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Articles for Category Tag - Building Digital UK

DEFRA Finds Just 32% of UK Farmers Get Above 2Mbps Broadband

11th April, 2013 (41 Comments)

The government’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) recently published the results of its Farm Practices Survey 2012, which reported that 86% of farms had access to a computer in 2012 (up from 74% in 2008) and 98% of those were connected to the internet. But fast broadband ISP connectivity remains a rarity.

Northumberland UK Win GBP2.74m from EU for Better Business Broadband

10th April, 2013 (9 Comments)

The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) appears to have awarded a grant worth £2.74 million to help over 2,600 small and medium sized businesses in Northumberland (North East England) gain access to superfast and ultrafast broadband ISP connectivity via a “range of incentives“.

Broadband Commission Wants High-Speed Internet to be in Post-2015 Plan

8th April, 2013 (1 Comment)

The ITU and UNESCO’s Broadband Commission has called upon the United Nations to ensure that high-speed broadband internet access “features prominently” in any plans for a Post-2015 Development Agenda, which is expected to set various world targets for the next five or so years until at least 2020.

UK Poll Calls on Government to Boost Broadband Funds for Rural Areas

8th April, 2013 (6 Comments)

The results from 1045 respondents to ISPreview.co.uk’s latest monthly reader survey has found that 80.8% would like to see the government put more public money into deploying superfast broadband around the United Kingdom (up from 68.8% two years ago) and 62.5% said the effort should re-focus on connecting rural areas first.

New EU Delay Threatens State Aid Fuelled Broadband Rollout in Cumbria UK

4th April, 2013 (1 Comment)

The huge state aid supported Connecting Cumbria project, which will see BT deploy its FTTC/P based superfast broadband ISP technologies to cover over 93% of the county by the end of 2015, is facing the risk of fresh delays due to the need for an additional layer of EU competition approval before funding can be released.

Surrey and Hampshire Setup £200k Broadband Fund for Rural Businesses

4th April, 2013 (1 Comment)

Enterprise M3, a public-private partnership that seeks to support businesses in the M3 area of west Surrey and Hampshire, has setup a new £200,000 fund to help make superfast broadband available to firms in the last 10% or so of the regions rural areas.

Government Shuns INCA Plan to Help Small UK ISPs Gain Broadband Funds

2nd April, 2013 (8 Comments)

The UK government’s Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has rejected a new framework proposal that could have helped smaller internet providers (altnets) to challenge BT and secure a slice of public funding in order to rollout new rural superfast broadband networks.

BT Sign £24.6m Deal to Rollout Superfast Broadband in Shropshire UK

27th March, 2013 (4 Comments)

The Shropshire County Council (SCC) and BT have today signed a new £24.6 million deal that will make superfast broadband speeds of up to 80Mbps (FTTC/P) available to 93% of local homes and businesses (helping 130,000 premises) by the end of Spring 2016 (excludes the Telford & Wrekin Council area).

BT Finalise £460k State Aid Supported Fibre Broadband Rollout in Rothbury

27th March, 2013 (0 Comments)

The rural Northumberland (England, UK) town of Rothbury, which is home to around 2,000 people, looks set to benefit from a new super-fast broadband ISP network after the county council, BT and GreySky Consulting signed a new deal that will use £460,000 of funding from DEFRA’s £20m Rural Community Broadband Fund.

EU Sets Out New Proposals to Cut the Cost of Deploying Fibre Broadband

26th March, 2013 (9 Comments)

The European Commission (EC) has today proposed a new Draft Regulation that could cut the cost of broadband related civil engineering tasks (e.g. digging up roads to lay new fibre optic cable) by 30% and thus save telecoms operators between £34 – £51 billion (€40 to €60 billion).

BT Sign £146m Deal to Rollout FTTC Broadband in the Highlands and Islands

26th March, 2013 (3 Comments)

It’s been a long time coming but Scotland’s Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) has finally signed its “most ambitious” contract worth £146 million with BT, which will make superfast broadband (FTTC/P) ISP services available to 84% of premises in the Highlands and Islands by the end of 2016.

DEFRA Open GBP20m UK Rural Community Broadband Fund for Final Bids

22nd March, 2013 (1 Comment)

The government’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has today opened the third and possibly final round of bidding for their £20 million Rural Community Broadband Fund (RCBF), which is designed to help rural farmers, homes and businesses benefit from improved internet connectivity.

BT Sign GBP13.8m Deal to Deploy Superfast Broadband in Hampshire UK

21st March, 2013 (0 Comments)

The Hampshire County Council (HCC) has today signed a state aid supported £13.8m contract with BT to make super-fast broadband (24Mbps+) ISP connectivity available to “at least” 90% of all local premises by the end of 2015 (i.e. around 57,000 homes and businesses in the county).

BT Start BDUK Rollout of Fibre Broadband in Gloucestershire and Herefordshire

20th March, 2013 (6 Comments)

The Gloucestershire County Council (GCC) has announced the first areas to benefit from its state aid supported project with neighbouring Herefordshire, which aims to make superfast broadband (25Mbps+) services available 90% of homes and businesses in both English (UK) counties by the end of 2016 and 100% by 2018.

BT Starts Delayed Deployment of Superfast Broadband in Lancashire UK

19th March, 2013 (1 Comment)

The Lancashire County Council (LCC) has confirmed that its state aid supported project with BT, which aims to roll-out superfast broadband (30Mbps+) ISP services to 97% of local homes and businesses, has finally got underway with the first areas being announced. Sadly the end date has also been put back by around one year.

Virgin Media Tells UK Government to Put City Broadband Cash Toward Skills

19th March, 2013 (3 Comments)

The CEO of cable operator Virgin Media, Neil Berkett, has written an open letter to the Chancellor of the UK government, George Osborne. The letter calls on Osborne to ensure that a minimum of 50% of the £150m destined for improving broadband connectivity in cities is instead used to boost business training and digital capability.

UPD Northamptonshire and BT Sign GBP16.26m Superfast Broadband Contract

18th March, 2013 (0 Comments)

The Northamptonshire County Council (NCC) has today signed a new £16.26 million contract with BT that will provide “world class fibre broadband speeds” to 53,000 local homes and businesses. Sadly the final time-scales, speeds and targets seem to be unclear.