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Articles for Category Tag - Building Digital UK

UK Office of Fair Trading Probes Supply of ICT Services to the Public Sector

4th July, 2013 (0 Comments)

The Office of Fair Trading (OFT), which is the United Kingdom’s consumer and competition authority, has started a new probe into the supply of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) goods and services to the public sector. The move is likely to include some aspects of the government’s national broadband scheme(s).

UPD2 Smaller UK ISPs Asked to Help Find the Final Rural Broadband Areas

4th July, 2013 (9 Comments)

The government’s culture secretary, Maria Miller, has written to a group of smaller UK ISPs (altnets) and called them to a 15th July 2013 summit with BT where she will attempt to find a solution to the “final 10%” problem (i.e. nobody is quite sure where it is).

VOA Hints at UK Broadband Fibre Tax Cut for 2015 But Not for All ISPs

29th June, 2013 (9 Comments)

The governments notoriously complicated and confusing Valuation Office Agency (VOA), which is responsible for taxing the rateable value of the basic infrastructure, has hinted that its next rate card update in 2015 could reduce the tax on rural fibre optic broadband lines for smaller (altnet) ISPs. Sadly there’s a big catch.

UPDATE North Lincolnshire UK Signs £5.7m BT Fibre Broadband Rollout

28th June, 2013 (1 Comment)

The North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire Councils have today signed a new state aid supported £5.7 million contract that will see BT expand the reach of its “high-speed fibre” broadband (FTTC/P) connectivity to cover 89% of local homes and businesses by the end of Spring 2015. But how many of the 89% will be “superfast” (25Mbps+)?

Devon and Somerset UK Confirm First BDUK Areas for BT Fibre Broadband

28th June, 2013 (4 Comments)

The £94 million state aid supported joint Connecting Devon and Somerset (CDS) project to make BT’s superfast broadband (FTTC/P) services available to “around” 90% of local premises by the end of 2016 (original news) has today confirmed the first towns and villages to be upgraded.

UPDATE8 Gov Pledge 95% of UK to Get Fixed Superfast Broadband by 2017

27th June, 2013 (8 Comments)

The Chief Secretary to the Treasury for the United Kingdom, Danny Alexander, has today published full details of the country’s future infrastructure spending plans (‘Investing in Britain’s Future‘). Included in this is a £250 million commitment to ensure fixed line superfast broadband reaches 95% of the population by 2017 (99% by 2018 with wireless).

UK Government Detail Connection Vouchers to Fix Urban Broadband

26th June, 2013 (0 Comments)

The government has today launched a new consultation that reveals how its troubled £150 million “Super-Connected Cities” (Urban Broadband Fund) programme will go about improving business broadband connectivity in selected cities now that EU state aid concerns have forced them to scrap their infrastructure development. But some homes might still benefit.

The Government Could Spin Off its National Broadband Delivery UK Project

25th June, 2013 (0 Comments)

The secretary of state for the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), Maria Miller, has reportedly called for a radical overhaul over the Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) office to improve how it’s run and re-focus on tackling the final 10% of poorly served rural areas.

South Gloucestershire and Wiltshire UK Reveal First BT Fibre Rollout Areas

24th June, 2013 (0 Comments)

South Gloucestershire Council (SGC) and Wiltshire Council (WC) in England have today revealed which areas will be the first to benefit from their £35.6m contract with BT to roll-out superfast fibre broadband based connectivity to 95% of local premises by the end of March 2016.

UPD £18.06m Brings BT Fibre Broadband to Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire

24th June, 2013 (0 Comments)

BT has today signed a new state aid supported £18.06 million deal to make fibre optic based broadband (FTTC/P) services available to more than 90% of premises in Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire (England, UK) by the end of March 2016 (the rest will get speeds of at least 2Mbps).

UPDATE EU Study of Real Broadband ISP Speeds Shows Mixed UK Results

24th June, 2013 (5 Comments)

Europe has published its first study into the actual broadband internet speeds experienced by 9,104 homes across the continent (30 countries and over 250 ISPs), which reveals that the average peak time download rate for DSL (ADSL) services is just 7.19Mbps (Megabits), rising to 33.08Mbps for Cable and 41.02Mbps for fibre optic (FTTC/H).

Broadway Partners Challenge BT in UK Rural Areas via £10m Broadband Plan

24th June, 2013 (0 Comments)

Broadway Partners and Swedish fibre optic developer ViaEuropa have teamed up to promote the creation of an alternative “open access” superfast broadband network in rural parts of Devon, Dorset and the Cotswolds (England). But first they’ll have to find an initial £10 million.

Edinburgh Proposes Revised £10m Broadband Plan After EU Funding Fail

19th June, 2013 (2 Comments)

The City of Edinburgh Council (Scotland) has submitted a revised plan for improving the city’s telecoms infrastructure, which comes after EU competition concerns prevented a majority of the £10.7 million allocated through the government’s £150m Urban Broadband Fund from being used to build a new fibre optic broadband network.

UK Government Told to Spend £5.5bn from HS2 on Ultrafast Broadband

18th June, 2013 (50 Comments)

The New Economics Foundation, an independent think tank that aims to inspire “real economic well-being“, has advised the government to scrap its £33bn High Speed Two (HS2) railway link and instead invest £5.5 billion from the effort into rolling out “ultra fast to-the-door” broadband coverage across the United Kingdom.

Last 10% Uncertainty Still Hampering Investment in UK Rural Broadband

17th June, 2013 (7 Comments)

Broadband investment in the most rural and remote parts of the United Kingdom is still under threat due to a lack of clarity from local authorities concerning which areas constitute the last 10% of the country where BT and the government’s Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) scheme have yet to help.

Cumbria UK Reveals Tentative £51m BT Superfast Broadband Rollout Plan

14th June, 2013 (1 Comment)

The £51m Connecting Cumbria project, which will use a mix of public and private funding to help expand the reach of BT’s superfast fibre broadband (FTTC/P) services to over 93% of the English county by the end of 2015 (last 7% to get at least 2Mbps), has detailed its preliminary telephone exchange upgrade plan.

EU Scoreboard Shows UK Superfast Broadband Penetration Improving

12th June, 2013 (5 Comments)

The European Commission has published its annual Digital Agenda Scoreboard 2013, which reports that 95.5% of EU homes are covered by broadband access (99.8% in the United Kingdom) and 53.8% can get a 30Mbps+ capable superfast broadband connection (70.3% in the UK). But “ultra-fast” connections (100Mbps+) still have a way to go.