Home » UK ISP News Archive » Article Tag: Europe (301 Posts)

Articles for Category Tag - Europe

O2, Vodafone and Three UK Respond to EU Roaming Concerns

24th June, 2021 (31 Comments)

The controversial decision today by UK mobile operator EE to reintroduce EU roaming charges for new and upgrading customers (here) has resulted in some concern that other operators would follow suit. In response, we asked O2, Vodafone and Three UK to clarify whether they’re planning to do something similar.

Supporters Named for New DNS Resolver Policy to Improve Privacy

13th May, 2021 (0 Comments)

The recently proposed ‘European DNS Resolver Policy‘, which aims to foster better standards for privacy and transparency across resolver services for the internet’s Domain Name System (e.g. those run by UK ISPs and third-party providers), has today secured support from several leading organisations.

New Resolver Policy Proposed to Improve Internet DNS Privacy

30th March, 2021 (0 Comments)

A new industry initiative – the ‘European DNS Resolver Policy‘ – has been established that aims to foster better standards for privacy and transparency across resolver services for the internet’s Domain Name System (DNS), such as those run by UK or European broadband ISPs and third-party services (e.g. Google Public DNS).

Ofcom to Review UK Net Neutrality Rules Following ISP BT Moan

14th March, 2021 (22 Comments)

The UK telecoms regulator, Ofcom, has confirmed that, over the course of the next year, it will begin a review of the existing Net Neutrality rules (i.e. these ensure no serious blocking or slowing of access to legal websites or internet services by broadband ISPs and mobile operators). The move follows a call by BT for greater flexibility.

BT Consumer CEO Seeks Softening of Existing UK Net Neutrality Rules

9th March, 2021 (22 Comments)

The CEO of BT’s (EE) UK Consumer broadband and mobile division, Marc Allera, is attempting to resuscitate the age-old debate over Net Neutrality (i.e. treating all internet traffic on their networks equally) by calling for the rules to be changed because “there are very good reasons to enable preferential access to certain platforms.”

UK Mobile Operators Confirm No Change to Free EU Roaming

29th December, 2020 (32 Comments)

As expected all four of the UK’s primary mobile network operators, including Three UK, Vodafone, O2 and EE (BT), have now confirmed that they have “no plans” (yet) to remove free roaming when the UK fully leaves the European Union on Thursday 31st December 2020 this week.

Study Finds Full Fibre is the Most Energy Efficient Broadband

26th November, 2020 (21 Comments)

A new study from the Prysmian Group, which was commissioned by cable manufacturer Europacable, has found that Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) based broadband ISP networks are the most energy efficient of consumer fixed line technologies, compared with FTTC (VDSL2) and Hybrid Fibre Coax (DOCSIS 3 networks, like Virgin Media).

EU Court Ruling Challenges Mobile Operators Zero Rating Plans UPDATE

15th September, 2020 (18 Comments)

A new ruling by Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has today, for the first time, interpreted the EU regulation enshrining “internet neutrality” (this was also adopted in the UK), which appears to restrict mobile and broadband operators when offering zero rating plans (i.e. unlimited data on certain services).

Just 2 UK Municipalities Win EU Funds for FREE WiFi Networks

9th July, 2020 (3 Comments)

The European Commission has revealed the winners from their final call-up for vouchers under the €120m WiFi4EU initiative, which includes just 2 municipalities in the United Kingdom that should now receive vouchers worth up to €15K (£13.42K) to help them install FREE public WiFi broadband hotspots by the end of 2020.

UK Ranks 8th in 2020 EU Broadband Connectivity Progress Study

12th June, 2020 (6 Comments)

The European Commission has today published their annual 2020 Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI), which reveals how the UK’s fixed line broadband ISP and mobile networks compare with the rest of the EU. Overall the UK ranks just 20th for “Connectivity” (up from 21st in 2019), but we do better in other areas.

EU Court Overturns 2016 Block of O2 and Three UK Merger

28th May, 2020 (7 Comments)

The European Court of Justice (General Court) has today annulled a decision by the European Commission’s competition authority, which in 2016 blocked mobile operators O2 and Three UK from merging. The ruling found that the decision to block the £10.45bn deal had failed to prove that such a merger would damage competition.

Most EU Countries and UK Set to Miss Targets for Fibre Access

28th May, 2020 (12 Comments)

New research from Analysys Mason, which was commissioned by Chinese technology firm Huawei (vested interest), has today warned that the United Kingdom and most EU countries will miss the European Commission’s (EC) future broadband targets unless they tackle the remaining challenges and barriers being faced by operators.

Last Call for UK Municipalities to Win EU Funds for FREE WiFi

20th May, 2020 (0 Comments)

The European Commission’s €120m WiFi4EU initiative, which provides vouchers worth up to €15K (£13.42K) to help municipalities install FREE public WiFi wireless broadband hotspots, has announced that it will open up for a fourth and final call for applications between 3rd and 4th of June 2020.

EU Publish Handbook to Help New Rural Broadband Networks

12th May, 2020 (10 Comments)

The European Commission (EC) has published a “dedicated handbook” for rural policy makers and broadband project managers who plan to roll-out new ISP networks into remote areas, which uses examples from the UK (e.g. B4RN etc.) and other EU countries to show how the job can be done both “effectively and efficiently.”

Map of UK and Europe Ranked by Mobile Broadband Speed – 2020

3rd February, 2020 (5 Comments)

RFBenchmark has just published their annual crowd-sourced study of Mobile Broadband (3G, 4G, 5G) speed across Europe, which reveals that the United Kingdom delivered an average download rate of 17.6Mbps (up from 17.2Mbps last year), uploads of 8.7Mbps (up from 8.54Mbps) and latency of 62ms (improved from 71ms).

UK Gov Warns – No More FREE EU Mobile Roaming from 2021, Maybe

30th January, 2020 (40 Comments)

In a somewhat unsurprising development the Government has again warned UK people that the current “guarantee of free mobile phone roaming” throughout the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway “will end” on 1st January 2021, which marks the conclusion of the imminent 11 month Brexit transition period.

Ruling by EU Court Adviser May Hamper UK Internet Snooping

15th January, 2020 (2 Comments)

The Advocate General for the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), Campos Sánchez-Bordona, has today issued a landmark legal “opinion” that could effectively limit the ability of national security agencies (e.g. GCHQ) to force internet providers (e.g. broadband ISPs) into the bulk retention of personal customer data.