Home » UK ISP News Archive » Article Tag: Europe (362 Posts)

Articles for Category Tag - Europe

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.

Europe Cuts Mobile Roaming Charges, But it Becomes Free in 2017

30th April, 2016 (9 Comments)

The price of making a call, sending a text or surfing the Internet (Mobile Broadband) from your mobile phone while roaming abroad within Europe has today dropped another level following last year’s regulatory changes (here) and the extra charges will be completely removed from 15th June 2017.

Cornwall UK Moot Third EU Funded GBP16m Superfast Broadband Rollout

22nd April, 2016 (3 Comments)

The Cornwall Council in South West England has unveiled tentative plans for a third “Superfast 2” contract (total value of up to £16.25m) to further expand the local availability of superfast broadband (30Mbps+) services to some of the approximately 39,400 premises that have yet to achieve such speeds.

UPDATE Competition Watchdog Tries to Halt O2 and Three UK Merger

11th April, 2016 (5 Comments)

The Competition and Markets Authority has today written a last ditch letter of appeal that urges the European Commission not to approve the proposed £10.25bn merger of Three UK (CK Hutchison Holdings) and O2 (Telefonica), which it says will result in “long-term damage to the UK mobile telecoms market.”

Sky and Virgin Media Moot Mobile Network Capacity Deal with Three UK

7th April, 2016 (0 Comments)

Reports indicate that Virgin Media and Sky (Sky Broadband) could both sign significant mobile network capacity deals with Three UK (CK Hutchison Holdings), which is dependent upon whether or not the European Commission approves the proposed merger with O2 UK (Telefonica).

Ofcom Release Final UK vs EU Broadband Scorecard Results for 2015

5th April, 2016 (5 Comments)

Ofcom has published the final version of their most recent European Broadband Scorecard, which shows how the United Kingdom compares with Europe’s other major countries in terms of delivering the Government’s ambition for us to have the “fastest broadband of any major European country by 2015“.

EU Court Says Public WiFi Networks Not Liable for Internet Piracy by Users

16th March, 2016 (1 Comment)

The European Court of Justice has today offered a preliminary “opinion” on the long-running “McFadden case” in Germany, which effectively concludes that operators of free (no password required) open public WiFi networks cannot be held liable for copyright infringements committed on their networks.

Ofcom Warns of 20 Percent Price Hike from Three UK and O2 Merger

15th March, 2016 (12 Comments)

The regulator has published an “econometric analysis” of the effect of disruptive firms (e.g. Three UK) on mobile pricing, which among other things suggests that the proposed £10.25bn merger between Three UK and O2 could result in consumer prices going up by between 17.2% and 20.5% on average.

ABTA Warns Brexit Could Hike EU Mobile Roaming Prices for UK Users

15th March, 2016 (2 Comments)

The cost of making calls, sending text messages and going online via your Smartphone’s Mobile Broadband (3G, 4G) connection when in Europe could rise if the United Kingdom votes to leave the EU later this year, claims a new report from Deloitte and ABTA – The Travel Association.

UK Declines in European Ranking of Mobile and Broadband Connectivity

26th February, 2016 (6 Comments)

The European Commission has published their 2016 Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI), which sees the United Kingdom’s country ranking for mobile and fixed line broadband connectivity fall from 4th to 6th place; mostly because other countries are improving at a faster pace.

UK vs Europe – Brief Comparison of National Broadband Plans

18th February, 2016 (4 Comments)

The on-going FTTH Conference 2016 event in Luxembourg has just released an interesting visualisation, which reveals that the United Kingdom is one of the few European states without a firm target for delivering 100% superfast broadband (30Mbps+) coverage by 2020.

Shropshire and Herefordshire Moot Own Business Broadband Vouchers

15th February, 2016 (4 Comments)

The Herefordshire and Shropshire councils appear to have been so impressed by the Government’s recently ended Connection Voucher scheme (here), which gifted grants of up to £3,000 to help smaller UK businesses get a superfast broadband (30Mbps+) service installed, that they’re mooting a local replacement.

Government and BT Deal to Put Superfast Broadband into UK New Builds

5th February, 2016 (20 Comments)

The Government has today unveiled a new agreement with BT (Openreach) and the Home Builders Federation (HBF) that aims to deliver “fibre based” (FTTC/P/H) superfast or ultrafast broadband connectivity into new build properties across the United Kingdom, either for free or co-funded.

UPD Three UK Pledges to Retain Low Prices if O2 Merger Gets Approval

4th February, 2016 (5 Comments)

The parent of mobile operator Three UK (CK Hutchison Holdings) has moved to counter Ofcom’s concerns about their proposed £10.25bn merger deal with O2 (Telefonica) by making “three clear and simple promises“, which include plans for a £5bn network investment and a pledge not to raise prices for 5 years.