Home » UK ISP News Archive » Monthly Archives: February 2014 (110 Posts Found)

ISP News Archives for February 2014

EE UK Growth Boost to 726K Home Broadband Users as 4G Reaches 2 Million

20th February, 2014 (4 Comments)

Telecoms operator EE has released its latest Q4-2013 financial results and revealed that their fixed line Home Broadband subscriber base added +12k new customers in the quarter to total 726,000 (up from +10k added in Q3), while their 4G based Mobile Broadband users went from 1.2m in Q3 to 1.996m now.

UK Ultrafast FTTH Fibre Optic Broadband Lines Slow to Grow – Global Ranking

19th February, 2014 (107 Comments)

The FTTH Council Europe, which campaigns for the widespread adoption of true Fibre-to-the-Home (100Mbps+) broadband ISP connections, has published its latest annual table of global FTTH coverage and revealed that growth in the United Kingdom has slowed and continues to offer less than 1% penetration (234k premises passed at 10.3% uptake).

Ofcom Shun WiFi Interference Fears to Prep 2.3GHz Auction for Mobile

19th February, 2014 (3 Comments)

The communications regulator has assessed the impact for both licensed and licence-exempt uses of the 2.3GHz and 3.4GHz radio spectrum bands and found that the risk of interference with other services, such as WiFi (adjacent 2.4GHz band), did exist but wasn’t big enough to be worth worrying about.

EE Expand 4G Mobile Broadband to 14 New UK Towns and 18 Big Airports

19th February, 2014 (2 Comments)

Mobile operator EE (4GEE) has extended the reach of its “superfast” 4G (LTE at 1800MHz) based Mobile Broadband network to 14 more towns (total 174 towns and cities) and 18 of the UK’s largest airports, which means their service now covers 70% of the population. Commuters on key rail and road routes will also benefit.

At the End of 2013 Some 6.7 Million UK Adults Had Never Gone Online

19th February, 2014 (3 Comments)

The Office for National Statistics has released its latest Internet Access Quarterly Update Q4-2013, which reports that 44.3 million adults (87%) in the United Kingdom have gone online (up 1.2 million in the last year) but issues like disability, age, skills and low incomes continue to hold many people back.

Hyperoptic Bring 1Gbps Home FTTB Broadband to Cardiff, Bristol and Reading

19th February, 2014 (10 Comments)

Urban-focused ISP Hyperoptic has today announced that its “hyper-sonic” 1000Mbps (Megabits per second) capable home and business Fibre-To-The-Building (FTTB) network will finally be expanding beyond London, with the first of their new “hypercities” to include locations in Cardiff (Wales), Bristol and Reading (England).

First BT Superfast Broadband Cabinet in Rural Scotland Project Goes LIVE

18th February, 2014 (7 Comments)

The Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) has announced that the first “high-speed fibre broadband” street cabinet (FTTC) has gone live in Buckie today, which also represents the first official deployment in the highlands under Scotland’s public and privately funded Digital Scotland project.

South Yorkshire UK Digital Region Network Sets August 2014 Closure Date

18th February, 2014 (6 Comments)

The controversial tax payer fuelled £100m+ Digital Region superfast broadband network in South Yorkshire (England), which surprised nobody when it finally collapsed last year under a pile of its own debt and a lack of political support (here), has finally set a closure date of 15th August 2014.

UPD Fluidata Claims Real Competition Can Drive BT to Go Fibre Optic

18th February, 2014 (27 Comments)

The accounts manager for business ISP Fluidata, Andi Soric, has observed how one of the quickest ways to encourage BT into deploying a true fibre optic (FTTP) broadband network is for rivals to foster competition at infrastructure level by doing the same thing first.

BT Fibre Broadband Coverage in Cornwall Hits 85% Milestone

18th February, 2014 (12 Comments)

The finish line is now in sight after the £132m Superfast Cornwall project in England revealed that BT’s “high-speed fibre optic broadband” (FTTC/P) network had now “reached” 85% of Cornish homes and businesses, which means that they’re on-track to achieve the 95% coverage goal by the end of 2014.

Vodafone Expands “Ultrafast” 4G Coverage to 36% of the UK Population

17th February, 2014 (2 Comments)

Mobile operator Vodafone has today claimed that its new “ultrafast” (ugh the terminology..) 4G based Mobile Broadband network has managed to attract 500,000 customers within the first six months of going live and their network coverage is now reaching 36% of the United Kingdom (population).

Court of Appeal Sends Ofcom and Sky Sports TV Competition Case Back to CAT

17th February, 2014 (3 Comments)

The tennis match over wholesale access and prices for Sky TV’s (Sky Broadband) premium sports channels (Sky Sports 1 / 2 etc.) looks set to erupt again. The UK Court of Appeal has today ruled that the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) needs to look again at its rejection of Ofcom’s pay TV measures.

Former BT Wholesale CEO Joins CityFibre as UK Non-Executive Director

17th February, 2014 (0 Comments)

Urban fibre optic network developer CityFibre has today appointed the former CEO of BTWholesale, Sally Davis, to the role of non-executive director in the hope that the operator will be able to draw on her “considerable experience” to help build on their recent expansion and investment wins.

UK ISP Gigaclear Establishes Advisory Group to Guide Rural FTTP Rollout

17th February, 2014 (2 Comments)

Fibre optic broadband ISP Gigaclear has appointed a new advisory group, which alongside other “key players in the UK’s communications industry” also includes the former CEO of BTOpenreach (Steve Robertson), to help “develop and improve their business model further so that more communities can benefit from high broadband speeds.”

UK ISPs PlusNet, Sky and Virgin Media Top 2014 Home Broadband Survey

17th February, 2014 (0 Comments)

The results from the joint annual PC Advisor magazine and Broadband Genie Home Broadband Survey 2014 have been announced, which saw PlusNet pick-up the award for ‘Best Broadband Provider’. Sky Broadband, Gigaclear and Virgin Media also picked up some awards.

Anglian Farmers Call for Better UK Mobile Broadband and Phone Coverage

17th February, 2014 (1 Comment)

A new survey conducted by Anglian Farmers, which is the largest agricultural purchasing group in the UK with a buying power in excess of £250m, claims to demonstrate the need for better rural mobile network coverage. Sadly it also comes up a bit short on both detail and comparisons.

Fixed Access Review Delay Triggers BT Openreach UK Line Rental Hike

15th February, 2014 (51 Comments)

BTOpenreach, which maintains BT’s national UK phone and broadband network, has said that it anticipates a “three month … delay” in the publication of Ofcom’s final statement of the Fixed Access Market Review(s) and the associated LLU and WLR charge control review. As a result they’ve decided to put some of their line rental prices up.