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Some Verizon customers using iPhones or Android phones may not appreciate the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) decision on Monday, which granted the carrier’s request to lock handsets to its network for longer than the previous 60-day minimum. The waiver is already in effect as of Tuesday, which means Verizon only has to comply with the CTIA’s voluntary unlocking policy. The CTIA advises unlocking prepaid phones one year after activation. Postpaid devices can be unlocked after a contract ends. That may involve paying off a financing plan or an early termination fee.

Verizon’s win may make it harder for consumers to change carriers. Switching to a better offer from AT&T, T-Mobile, or a smaller competitor becomes more difficult if the handset is still locked to Verizon’s network. That’s assuming the subscriber wants to keep using the same phone and they have several months left in their carrier contract. The waiver’s new terms apply to all new phone activations a day after the FCC’s order, or January 13. This means iPhone and Android device buyers who purchased a phone before Verizon’s petition was granted will still benefit from the previous rule.

Groups including Consumer Reports, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, iFixit, and others opposed Verizon’s request, arguing that the 60-day unlock favored consumers and competition. Similarly, cable lobby group NCTA criticized the FCC’s decision, arguing that unlocked phones benefit smartphone buyers.

Why did Verizon change its mind?

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As Ars Technica points out, Verizon’s automatic unlock that kicked in 60 days after activation wasn’t a perk the carrier offered to its subscribers. Verizon had to agree to this specific requirement in return for two specific regulatory approvals. In 2008, the wireless operator purchased licenses for 700 MHz spectrum. In 2021, it agreed to certain conditions for its purchase of TracFone. Other carriers were not subject to the same unlocking requirements.

Verizon used to sell unlocked iPhones and Android phones but in 2019 obtained a waiver that allowed the carrier to lock the handsets for 60 days, citing fraud deterrence. However, in March 2025, Verizon said that the 60-day period wasn’t long enough to catch fraud, petitioning the FCC to remove the limit. The FCC on Monday agreed with Verizon that the 60-day locking period isn’t enough to deter fraud, including smartphone theft. The FCC order also includes a rejection of a 180-day locking period that the NCTA and Console Enterprises proposed last year. 

“[The] FCC waived a 2007 rule that required one wireless carrier to unlock their handsets well earlier than standard industry practice, thus creating an incentive for bad actors to steal those handsets for purposes of carrying out fraud and other illegal acts,” the Commission said in a press release. Chairman Brendan Carr said in a statement that “sophisticated criminal networks” exploited Verizon’s 60-day unlocking period for various criminal acts, “including transnational handset trafficking schemes and facilitating broader criminal enterprises like drug running and human smuggling.” The waiver should “help stem the flow of handsets into the black market.”

Can stolen phones be resold on the black market?

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The FCC notes that Verizon’s phones have been stolen and resold on the black market for premium prices on the dark web. Countries including Russia, China, and Cuba are mentioned in the press release. The FCC also says that criminals are targeting Verizon and that the 60-day period is insufficient for detecting fraud. The FCC doesn’t offer any figures in its press release, but it cites statistics from Verizon in Monday’s order.

According to the carrier, nearly 785,000 devices were lost to fraud in 2023, including prepaid and postpaid devices, costing the carrier hundreds of millions of dollars. The order also cites a recent scheme that involved prepaid iPhones sold in New York. About 18,000 iPhone 12, 13, and SE3 models were activated on $30 plans with one month of service. They were not used, and they were later found on sale from other resellers.

It’s unclear how many stolen Verizon iPhone and Android devices are sold on the black market in the U.S. or internationally after being carrier-unlocked. Thieves would have to bypass security protections, including the Lock Screen password and Activation Lock on iPhone and other anti-theft systems on Android. Stolen devices that can’t be used because of anti-theft protection may still be sold for parts. In this scenario, the carrier lock wouldn’t matter. On the other hand, criminals continue to target smartphones, with reports last year detailing a massive iPhone theft operation in London.

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Busy professionals have a particular need for portability and functionality in their work computers. The obvious answer to this need is a laptop, but even a laptop can be somewhat unwieldy, especially if it’s loaded up with hefty hardware, like a gaming laptop from one of the big brands. For those who want to trim off everything but the most essential elements of a portable PC, major PC brand HP has developed the EliteBoard, an entire PC setup crammed into the confines of a keyboard.

An honoree of the 2026 Consumer Electronics Show Innovation Awards, the HP EliteBoard is a portable PC designed specifically for shared and dedicated workspaces, particularly those with a shared pool of available monitors. All you need to do is connect the EliteBoard to a display, and you can get right to work, with all of your files and functions hidden within the keyboard. At the time of writing, HP has not divulged the price or specific release date for this new gadget, though it is aiming for a release window sometime in March 2026.

The HP EliteBoard packs a full work PC into a slim, portable package

According to statistics cited in an HP press release, a large portion of working professionals feel a degree of dissatisfaction with the tech they use for their work, and with laptops on an uncertain curve for the near future, that dissatisfaction could worsen. The purpose of the HP EliteBoard is to provide a flexible, adaptable setup that can accommodate different work styles, whether you’re plugged in at the office or on the go. As long as you have a USB-CTM display nearby, the EliteBoard can be plugged in and used right away.

