Home » UK ISP News Archive » Monthly Archives: August 2016 (99 Posts Found)

ISP News Archives for August 2016

Three UK’s 800MHz Roll-out Boosts Indoor 4G Mobile Coverage to 92%

13th Aug 2016 (6 Comments)

Three UK has announced that indoor mobile coverage on their 4G (LTE) network has increased from 80% in June 2013 to 92% now, which is largely thanks to the boost from their on-going roll-out of the lower frequency 800MHz band. Elsewhere 42 new roaming destinations have also been added.

Risk to Broadband Roll-out as UK Councils Push for Roadworks Charges

13th Aug 2016 (9 Comments)

The Local Government Association, which seems to have spent the past few weeks calling for faster broadband infrastructure (example), has taken a perhaps contradictory position today by calling for councils to get new powers so that they can charge utility companies more money for roadworks.

UK Government Agrees to Protect EU Funded Broadband Projects

13th Aug 2016 (3 Comments)

After a nail biting few weeks of uncertainty the UK Government’s Chancellor, Philip Hammond, has finally pledged to protect and in some cases underwrite broadband infrastructure projects that are in the process of receiving or bidding for additional state aid funding from the EU.

Virgin Media Upgrades TiVO TV Boxes with New Features

12th Aug 2016 (4 Comments)

Customers Virgin Media, specifically those who take one of their cable broadband and TV bundles with a TiVo set-top-box, may be pleased to know that the provider has today begun to roll-out a new firmware update for its kit that adds new features to help search, find and save content on the service.

Ofcom Provisionally Rules BT “Overcharged” TalkTalk for Fault Finding

12th Aug 2016 (18 Comments)

The UK telecoms regulator has today provisionally concluded that BT “overcharged” TalkTalk for their Special Fault Investigation (SFI) engineer service and Time Related Charges (TRC), both of which are often used to help resolve customer phone and broadband problems. A repayment could be due.

Luminet Goes Wholesale with its 1Gbps Fibre Air Wireless Broadband

12th Aug 2016 (1 Comment)

Wireless ISP Luminet has announced that their “Fibre Air” wireless network, which can offer customers ‘up to’ 1Gbps of symmetrical broadband Internet connectivity, is now being made available to wholesale by its partners (currently numbering more than 50) under a new channel programme.

UK ISP TalkTalk Offers Half Price Fibre Broadband for 18 Months

12th Aug 2016 (3 Comments)

Internet provider TalkTalk has begun offering their ‘up to’ 38Mbps capable “Superfast Fibre Broadband” (FTTC) package at half price for its entire contract term (£8.75 per month instead of £17.50), but don’t forget to add line rental from the equivalent of £15.93 a month when pre-paid for 1 year (£17.70 as standard).

Free Outdoor BT WiFi Network Goes Live for Newcastle and Gateshead

11th Aug 2016 (3 Comments)

Visitors and residents to central Newcastle and Gateshead in North East England can now benefit from free outdoor WiFi (wireless Internet) access after BT completed the roll-out of their network in the area, which was initially only available inside a number of public buildings.

Worcestershire UK Achieve 90% Coverage of Superfast Broadband

11th Aug 2016 (0 Comments)

The Superfast Worcestershire (England) project appears to have successfully completed its original contract with Openreach (BT), which has now extended their FTTC/P based “superfast broadband” (24Mbps+) network to 90% of the county (i.e. 94% “fibre” coverage inc. sub-24Mbps areas).

ISPs Raise Concern Over Automatic Compensation for Broadband Faults

11th Aug 2016 (7 Comments)

Ofcom’s proposal to give residential and small business consumers in the United Kingdom an automatic right to compensation from their broadband, phone or mobile provider when things go wrong (here), such as due to a “loss or reduction of service“, has drawn widespread concern from ISPs.

Cisco Make Progress on 10Gbps Uploads for Cable Broadband Networks

11th Aug 2016 (20 Comments)

The dream of Full Duplex DOCSIS 3.1 technology, which could in the next few years’ enable Hybrid Fibre Coax (HFC) cable networks (e.g. Virgin Media) to deliver symmetrical broadband speeds of 10Gbps (Gigabits per second), has moved a step closer thanks to Cisco’s new silicon reference design.

Virgin Media Upgrades Network Bandwidth for 2,084 London Schools

10th Aug 2016 (0 Comments)

Cable operator Virgin Media Business (Liberty Global) has reportedly completed an upgrade of their existing coaxial and fibre optic based Public Sector Network (PSN) in London, which means that around 2,084 local Schools can now benefit from faster Internet speeds.

Councils Criticise Misleading Ads for Broadband ISP Speeds in Rural Areas

10th Aug 2016 (18 Comments)

The Local Government Association, which represents around 370 councils across England and Wales, has warned that the way broadband ISPs advertise their service speeds is particularly “misleading” for consumers in rural areas. Instead they want providers’ to promote “average” speeds and to also include upload speeds into their promotions.

BT Reveal Tech Details for Expanded Long Reach VDSL Broadband Trial

9th Aug 2016 (31 Comments)

Openreach (BT) has today published new technical details for their on-going trials of fixed line “Long Reach VDSL” (FTTC) broadband technology, which could be used to deliver the future 10Mbps Universal Service Obligation and possibly even to expand the availability of “superfast” (24Mbps+) speeds.

ISP Metronet UK Opens its Fixed Wireless Network to Wholesale

9th Aug 2016 (1 Comment)

Business-focused ISP Metronet UK has today announced that their fibre optic fed fixed wireless broadband network, which is available around parts of Greater Manchester and Bradford (plus a few other major locations too), has been opened to wholesale

Vodafone UK “Abolishes” Line Rental from its Fibre Broadband Packages

9th Aug 2016 (8 Comments)

Telecoms operator Vodafone today claims to have become one of the first major ISPs to “abolish” the £18 per month phone line rental charge from their FTTC based superfast home “fibre broadband” bundles, although strictly speaking it’s just being merged into a single low-price.

Aylesbury Vale Broadband Delivers 300Mbps FTTH to Swanbourne Village

9th Aug 2016 (2 Comments)

The Aylesbury Vale Broadband project in rural Buckinghamshire (England) has confirmed that their 300Mbps capable Fibre-to-the-Home (FTTH) network has now completed its extension via private land from North Marston and managed to reach the village of Swanbourne.