Telecom news

• Elisa gets further into bed with Google Cloud

  28-02-2022 10:00
  
  Finnish telco Elisa has brought in hyperscaler Google Cloud to build out new public cloud facilitated services.
  As part of the deal Elisa will tap into Google Cloud’s infrastructure, storage, data analytics, and hybrid cloud management services in order to provide new AI tools, edge computing projects, and cloud-based network assurance and automation functionalities.
  It’s an extension of an existing partnership – last year Elisa teamed up with Google Cloud to build out more tha
  
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• GWR train dedicated to Railway200’s Greatest Gathering

  31-07-2026 17:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  
  It’s been a year since thousands of people marked the 200th anniversary of the railways at the Greatest Gathering in Derby, and today, a GWR train has been dedicated to the Greatest Gathering.
  (c) Alstom
  The design – applied to GWR’s Class 800 No. 800012 – pays tribute to the record-breaking festival held at Alstom’s Litchurch Lane Works last August, which saw some 40,000 people turn up to see the world’s largest-ever gathering of historic and modern rolling s
  
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• Tickets Alert: Tours of the Chelsea Pensioners’ private regimental museum

  31-07-2026 15:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  
  Although the Chelsea Pensioners now have a public museum next to their home at the Royal Hospital, they also have an older private museum, which is now available to visit on tours.
  Part of the museum in 2010 (c) ianVisits
  Led by one of the Chelsea Pensioner Museum Guides, the tour offers a perspective on centuries of military tradition, personal stories, and national heritage.
  During your visit, you’ll encounter extraordinary objects and displays, including the Queen’s Parade Chair a
  
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• Tickets Alert: Tours inside the former Carlton Cinema, Essex Road

  31-07-2026 14:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  
  A remarkable building that many people will walk past, itching to see what it looks like inside, now offers occasional tours.This is the former Carlton Cinema on Essex Road, once the largest cinema in the UK, with an interior very much as you would hope if you get a chance to see it.
  For a while, as with many ex-cinemas, it was a bingo hall and is now owned by the Gracepoint church, and to their credit, they’re slowly restoring the interior to its original grandeur.
  And occasionally, a loc
  
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• How a Victorian tunnel could transform the Tower of London’s famous moat

  31-07-2026 13:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  
  The Tower of London’s moat could be turned into a wildlife-friendly wetland, and all thanks to a Victorian tunnel.
  Illustrative view of the West Moat from the causeway between Middle Tower and Byward Tower (c) Grant Associates/Luxigon
  The defensive moat was constructed in the 1270s on the orders of King Edward I to replace what had been little more than a partial ditch. The moat remained a water-filled feature until the 1840s, by which time it was more of a sewer, and as it was still conne
  
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• HS2 renegotiates major construction deals to rein in spiralling costs

  31-07-2026 12:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  
  One of the biggest criticisms of HS2 Railway’s construction contracts has been addressed, with HS2 replacing deals that left taxpayers carrying almost all the financial risk with new agreements designed to reward contractors for delivering the railway on time and on budget.
  HS2 tunnel entrance next to the M25 motorway (c) ianVisits
  The company says that it has successfully renegotiated contracts with two of the civil engineering joint ventures responsible for more than 100km of the high-sp
  
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• Peckham Rye station’s arcade demolition down to ground level

  30-07-2026 17:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  
  Commuters using Peckham Rye station are getting a first hint of what the station’s front will look like when the old shopping arcade is demolished.
  March 2026
   
  July 2026
  Demolition began in March 2026 to clear the old arcade and replace it with an open plaza that will restore views of the station’s Victorian architecture, and has reached the point where visitors are starting to see what the future will look like.
  What was a small dark courtyard in front of the station is still
  
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• National Theatre to host a 50th anniversary exhibition

  30-07-2026 16:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  
  There’s going to be a free exhibition at the National Theatre later this year, marking 50 years in its South Bank home, its brutalist architecture and the productions down the decades.Called Stories Start Here: 50 Stories for 50 Years, the installation will sit on Queen’s Walk outside the theatre. Designed as a wooden structure inspired by the Olivier Theatre’s amphitheatre seating, it will invite visitors to sit facing the building while listening to 50 personal stories that r
  
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• The original model for Cleopatra’s Needle sphinxes is up for sale

  30-07-2026 13:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  
  If you’re a London egyptophile with a very deep pocket, something special is coming up for sale at auction in September. It’s the original scale model (maquette) used to design the two Bronze sphinxes that sit on the Embankment, flanking Cleopatra’s Needle.
  (c) Harper Field Auctioneers & Valuers
  Cleopatra’s Needle was presented to the Prince Regent in 1819 by the ruler of Egypt, Muhammad Ali, as a diplomatic gift to mark British victories over the French in Egypt.
  Alt
  
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• Virgin Media O2 owners weigh options to slash £22bn debt pile

  30-07-2026 06:00 via ft.com
  Dividend cuts, job losses and lower investment are among measures being considered by Telefónica and Liberty Global
  
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• The UK has worse mobile coverage than Romania. Why?