The HP EliteBoard is built to be user-ready right out of the box with minimal setup. It’s pre-loaded with Windows 11 and an AMD Ryzen AI 300 series processor, plus native Radeon 800M series native graphics. The entire device is only 12mm thick, and weighs less than half that of most laptops and notebook PCs at 750g (approx. 1.65 pounds). You can easily fit it in a backpack or briefcase while still leaving space for other devices, documents, or whatever else your job requires.

The HP EliteBoard is also designed to be more resilient against drops and spills, a vital factor since spilled coffee would otherwise damage much more than just your keyboard. The keyboard has an easy-clean surface for wiping away spills and debris, and is made up of 75% recycled plastic. Additionally, unlike some laptops, the EliteBoard is meant to be user-serviced; major components like the RAM, SSD, battery, and others can be easily removed without specialized tools for repair or replacement.

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After launching it in 2001, Apple officially discontinued the iPod in 2022, although the last model was released in 2019. The discontinuation of the iPod lineup meant an end to dedicated music players from the company. Part of the reason why Apple discontinued the iPod after 20 years is that most people listen to music on their phones. Although the iPod is dead, it doesn’t mean that the market for dedicated music players is. There are companies that are still making and selling iPod alternatives that you can buy if you still crave having a dedicated device for listening to music. You’ll find a variety of options available, but it can be hard to separate the wheat from the chaff.

Before you regret your purchase, we’re here to help you make an informed decision by giving you the best iPod alternatives on the market that are loved by several users. Whether you’d like to upgrade from your old iPod or are looking for your first-ever dedicated music player to listen to music like in the old times, we’ve got you covered. All the products we’ve discussed have solid ratings and reviews from users online, and excel at the one core functionality they were intended for — listening to music.

AiMoonsa Music Player

The AiMoonsa MP3 Player has a variety of handy features that make it one of the best iPod alternatives. You can play different audio formats as it supports both lossy ones (like MP3 and WMA) and lossless formats such as APE, WAV, and FLAC. It comes with either a 64 GB or 128 GB microSD card, which allows you to store thousands of songs. But if you need more storage, you can get a microSD card with a larger capacity, up to 256 GB. You can listen to music wirelessly via Bluetooth, over the traditional 3.5mm headphone jack, or play directly via the device’s built-in speakers. The AiMoonsa Music Player is compact and portable as well, weighing just 70 grams with a 1.8-inch screen. While it’s mainly a device for playing music, it does come with other features such as a voice recorder, FM radio, and an alarm.

You can also read e-books on this device, although with such a small screen, you’re better off using a tablet or smartphone. It also has a built-in file explorer, which is really handy for managing your offline music library. The player has earned a 4.0 rating on Amazon with over 9,000 reviews. Some love it for its simplicity, portability, and functionality, and others for its great price. For the latter, one Amazon review notes how this player “does everything an expensive iPod does for a tiny fraction of the price.” It makes it easy to load your music from a PC, but the main caveat is that you can only have up to 5,000 songs per folder, and it doesn’t organize files properly. The 64 GB variant of the AiMoonsa Music Player costs just $29.99, while the 128 GB model is $38.99.

Agptek MP3 Player

Another iPod alternative you should consider is the Agptek 64 GB MP3 Player, which has earned a 4.2 rating with over 1,400 reviews on Amazon. It comes with 64 GB of built-in storage and, even better, has microSD card support up to 128 GB if you wish to store more tracks. There’s support for a variety of audio formats, including MP3, APE, FLAC, WMA, WAV, and AAC, and you can listen to music wirelessly via Bluetooth, a wired connection, or directly through the built-in speakers. This player has a sleek design with a 2.4-inch screen and handy buttons for navigation and control. It includes a 500mAh battery and uses a USB-C port for charging.

There are several extra features, such as an FM radio, photo viewer, voice recorder, and e-book reader. The 7th-generation iPod was considered lightweight and easy to hold, measuring 4.8 inches and weighing 3.10 ounces. Agptek’s MP3 Player is a bit smaller at 4.4 inches and lighter, weighing just 3.06 ounces.  Users say it’s “super lightweight,” pretty good, easy to set up, and durable. The only catch is that it doesn’t support user playlists and is prone to scratches. You can buy the Agptek 64 GB MP3 Player from Amazon starting at $30.99 in purple, pink, orange, green, black, blue, and black-red.

JadeAudio FiiO JM21

The JadeAudio FiiO JM21 is a hi-res music player that comes with two built-in digital-to-analog converters (DACs) and two amplifiers for the best sound quality. The internal storage is just 32 GB, but it has a dedicated microSD card slot. It supports a variety of hi-res formats, such as FLAC, DSD, WAV, and ALAC. Unlike the other options we’ve discussed previously, this model comes with a 4.7-inch touch screen display – slightly bigger than the 7th-generation iPod’s 4-inch screen. It runs a custom version of Android 13 and allows you to install any music streaming service of your choice, along with other Android apps. The FiiO JM21 is lightweight and portable, measuring just 0.5 inches thin and about 5.5 ounces in weight.

