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Articles for Category Tag - Europe

Change Ensures New Build Homes are Ready for High-Speed Broadband

1st July, 2016 (0 Comments)

From today EU member states, which for now still includes the United Kingdom, are required to adopt the new Broadband Cost Reduction Directive (2014/61/EU) that will push for all newly constructed buildings to be equipped with “high-speed” ready broadband infrastructure.

Internet Campaign Launched to Protect Net Neutrality from Abuse by ISPs

28th June, 2016 (0 Comments)

A new campaign has been launched by Fight for the Future (FFTF) that calls on the EU and telecoms regulators to ensure that their new Net Neutrality rules close any loopholes that allow ISPs to sell “Internet fast lanes” to large companies or limit traffic to online services like VPN or P2P (File Sharing) etc.

UPDATE2 UK to Leave EU – What Next for Broadband and Internet Policy

24th June, 2016 (8 Comments)

It’s impossible to escape today’s big news, which is that the United Kingdom has voted by a tiny margin to leave the European Union. The immediate impact upon UK Internet and broadband policy will be mild, but some areas may be hit harder than others and the future beyond 2018/9 is particularly uncertain.

EU Publish New UK National Broadband State Aid Agreement in Full

23rd June, 2016 (8 Comments)

Last month the Government’s Broadband Delivery UK programme confirmed that it had established a new EU State Aid agreement (full summary), which would support the on-going roll-out of “superfast broadband” services. The EC has now published the full text of that deal, albeit with a caveat for Leased Lines.

Vodafone Hikes UK Out of Bundle Prices and EU Roaming Charges

16th June, 2016 (11 Comments)

Mobile operator Vodafone has recently started to text customers in order to warn them about an impending price rise that will affect many of their standard out-of-bundle charges, as well as roaming charges in EU regulated countries, all of which are due to hit on 23rd July 2016.

EU Losing Ground in the Race to Roll-out Ultrafast 5G Mobile Networks

14th June, 2016 (2 Comments)

The European Commission has launched a new consultation that aims to devise a coordinated roll-out plan for the next generation of 5G mobile networks across its 28 EU member states, which predicts a 2019/2020 introduction. But the USA, South Korea and China are aiming to launch much sooner.

Blackdown Hills Communities Hope for Better Broadband with EU Money

13th June, 2016 (1 Comment)

Villages in the rural Blackdown Hills, which represents a 370km2 area of natural beauty that straddles the border between Somerset and Devon in South West England, appear to have become tired of waiting for better broadband and have instead put in a bid for £4.6m from the EU to support their own plan.

UPDATE BSG Publish Revised UK ISP Open Internet Code of Practice

8th June, 2016 (0 Comments)

As expected the Broadband Stakeholders Group, which acts as a think-tank for UK government policy, has today published a revised 2016 Open Internet Code of Practice for ISPs that works to protect Net Neutrality by bringing the self-regulatory approach into line with new EU regulation.

EU Telecoms Regulators Consult on New Net Neutrality Guidelines

7th June, 2016 (1 Comment)

The Body of European Regulators of Electronic Communications (BEREC), which represents national telecoms regulators from across the EU (e.g. Ofcom in the UK), has published its first draft guidelines for Europe’s new Net Neutrality rules that require ISPs and mobile operators to maintain an open Internet.

UPDATE UK Gov Reach New Rural Broadband EU State Aid Agreement

26th May, 2016 (43 Comments)

The Government’s Broadband Delivery UK scheme has today established a new EU State Aid umbrella agreement, which will encourage smaller altnet ISPs to take part and allow new contracts to be signed as part of efforts to expand superfast broadband (30Mbps+) towards and beyond the 95% coverage goal.

Europe Clarifies State Aid Rules for Infrastructure and Other Markets

19th May, 2016 (0 Comments)

The European Commission has today published guidance on when public spending falls within, and outside, the scope of EU State Aid control. The new guidance doesn’t specifically change the way in which we already understand state aid to be applied to broadband infrastructure, but some may find its clarification(s) useful.

Video Streaming Providers to Escape EU Ban on Internet Geo Blocking

13th May, 2016 (3 Comments)

Rights holders will be pleased to learn that a leaked draft of the European Commission’s new Digital Single Market policy, which is expected to be published before the end of May 2016, looks set to exempt video streaming providers (e.g. Netflix) from the plan to ban geo-blocking of online content.

UPDATE EU Block Three UK and O2 Mobile Merger – A Concession Too Few

11th May, 2016 (13 Comments)

After several months of work the European Commission has today announced the outcome of their investigation into the proposed £10.25bn merger between Three UK (CK Hutchison Holdings) and rival mobile operator O2 (Telefonica), which blocks the deal.

Virgin Media Owner Hints at Interest in Gobbling Mobile Operator O2 UK

11th May, 2016 (2 Comments)

The CEO of Liberty Global, which owns cable operator Virgin Media in the United Kingdom, has joined French telecoms firm Illiad SA (here) by indicating that they too would have an interest in O2 (Telefonica UK) if the operator suddenly came up for sale again.

French Operator Illiad SA Considers Buying O2 if Three UK Merger Fails

9th May, 2016 (3 Comments)

The French telecoms provider Iliad SA, which owns mobile operator ‘Free Mobile’, is reportedly sniffing around O2 (Telefonica UK) and could make a play for the operator if the on-going merger plans with Three UK are dashed by the European Commission this week.

10Mbps USO Confusion as Hopes Fade of Universal Superfast Broadband

9th May, 2016 (29 Comments)

Last week a media storm was caused after one newspaper dredged up an extract from the Government’s on-going consultation on the proposed 10Mbps Universal Service Obligation (USO) and used it to infer that the final 5% of the UK (most rural areas) would be left behind, but the reality is more complex.

UPDATE2 New Homes Development in Bonnyrigg Stuck with Slow Broadband

9th May, 2016 (11 Comments)

A group of residents on the new Hopefield development in Bonnyrigg (Scotland), which is managed by Taylor Wimpey, have setup a campaign to get their local Openreach (BT) Street Cabinet upgraded to FTTC (“fibre broadband”) after becoming frustrated by the areas super slow Internet.