  30-07-2026 06:00 via ft.com
  Operators blame planning rules and low prices for a lack of investment
  
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• Lost underground water network beneath Royal Parks to be mapped

  29-07-2026 17:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  
  Hidden waterways that once supplied water to royal palaces are to be uncovered in a new archaeology project exploring what lies beneath three of London’s Royal Parks.The Royal Parks charity has launched the Lost Waterways of the Royal Parks, a three-year project that will investigate forgotten conduits, wells, reservoirs and underground tunnels hidden beneath Richmond Park, Greenwich Park and Bushy Park.
  Funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund, with additional support from the Friends
  
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• It’s time to start planning your Heritage Open Day trips

  29-07-2026 15:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  
  For a couple of weeks in September, thousands of buildings across the UK, mostly outside London, are open to the public.The Heritage Open Days are a UK-wide version of the London Open House events, and while the vast majority are open to wander in and look around, some require advance booking. They range from old buildings to theatres to sewage pumping stations.
  Some are taking bookings now, but many won’t be for a week or two, so now is the time to plan your day trips to (mostly) outside
  
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• Gangsters in camera: Exhibition shines a light into London’s criminal underworld

  29-07-2026 13:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  
  There’s a cast of characters on show at the Leica Gallery that you’d probably hope never to meet – London’s gangster underworld.The photographs were taken by agency and fashion photographer David Hurn, who was originally commissioned by British Elle to photograph a journalist interviewing two well-known villains. The assignment led to something far more unusual. Hurn built a relationship with one of the men and, over the following three years, was granted remarkable acces
  
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• Crowded Harrods plaza to be reshaped in bid to improve pedestrian flow

  29-07-2026 11:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  
  The pedestrianised but very busy street outside Harrods, next to the tube station entrance, is being refurbished to reduce the clutter and create more space for pedestrians.
  (c) Andy Sturgeon Design
  Although fully pedestrianised in 2004 when the new tube station entrance was created, some of the space is occupied by food stalls and with the tube station entrance next to the department store, it can be a bit of a muddle with crowds trying to get around each other.
  Work on the improvements was due
  
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• TfL expands Routemaster ‘ding-ding’ trial after promising safety results

  29-07-2026 10:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  
  Transport for London (TfL) is bringing back one of London’s most familiar sounds – ding-ding – as it expands a trial to see whether the classic Routemaster bell can help prevent passengers from falling over when buses pull away.The four-week trial starts on Friday 31st July on Route 188 (North Greenwich to Tottenham Court Road) and is the latest stage of TfL’s Bus Safety Innovation Challenge. Every time the doors close, passengers will hear the classic Routemaster ding-di
  
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• Tower Gateway DLR station getting a new entrance and lift in hotel development

  29-07-2026 08:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  
  Tower Gateway DLR station is to get a second lift and entrance as part of a deal with a property developer building a hotel and recently completed new flats next to the station.
  The new hotel and DLR station entrance – source: planning documents
  The DLR station already has a lift and escalators at its main entrance, but in 2009, TfL added a second entrance at the rear. However, that entrance only has stairs, as adding a second lift wasn’t viable at the time.
  That all changes now, wit
  
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• The wonderfully nerdy guide to London’s Thames bridges has been updated

  28-07-2026 17:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  
  Sometimes a technical document that is of no practical use to the average person can still be curiously fascinating.
  (c) PLA mariners guide
  Such a document might include the Mariners’ Guide to Bridges on the tidal Thames, which is published by the Port of London Authority – and has just been updated. Published since 2012 and updated roughly every three years, it’s aimed at mariners, but contains exceptionally detailed information about the bridges over the Thames, along with so
  
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• Tickets Alert: National Theatre to host a sale of stage props

  28-07-2026 15:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  
  Next month, the National Theatre will be hosting a rare sale of props from its previous theatrical productions.The sale will take place alongside discounted work by independent designers and makers. The event also marks a rare Sunday opening for the National Theatre’s shops and public sales spaces, making it an unusual weekend opportunity for visitors.
  Running alongside the props sale is Crafty Fox Market’s first-ever Samples & Seconds Sale at the National Theatre. Around 40 sele
  
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• From skyscrapers to struggle: Exhibition captures the two faces of America

