Chameleon Technology has launched the IHD7-VWAN for the UK government’s Virtual Wide Area Network initiative. The device is intended for homes that have struggled to connect to smart metering services.

The launch follows the introduction of VWAN, a scheme developed with the Data Communications Company to address connectivity gaps in properties that cannot reliably send or receive traditional smart meter signals.

The new in-home display uses a household’s Wi-Fi connection, with the consumer’s consent, to help pass smart meter data to the Data Communications Company. It creates two Wi-Fi connections: one for a secure tunnel carrying smart meter data to the DCC, and another linking to Chameleon’s cloud systems for product support.

The approach is aimed at so-called black spots, where connectivity problems have left some households unable to use smart metering. Information released alongside the launch said the wider VWAN initiative could support smart metering in up to 350,000 hard-to-connect homes.

That figure underlines a persistent issue in the UK’s smart meter rollout. Geography, building type and local signal conditions have prevented some properties from maintaining the communications link needed for meter data to flow through the national network. VWAN is intended to provide another route by relying on home broadband rather than traditional communications paths.

For Chameleon, the new product extends its existing role in the in-home display market. More than 12 million of its displays are already installed in homes across Great Britain, while its wider customer base reaches more than 20 million people.

The IHD7-VWAN combines several functions in one unit, including consumer access device services, prepayment functionality and the new Virtual Wide Area Network connection. This integrated design is intended to reduce operational complexity for energy suppliers while giving more options to households that have previously been left outside the smart metering system.

Connectivity gap

The challenge addressed by VWAN has been a long-running one for the energy sector. Smart meters rely on communications links to send readings and other information through the Data Communications Company, which acts as the national data network for Britain’s smart meter system. In homes where that connection is weak or unavailable, meters may lose smart functions or may not be installed with full functionality at all.

Using in-home displays as part of the communications route marks a different approach. Rather than depending solely on external signal reach, the VWAN model uses the household’s own Wi-Fi network to bridge the gap. That means consumer consent is part of the process, because the connection uses the home internet service to support meter communications.

Rollout support

Chameleon said it supports the staged rollout of the VWAN programme. The Harrogate-based company also has operations in France and Hong Kong, and focuses on devices and data services linked to energy use in homes and businesses.

Kyle Brown commented on the product launch as the wider initiative begins to take shape. “The Virtual Wide Area Network is a vital development for smart meter connectivity, and the launch of our IHD7-VWAN demonstrates Chameleon’s commitment to supporting this next phase of the rollout. We are continually pushing to help bring the benefits of smart metering to as many homes as possible and feel very proud to be working with the energy industry and the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero to continue helping the industry overcome connectivity challenges. Chameleon is leading the way in enabling a more connected, data-driven home energy ecosystem,” said Brown, Chief Commercial Officer, Chameleon Technology.

The introduction of VWAN adds another layer to efforts to complete smart meter coverage across Britain, particularly in areas where the existing network has proved difficult to extend. The remaining gap, affecting up to 350,000 homes, suggests the issue remains significant for suppliers and policymakers seeking wider smart meter adoption.

Chameleon’s device enters this part of the market with a design tailored to the new framework set by government and the Data Communications Company, linking a familiar household energy display to a new communications function for homes that have remained outside the reach of standard smart meter signals.

Peak traffic on Hyperoptic’s broadband network rose by about 10% during the opening match of this summer’s major international football tournament. Most viewers also expect to watch the tournament from home.

Demand peaked at about 9:15pm during the opening fixture, around 30 minutes later than the usual evening high point. Hyperoptic said its normal peak typically falls between 9pm and 10pm.

Research commissioned by the provider found that 60% of UK adults with home broadband plan to watch the tournament. Among those viewers, 86% expect to watch most matches from home rather than elsewhere.

The findings highlight the strain major live sport can place on household connections when several activities are running at once. During major live sporting events at home, an average of 2.7 internet-connected devices are in use in the household at the same time, according to the survey.

A sizeable minority of viewers said technical problems can spoil the experience. Some 29% of UK adults with home broadband said buffering during a goal, penalty or other key moment would be one of the most frustrating things to happen during a major match, while 11% said they had already missed an important sporting moment because of buffering, lag or connection issues.

The study also suggested that delays in live streams can leave viewers exposed to spoilers before the action appears on screen. Around three in five football viewers said they had found out about a goal or other key sporting moment before seeing it themselves.

Second screens

The survey suggests that watching football at home often involves several screens at once. A third of football viewers said they message friends or family while watching live football, while 29% said they scroll social media during matches.

That second-screen habit can add another source of frustration for viewers whose streams lag behind live play. Fans checking messages or social platforms may learn about decisive moments before the broadcast catches up.

