Home » UK ISP News Archive » Monthly Archives: May 2015 (91 Posts Found)

ISP News Archives for May 2015

Site Update – Refreshed ISP Complaints and Advice Section

31st May 2015 (0 Comments)

Just a quick mention to say that our ISP Complaints and Advice (‘Complaints’ in the top navigation bar) section has just been rewritten and its style has been integrated into the current layout.

UK ISP Zen Internet Introduces Unlimited ADSL Broadband Package

30th May 2015 (1 Comment)

Rochdale-based ISP Zen Internet has quietly made a rather significant change to their standard (17Mbps ADSL) home broadband packages by replacing the top capped usage allowance option with a more affordable alternative that includes unlimited use, which can be taken either standalone or as part of a phone bundle.

UPDATE Shropshire UK Agrees BT Fibre Broadband Extension Contract

29th May 2015 (15 Comments)

The £26m Connecting Shropshire project in England’s West Midlands, which is currently working with BT to make “fibre broadband” (FTTC/P) connectivity available to 93% of local premises by the end of Spring 2016 (only 87% will get “superfast” 24Mbps+ speeds), has today signed a diminished second contract to extend the roll-out.

UN Warns UK – Internet Encryption and Privacy Must be Protected

29th May 2015 (7 Comments)

The United Nations special rapporteur for protecting and promoting freedom of opinion and expression, David Kaye, has published a new report that warns the United Kingdom and other countries against adopting measures into law that would add a backdoor for Internet encryption, which it said risked “weakening everyone’s online security“.

Satellite Might Not be the Best Fix for UK and EU Superfast Broadband

29th May 2015 (23 Comments)

As Europe’s 2020 Digital Agenda deadline looms, when every home across the EU is supposed to be put within reach of a 30Mbps+ capable “superfast” broadband connection (plus 50% subscribed to a 100Mbps+ service), there’s a growing recognition that the target will not be met. Some hope that Satellite might be the solution, but it’s not so simple.

Sky Offers First Month of Internet Video Streaming Service NOW TV for £1

29th May 2015 (7 Comments)

Sky (Sky Broadband) will today cut the price of their increasingly popular unlimited web-based Internet TV and Movie (video streaming) service, NOW TV, to just £1 for the first month of their Entertainment Pass (returning to £6.99 thereafter); only if taken by new customers.

Cisco Predicts UK Fixed Broadband Speeds to Average 50Mbps by 2019

28th May 2015 (0 Comments)

Cisco has published its annual 2015 Visual Networking Index (VNI) forecast, which reveals that world Internet traffic has grown to reach 59,851 PetaBytes (PB) per month and could hit 167,973PB by 2019. Meanwhile average fixed broadband speeds in the UK are currently 23.2Mbps and should rise to 50Mbps by 2019.

UPD Wales Making “reasonable progress” on BT Fibre Broadband Rollout

28th May 2015 (23 Comments)

The Wales Audit Office (WAO) has today posted its report on the progress of the Superfast Cymru project, which is working with BT to make “fibre broadband” (FTTC/P) connectivity available to 96% of Wales by the end of 2016. On the whole progress is described as “reasonable“, but several problems have been identified (e.g. the 100Mbps speed target for 40%).

The March 2015 BDUK and BT “Fibre Broadband” Uptake Figures

27th May 2015 (35 Comments)

The Government’s Broadband Delivery UK project, which is predominantly working with BT to deploy superfast “fibre broadband” (FTTC/P) services across the United Kingdom, has published the programmes latest take-up figures for March 2015. Adoption continues to rise and more projects are now touching the 20% claw-back threshold.

North Yorkshire UK Completes Phase 1 Superfast Broadband Rollout

27th May 2015 (0 Comments)

The Superfast North Yorkshire project in England, which had been working with BT to make “fibre broadband” (FTTC/P) services available to 90% of local premises by the end of 2014 (86% for “superfast” speeds of 24Mbps+), has finally completed its first major deployment phase.. albeit seemingly somewhat later than planned.

Big UK Internet Providers Forced to Block 7 Pirate eBook Websites

27th May 2015 (0 Comments)

The United Kingdom’s five largest broadband ISPs, including BT, Virgin Media, Sky Broadband, TalkTalk and EE, have been ordered by the High Court to expand their mandatory website blocking (censorship) measures to include seven websites that facilitate the distribution of pirated eBooks (copyright infringement).

2015 Queen’s Speech Touts Revival of Tough UK Internet Snooping Laws

27th May 2015 (8 Comments)

The annual Queens Speech (State Opening of Parliament), in which a man with a big black rod bangs on a door and a poor old lady with a heavy head ornament gets to speak unexcitedly about forthcoming Government policy, has unsurprisingly confirmed that stricter UK Internet snooping laws are on the way.. again.

Broadband Connection Vouchers Extend Further Outside of UK Cities

26th May 2015 (17 Comments)

The Government’s Connection Voucher scheme, which offers grants worth up to £3,000 to help SME businesses get a superfast broadband (30Mbps+) connection installed, appears to be extending further outside of its core city focus after the Newcastle project confirmed that it was now available to most of North East England.

Budget ISP Direct Save Telecom Refreshes its UK Branding

26th May 2015 (0 Comments)

The low cost Internet and phone provider Direct Save Telecom has today given its logo a new lick of paint and refreshed their website to be more mobile friendly, which the ISP hopes will enable them to attract more subscribers and improve the customer experience.

UK Business ISP Timico Gobbles Telecoms Division of Coms Plc

26th May 2015 (0 Comments)

The telecoms interests of business ISP Coms, which in 2013 merged ADSL24’s old broadband subscriber base into their operations (here), have been scooped up by Timico in a deal worth £2.5 million (a further £1m could also become payable depending on the businesses performance).

Ofcom Confirm Auction Details for the 2.3GHz and 3.4GHz Spectrum Bands

26th May 2015 (0 Comments)

The United Kingdom’s telecoms regulator has launched a new consultation on their proposed design for the late 2015 or early 2016 auction of radio spectrum in the 2.3GHz and 3.4GHz bands, which could be used for high-capacity Mobile Broadband connectivity (e.g. 4G). But some of the spectrum may be held back until the on-going market consolidation has settled.

2 Years On – B4RN Connect 1000+ Lancashire Homes to FTTH Broadband

26th May 2015 (36 Comments)

It’s officially a shade over two years since the community built and funded B4RN (Broadband for the Rural North) project first put shovels to the ground and began building their own 1000Mbps capable fibre optic broadband network to connect remote parts of rural Lancashire (England). But with over 1,000 premises now live, there’s still plenty more to come.