  28-07-2026 13:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  
  The American dream, in all its varieties of optimism and poverty, has come to the Dulwich Picture Gallery.
  A new photography exhibition looks at how Americans viewed themselves, but also, thanks to reproductions in magazines, how we often see Americans.Moving from the optimism of the early skyscraper age, through the trauma of the Great Depression, and into the uneasy prosperity of the post-war decades, the exhibition follows both the evolution of photography and the emergence of the United Stat
  
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• Sutton council to fill funding gap for Belmont railway upgrade

  28-07-2026 08:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  
  Plans to double the number of train services between Sutton and Belmont stations have hit a £4 million problem, as costs have risen sharply in recent years.
  Belmont Station
  Belmont station, which is near a major cancer care centre, is currently served by a half-hourly Southern Railway service, and there are plans to double services on the Sutton to Epsom Downs line, with the enhanced timetable expected to be introduced from December 2027.
  Track layout over Google Map
  This involves restorin
  
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• To create wealth, Europe must reap the dividends of radio spectrum

  28-07-2026 06:00 via ft.com
  The EU cannot ask its telecoms to compete globally while organising one of its most important sectors nationally
  
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• Amazon targets Musk’s Starlink with satellite constellation for mobile services

  27-07-2026 17:57 via ft.com
  Tech giant files to launch more than 5,000 satellites to provide global consumer service
  
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• Vodafone raises profit guidance as billionaire Xavier Niel takes stake

  27-07-2026 10:30 via ft.com
  UK telecoms major posts first set of results since French mogul moved to take holding
  
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• When it opens, the London Museum will come with four cafes and restaurants

  24-07-2026 17:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  
  The soon-to-open London Museum has announced more details of the non-museum stuff that museums need – such as the food and drink they will be offering.
  The London Museum (c) Secchi Smith
  What we call the restaurants and cafes, they call “major hospitality concepts” with four “distinct food and drink destinations” that will come with a “food curator”. All of which is hopefully not a preview of the language to be used on the labels when the museum proper o
  
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• This weeks discounted theatre tickets from London Theatre Direct

  24-07-2026 13:30 via ianvisits.co.uk
  
  This week’s sale and discount theatre ticket offers from London Theatre Direct.
  On stage at the Shaftesbury (c) ianVisitsSinatra The Musical
  Start spreadin’ the news, the king of swing is back
  From £23
   The Devil Wears Prada
  Elton John’s new musical The Devil Wears Prada is now playing in the West End.
  From £31 – SAVE UP TO £30
   My Neighbour Totoro
  Enter a world of magic and wonder with My Neighbour Totoro – a perfect enchanted adventure
  
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• London tram driven the wrong way through Croydon town centre

  24-07-2026 12:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  
  Seeing a tram heading the wrong way through Croydon town centre might normally be a sign that something has gone very wrong. A few weeks ago, it was exactly what was supposed to happen.
  The overnight tram test – enhanced photo from TfL video
  The unusual sight was part of a planned test ahead of a partial closure of the London Trams network for engineering works next month. The engineering works will close the entire central section of the tram network, but to maintain reliable service, the
  
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• The London Buzz – 23rd July 2026

  23-07-2026 18:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  
  Old London – Bramshot Avenues, Westcombe Park
  Today’s London news round-up:
  Blackheath Fireworks will return for 2026 – but free displays unlikely to come back Greenwich Wire
  Wandsworth pledges 24 extra police officers under new leader Putney News
  Met police ‘can’t afford the hay and vet bills for its horses’ New Journal
  A portrait of London Mayor Sadiq Khan, painted by an art student, has been unveiled at City Hall. BBC News
  Thames Clippers has introduced rea
  
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• TfL says Silvertown Tunnel has cut Blackwall congestion after first year

  23-07-2026 17:06 via ianvisits.co.uk
  
  Transport for London (TfL) says its first year of monitoring suggests the Silvertown Tunnel has reduced congestion around the Blackwall Tunnel, encouraged more people to travel by bus across the Thames and coincided with improved local air quality.
  But it has displaced some traffic to other river crossings that are still free to use, such as Rotherhithe and Woolwich.The findings are published in TfL’s first annual report on the road tunnel, which opened last April, and follow on from a pre
  
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• Tickets Alert: The Tank Museum comes to London (sort of)

  23-07-2026 15:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  
  Dorset’s legendary Tank Museum is sending its staff to London for an evening later this year, for a talk about the history of what else, but tanks.Join the Tank Museum and special guests – including Al Murray and James Holland  – for an evening exploring the rise – and potential fall – of the tank as the dominant force on the battlefield.
  Plus, in this special fundraising event, they’ll share more about the impact they are having as a museum as they tell
  
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