It promises up to 12.5 hours of battery life and supports a variety of Bluetooth codecs, including AAC, aptX, aptX HD, LHDC, LDAC, and SBC. One reviewer describes the FiiO JM21 as an affordable player with great sound that can rival pricey high-end players. Multiple users praise the sound quality of this device, and one user even says it has a better amplifier than the iPod. Another user says it’s one of the best players they’ve ever had and says it’s perfect for anyone who wants a “relatively cheap, high quality, intuitive, portable music machine.” However, several users feel the battery life could be better. Additionally, the included quick start guide isn’t that helpful, and the display isn’t the best. Overall, it has a 4.2 rating on Amazon with over 300 reviews, and retails for $179.99.

HiBy Digital M300 Android MP3 Player

The HiBy Digital M300 is another hi-res audio alternative to the iPod, thanks to the use of Cirrus Logic’s CS43131 – a 32-bit digital-to-analog converter (DAC) capable of delivering superior sound with low power use. It can play lossless audio and is compatible with a wide range of audio formats, including MP3, WAV, APE, FLAC, DSF, OGG, AAC, and OPUS. This player includes 3 GB RAM and 32 GB of storage and has a microSD card slot that supports up to 2TB of storage. There’s also a 4 GB RAM and 128 GB storage variant if you need more built-in storage. The screen measures 4 inches, and it runs Android 13. Being an Android device, you can install a variety of apps, including music streaming services. It charges via USB-C, and you can play music via the built-in speaker, over Bluetooth, or through your wired headphones using the 3.5mm headphone jack.

In terms of the footprint, the HiBy Digital M300 is lightweight as well, weighing about 4.8 ounces. A 2,000 mAh battery powers this device, and HiBy says it can last up to 29 hours per full charge. One Amazon reviewer says it’s a “great player,” while another narrates how it was the perfect replacement for their dead iPod Classic. Multiple users also love its sound quality. However, some users note it has poor battery life, and the screen isn’t bright enough for outdoor use. This player has an average rating of 4.1 with over 550 reviews on Amazon. The HiBy Digital M300 is available on Amazon for $159 for the 32 GB variant or $199 for the 128 GB option.

HiFi Walker H2 MP3 Player

Another iPod alternative that you should consider is the HiFi Walker H2 MP3 Player. It has a DAC capable of 32‑bit/384kHz decoding, which means it can play lossless audio. The HiFi Walker H2 supports a variety of audio formats, including lossless ones such as WAV, FLAC, APE, and AIFF. Besides Bluetooth, you can play music via the built-in speaker or via a wired pair of headphones by plugging a 3.5mm cable. It’s also a handy audiophile gadget you can depend on, as it can also function as an external DAC. The screen measures just 2 inches, and it promises up to 10 hours of playback. For storage, you can insert up to a 512 GB microSD card — it doesn’t have built-in storage.

The HiFi Walker H2 has earned a 4.1 rating on Amazon with over 430 ratings. Users love it for its high-quality sound both as a DAC and a music player, and one even describes it as an “audiophile’s secret weapon.” One user loves that it doesn’t run Android; it’s distraction-free with no Wi-Fi support, and it “checks all the boxes.” The build quality is also solid, and multiple users recommend this as the perfect replacement for the iPod. However, several users highlight issues with persistent Bluetooth connectivity. You can buy the HiFi Walker H2 from Amazon for $123.99 for the 64 GB variant or the 128 GB version for $139.99.

How we selected these music players

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All the iPod alternatives we’ve listed are from Amazon. We’ve scoured the site for audio players that are in stock and have solid ratings of at least 4.0, with at least 250 reviews. We also checked 5-star reviews for each product to ensure that the majority are not from Amazon Vine users. We considered the users’ sentiments about the product across a variety of factors, such as ease of use, value for money, sound quality, connection options, and storage. 

Another key consideration in our selection process was price. We made sure to include products across different price points so everyone has an option that fits their budget.

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The digital identity sector has welcomed the UK government’s decision to backtrack on plans to make its national digital ID scheme mandatory for right-to-work checks – in effect, removing any compulsory aspect of the proposed scheme.

Less than a week after the Cabinet Office promoted MP Josh Simons to become minister for digital government, in charge of the digital ID policy, it has now removed the most controversial aspect of the proposals announced by prime minister Keir Starmer in September last year.

Starmer launched the national digital ID scheme by pitching it as a means to control undocumented immigration, through making use of a government app mandatory when employers conduct right-to-work checks.

The plan brought an instant backlash from civil rights groups and privacy campaigners, as well as widespread criticism from the tech sector, where digital identity providers have been encouraged for many years to go through a rigorous compliance process to achieve accreditation on a government-approved register of digital verification services. Startups and investors feared the impact of an official government digital ID app on their prospects for developing and growing the market in the UK.

Since then, the government has gradually changed its rhetoric, moving away from the contentious focus on undocumented immigration and attempting to present its plans as a way to make digital public services more modern and efficient.

An online petition calling for government to halt plans for the online identity programme received more than three million signatures, prompting a debate in Parliament where MPs from all parties laid out their concerns.

