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Articles for Category Tag - Building Digital UK

BT Sign GBP94m Superfast Broadband Contract for Devon and Somerset

31st January, 2013 (8 Comments)

The joint Connecting Devon and Somerset (CDS) scheme in England has finally signed a £94m contract with BT that will make “high-speed fibre broadband” ISP services available to “around” 90% of local homes and businesses by the end of 2016.

Gov Consults on Changes to Boost the UK Superfast Broadband Rollout

30th January, 2013 (4 Comments)

The government’s Department for Culture, Media and Sport has launched a new consultation on proposals that would see telecoms operators, such as BT, given a five year period of grace with which to install new street cabinets and poles (but not mobile masts) without the need for prior approval from a local planning authority.

BDUK to Bring Superfast Broadband to 1.8m Extra UK Homes by 2015

29th January, 2013 (1 Comment)

Telecoms analyst Point Topic has predicted that superfast broadband (30Mbps+) services, with state aid support through the government’s Broadband Delivery UK office, will cover 1.8 million more homes in the United Kingdom by 2015 than if the only source of investment had been the private sector.

UK Adopts FAST START Initiative to Boost the Superfast Broadband Rollout

25th January, 2013 (8 Comments)

The politicians responsible for the United Kingdom’s already heavily delayed national roll-out of superfast broadband services now have a new phrase to swing around, “Fast Start”, which will soon be available right across the country. The “new approach” will apparently smooth the deployment of faster connectivity by avoiding further delays.

Controversial UK Communications Bill White Paper Expected Later in 2013

24th January, 2013 (1 Comment)

The UK governments much delayed Communications Bill, which seeks to update and expand upon Ofcom’s ability to regulate the internet, telecoms, media sectors and could also introduce new online censorship measures (e.g. enforced parental controls and piracy website blocking), is now expected to publish its first White Paper “later this year“.

BT Superfast Broadband Contract for Devon and Somerset UK Delayed

22nd January, 2013 (3 Comments)

The joint Connecting Devon and Somerset (CDS) project in England, which is worth over £100m and hopes to make superfast broadband speeds of 25Mbps+ available to 85% of local premises by 2015 (rising to 100% by 2020), has been delayed following “significant” contract issues with BT.

Controversial UK HS2 Train Project Set to Boost Fibre Optic Broadband

21st January, 2013 (10 Comments)

The UK governments Department for Transport (DfT) has confirmed that its costly £33bn High Speed Two (HS2) project, which aims to build a new high speed rail link between the midlands and northern England, will also deliver broadband benefits into more areas by laying fibre optic cables alongside its tracks.

Wales Begins GBP425m National BT Superfast Broadband Deployment

20th January, 2013 (7 Comments)

The Welsh Government (WG) has now “officially started work” on the national roll-out of its £425m scheme to make superfast broadband speeds of at least 30Mbps (Megabits per second) available to 96% of homes and businesses in Wales (United Kingdom) by the end of 2015. But many details remain unknown.

Broadband Outages at Rural PostOffices Highlight Our Internet Dependence

19th January, 2013 (13 Comments)

The broadband outages suffered by several Post Offices around the United Kingdom, which also crippled computerised systems (e.g. pension payments, council tax bills, parcel processing etc.), have highlighted how dependent we are becoming on internet access and how little margin for error exists at some of our most vital institutions.

UPD VIDEO BBC South Today Looks at the Problem of Rural Broadband

15th January, 2013 (4 Comments)

BBC South Today recently ran a short TV story on the plight of rural areas and their lack of fast broadband. The piece uses the example of Little London in Hampshire (England, UK), which in April last year became one of the first to deliver speeds of up to 40Mbps through clever use of a local fibre optic Public Service Network (here).

Ofcom Strategist Suggests UK 2Mbps Broadband Goal be Lifted to 10Mb

11th January, 2013 (20 Comments)

Ofcom’s strategy director has told a discussion panel, which was organised by the Policy Exchange, that the United Kingdom’s aim to make a minimum download speed of 2Mbps (Megabits) available to everybody in the country by 2015 (Universal Service Commitment) may now need to be increased up to 8Mbps or 10Mbps.

CLA and NFU Reach Wayleave Deal to Boost Broadband for UK Rural Areas

11th January, 2013 (0 Comments)

The Country Land and Business Association (CLA) and National Farmers Union (NFU) have unveiled a new wayleave agreement that should make it easier, quicker and cheaper to roll-out new superfast broadband services into rural parts of the United Kingdom. The deal has faced many delays and was originally intended to launch before the end of 2011.

UPD Northumberland Seek Extra £10 million to Boost Rural Superfast Broadband

10th January, 2013 (3 Comments)

Campaigners in Northumberland (North England) will today call on the government’s Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander, to find an additional £10m from the Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) office to help expand the reach of superfast broadband services into more of the county’s rural towns and villages.

Broadband Delivery UK Stretches Admin Budget Away from Rural Projects

10th January, 2013 (13 Comments)

The governments Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) office, which is responsible for managing the £830m publicly funded roll-out of superfast broadband ISP services to reach 90% of people by spring 2015, will see just 63% of its £3.8m administration budget spent on rural projects in 2012-13 (down from 100% in 2010-11 and 94% in 2011-12).

EU Publish Details of State Aid Decision for UK Superfast Broadband Projects

9th January, 2013 (6 Comments)

The European Commission (EC), which officially cleared the release of state aid funding for UK superfast broadband deployment projects last November (original news), has now released the final documentation that describes the reasoning for their decision in more detail.

UPD Policy Exchange Tells UK Government to Stop the Broadband Subsidy

7th January, 2013 (22 Comments)

The Policy Exchange, an educational charity which also claims to be the UK’s leading think tank, has warned the government that its case for “spending any more taxpayers’ money” to subsidise the roll-out of superfast broadband is “weak” and should be stopped in 2015. Instead it wants the country to focus on connecting people who don’t use the internet.

UK Government Sees Satellite Broadband as Essential for Rural Areas

5th January, 2013 (18 Comments)

The UK government’s Minister of State for Universities and Science, David Willetts (Conservative MP for Havant), has said that Satellite based broadband ISP services will indeed become an “essential means” of deliver faster internet access into rural communities.