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Articles for Category Tag - Building Digital UK

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.

Northumberland UK to Benefit from £1.3m Broadband Loan Scheme

5th January, 2013 (2 Comments)

The Northumberland County Council (NCC) in North East England has announced the launch of a new £1.3 million loan scheme that has been designed to encourage small satellite, wireless or other alternative technology ISPs to come into the county and offer their broadband services to the most remote rural areas.

Fibre GarDen Details Superfast Broadband Plan for Garsdale and Dentdale

3rd January, 2013 (0 Comments)

The Fibre GarDen project, which aims to create a new fibre optic superfast broadband (30Mbps+) network to connect 100% of premises in the project footprint of Garsdale and Dentdale (Cumbria, England) by 2014, has recently published its State Aid Notice (public consultation) that reveals more detail about their plan.

Small UK ISP Frustrated at Lack of Public Broadband Funding in Oxfordshire

31st December, 2012 (35 Comments)

Countryside Broadband, a small fixed wireless broadband ISP (WISP) that delivers internet access to a number of rural areas in South Oxfordshire (England, UK), has complained that it is unable to expand the reach of its network because the government’s public funding is only going towards big providers (e.g. BT).

Top 20 UK Local Authorities with the Highest Superfast Broadband Uptake

31st December, 2012 (10 Comments)

Ofcom’s most recent data reveals that superfast broadband (25Mbps+) ISP technology is now available to 65% of homes and businesses in the United Kingdom and yet just 7% of premises have actually adopted it. But where is superfast internet access most popular and why? The city of Portsmouth tops our new list with a take-up of 15.2%.

UPDATE BT Signs £40m Suffolk UK Superfast Broadband Contract

21st December, 2012 (5 Comments)

BT and the Suffolk County Council (SCC) have today signed a new £40 million contract that will use government state aid from the Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) office to help make superfast broadband (25Mbps+) ISP services available to 85-90% of local homes and businesses by the end of 2015 (but it use to be June 2015).

BT Sign £41m Norfolk UK Superfast Broadband Contract

21st December, 2012 (1 Comment)

BT and the Norfolk County Council (NCC) have today signed a new £41 million contract, which will see a mix of public and private money being used to help make superfast broadband (25Mbps+) ISP services reach “more than” 80% of local homes and businesses by autumn 2015 (i.e. below the UK’s national target of at least 90%).

EU Adopts New State Aid Guidelines to Boost Ultrafast Broadband Rollouts

19th December, 2012 (11 Comments)

The European Commission (EC) has today adopted revised guidelines on the use of public funding to help deploy “super-fast” broadband (30Mbps+) ISP services to everybody in the EU by 2020. The updated “rules” support a technologically neutral approach and include a greater focus on funding for “ultra-fast” (100Mbps+) services in urban areas.