Telecom news

• Speeds aren’t getting faster, but 4G is coverage is expanding – OpenSignal

  21-02-2018 12:16
  OpenSignal’s most recent State of LTE report claims that while download speeds across the world have started to plateau there is promising work being done to improve coverage.
  While this will frustrate urbanites wanting their cat video fix, farmers wanting to surf for images of milk will be thrilled.
  The last couple of years have seen global 4G download speeds improve quite considerably, though some nations plodded along (the UK being one of those), but this trend has been slowing recently
  
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• Tickets Alert: Southeastern’s “Network SouthEast” train tour

  27-08-2026 18:15 via ianvisits.co.uk
  
  To celebrate 40 years of Network SouthEast, Southeastern is running a special commemorative rail tour aboard its uniquely restored Network SouthEast Networker train.
  Southeastern’s Network SouthEast at the Greatest Gathering (c) ianVisits
  Beginning and ending at London Victoria, this one-off journey will travel across both Metro and Mainline routes to Ramsgate and Dover, passing some of the oldest stations on the Southeastern Railway network.
  As with last year’s sold-out tour and jus
  
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• The London Buzz – 27th August 2026

  27-08-2026 18:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  
  Old London – Waterloo Bridge, circa 1907
  Today’s London news round-up:
  The Children’s Black Book Fair UK (CBBF UK) has made history by becoming the largest event ever held in a Hackney library. The Voice
  Mystery vandalism returns to Harrow as homes targeted with black and red paint Harrow Online
  Three years after London’s Ulez expanded across the capital, businesses and residents on the border of the scheme have said strong feelings remain, although many have adapted. BBC
  
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• Cloth Cornhill to open in October inside the former Simpsons Tavern

  27-08-2026 17:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  
  The restaurant that’s taken over the building that housed the venerable Simpsons Tavern chophouse has confirmed that it will open in October, with bookings accepted from next month.
  Simpsons Tavern (c) ianVisits
  Simpsons Tavern has been open in its narrow alley location since 1757 and was famous for its unfussy food and its determined retention of 19th-century dining, with communal tables shared by diners.
  However, a contentious dispute with the landlord led to Simpsons Tavern closing in N
  
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• Photo exhibition of “animals behaving amusingly” opens next month

  27-08-2026 11:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  
  A decade of photographs of animals behaving amusingly will go on display in central London next month.
  Andrea Zampatti: The Laughing Dormouse
  The Nikon Comedy Wildlife Awards Immersive Experience opens at Frameless next to Marble Arch on 12th September, bringing together 91 award-winning photographs from the competition’s first ten years.
  Rather than displaying the photographs conventionally, a 15-minute film will project them at large scale around the walls of the Blank Canvas Gallery, pl
  
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• TfL marks 70 years of Caribbean recruitment and 60 years of Notting Hill Carnival

  27-08-2026 10:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  
  Transport for London (TfL) is marking two anniversaries this week, celebrating 70 years since London Transport launched a major recruitment drive in the Caribbean and 60 years since the first Notting Hill Carnival.
  LT Recruiter Charles Gomm interviewing an early Barbadian applicant 1956 (c) TfL
  The commemorations will include a new plaque at Westbourne Park tube station honouring people who helped establish and develop the Carnival, a specially decorated London bus joining Sunday’s parade,
  
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• London’s Pocket Parks, Holmsdale Tunnel Open Space, Waltham Cross, EN8

  27-08-2026 08:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  
  Visiting a park just after umpteen heatwaves have lain waste to the land might seem awkward, but to be honest, this park simply changes colour, and that’s all. A long, wide rectangle of grasslands doesn’t seem that interesting, unless you start to wonder why there aren’t any trees – and the reason is just a metre or so below your feet.This parkland sits on top of the M25 motorway, to dampen the noise of motorcars passing through a fairly residential area. Not by much, to
  
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• Tube-sized tunnel under London gets a power boost – with help from its own monorail

  26-08-2026 17:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  
  A 20 year old tube-train sized tunnel under north-west London is getting an upgrade to help it carry more electrons, and the engineers might be able to use a monorail to carry out the work.
  Fata Automation monorail
  The Elstree–St John’s Wood cable tunnel forms a key part of National Grid’s newly launched North West London Upgrade (NWLU), a programme to increase the amount of electricity that can be carried into London and provide connections for new developments.
  As part of the
  
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• Ham House is offering conservation tours through November

  26-08-2026 15:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  
  Ham House is a grand 17th-century house set in formal gardens beside the River Thames near Richmond in southwest London. The National Trust took over the property in 1948, and after a major restoration completed in 2002, the house is generally open to visitors year-round.
  Ham House
  However, during November, weekday access to the house will be a little different, with general opening replaced by a series of conservation tours.
  The quieter period gives staff and volunteers an opportunity to carry
  
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• From tobacco to tea shops to computers: Exhibition tells the story of J. Lyons & Co