As a result, the government has now removed the compulsory element of the proposed scheme in advance of a consultation on national digital ID, which is due to commence soon. Use of some form of digital proof of identity will still be mandatory for right-to-work checks, but the government digital ID app will only be one option for doing so.

A government spokesperson said: “We are committed to mandatory digital right-to-work checks. Currently right-to-work checks include a hodge-podge of paper-based systems with no record of checks ever taking place. This is open to fraud and abuse.

“We have always been clear that details on the digital ID scheme will be set out following a full public consultation which will launch shortly. Digital ID will make everyday life easier for people, ensuring public services are more personal, joined-up and effective, while also remaining inclusive.”

Private sector leaders in the digital ID sector hope the move will allow the wider market to flourish and bring more choice for citizens in how and where they use such technology.

“Sanity has prevailed. This is a necessary reset. Let’s hope we can now shift the narrative and focus on the social, economic and practical benefits that voluntary digital ID will bring to UK citizens and residents,” said Richard Oliphant, an independent legal consultant and expert on digital identity.

Robin Tombs, CEO of Yoti, which has more than seven million users of its digital ID app, said: “The mandatory messaging provoked a strong backlash from many opponents and has increasingly risked sabotaging the value of the upcoming public consultation.

“The government team now has the opportunity to engage in a more productive, less contentious discussion focusing on improving access to public services for citizens who want to use a government, or certified private sector, digital ID.”

David Crack, chair of the Association of Digital Verification Professionals, added: “A warm welcome for this news which was always going to come. Congratulations to the government in making this known early. Now we can get on to discussing what type of digital ID the country needs and how we can all gain control of our data.”

According to figures from the independent Office for Budget Responsibility, the government scheme was expected to cost £1.8bn over the next three years – although Emran Mian, permanent secretary at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, told MPs in December that was “not a figure [the government] recognises”.

Private sector concerns about the government proposals led to a showdown meeting in December between industry representatives and the prime minister’s chief secretary, Darren Jones, who was given overall policy responsibility for digital ID, in an attempt to ease fears. Jones stressed that no firm decisions had been made and that government wanted to use the consultation process to determine the best approach to take.

Further concerns over the scheme came from its reliance on the existing One Login single sign-on system used for logging in to many online public services. Computer Weekly last year revealed a series of serious security and data protection concerns around the One Login system.

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Your washing machine and dryer are easily two of the most useful home appliances. Two-in-one washer/dryer combos are often said to be even better, as they can dry your clothes as soon as the washing cycle is over. But while these devices may be the unsung heroes of home chores, humans still have to fold the clothes, an activity many people dislike. That’s where an AI robot for the home could be very useful, as it could replace the human in this final step of the laundry cycle. In fact, LG’s new robot, CLOiD, does more than fold laundry. It can talk to other home appliances, especially devices made by LG, and perform more chores at home — including loading the washer, cleaning the dishes, and preparing food.

Unveiled at CES 2026, LG CLOiD is part of the company’s “Zero Labor Home” vision, which involves having intelligent machines and robots handle the repetitive home chores that humans have to perform. The new robot won’t just fold clothes at home once it’s available commercially. It’ll be able to load the washing machine, as seen in a demo LG offered at CES. LG also launched a new two-in-one washer/dryer product that could finish the laundry cycle while the humans are away. CLOiD would then fold the laundry and handle other aspects of the smart home. A video that LG showed has the new robot interacting with the AC unit and the lighting system to manage the temperature and lights at home. The robot can also interact with a smart fridge to see what ingredients are stored and heat food via a smart oven.

Unfortunately, LG has not announced availability details for CLOiD. The new robot may impress buyers, but there’s no release date or price as yet.

How LG CLOiD folds laundry

The new robot isn’t exactly a humanoid robot, as it lacks human-like legs. It features a head, a torso, and two hands each with five fingers. The head is where the new robot’s brain resides. It features the computer (running AI processes), a display that shows facial expressions, a speaker for voice interaction with humans, and cameras and sensors so the robot can see its surroundings. To perform chores at home, CLOiD runs a complex AI system that combines a Vision Language Model (VLM) and a Vision Language Action (VLA). VLM is a technology that allows the AI to understand images and video. The VLA is what translates visual and verbal inputs into actions.

CLOiD’s torso can tilt to adjust its height, allowing the robot to pick up objects from knee level. Each arm has seven degrees of freedom, with LG saying this feature matches the mobility of a human. “The shoulder, elbow, and wrist allow forward, backward, rotational, and lateral motion, while each hand includes five independently actuated fingers for fine manipulation,” LG explains. This arm-hand configuration is what will let CLOiD perform the fine movements required to fold laundry.

The torso sits on a wheeled base featuring autonomous driving technology based on LG’s robot vacuums. LG explains in a press release that it selected this form for stability, safety, and cost-effectiveness. A robot on a wheeled base has a lower center of gravity and won’t tip over as easily if a child or pet pushes it. The downside of using a wheeled base instead of legs, as other concept robots shown at CES 2026 adopted, is that the robot can’t handle stairs. That may be a problem for households where the washing machine and dryer are stored in a basement or loft.

