UK, Canada, France, Germany Telecomms

UK Cable

Click here for rollout of FTTP in 2010 by Openreach (BT wholesale)

BT Group 9.3m (British Telecom)
Plusnet a dial-up ISP in 1997 purchased as ADSL ISP in 2007. Purchased EE mobile in 2016
Sky Group 6.7m
Founded by Rupert Murdoch as SatelliteTV 1989, ADSL ISP 2006, Fibre ISP 2012, sold by News Corp to Comcast 2018
Virgin Media O2 5.7m
Founded as Virgin Mobile by Richard Branson 1999, merging with NTL and Telewest Cable in 2007 with both offering HFC Internet from 2000, part of US Liberty Global in 2013, merge with Telefonica (O2) 2021
TalkTalk 4.2m
Founded by Carphone Warehouse (1989) in 2003. Down to 2.5m October 2026. Merging with BT
Vodafone 1m
Vodafone UK launched January 1985 as a cellular network, pioneering digital GSM technology, SMS text messaging, and early mobile internet (3G) across the country.
Cable & Wireless Worldwide (CWW) acquired in June 2012, extensive fibre-optic, mostly corporate entities.

Vodafone Three 28m with Vodafone purchasing Three in August 2026
O2 (Virgin Media) 23.2m
Founded as Cellnet in 1985, part of British Telecom until 2002 when it became O2, purchased by Spanish telecommunications company Telefónica in 2006, merged with Virgin Media June 2021
EE (BT Group) 21m
Founded in 2010 (Everything Everywhere) as a merge of Orange UK and T-Mobile UK. Merged into BT Group in 2016
- France
  Orange UK started in 1994, purchased by France Telecom in 2000
- Germany
  T-Mobile started in 1993 as one2one, purchased in 1999 by Deutsche Telekom, becoming T-Mobile in 2002

Among Canada's biggest internet service providers (ISP) are

Bell Canada
Rogers Communications
Telus Internet
and Shaw Communications—with the former two being the largest in Ontario, and the latter two dominating western provinces

In April 2023 Shaw was acquired by Rogers Communications.

** End of page