  26-08-2026 13:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  
  Lyons is one of those vanished companies whose name is still remarkably familiar. Its tea shops and Corner Houses once filled British high streets, its cakes and ice lollies became household brands, and behind the scenes it even built one of the world’s first business computers.
  Now, a small exhibition at the Jewish Museum London’s temporary home inside JW3 tells the story of the catering empire – although largely from the point of view of the Gluckstein and Salmon families who
  
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• ‘Juggernaut’ BT’s decade-long turnaround hits crunch time

  23-08-2026 06:00 via ft.com
  Investors still waiting for the ‘show me the money’ moment
  
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• Save on theatre tickets from London Theatre Direct

  21-08-2026 17:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  
  This week’s sale and discount theatre ticket offers from London Theatre Direct.
   Moulin Rouge! The Musical
  Pop the champagne and prepare for the spectacular spectacular Moulin Rouge! The Musical
  From £30 – EXCLUSIVE PRICES
   Now You See Me Live
  The magical film series has transformed for the stage
  From £25 – SAVE UP TO 37%
   Sinatra The Musical
  Start spreadin’ the news, the king of swing is back
  From £35 – GREAT SEATS AT £50
  &nbs
  
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• Visiting UCL’s delightfully difficult-to-visit architectural exhibition

  21-08-2026 13:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  
  An exhibition that’s only open four hours a week, and sometimes not even that, is the sort of annoyingly difficult to visit exhibition I love.And this one tells the story of University College London’s classical Wilkins Building – the grand frontage that dominates the main quadrangle, but almost didn’t get built, or survive when it was built.
  It’s mainly a collection of old drawings, sketches and maps, and tells the story of how the newish University College London
  
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• Thames sea levels are rising faster as flood defence pressures grow

  20-08-2026 17:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  
  Sea levels in the Thames Estuary are rising faster than previously measured, with the rate now matching the assumptions being used to plan London’s future flood defences.
  Thames Barrier
  A review of the Thames Estuary 2100 Plan has found that relative mean sea levels rose at an average rate of 4.10mm a year between 1993 and 2024 — up from the 3.65mm annual rate recorded between 1990 and 2018 in the previous monitoring review.
  Although that may sound like a small change, over decades i
  
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• Wish you were here? Exhibition looks back at six decades of British seaside holidays

  20-08-2026 13:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  
  One of the defining images of the seaside photos isn’t necessarily the image, but the colour – Technicolour, in fact – and an exhibition is celebrating the colours of the seaside photo.Spanning six decades of social history from the 1960s to the 2010s, the exhibition ranges from a collection of garish postcards through to modern photography showing the contrast between cultures swimming in the sea.
  There’s also a timeline of changing appearances, from older photos of coup
  
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• Oxford Street pedestrianisation works to start next month

  20-08-2026 12:12 via ianvisits.co.uk
  
  Work to ban vehicles from a large section of Oxford Street is set to start next month, when the first major construction work gets underway.Subject to the necessary approvals, works will commence on 2 September 2026, and Oxford Street between Orchard Street and Great Portland Street should be traffic-free by mid to late October. That’s basically from Selfridges in the west through to just past Oxford Circus in the east.
  Pedestrian areas overlay on OpenStreet Maps, with gaps for the north-s
  
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• Tickets Alert: Free Back to Hogwarts experience next to the Tower of London

  20-08-2026 11:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  
  Harry Potter fans planning the traditional 1st September pilgrimage to King’s Cross should take note – there will be no official Back to Hogwarts event, countdown or announcement at King’s Cross station this year.
  Instead, the main London celebration is moving across town to Old Billingsgate, next to the Tower of London, where HBO Max will host a one-day fan event ahead of the new Harry Potter television series arriving this Christmas.Back to Hogwarts at Old Billingsgate
  The on
  
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• London’s Pocket Parks: The Closes, West Drayton, UB7

  20-08-2026 08:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  
  This seemingly unremarkable looking public park has unexpected links with Roman England.This part of what is now London was originally part of the Manor of West Drayton, which King Athelstan gifted to the Dean of St Paul’s Cathedral in 925. Following the dissolution of the monasteries, Henry VIII granted the Manor to William Paget – 1st Lord Paget, and in 1714, the 7th Lord Paget was created Earl of Uxbridge.
  Although West Drayton developed as a small village, it wasn’t much mo
  
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• Travel eSIM boom threatens mobile industry’s roaming cash cow

  19-08-2026 06:00 via ft.com
  Usage set to rise by a third this year as travellers opt for cheaper alternatives to data roaming charges
  
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• Travel e-sim boom threatens mobile industry’s roaming cash cow

  19-08-2026 06:00 via ft.com
  Usage set to rise by a third this year as travellers opt for cheaper alternatives to data roaming charges
  
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• Tickets Alert: Ballot opens for free visits to Battersea’s Sky Garden

