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Articles for Category Tag - Politics

 
BBC-iPlayer-Website-Screenshot

27th January, 2026 (73 Comments)

The endlessly vexed question of TV licence fee evasion has come up in the press again after it was today reported that the BBC were considering a change to the iPlayer video streaming service. The change would essentially involve linking people’s online BBC accounts to their home addresses for the first time (i.e. to see if anybody is using the service without a licence).

Project-Gigabit-UK-Gov-Investment-Scheme-2025

26th January, 2026 (7 Comments)

The Government’s Building Digital UK agency has published their January 2026 update on the delivery progress of contracts that have been awarded under their £5bn Project Gigabit broadband rollout scheme. The update reveals that some 202,270 contracted premises (up from 183,380 in Dec 2025) have so far been covered out of a planned total of 1,002,500.

Illustration of a VPN Virtual Private Network on UK Computer by 123rf ID184214833

26th January, 2026 (64 Comments)

Last week saw the House of Lords pass a vote that would, if approved by the Government, introduce an amendment to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill (CWSB) that aims to “prohibit the provision” of Virtual Private Network (VPN) services to children (under 18s) in the UK. The goal is to stop children allegedly using VPNs to bypass age verification systems.

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utility_warehouse_uk_isp_logo_2020

23rd January, 2026 (0 Comments)

Energy and communications provider Utility Warehouse (UW), which offers broadband, mobile, energy and insurance services to UK consumers, has become the latest telecoms provider to sign the Government’s Public Switched Telephone Network Charter – committing them to protect “vulnerable customers” (e.g. those with telecare devices) when upgrading old phone lines to IP-based digital equivalents.

network cables closeup with fibre optical background by 123rf

22nd January, 2026 (0 Comments)

Business UK broadband ISP Commsworld has today announced that they’ve secured a 15-year contract, worth £8.5 million, to deliver a new Wide Area Network (WAN) for West Lothian Council in Scotland. The work will upgrade the council’s existing service with a brand-new fibre optic network and provide a 10-fold increase in available bandwidth.

TeraWave by BlueOrigin Diagram

22nd January, 2026 (6 Comments)

Talk about confusing. The founder of internet retail giant Amazon, Jeff Bezos, has announced that he intends to launch a second mega constellation of 6Tbps (Terabits per second) symmetric speed capable broadband satellites, albeit via his Blue Origin rocket company, called TeraWave, which seems to conflict a bit with the existing Amazon Leo project.

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Openreach-2025-UK-FTTP-Engineers-in-rural-land

21st January, 2026 (4 Comments)

The UK Government’s Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) has issued a contract modification notice for Openreach’s £157m (public subsidy) Project Gigabit broadband roll-out contract in Scotland (Call off 6), which originally aimed to reach 65,070 premises in remote rural areas. But the change means it will now be expanded to tackle 77,639 premises.

ofcom uk telecoms regulator

21st January, 2026 (5 Comments)

The UK telecoms, media and internet content regulator, Ofcom, has this week written to the Prime Minister (Keir Starmer), Chancellor of the Exchequer (Rachel Reeves) and Secretary of State for Business and Trade (Peter Kyle), among others, to update them on how its work is “contributing to innovation, investment and growth in the UK“.

5G Mobile Wireless Radio Mast by 123rf

21st January, 2026 (12 Comments)

Industry trade body Mobile UK, which represents EE, O2 and VodafoneThree (Vodafone and Three UK), has warned that the UK’s ambition to become an “AI superpower” will struggle without “high quality 5G Standalone (5GSA) networks acting as the ‘nervous system’“. But it warns that we “lag behind other leading nations” in this area and must reform the planning system.

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openreach_2017_rural_van_on_country_lane

20th January, 2026 (3 Comments)

The Government’s Building Digital UK (BDUK) agency recently provided a small but useful update on their stalled £43m (public subsidy) Project Gigabit broadband roll-out contract for Cheshire (Lot 17), which was originally held by Freedom Fibre until they “mutually agreed to terminate” it in March 2025 (here). But Openreach (BT) may now be set to take it on.

BT Group -Sign-on-Office-Window-2025

16th January, 2026 (24 Comments)

Broadband and mobile giant BT (EE) has today announced that they’re following the UK government’s latest guidance, which requested that they “proactively move customers onto price changes with clear pounds and pence pricing amounts instead of inflation-linked rises“. But the risk is that this may result in some customers being hit by much bigger mid-contract price hikes in the future.

pound coin money new

15th January, 2026 (34 Comments)

Over the past few months a number of broadband ISPs have announced an increase to their annual mid-contract price hikes policy of £4 (BT, Virgin Media and TalkTalk etc.). But a new Opinium survey of 2,000 UK adults, which was conducted during December 2025 for Uswitch.com, claims to have found that 24% of broadband users view such a rise as “unmanageable“.

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telecommunication tower a falling signal on the city 123rf

15th January, 2026 (1 Comment)

The Government’s Building Digital UK (BDUK) agency, which oversees their gigabit-capable broadband and mobile network expansion programmes, has just published three new studies that examine the wellbeing and social benefits of the 4G Shared Rural Network (SRN) project, as well as the benefits and challenges of 4G mobile in rural Scotland, and finally some additionality research for mobile suppliers.

Audit Scotland Map R100 Contract LOTs

10th January, 2026 (0 Comments)

The Scottish Government (SG) has revealed that 96,347 premises have now benefitted from their £697m Reaching 100% (R100) project with Openreach (up from 93,800 in Nov 2025), which is rolling out full fibre (FTTP) broadband to remote rural areas. The next areas set for upgrade include Hoy in Orkney, Kilmartin in Argyll and Bute, and Inchture in Perth and Kinross.

3d rendering of optical fiber cable by 123rf

8th January, 2026 (2 Comments)

The South Yorkshire Digital Infrastructure Team, which primarily works under the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) to accelerate the rollout of fixed gigabit broadband (1000Mbps+) and 5G mobile networks, has today celebrated having surpassed their target of reaching 95% of homes and businesses in the region with gigabit lines.

Analogue-uk-phone-handset-on-red-background 123rf

7th January, 2026 (20 Comments)

The UK telecoms regulator has responded to recent concerns that BT’s switch to broadband-based Digital Phones may have left some vulnerable customers without access to a working service. Ofcom warns that they could potentially “step in” and investigate the operator (such things sometimes lead to a significant fine), but it’s not yet clear if they will.

Works to lay new paving slabs and temporary footpath closed red warning sign on London sidewalk by 123rf

7th January, 2026 (9 Comments)

A new report from the Digital Communities All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) has warning that the “ongoing lack” of mobile (4G/5G) and broadband coverage in parts of the country (urban, rural and coastal) are “undermining national ambitions“. The solution, they suggest, could be found in planning reform, breaking down monopolies, stronger regulatory scrutiny by Ofcom and more strategic investment.

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