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Average Global Internet Speeds Climb to 3.1Mbps as UK Tops 7.9Mbps

23rd July, 2013 (3 Comments)

Akamai, a global content delivery network, has revealed in its latest State of the Internet (Q1 2013) report that the worlds average internet download speed hit 3.1Mbps (up 4% from 2.9Mbps in the quarter). Meanwhile the UK topped 7.9Mbps (up 7.3% from 6.5Mbps) and is ranked 12th fastest globally (up from 18th).

Ofcom Calls on UK ISPs to Improve their Broadband Speed Info and Support

23rd July, 2013 (0 Comments)

Ofcom has published the outcome from their latest mystery shopping study into fixed line ISP compliance with the regulators rules concerning how broadband speeds should be sold and communicated to consumers. Suffice to say that some providers (TalkTalk and O2) have fallen short of expectations but overall the market has improved.

Birmingham UK Signs Deal to Blanket City Centre with FREE Virgin WiFi

23rd July, 2013 (0 Comments)

As expected the Birmingham City Council (BCC) has signed a new deal with Virgin Media Business (VMB) that will result in the operator rolling out an unlimited free wireless internet (wifi) zone across key parts of the city centre. The latest 3G and 4G (mobile) based small cell technology will also be deployed.

SHEFA2 Fibre Optic Cable Break Disrupts Broadband on the Shetland Islands

23rd July, 2013 (2 Comments)

The remote Shetland Islands (North of Scotland, UK) have once again had to suffer disruption to some of their local broadband and phone services after the vital undersea SHEFA-2 (Faroese Telecom) fibre optic cable, which links the Faroe Islands with mainland Scotland, was damaged on Friday morning just south of Orkney.

Superfast Cornwall UK Project Tweaks its BT Fibre Broadband Figures Down

22nd July, 2013 (5 Comments)

The £132m Superfast Cornwall project, which is working to make BT’s fibre optic based broadband ISP technology (FTTC/P) available to 95% of local premises by the end of 2014, has today revised its current coverage figures down to 182,000 premises from the 190,000 reported during early June 2013.

Farmers Angry After UK Considers Diverting their Subsidies to Broadband

22nd July, 2013 (11 Comments)

The UK government’s Environment Secretary, Owen Paterson, has caused anger among farming communities by proposing to divert more than £300 million a year of their subsidies from Europe’s controversial 60bn Euro Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and to use it for improving rural broadband access.

UPDATE Hampshire UK Starting to Consider Full Superfast Broadband Cover

22nd July, 2013 (10 Comments)

The leader of Hampshire County Council (HCC) has called upon councilors to begin initial work on a new policy that could extend the availability of fixed line superfast broadband (25Mbps+) services well beyond the current 90% coverage target for the end of 2015.

UPD4 Child Internet Safety and Censorship Measures Unveiled for UK ISPs

22nd July, 2013 (11 Comments)

The Prime Minster of the United Kingdom, David Cameron, has unveiled the government’s plan for helping to protect children online. As expected it includes a series of solutions including one that requires all of the country’s largest broadband ISPs to adopt strict network-level filtering blocks for adult websites and content (Parental Controls).

A Look at the Future Fibre to the Distribution Point FTTdp Broadband Tech

22nd July, 2013 (21 Comments)

Over the next few years it’s likely that you’ll soon start to hear more about a next generation broadband ISP technology called Fibre to the Distribution Point (FTTdp), which Ofcom are currently encouraging BT to trial. But what is FTTdp and will it really help UK homes and businesses to get ultrafast internet connections? Let’s take a look.

UPD UK PostOffice Swaps Telecom Network and Unveils Faster Broadband

19th July, 2013 (38 Comments)

The Post Office has finally begun its long awaited £500m migration from a BTWholesale / Logica based managed broadband platform and on to one that’s being delivered by TalkTalk Wholesale and Fujitsu (original may 2012 news). As a result a series of refreshed internet and phone packages have also been launched.

UPD2 Altnet Opportunity as BT Give Only Slow Broadband to Elberton Village

19th July, 2013 (40 Comments)

Residents of the tiny rural Elberton farming village in South Gloucestershire (England) appear to have become one of the first communities to officially be told that they won’t get a superfast broadband connection from BT or via the state aid supported Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) scheme.

OECD Report Finds UK Fibre Optic Broadband Growth Hit 172% in 2012

19th July, 2013 (8 Comments)

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, which covers 34 countries that claim to support democracy and a market economy, has reported that the United Kingdom experienced an annual growth rate of 172% for true fibre optic broadband (FTTH/P/B) ISP connections.

Mobile Broadband Data Now More Important than Calls and Texts

19th July, 2013 (3 Comments)

A new consumer opinion survey of 1,649 people in the United Kingdom has found that 73% couldn’t do without internet access on their Smartphones. On top of that most people now consider their Mobile Broadband data allowance to be a more important consideration than voice call minutes and texts.

BT Openreach and UK ISP TalkTalk in Dispute over Unbundled Jumpers

18th July, 2013 (11 Comments)

Yes it could be a story linked directly to your home laundry basket but it’s not. TalkTalk has today called in Ofcom to help settle a dispute with BTOpenreach, which has refused to supply a single jumpered solution with their fully unbundled (LLU / MPF) broadband and phone lines that could potentially save UK ISPs tens of millions.

The Fastest Mobile Broadband Services for Liverpool, Belfast and Sheffield

18th July, 2013 (3 Comments)

RootMetrics has published another new study into the 3G and 4G based Mobile Broadband performance from all four of the UK’s major Mobile Network Operators (MNO), covering the cities of Liverpool, Belfast and Sheffield. As before EE and Three UK came top of the pack for internet download speed.

UPDATE3 Public Accounts Committee Savages BT Over State Aid Broadband

18th July, 2013 (43 Comments)

Last night’s grilling of BT by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), which works on behalf of the House of Commons to examine public expenditure, was surely an uncomfortable experience for the telecoms giants Group Strategy Director, Sean Williams, but at the same time it also helped to clarify a few vital points.

Has Satellite Broadband Finally Reached its Tipping Point Towards Success

18th July, 2013 (6 Comments)

A recent report from Point Topic claimed that Satellite broadband ISPs might finally have become an “attractive option” for consumers seeking higher speed internet connections, especially those in UK rural areas. But has it really reached a “tipping point” towards even wider success and if so then why aren’t consumers lapping it up.