The secret ingredient behind CLOiD

The AI component is key for making a device like LG CLOiD work. The Korean company says it has trained the VLM and VLA models on tens of thousands of hours of household tasks. This process taught CLOiD to interpret user intent and execute actions. Also, CLOiD can interact with LG’s appliances that support the ThinQ AI Home platform and the ThinQ On smart home hub. This is what lets the new robot orchestrate actions as seen in one of the demo videos LG shared at CES 2026.

But in addition to the AI brain that CLOiD will use to manage a smart home and perform repetitive chores like folding laundry, LG unveiled a key hardware component that robot builders may not always detail in announcements. This is a new Axium actuator, seen in the LG CES 2026 presentation video above. The actuator sits in the new robot’s joints. It includes a motor that powers the force required to move and rotate the arms, and a reducer that handles speed and torque.

The CES demos show CLOiD performing actions at slower speeds than a human, but they appear to be precise nonetheless. Instead of using a brake to stop the movement, the actuator uses a regenerative slowing process that turns the excess motion into energy to recharge the battery. This sounds similar to the regenerative braking technology that some electric vehicles may feature to increase the car’s range by recharging the battery as the car slows down.

That said, LG did not offer battery life estimates for CLOiD. However, the new robot would likely handle chores while humans aren’t at home and pause for recharging, but that’s just speculation.

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Microsoft is calling on more technology companies to “pay their own way” when covering the electricity costs associated with running artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure and datacentres, rather than expect consumers to foot the bill.

The software giant’s vice-president and chair, Brad Smith, said Microsoft has vowed to “pay our way” to ensure its datacentres do not increase the electricity bills of everyday consumers, and that other tech firms should follow suit.

Expanding on this point, he said the US has an ageing electricity transmission infrastructure that is already straining under the weight of the demands put on it, with upgrades hampered by supply chain constraints on transformers and high-voltage equipment.

The impact of the latter is making it difficult to boost the transmission capacity of existing electricity networks, and building new ones can take up to a decade due to “permitting and siting delays”, said Smith, in a blog post.

“Some have suggested that AI will be so beneficial that the public should help pay for the added electricity the country needs for it … but we disagree with this approach,” he continued.

“Especially when tech companies are so profitable, we believe that it’s both unfair and politically unrealistic for our industry to ask the public to shoulder added electricity costs for AI. Instead, we believe the long-term success of AI infrastructure requires that tech companies pay their own way for the electricity costs they create.”

According to Smith, this approach will be needed to ensure the US and its AI infrastructure can tap into a “rapidly growing supply of electricity” and retain its leading position in the field of AI.

Stated goal

As detailed in the blog post, Smith went on to share examples of how Microsoft is already working with utility providers and public bodies to ensure the energy consumption habits of its datacentres do not financially burden local communities. “Our goal is straightforward: to ensure that the electricity cost of serving our datacentres is not passed on to our residential customers,” he said.

To guard against this, Smith said the company is asking utility providers to set higher energy rates for the company to cover the electricity costs of the datacentres it builds, owns and operates.

“In some areas, communities are already starting to benefit from this approach,” he said. “As part of our datacentre investment in Wisconsin, we are supporting a new rate structure that would charge ‘very large customers’, including datacentres, the cost of the electricity required to serve them.

“This protects residents by preventing those costs from being passed on, [but we] recognise the need to ensure that datacentre communities benefit everywhere,” said Smith. “We believe this approach can and should be a model for other states.”

The company is also committing to working with local utility providers, and paying for electricity capacity and support for grid infrastructure upgrades for its datacentre expansion plans. “We’ll [also] pursue innovation to make our datacentres more efficient … [by] using AI to reduce energy use and improve the performance of our software and hardware in the design and management of our datacentres,” he said.

“And we are collaborating closely with utilities to leverage tools like AI to improve planning, get more electricity from existing lines and equipment, improve system resilience and durability, and speed the development of new infrastructure, including nuclear energy technologies,” added Smith.

“By embedding these innovations into datacentres and by collaborating directly with local utilities, communities gain access to systems that are more efficient, more reliable and better prepared to support growth without increasing costs for households.”

National energy security and supply

The impact the growing demand for power-hungry AI datacentres is having on national energy security and supply is also a top-of-mind concern for the UK, and has been for some time, with the National Grid rolling out a series of initiatives to address the issue.

In line with Microsoft’s proposals, Computer Weekly has also covered cases of datacentre operators committing to financing electricity grid and substation upgrades in areas where they want to build facilities as part of their planning applications.

In the US, though, Microsoft’s blog emerged within days of a social media post being published by US president Donald Trump that stated his administration is working with “major American technology companies” to ensure US citizens “never” have to pay higher electricity bills because of datacentres.

In the post, he said his team has already been working closely with Microsoft on this matter to “ensure that Americans don’t ‘pick up the tab’” for its datacentre energy consumption habits. “The big technology companies who build [datacentres] must pay their own way,” added Trump.

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One of the places in the UK capital where mobile connectivity is strongest is up to 30m underground, as more stations and tunnelled sections of the Tube network across London now have 4G and 5G mobile coverage as part of the ongoing development project between Transport for London (TfL) and Boldyn Networks.

