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Articles for Category Tag - Politics

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Scotland Unveil Fibre Broadband Rollout to 15 Islands via R100

15th March, 2021 (11 Comments)

The Scottish Government (SG) has today named 15 islands under the contract for LOT 1 (North Scotland and the Highlands) of their £579m Reaching 100% (R100) project, supported by BT (Openreach), that will gain access to faster broadband ISP speeds via new subsea fibre optic links.

Devon and Somerset UK Update on Phase 2 Full Fibre Rollout

12th March, 2021 (9 Comments)

The Connecting Devon and Somerset (CDS) programme has today issued a progress update on their new Phase 2 contracts with ISPs Airband, Wessex Internet and Truespeed, which are worth a combined £80m (including £23.6m of public investment) and aim to improve broadband coverage to 56,396 premises (mostly rural areas).

Cityfibre Name 285 UK Areas for GBP4bn Gigabit Broadband Rollout UPDATE

12th March, 2021 (98 Comments)

Alternative network builder CityFibre has today confirmed the full list of 285 UK cities, towns and villages where they plan to deploy their new 1Gbps capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTHP) broadband platform, which will work alongside ISPs like Vodafone and TalkTalk to cover 8 million homes and businesses. Rural areas will also benefit.

EE, O2, Three UK and Vodafone Sign Deal to Fix Mobile Notspots

11th March, 2021 (22 Comments)

The Government has confirmed that EE (BT), O2, Three UK and Vodafone yesterday signed a “key agreement” as part of the £1bn Shared Rural Network (SRN) project, which sets out a contract for how the four operators will work together to build new sites that deliver 4G based mobile broadband coverage across “total not spots.”

Broadway Partners Bring FTTP to 6 Rural Monmouthshire Villages

11th March, 2021 (0 Comments)

Rural network operator Broadway Partners (UK ISP Broadway Broadband) has announced that their 1Gbps capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) service has just been extended to connect homes around six more villages in Monmouthshire (South Wales) as part of a £2 million scheme.

Two UK Broadband ISPs Trial New Internet Snooping System

11th March, 2021 (72 Comments)

Two unnamed broadband or mobile ISPs are reportedly helping the UK Home Office and the National Crime Agency (NCA) to trial a new internet snooping system on their customers, which is being conducted as part of the controversial 2016 UK Investigatory Powers Act (aka – snoopers charter).

Work Plan for UK Digital Regulation Cooperation Forum Published

10th March, 2021 (0 Comments)

The newly established Digital Regulation Cooperation Forum (DRCF), which brings together several regulators (the Competition & Markets Authority, Ofcom and Information Commissioner’s Office) to help “ensure online services work well for people and businesses in the UK“, has today published their first 2021/22 work plan.

First Broadband Customers Live on N.Ireland’s Project Stratum

9th March, 2021 (15 Comments)

The Northern Ireland Executive (DfE) has today announced that the first customers have now gone live on the new gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband ISP network, which is being built with state aid support from the £165m Project Stratum programme.

Angry Highlanders Invite Scottish MSP to Try Broadband in a Cow Field

8th March, 2021 (14 Comments)

Angry locals in the Moray beauty spot of Finderne have setup an office in a cow field and invited the Scottish Government’s Connectivity Minister, Paul Wheelhouse, to come and try (suffer) working from it for a day. The stunt is designed to reflect frustrations over delays to the new voucher scheme and poor broadband.

New Chair Joins the UK’s Broadband Stakeholder Group Think-Tank

8th March, 2021 (0 Comments)

The Broadband Stakeholder Group, which is a think-tank that advises the UK Government on internet and broadband connectivity issues, has appointed Stephanie Liston, a senior lawyer with international experience in pragmatic commercial, legal and regulatory advice, to be the group’s new Chair.

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New Toolkit to Aid Scotland’s Rollout of 5G Mobile Broadband

7th March, 2021 (1 Comment)

The Infralink programme, which is funded by The Scotland 5G Centre (i.e. it’s one of their key Wave 1 projects), has today launched a “game-changing” initiative that will pave the way for greater 4G and 5G mobile connectivity across Scotland by helping to “identify sites on public buildings for masts and antennae.”

Internet Download High Speed Concept Illustration. 1 Gbps in Focus. Global Broadband Networks Speed 3D.

DCMS Committee Demands Answers on UK Gigabit Broadband Target UPDATE

6th March, 2021 (35 Comments)

The Chair of the cross-party DCMS Select Committee, Julian Knight, has criticised the UK Government for having “failed to answer” a key question in their recent report, which called for a detailed plan to show how it would deliver on its revised-down target for “gigabit-capable broadband.” The committee is now seeking a fuller response.

New UK Law Passed to Spread Gigabit Broadband into Big Buildings

5th March, 2021 (18 Comments)

After a long wait the new Telecommunications Infrastructure (Leasehold Property) Bill is set to become law, albeit with a few changes, after passing through parliament. The law aims to make it quicker and cheaper for “gigabit-capable” ISPs to access big blocks of flats or apartments (MDU) when “rogue landlords” fail to respond.

Shetland Telecom Completes Subsea Fibre Optic Link to Yell

4th March, 2021 (6 Comments)

Shetland Telecom, which is an arms-length organisation set up by the Shetland Islands Council (Scotland) to develop local telecommunications networks, has this week reported that they’ve just completed the first ever fibre optic link to the island of Yell as part of the £1.91m North Isles Fibre project.

Budget 2021 Offers Nothing New for UK Gigabit Broadband Projects UPDATE

3rd March, 2021 (15 Comments)

The UK Chancellor, Rishi Sunak MP, has today published his Budget 2021 statement and sadly there were no new details for the £5bn UK Gigabit Broadband Programme. But we did get a few extra details on their recently confirmed plans for a new UK Infrastructure Bank, some of which had already been confirmed.

Gov May Scrap BBC TV Licence Once Fast UK Broadband is Universal

2nd March, 2021 (97 Comments)

The UK Government’s Minister of State for Media and Data (DCMS), John Whittingdale MP, has indicated that the BBC’s TV licence fee could be scrapped once everybody in the country finally has access to faster broadband connectivity. The idea may be considered for when the corporation’s royal charter expires in 2027.

Tesco Mobile Seeks BAN on Broadband and Mobile Price Hikes

2nd March, 2021 (4 Comments)

The UK mobile division of Supermarket giant Tesco and charity Money Advice Plus have today jointly called for a “ban on price hikes” by broadband ISPs and mobile operators, although in the context they appear to be focusing on “misleading” mid-contract price rises rather than all price hikes.