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Analyst Predicts EU Superfast Broadband Coverage to Miss its 2020 Target

20th August, 2013 (26 Comments)

A new study has claimed that Europe will fail to make superfast broadband (30Mbps+) ISP speeds available to 100% of households by 2020. But it will achieve 90% coverage and most of that will be due to the mass adoption of hybrid-fibre (e.g. FTTC and cable) technologies that combine fibre optic with existing copper or coax cables.

Softer Blow for BT as Ofcom UK Revise its Wholesale Broadband Price Cuts

20th August, 2013 (2 Comments)

The UK telecoms regulator has today issued a correction to its original July 2013 proposal (here) that would force BT into reducing the cost of their fixed line wholesale broadband services (WLR, SMPF, MPF) to ISPs. The changes represent only a small price difference of a few pence to a few pounds but then the original proposal wasn’t huge either.

Can the UK Government Prevent Abusive or Threatening Comments Online

20th August, 2013 (9 Comments)

Only weeks after the government put in place a stricter policy to nudge big broadband ISPs into censoring access to “adult” internet content (here) and it’s now positioning for a fight against the online worlds next biggest perceived evil.. swearing and trolls. Easier said than done.

UPDATE ISP Sky Broadband Confirms O2 UK and BE Migration Timetable

19th August, 2013 (13 Comments)

Sky Broadband (BSkyB) have quietly updated their FAQ pages with more information about the forthcoming migration of O2 UK and BE Broadband fixed line ISP customers, which was previously expected to begin during the “autumn“. We now know that this process will start in October 2013 and should end sooner than expected.

UK ISP Aquiss Offers FREE FTTC Fibre Broadband Installations

19th August, 2013 (9 Comments)

Shropshire-based ISP Aquiss has begun offering free installation alongside their superfast unlimited “fibre” (FTTC) broadband packages, which will save new customers £96 inc. VAT off the normal retail price. A second discount is also added if you take their phone (line rental) service.

BT Make Final Adjustments for Faster FTTC Broadband Vectoring Trial

19th August, 2013 (28 Comments)

BTOpenreach has advised ISPreview.co.uk that their first trial of VDSL Vectoring (ITU-T G.993.5) technology, which could make even faster speeds available to more people on BT’s superfast (‘up to’ 80Mbps) hybrid-fibre (FTTC) broadband network, has been delayed a little but should now begin “within the next few weeks“.

Scotlands North Isles Could Build a Faster Community Broadband Network

17th August, 2013 (13 Comments)

Broadband connectivity on Shetland might be gradually improving, thanks to a new undersea fibre optic link and investment, but many residents of the smaller surrounding islands (Yell, Unst and Fetlar) continue to suffer from slow connectivity (sub-1Mbps) and BT has yet to clarify its commitment. The solution could be a new community initiative.

UPDATE AAISP UK Migrate O2 Wholesale Lines to TalkTalk After SKY Concern

17th August, 2013 (8 Comments)

Business ISP Andrews and Arnold (AAISP) has confirmed that they’ve started moving “a lot of” BE/O2 Wholesale broadband lines over to their other back-haul carrier (TalkTalk Wholesale), which has primarily been caused by a loss of customers and related “uncertainty over the Sky take over“.

UPD4 Crippling Debt Forces South Yorkshire UK Digital Region Network to Shut

15th August, 2013 (51 Comments)

As feared the £100m+ Digital Region broadband network, which acted as an alternative to BT and delivered superfast broadband services to 80% of premises in South Yorkshire (England), has finally fallen under a growing weight of debt and announced its closure.

Open Rights Group UK Pushes for ISP Website Blocking Orders to be Public

15th August, 2013 (8 Comments)

The Open Rights Group has applied to have a procedural judge (a ‘Master’) in the UK High Court investigate their request for the court orders (injunctions), those related to website blocking, to be made public. Rights Holders use these when forcing big ISPs to censor specific websites (e.g. Fenopy, H33t and Kickass Torrents).

UK ISP TalkTalk Offers FTTC to New Lines and Half Price Broadband

15th August, 2013 (5 Comments)

Internet provider TalkTalk has advised that its “Superpowered Fibre Broadband” (FTTC) service can now be taken alongside a new phone line or migration via one engineer installation and one go live date, which follows the July 2013 trial. The ISP has also launched its new half-price offers, which slashes the cost of fibre and standard broadband.

Ofcom Consult on Faster Satellite Broadband for UK Aircraft, Ships and Trains

15th August, 2013 (0 Comments)

The UK telecoms regulator has begun a fresh consultation to support the introduction of a regulatory framework for a new generation of faster Earth Stations on Mobile Platforms (ESOMPs), which typically provide broadband internet access to moving vehicles.

Virgin Media UK Agree 3-Year Content Deal for BT Sport and ESPN TV

15th August, 2013 (3 Comments)

Cable operator Virgin Media and rival telecoms giant BT have finally agreed a three-year wholesale deal that should bring the new BTSport TV content to millions of Virgin’s customers. The agreement is expected to take effect from this weekend.

Sky and Other UK ISPs Finally Fix Crystal Palace FC and RadioTimes Block

15th August, 2013 (7 Comments)

Customers of Sky Broadband (plus those of many other UK ISPs) should now be able to access the Radio Times, Crystal Palace FC, Taylor Swift and over 100 other legitimate websites after providers resolved a problem in their court-ordered internet censorship system that occurred because Rights Holders failed to check the data.

Meagre O2 UK Data Allowances Fail to Impress with New 4G Tariffs

14th August, 2013 (17 Comments)

Mobile operator O2 UK (O24G) has finally revealed the price and package details for their new 4G (LTE at 800MHz) based Mobile Broadband network, which is due to go live on 29th August 2013. Unfortunately the new tariffs leave much to be desired, at least where data allowances are concerned.

UPD Sky to Recreate UK ISP BE Broadband as a Premium Fibre Service

14th August, 2013 (6 Comments)

Customers of BE Broadband, which is now owned by BSkyB (Sky Broadband), have been told that Sky intends to “recreate BE on their own network as a premium service“, which will based off their top Fibre Unlimited Pro (76Mbps) FTTC product with a few extras bolted-on top.

Isle of Wight Council Delay BDUK Broadband Contract by 1-2 Months

14th August, 2013 (1 Comment)

The Isle of Wight council, which resides just off the coast of central southern England, has voted to defer the decision on whether to award their £3 million+ state aid supported contract for upgrading the islands broadband infrastructure to BT. Concerns about funding, the lack of “neutral information” (too reliant on BT) and competition were all raised.