TfL carries up to four million passengers a day on the London Underground network, and renewing and preparing the communications network for the future has long been regarded as essential to maintain and improve critical infrastructure. Before it carried out its first expansion work, TfL noted that legacy systems can slowly become unreliable and disrupt services, leading to delays and an overall negative impact on passenger journeys.

All of the three mobile network operators – VodafoneThree, EE and Virgin Media O2  – are taking part in the roll-out, as part of the Mayor of London’s and TfL’s stated commitment to bring mobile connectivity to the whole of London’s transport network.

The expanding coverage will host the new Emergency Services Network (ESN) which, when fully operational, is designed to give first responders immediate access to life-saving data, images and information in live situations and emergencies on the frontline.

Boldyn Networks was awarded a 20-year concession by TfL in June 2021 to deliver high-speed mobile connectivity across the entire London Underground network, creating a backbone of mobile and digital connectivity across the network to all ticket halls, platforms and tunnels on the Tube network, with total network coverage targeted for some time in 2026.

Around 400 engineers are regularly working on the project overnight, delivering the project during the limited overnight engineering hours on the Tube network. Boldyn is also committed to installing a fibre backbone across the capital to improve connectivity both above and below ground.

TfL and Boldyn are working to introduce high-speed 4G and 5G mobile coverage across the whole Tube, Docklands Light Railway (DLR), Elizabeth line network, and the Windrush line between Highbury & Islington and New Cross. Following full interoperability testing being completed across all Tube lines in 2025, design and initial testing work is now underway on the Windrush line and DLR, ahead of the tunnelled sections and stations getting coverage later in 2026.

Alongside the whole of the Elizabeth line, which was completed in December 2024, 62 out of 121 Tube stations which are located “underground” now have begun receiving mobile coverage in their ticket halls, corridors and platforms. Key stations including Euston Square, Cannon Street and Battersea Power Station have recently gone live with 4G and 5G mobile coverage, with more – including King’s Cross St Pancras, Gloucester Road, Warwick Avenue and Vauxhall – set to go live in the next few months.

TfL also revealed that work to extend coverage in the tunnels along Tube lines was continuing to “make good progress”, with the first sections of the Circle and District line between Blackfriars and Cannon Street, and between Notting Hill Gate and Bayswater, now live. TfL and Boldyn are working to introduce more sections as quickly as possible during 2026 and they expect “the vast majority” of the Northern and Metropolitan lines to have coverage in the tunnels by end of summer 2026.

Work to deliver mobile coverage across the whole Tube network will continue throughout 2026, with work focusing on sections of the Circle and District line, where a number of stations already have limited mobile coverage due to being closer to the surface, as well as along the Victoria, Jubilee, Bakerloo and Piccadilly lines. Installation work will also continue along sections outside of Central London, and where smaller tunnelled sections need to be treated individually.

Installation work is already taking place alongside the planned escalator works at Cutty Sark Docklands Light Railway station to help ensure that customers can benefit from mobile coverage at this station as quickly as possible.

Alongside installing mobile coverage across the Tube, TfL and Boldyn are also working to install small-cell mobile technology on TfL assets, such as lighting columns, to enhance mobile connectivity in high-footfall urban areas. Some of the capital’s busiest areas such as King’s Cross, Waterloo, London Bridge, Old Street, The Shard and Hyde Park Corner already have such connectivity.

Commenting on the network and the aims of the project as a whole, Isabel Coman, director of engineering and asset strategy at TfL, said: “It’s great to see further progress in our goal to introduce high-speed mobile coverage across our Tube network…We are on a clear path towards having 4G and 5G mobile coverage across the whole network by the end of 2026. Engineers are working hard overnight during the limited engineering hours to deliver this programme.”

Boldyn Networks UK & Ireland chief operating officer Nick Hudson added: “Our long-term partnership with TfL to extend reliable 4G and 5G mobile coverage across the London Underground is grounded in improving everyday journeys for millions of people. A project of this scale demands extraordinary engineering effort and close-knit collaboration with TfL, with work often carried out overnight in one of the world’s most complex transport networks.

“We’re immensely proud of what’s been achieved so far, and each section completed brings us closer to our goal of creating a more connected London for those who visit the city and those who call it home.”

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Like all sports teams these days, Bath Rugby has found that providing state-of-the-art connectivity is part and parcel of the modern experience, and looking to elevate matchday mobile for its fans, the club has announced the successful deployment of an Antevia Networks 5G Shift end-to-end private network at its Recreation Ground stadium.

The current Premiership Rugby Champions, Bath first began life as a rugby club in 1865, and played its first game at the historic stadium in 1894. The iconic and idiosyncratically designed stadium holds as many as 14,500 spectators for each home game. It is set deep in the heart of the city that is famous for its Georgian architecture and Roman baths, almost 100 miles west of London.

From a connectivity perspective, Bath Rugby had previously experienced severe congestion on its legacy public Wi-Fi and macro cellular networks, which would cause point-of-sale terminals to fail, slowing service and impacting revenue. What began as a project to stabilise this retail connectivity was expanded to support a growing set of use cases throughout the matchday experience, leading to increased return on investment.