  18-08-2026 09:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  
  A roof garden above the development next to Battersea Power Station will open to the public this weekend, and the ballot for free tickets is open now.
  Hurry, as the ballot closes at the end of Wednesday. Yikes!
  Photo: Aaron Hargreaves, Foster + Partners
  It’s not the roof of the power station, but the roof of the modern building next to it, which does have the advantage of offering better views of the power station next door. The gardens with 29,000 plants and 55 trees sit on the 16th floor
  
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• Inside Old Oak Common as London’s new 14-platform station takes shape

  18-08-2026 08:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  
  Anyone catching a train out of Paddington in recent years can hardly have missed the vast construction site alongside the railway. This is the future Old Oak Common station, and the project has now reached a major milestone with the completion of its first platforms.
  Passing the construction site on a train
  When it opens, Old Oak Common will combine a new subterranean six-platform station for HS2 trains with an eight-platform surface station for GWR and Elizabeth line services.
  With 14 plat
  
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• The London Buzz – 17th August 2026

  17-08-2026 18:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  
  Old London – Lancaster House, once home to the London Museum
  Today’s London news round-up:
  Extension of ULEZ and switch to electric cars is cutting pollution from vehicle exhaust emissions in High Barnet town centre Barnet Society
  A 50-year-old man has been charged with arson after several fires were reported in an east London park. BBC News
  Excavations around Gallows Corner have started to be backfilled as Essex & Suffolk Water makes “good progress” with its works. R
  
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• Plans to replace the Wandsworth Roundabout adverts with… adverts

  17-08-2026 17:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  
  The large metal loops that dominate the Wandsworth roundabout could be replaced with a timber tree-like structure.
  Source: planning documents
  The Wandsworth Roundabout is a major traffic interchange in South West London, forming a critical node where several significant routes converge. Apart from the subways for pedestrians, it’s dominated by the huge metal “pretzel” that supports four large advertising screens.
  Now they want to replace that with a new structure to support the
  
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• Another date announced for the Barbican Conservatory plant cuttings giveaway

  17-08-2026 15:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  
  If you’ve ever wanted to own a little piece of the Barbican Conservatory, you’ll soon have the chance, as another date has been announced for their free plant cuttings giveaway.
  Conservatory space (c) ianVisits
  Note that the propagated cuttings vary in size depending on the host plant, and you will not be adopting a fully mature plant from the Conservatory. They will be given to you free of charge and in good health, so you can continue growing them at home.
  The event takes place on
  
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• Elephant & Castle station’s Northern line entrance closed until late September

  17-08-2026 14:36 via ianvisits.co.uk
  
  Elephant & Castle tube station’s Northern Line entrance is expected to remain closed until late September while engineers investigate and repair a water ingress problem affecting the lifts.Northern line trains will continue to stop at Elephant & Castle as normal throughout the closure, but passengers will need to use the station’s Bakerloo line entrance to enter and leave the station.
  As it happens, the station was already recommending that northbound Northern line passengers
  
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• Knit Wits exhibition: when SIBLING made knitwear loud, strange and fun

  17-08-2026 13:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  
  There was a time when knitwear largely meant sensible jumpers, Christmas presents from relatives and the sort of cardigan that suggested an early night.But an exhibition is looking back at a London fashion label that spent nearly a decade turning knitwear into something altogether louder, stranger, and considerably more fun. Founded in 2008 by Cozette McCreery, Joe Bates and Sid Bryan, SIBLING emerged from London’s club and fashion scenes with the fairly straightforward idea that knitwear
  
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• Virgin Trains gets approval to launch international services through the Channel tunnel

  17-08-2026 12:15 via ianvisits.co.uk
  
  Eurostar will face competition on the London to mainland Europe route from 2030, as the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) has formally authorised Virgin Trains to launch its services.
  Concept image (c) Virgin Trains
  The agreement between HS1 Limited and VTE OPCO will allow Virgin Trains to operate up to 20 new daily return services between London and Paris, Brussels or Amsterdam from 1st October 2030.
  However, the regulator says several steps must be completed before the new services can run. Virgin
  
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• Charing Cross station reopened this morning following 22-day closure

  17-08-2026 11:38 via ianvisits.co.uk
  
  London’s Charing Cross and Waterloo East stations reopened this morning following a 22-day closure that allowed engineers to carry out a £20 million programme of track, platform and station improvements.
  Track replacement by Waterloo East (c) Network Rail
  The closure, which began on 26 July, was centred on replacing ageing railway infrastructure on the approaches to Charing Cross. Engineers replaced almost two kilometres of 36-year-old track, along with the switches and crossings tha
  
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• Government plans default ‘yes’ for new homes near railway stations

  17-08-2026 11:12 via ianvisits.co.uk
  
  The government could fast-track proposals for new housing developments next to railway stations for construction under its plans.They had already said that planning decisions should give proper consideration to the proximity of public transport links, but under the updated National Planning Policy Framework, there will be a default ‘yes’ for homes within reasonable walking distance of well-connected stations.
  An important rule will also set minimum density expectations for new housin
  
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