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Articles for Category Tag - Europe

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).

Internet law uk broadband and telecoms by 123rf

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.

european union including united kingdom map

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.

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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.

KCOM Win 2019 European Broadband Award for Network Quality

3rd December, 2019 (4 Comments)

The incumbent broadband ISP for Hull and East Yorkshire (England), KCOM, last night scooped the 2019 European Broadband Award for “Quality and affordability of services,” which predominantly reflected their £85m effort to roll-out a new 1Gbps capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband network across their patch.

Major Billing Blunder Strikes Vodafone UK’s Roaming Users

14th October, 2019 (5 Comments)

Mobile operator Vodafone UK has apologised after a significant blunder meant that customers of its network, including those busy roaming around Europe, were hit by incorrect bills of up to several thousand pounds over the weekend due to a “technical error” (translation – botched customer database update).

The Challenges of Boris Johnson’s 2025 Full Fibre for All UK Pledge

3rd August, 2019 (34 Comments)

The new Prime Minister for the United Kingdom, Boris Johnson, recently confirmed his ambition to deliver “full fibre” ultrafast broadband nationwide by 2025 but many, ourselves included, have wondered aloud whether or not that’s even possible. We take a closer look.

Fibre ISPs Take Note – UK Consults on New EU Electronic Comms Code

19th July, 2019 (0 Comments)

The Government’s Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) has begun consulting on its plan to implement the new European Electronic Communications Code (EECC) into UK law, which includes new provisions that are intended to boost the rollout of Gigabit speed “full fibre” (FTTP) broadband and 5G mobile networks.