Antevia Networks says that through its technology it can change the economics of 5G private networks. The company believes their roll-out has been held back by high-cost and slow, complex installation cycles typically involving major suppliers and telecoms domain expert integrators.

Addressing these concerns, the 5G private network at the Recreation Ground is said to be able to deliver predictable, low-latency connectivity across the entire stadium and surrounding fan zones on match days. In addition, it has been built to support a range of operational and commercial use cases, including point-of-sale transactions, mission-critical staff communications, CCTV and body-worn cameras, media connectivity, and digital signage.

Designed to overcome traditional limitations and provide better performance than legacy Wi-Fi and congested public mobile networks, 5G Shift is described as being able to provide “unbroken” coverage using a fraction of the access points, “dramatically” reducing the cost and complexity traditionally associated with cellular deployments.

Powered by patented multiplexing and shared cell technologies, the network requires no RF planning, can be deployed rapidly and is managed like enterprise Wi-Fi by the club’s existing IT team. 5G Shift uses a cloud-based virtualised RAN architecture built on O-RAN standards and COTS hardware. The patented multiplexing technology enables all radios to appear as a single shared 5G cell to eliminate handover issues, and reduces the number of access points required. In deployments to date, Antevia says it has required less than 10% of the access points required for Wi-Fi.

As a result of deployment, Bath Rugby uses the network to connect mission-critical and high-value applications including point-of-sale terminals for food, beverage and club-shop transactions; push-to-talk communications for medical teams and match-day operations; CCTV and body-worn cameras for crowd safety and control; and digital signage across fan areas delivering real-time interviews, replays and information. It can also see use in providing temporary connectivity for VIP hospitality areas and high-speed media access for journalists filing live reports.

“Bath Rugby’s Recreation Ground is a perfect example of how simple, scalable and cost-effective private 5G can deliver real-world value,” said Antevia Networks CEO Simon Cosgrove. “5G Shift gives organisations comprehensive coverage with ultra-low latency at a low price point, without the complexities and heavy engineering normally associated with the deployment of private cellular.

“We’re proud to be supporting Bath Rugby with a network that stands up, even when the stadium is at full capacity, and we’re excited to keep expanding the use cases that can help deliver operational and commercial benefits for the club.”

For the deployment, Bath Rugby and Antevia worked with local enterprise resilient wireless services firmSpry Fox Networks.

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In its first ever major legal action outside the United States, Microsoft’s Digital Crimes Unit (DCU) has disrupted cyber crime-as-a-service network RedVDS – whose subscribers have cheated their victims out of millions of pounds – after obtaining separate court orders in the UK and Florida.

The DCU turned to the British legal system because the malicious infrastructure used to run RedVDS was hosted by a UK-based provider. A great number of victims of RedVDS users, well over 7,500, are also located in the UK, it said.

“Cyber crime today is powered by shared infrastructure, which means disrupting individual attackers is not enough. Through this coordinated action, Microsoft has disrupted RedVDS’s operations, including seizing two domains that host the RedVDS marketplace and customer portal, while also laying the groundwork to identify the individuals behind them,” said Microsoft DCU assistant general counsel, Stephen Masada.

The takedown operation drew Europol’s European Cybercrime Centre (EC3), with further support provided by the German authorities through the Central Office for Combating Internet Crime (ZIT) at the Public Prosecutor’s Office in the city of Frankfurt-am-Main, and the Criminal Police Office for the state of Brandenburg.

At the time of writing, the RedVDS website states that its domain has been seized by Microsoft.

Industrialised fraud

The RedDVS cyber criminal service charged as little as $24 (£18) per month to provide digital fraudsters with access to disposable virtual computers used to scale fraud operations cheaply and securely.

The DCU believes RedVDS users have compromised more than 191,000 organisations worldwide since September 2025 and netted over $40m in the US alone, with prominent victims including Alabama-based H2-Pharma, a supplier of allergy, cancer and mental health medications, which lost $7.3m; and Florida-based Gatehouse Dock Condominium Association, which was tricked out of $500,000 it had set aside for repairs to its members’ homes.

The service was used for a wide range of cyber criminal activity, including running phishing campaigns, hosting malicious infrastructure and facilitating fraud. It was often used alongside generative AI (GenAI) tools to help identify more targets quicker, generate more convincing lures, and in some cases to manipulate video footage or clone voices.

However, where RedVDS appeared to excel was in supporting business email compromise (BEC) where cyber criminals impersonate trusted individuals to send payments to accounts they control.

In particular, its users targeted the real estate sector, compromising the accounts of estate agents, escrow agents or title companies. The DCU believes that as many as 9,000 customers in the real estate industry, most in Australia and Canada, were affected by this activity to some degree.

Masada said the DCU’s latest action built on ongoing efforts to disrupt fraud and scam infrastructure via both legal and technical actions, and through global collaboration.

“It marks the 35th civil action targeting cyber crime infrastructure by Microsoft’s Digital Crimes Unit, underscoring a sustained strategy to go beyond individual takedowns and dismantle the services that criminals rely on to operate and scale,” he said.

