Home » UK ISP News Archive » Monthly Archives: March 2015 (108 Posts Found)

ISP News Archives for March 2015

Ofcom Impose Rule to Keep BT’s FTTC Superfast Broadband Prices Fair

19th Mar 2015 (23 Comments)

The UK telecoms regulator has, following corrective advice from Europe, today announced the 1st April 2015 introduction of a new margin test rule that will mean BT must “maintain a sufficient margin between its wholesale and retail superfast broadband charges“, in order to allow rival ISPs some profitably to match its prices.

South Gloucestershire UK Sees Fibre Broadband Cover 17,000 Premises

18th Mar 2015 (3 Comments)

The joint public and private “Great Western Broadband” project to roll-out BT’s “superfast” (24Mbps+) FTTC/P network to 94% of South Gloucestershire by the end of March 2015 has completed its first major deployment phase, with 17,000 premises covered (2,000 more than originally planned).

Surrey UK Celebrates Completion of Local Fibre Broadband Rollout

18th Mar 2015 (16 Comments)

The £35m+ Superfast Surrey project in England has announced the completion of its main deployment phase, which means that an additional 82,000 homes and businesses in the county can now gain access to BTOpenreach’s “high-speed fibre broadband” (FTTC/P) network; albeit a few months later than originally planned (end of 2014).

UPDATE Budget 2015 – Osborn Pledges to Deliver 100Mbps Ultrafast Broadband

18th Mar 2015 (44 Comments)

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne MP, has today set out the Government’s annual Budget 2015 report for the United Kingdom. Unlike past budgets this one is different because it comes immediately before a General Election and that usually means big promises, such as pledging 100Mbps “ultra-fast” broadband to “nearly all the homes in the country” and a possible 5Mbps+ USO.

EE UK Reveal Replacement for Free 2-for-1 Pizzas and Cinema Tickets

18th Mar 2015 (3 Comments)

Remember last year’s surprising news that EE had finally scrapped their long running “Orange Wednesdays” promotion of free 2-for-1 Pizzas (or dough balls) and Cinema tickets for their broadband and mobile customers (here)? Well there’s now a replacement – a blockbuster film every week for all customers, for just £1.

UPDATE Gigaclear Plan 1Gbps Fibre Optic Broadband for Rural North Yorkshire

18th Mar 2015 (2 Comments)

Rural focused ISP Gigaclear has announced their first expansion into Yorkshire (Northern England) by revealing plans to deploy their ultrafast 1000Mbps (Megabits per second) capable Fibre-to-the-Home (FTTH/P) based broadband network into the villages of Cononley and Carleton, with more to follow.

UPDATE Deprived Areas Across England to Benefit from FREE WiFi

17th Mar 2015 (3 Comments)

Some 57 libraries and 13 community centres across deprived areas of England will soon be provided with free WiFi and digital support as part of a new agreement between BT and Barclays. Another 10 sites including a care home, a charity home and a homeless centre will also benefit and more will follow.

UPDATE BT Hails Strong Uptake of Superfast Broadband in Cornwall UK

17th Mar 2015 (5 Comments)

Telecoms giant BT has today reported that their joint £132m Superfast Cornwall project with the EU, which has already deployed the operators “fibre broadband” (FTTC/P) network to cover around 95% of local premises (including the Isles of Scilly), has seen strong uptake by local premises with 60,000 subscribers choosing to adopt it.

CityFibre Start Aberdeen’s 1000Mb Fibre Optic Broadband Network Build

17th Mar 2015 (0 Comments)

Fibre optic network developer CityFibre has today announced the start of construction on their roll-out of a new 1000Mbps capable fibre optic broadband (FTTP) network in the city of Aberdeen (Aberdeen Core), which they’re already promoting as Scotland’s first “Gigabit City“.

BT Fined £800K for Late Rollout of an Improved Text-to-Voice Service

17th Mar 2015 (0 Comments)

The national UK telecoms regulator has fined BT £800,000 after the operator last year failed to make an improved text-to-voice service available to its customers with hearing or speech impairments.

Scotland’s Deputy First Minister Demands USO for Broadband from UK Gov

17th Mar 2015 (1 Comment)

The Deputy First Minister for the Scottish Government, John Swinney, has written to the UK’s Digital Economy Minister, Ed Vaizey, in order to call for broadband in Scotland to become part of a legally binding Universal Service Obligation. The move is designed to “ensure everyone in Scotland can access affordable, high-speed broadband“.

Competition and Markets Authority Start Review of BT’s £12.5bn EE Gobble

16th Mar 2015 (20 Comments)

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has launched their “preliminary invitation to comment” on BT’s £12.5bn move to buy mobile operator EE, which will turn them into the United Kingdom’s biggest quad-play telecoms giant. Meanwhile rivals are demanding Dark Fibre access and other concessions.

BT Sport TV Secures 6 Seasons of Aviva Premiership Rugby

16th Mar 2015 (1 Comment)

Customers of BT’s broadband, phone and or TV bundles, which currently receive free access to the operators live BTSport TV channels, may be pleased to learn that their provider has just ensured that the top flight of English club rugby will be shown live on their service until at least the end of the 2020-21 campaign.

Review of Business Rates Might Benefit the Rural Broadband Rollout

16th Mar 2015 (2 Comments)

As expected the central UK Government has today announced the start of a new review into Business Rates and thus the related taxation set by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA). It’s just possible that this could also result in an adjustment that benefits the roll-out of rural broadband services, but don’t hold your breath.

John Lewis and Zen Internet Come Top for UK ISP Broadband Satisfaction

16th Mar 2015 (4 Comments)

Consumer magazine Which? has today published the results of their latest Q1 2015 reader survey of broadband ISP satisfaction, which found that customers of John Lewis’s broadband division and Zen Internet were the most satisfied with their service. Meanwhile all of the biggest ISPs could be found languishing at the bottom.

Cambridge UK Deploys New Free Public WiFi Network

16th Mar 2015 (0 Comments)

The Cambridgeshire County Council in England has today announced the launch of a free public WiFi (wireless Internet) network around Cambridge and some of its surrounding areas, which will cover more than 100 public buildings and open spaces.

UPDATE Sky Broadband Suffers Outage in Essex After Fibre Optic Break

14th Mar 2015 (1 Comment)

Customers of Sky Broadband’s Internet and phone services, specifically those who reside in and around the Essex area (North East of London), are currently experiencing a mix of performance and connectivity problems after a major fibre optic cable was broken near to BT’s Basildon telephone exchange.