  Network Rail has confirmed that long planned work to install lifts at Wandsworth Town station in southwest London will start in February 2026.The station, served by SWR trains, is raised on railway arches and has four platforms, accessed via stairs from a corridor that runs through one of the arches from a street-level entrance on the south side. Although it has four platforms, as the middle two are a shared island platform, just three lifts will be needed to make all four platforms accessible.P
  
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• Discounted tickets to Pinocchio at Shakespeare’s Globe

  18-12-2025 13:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  Pinocchio will be staged at Shakespeare’s Globe this festive season in a new musical production aimed at family audiences. The show is presented in the Globe’s famous open-air theatre, with savings of up to 60% on selected performances.This new musical adaptation retells the familiar story of Pinocchio at one of London’s most recognisable theatres. The plot follows Geppetto, a solitary woodcarver, who creates a wooden puppet in search of companionship and purpose. When Pinocchi
  
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• Plans unveiled for a covered Soho alley through former Twentieth Century Fox HQ

  17-12-2025 14:30 via ianvisits.co.uk
  Central London could get a new covered alley, running through a building from Dean Street to Soho Square, if plans to refurbish Twentieth Century Fox’s former London headquarters go ahead.
  (c) 31-32 Soho Square consultation
  The site includes 31-32 Soho Square – formerly known as Twentieth Century House, 65-66 Frith Street, 10 Chapone Place and 22-25 Dean Street.
  The Twentieth Century House, which comprises most of the site facing Soho Square, was built in 1936 for Twentieth Century-F
  
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• From 1925 onwards: the Tidal Thames News archive is now online

  17-12-2025 13:30 via ianvisits.co.uk
  This year marks the centenary of Tidal Thames News, and to mark the centenary, the Port of London Authority (PLA) has digitised an edition from each decade, spanning back to 1925 and made them available to read online.
  (c) Port of London Authority
  The story began in November 1925, when the Port of London Authority (PLA) launched its first staff and industry magazine, PLA Monthly. Sold for sixpence, the publication represented a shift in how the Authority communicated with its workforce and the w
  
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• From pigeon droppings to public art: Clapham Junction underpass gets a dramatic makeover

  17-12-2025 13:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  Barely a month after the first panels were installed, Clapham Junction’s formerly grimy underpass has been transformed.The 100 metre long Falcon Road underpass runs under the railways to the eastern side of Clapham Junction station and is the only route north-south under the railways in the area. Despite how busy it is, it has long been a very shabby route, with two narrow pedestrian paths, walls lined with stained and broken tiles, and the floor covered in pigeon droppings.
  And it was wet
  
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• Tickets Alert: Tours of Buckingham Palace’s private east wing

  17-12-2025 11:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  Buckingham Palace will resume tours of the usually private East Wing in the new year, the front from which the royals are seen on the balcony.
  Buckingham Palace’s east wing (c) ianVisits
  The summer opening mainly focuses on the state rooms on the west wing of the palace, and they only started occasional tours of the east wing in 2024. It’s not cheap though, as the 90-minute tours are designed to give you a more in-depth look at the East Wing, at a time when the Palace is not usually
  
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• An unusual London Overground trip is possible during Betwixmas

  17-12-2025 08:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  Thanks to engineering works on the London Overground over the Christmas period, there’s a chance to travel over a bit of railway that doesn’t usually see passengers.
  Departure board at Camden Road showing the “impossible” destination – Dec 2022
  Over Christmas, engineers will need to close the Mildmay line between Brondesbury Park and Willesden Junction to replace 10 sets of points that are currently in poor condition and held in place by deteriorating timber sl
  
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• Weekend rail closures will disrupt Gatwick and Brighton train journeys in early 2026

  16-12-2025 17:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  There will be several weekends of closures on the Brighton Mainline in the first few months of 2026, affecting travel to Gatwick Airport and Brighton.
  1994 Gatwick Express advert
  Network Rail says it will be carrying out essential maintenance and upgrades along the entire line. They usually aim for winter work on the line, as it’s quieter than the busy summer season.
  The closures will mean there’s no connection between London Bridge and Gatwick Airport, but a longer diversion route w
  
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• Free light and sound show to fill City of London’s historic sites

  16-12-2025 15:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  For two nights in January, several areas of the City of London will be lit up in a new sound and light festival.Vibrance will feature more than a dozen artworks across five locations, transformed by artists, designers and performers from the Guildhall School.
  The shows will be free to attend and take place on Thursday 29th and Friday 30th January 2026 from 5:30 to 8:30pm.
  It’s likely to be best to walk the route in the following order – starting at Guildhall, and ending at Milton Cou
  
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• A train-sized tunnel is now carrying electricity under South London

  16-12-2025 14:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  Electricity has started flowing through a deep-level tube train sized tunnel running through South London.
  New power cables map (c) National Rail
  The first of two new circuits that connect National Grid’s New Cross substation in Southwark with its Hurst substation in Bexley is now live, running for 18km beneath South London through tunnels up to 50 metres deep.
  This new link replaces one of two buried cables that have served the capital since the 1960s, with the other to be replaced when t
  
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• Buttons, blood and bright red tunics: Inside the revamped Guards Museum

  16-12-2025 13:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  The large and surprisingly little known Guards Museum near Buckingham Palace has revamped some of its displays and starts with an unexpected story of soldier buttons.The museum tells the history of the five regiments of Foot Guards, namely the Grenadier, Coldstream, Scots, Irish and Welsh Guards, and ranges from their foundation up to the modern day. So a visit is a walk through history as brightly coloured uniforms worn in combat were slowly supplanted by the far more practical combat wear worn
  
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• UK plans curb on freeholders blocking broadband cabling in flats

  15-12-2025 01:01
  Building owners would no longer be able to ‘unreasonably refuse’ upgrade requests from leaseholders
  
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• US has failed to stop massive Chinese cyber campaign, warns senator

  12-12-2025 23:08
  Staff reductions at vital agencies have undermined efforts to tackle ‘Salt Typhoon’ hack, says Mark Warner
  
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• Watch a mainline train run along part of the London Underground

  12-12-2025 17:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  There is going to be a chance to see a mainline train travelling along part of the London Underground as part of a special farewell tour for the SWR’s Class 455 trains.
  SWR into British Rail (c) ianVisits
  Two trains will run the trip on Sunday 21st December, and after leaving Waterloo, they will diverge from the mainline just before Putney to run over the District line tracks to Wimbledon, where they will rejoin the mainline.
  That means fans of the unusual can see an SWR-branded train pass
  
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• Late-night Northern line disruption as Bank branch to shut early for engineering works

  12-12-2025 16:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  Late-night Northern line passengers are being warned that the Bank branch will close at 10pm on most evenings for several months in early 2026, as part of planned works on the line.
  Amended tube map showing closures
  The early closure means that trains will stop serving the Bank branch from 10pm, but there will be an additional four trains an hour on the Charing Cross branch. However, to accommodate this, TfL will have to reduce the overall frequency of some Northern line services from around 9:3
  
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• ‘JPMorgan has crossed a line’: How Altice’s debts ensnared US banking giant

  12-12-2025 15:13
  US bank stepped into messy confrontation between billionaire Patrick Drahi and aggrieved Wall Street funds
  
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