“As services like RedVDS continue to emerge, Microsoft will keep working with partners across sectors and borders to identify and disrupt the infrastructure behind cyber-enabled fraud, making it harder for criminals to profit and easier for people and organisations to stay safe online.”

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The annual CES trade fair in Las Vegas serves us a glimpse of what’s to come in consumer technology in 2026 and beyond. BGR saw plenty of cool and exciting gadgets at the show. Many are available to buy right now, whereas others are still in the concept phase, being developed into actual products that may grace store shelves soon.

We’ve already covered the most exciting tech at CES 2026 and the best gadgets unveiled at the show, but that’s just scratching the surface of this massive international exhibition. There were countless other devices and technologies being demoed around the show floor and behind closed doors at exclusive events, so here are four more of the coolest tech innovations that BGR spotted at CES that undoubtedly deserve your attention. These innovations range from exciting new gadgets that you’ll be able to buy soon to interesting new technologies that will level-up your esports gaming.

TCL X11L SQD-Mini LED TV

Although the RGB Mini-LED or RGB LED technology was expected to be the big thing at this year’s CES, TCL truly wowed with its X11L SQD-Mini LED TV. It’s a massive improvement over the current crop of Mini-LED TVs. Instead of using red, green, and blue LEDs like standard RGB Mini-LED TVs, it keeps the same blue LEDs, which are found in many traditional Mini-LED TVs, but employs better quantum dots for more accurate colors and a new color filter. These improvements help the TV provide full coverage of the BT.2020 color space, meaning it can provide exceptional color fidelity. Because it uses single-color blue LEDs, it also avoids color crosstalk — when colors from one color LED bleed into another LED’s colors — a problem that can plague RGB Mini-LED TVs.

Another advantage of the newly showcased TCL TV is its 10,000 nits peak brightness, which is among the highest you can get on any TV. This high peak brightness enables the TV to provide better HDR performance and counter glare and reflections more effectively. It’s also the first TV to claim support for Dolby Vision 2, a new HDR format, which will arrive via a software update. The 85-inch and 98-inch models of the TV are already on preorder, with a 75-inch coming down the line. However, it’s not a cheap TV by any stretch, with the 98-inch costing $10,000.

Lenovo Legion Pro Rollable

Lenovo’s Legion Pro Rollable was one of the most exciting laptops to be shown at this year’s CES. Although it’s still very much a concept, it offers a glimpse into what’s possible in such a form factor. As the name suggests, it’s a laptop that uses motors to offer a horizontally expandable screen. Lenovo has shown off laptops with similar rollable displays in the past; however, this is the first one that’s not featuring a vertically expanding display. The company is targeting esports athletes who often need a wide screen to practice, which is hard to get in a portable form factor when traveling.

The laptop uses an OLED screen and has a 16-inch display by default, which can expand to 21.5-inch or 24-inch wide. It has a dual-motor design to expand and contract the screen. Right now, it has the same internals as Legion Pro 7i, which means you get a top-spec Intel Core Ultra CPU and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 GPU. That said, the consumer version, if there is ever one, will likely feature different specifications.

Jackery Solar Mars Bot

Jackery showed off a pretty cool power station, solar panel, and robot combo called the Solar Mars Bot that can move around to get the most efficient solar charging. Its built-in wheels allow it to adjust its position outside your home or campsite to track the sun and pursue the best sunlight irradiation angle. The company mentioned this design during CES 2024 as a concept, but it has since come much closer to becoming a reality. However, there is still no word on its release date or pricing.

There are retractable solar panels on the top of the device, which can fold and unfold as necessary, and are capable of producing up to 600W of power. More importantly, the platform on which solar panels are fixed can change its angle up to 60 degrees to get the most sun and increase its efficiency. The rest of the Solar Mars Bot is similar to other Jackery power stations and includes multiple ports and sockets to power your devices, including multiple USB ports and AC outlets. The company has also included 5G connectivity in the Solar Mars Bot, allowing you to check the battery and robot status even when it’s out of Bluetooth range.

Nvidia DLSS 4.5

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DLSS on Nvidia graphics cards (which means Deep Learning Super Sampling) has quickly emerged as an excellent tool to get more out of your GPU. It uses machine learning to render graphics at a lower resolution and then upscales them with the help of AI to fill in any missing details. This allows mid-range graphics cards to push out significantly higher frame rates than they would be able to achieve with native rendering. DLSS 4, which was introduced at CES 2025, was already pretty powerful. However, Nvidia is taking things to the next level with DLSS 4.5. The company showed off the upgrade at CES 2026, and it’s already available for all RTX graphics cards. One of its highlights is the updated upscaling technology, which enables significantly improved visual clarity with fine detail.

More importantly, the visual quality of the “Performance mode” in DLSS 4.5 is as good or better than the “Quality mode” in DLSS 4, which helps you get a higher number of frames from your hardware without any artifacts. For RTX 50-series GPUs, there is also the new Dynamic Multi-Frame Generation feature, which can generate up to 5 synthetic frames for each real frame and can dynamically adjust the artificial frames depending on the base frame rate to ensure smoothness at all times. Bottom line, DLSS 4.5 delivers dramatically improved visual performance with enhanced sharpness, HDR lighting, and lighting effects.

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