Hyperoptic, which focuses on full-fibre broadband in urban areas, said the opening fixture offered an early sign of how the tournament is affecting evening traffic patterns, with network demand rising as millions of fans watched from home.

Mark Bartlett, Chief Operating Officer at Hyperoptic, commented on the viewing patterns and their effect on home internet use.

“This summer is a big moment for football, and millions of people will be watching, reacting and connecting at the same time. With so many fans planning to watch from home, broadband is a central part of the matchday experience. A delayed stream, frozen picture or spoiler can take fans out of the moment in seconds.

“For households watching live sport, a few simple steps can make a real difference to the viewing experience. Streaming over a reliable Wi-Fi connection, avoiding large downloads during key matches and being mindful of how many devices are using bandwidth at the same time can all help reduce the risk of buffering or delays,” Bartlett said.

The research was based on a survey of 2,000 UK adults with home broadband. Unless otherwise stated, the figures refer to that group, with some results drawn from subgroups including football viewers and people planning to watch the tournament.

Hyperoptic said its network now passes more than 1.9 million homes and that it has more than 400,000 customers across 64 towns and cities in the UK. Its figures suggest that major live sports events can shift both the scale and timing of broadband demand as households stream, message and browse at the same time.

For broadband providers, that pattern matters because the pressure comes not only from viewers watching the same event simultaneously, but also from the cluster of digital activity around it. The survey findings suggest that the modern match experience at home includes streaming, social media use and messaging alongside the live broadcast.

With most tournament viewers planning to stay on the sofa for most matches, the home internet connection has become a bigger part of how audiences experience major football events. Around three in five football viewers said they had found out about a goal or key sporting moment before seeing it on their own screen.

Ethiack said the number of cyber vulnerabilities it identified across client IT environments rose 106% over the past year, increasing from 17,500 to more than 36,000.

The Portugal-based cybersecurity group said the rise came despite only a modest increase in the number of digital assets under monitoring. Vulnerabilities per monitored asset climbed from 0.9 to 1.7 over the same period, indicating a sharper rate of exposure across the systems it tested.

The figures add to broader evidence of a shift in how attackers gain entry to organisations. Verizon’s 2026 Data Breach Investigations Report found that exploited software vulnerabilities accounted for 31% of cyber breaches, up from 20% a year earlier, overtaking stolen passwords as the most common initial access route.

Ethiack said its platform tracked more than 190,000 digital assets during the year and now monitors more than 21,000 in-scope assets each month. Its client base grew 30% as the company expanded into the UK and Switzerland.

Threat speed

Ethiack linked the increase in discovered weaknesses to both improved detection and a faster-moving threat environment. Industry research it cited said the median time between a vulnerability being disclosed and being actively exploited has fallen from 771 days in 2018 to a matter of hours.

That shift has narrowed the time available for security teams to respond once flaws are discovered. In some cases, vulnerabilities are identified and attacked before public disclosure, leaving little room for patching or other defensive action.

Jorge Monteiro, Chief Executive Officer of Ethiack, described the pace of change as the main concern for defenders.

“The most important change we’ve seen over the past year isn’t the type of vulnerabilities attackers are exploiting. It’s the speed at which they’re finding and weaponising them.

For years, organisations could assume they had days, weeks or even months to identify and remediate vulnerabilities. That assumption no longer holds. Today, attackers can use AI to identify weaknesses, generate exploits and launch attacks in a matter of hours.

Perhaps most concerning is that AI can now help attackers reverse-engineer security patches themselves. Organisations may spend weeks developing and testing a fix, only for cybercriminals to analyse the patch and use it to identify the underlying vulnerability and attack it within minutes.

The mismatch between attacker speed and defender speed is growing. Periodic security assessments and annual penetration tests were designed for a different era. Organisations now need continuous monitoring of their attack surface and validation of any vulnerabilities to keep pace with the machine speed and scale of threats,” Monteiro said.

Company growth

The business added 13 employees and six ethical hackers over the year. Founded in Portugal in 2022 by André Baptista and Monteiro, it works with organisations across Europe, including ANA, Portugal’s national airport operator.

The increase in vulnerabilities identified does not necessarily mean every client environment became less secure in absolute terms, but it does point to a larger pool of weaknesses being uncovered as attack surfaces expand and tools improve. Modern corporate systems often span cloud services, third-party software, employee devices and internet-facing applications, increasing the number of possible entry points.

For security teams, the data adds to pressure to move faster on validation and remediation. If attackers can use AI to analyse newly issued patches and infer the flaws they address, the traditional gap between patch release and practical exploitation may continue to shrink.

That trend is becoming more significant as the volume of known software flaws rises each year. The challenge for organisations is not only discovering weaknesses, but also determining which are exploitable and urgent enough to prioritise before attackers act first.