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Articles for Category Tag - Politics

Q3 2020 Progress Update on Wales BT FTTP Broadband Rollout

2nd December, 2020 (0 Comments)

The Welsh Government has issued a Q3 2020 progress update on their £52.5m Phase 2 Superfast Cymru contract with BT (Openreach), which is deploying a 1Gbps Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband ISP network to cover 39,000 extra premises in rural Wales. The data to September 2020 shows 14,698 premises have now been completed.

Gov Tightens Huawei 5G Mobile and FTTP Broadband Restrictions

30th November, 2020 (9 Comments)

In another telecoms policy surprise the UK Government has today announced that mobile operators, such as Three UK, EE (BT) and Vodafone, must stop installing “any” Huawei equipment in ultrafast 5G networks from the end of September 2021. A 35% cap on kit will also apply to FTTP and gigabit broadband from Jan 2023.

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).

Government Start £5bn UK Gigabit Broadband Plan for 85%+ by 2025 UPDATE

25th November, 2020 (38 Comments)

The Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, has today published his 2020 Spending Review and in so doing has kicked off the new £5bn UK Gigabit Broadband Programme, which previously aimed to ensure that “every home” could access a 1Gbps capable connection by the end of 2025 but now expects a “minimum” of 85% coverage by that date.

GWS Finds Digital Divide in the UK from Slow Broadband Speeds

25th November, 2020 (3 Comments)

A new study by Global Wireless Solutions (GWS), which was conducted by Censuswide with 2,007 UK adults during September to early November 2020, has determined that only 64% of properties have a “decent broadband” (10Mbps+) service and a third (30%) are suffering from “inadequate throughputs” (i.e. sub-2Mbps speeds).

Broadway Partners Build FTTP Broadband into Rural Powys

24th November, 2020 (2 Comments)

Rural broadband builder Broadway Partners (aka – UK ISP Broadway Broadband) appears to have extended their Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) rollout in Wales to include rural communities in parts of Powys, starting with the small villages of Llanafan Fawr (population of 470+) and Llanwrthwl (population of 190+).

New Bill Laid to BAN Huawei and Boost UK Telecoms Security

24th November, 2020 (12 Comments)

The Government will today publish their Telecommunications (Security) Bill, which imposes new rules to improve the security of UK networks (mobile and broadband) and ban “high risk vendors” like Huawei, while also threatening fines of up to £100k a day (or 10% of turnover) against operators that fail to meet the standard.

ONS Finds R&D Spending on UK Telecoms Has Nearly Stalled

23rd November, 2020 (0 Comments)

The UK Office for National Statistics (ONS) has revealed that the telecoms industry has gone from last year’s report, when it was the fastest growing sector for R&D spending (up 25.4% to total £947m by the end of 2018), to this year (2019) when spending on research and development grew by just 0.95% to total £956m.

OneWeb UK to Launch 36 LEO Broadband Satellites on 17th Dec

20th November, 2020 (10 Comments)

Space company OneWeb, which is owned by a consortium of the UK Government and Indian conglomerate Bharti Global (here), has today revealed that they will launch the next batch of 36 high-speed broadband capable Low Earth Orbit (LEO) Satellites into orbit on 17th December 2020.

Broadband ISP FACTCO Target FTTP Rollout for Rothbury

18th November, 2020 (0 Comments)

The rural Northumberland (England) town of Rothbury, and its surrounding communities, have recently become the latest target for a new deployment of 1Gbps capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) technology, which is thanks to the efforts of UK ISP FACTCO and support from local councillor Steven Bridget.

76,000 Extra Premises in Northern Ireland to Get FTTP Broadband

18th November, 2020 (11 Comments)

Northern Ireland’s Department for the Economy (DfE) has today confirmed what we first revealed in September (here), which is that alternative network ISP Fibrus have secure the £165m Project Stratum contract and will be extending “superfast broadband” (30Mbps+) coverage to 76,000+ extra rural premises by March 2024.

Virgin Media Biz to Upgrade Broadband for 58 Falkirk Schools

17th November, 2020 (2 Comments)

UK ISP Virgin Media Business has today signed a new multi-year public sector contract with Falkirk Council in Scotland, which among other things will see additional bandwidth and WiFi improvements (coverage, speed and security) being supplied to 58 local schools.

House of Lords Committee Probes Online UK Freedom of Speech

16th November, 2020 (10 Comments)

The House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee has launched a new inquiry, which will examine whether or not freedom of expression is under threat online and, if so, how modern technology might be used to help protect it. The inquiry will also weigh that against how such freedoms should be balanced with other rights.

1Gbps VXFIBER FTTP Broadband Goes Live in Stoke-on-Trent UK UPDATE

16th November, 2020 (4 Comments)

The first 2,000 homes in the Staffordshire city of Stoke-on-Trent can now access one of the UK’s first part-publicly-owned open access Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) based broadband ISP networks, which is being deployed under a £19.2m partnership between the city council and Swedish operator VXFIBER (inc. subsidiary LilaConnect).

Carmarthenshire Council Approve £55m for Digital Infrastructure

13th November, 2020 (6 Comments)

The Carmarthenshire Council in South West Wales has approved, as part of the wider Swansea Bay City Deal, an investment of £55m to boost digital connectivity in the region, which among other things looks set to help deploy more “full fibre” broadband connectivity and support improvements to mobile networks.

Government Preps Universal Service Obligation for UK Mobile

11th November, 2020 (19 Comments)

The UK Government yesterday introduced new powers for the Secretary of State to, among other things, establish a new Universal Service Obligation (USO) for 4G or 5G mobile networks “in the future,” albeit only if that is “deemed necessary.” Questions will now be raised over what such a USO would look like.

Gigabit Broadband ISP Coverage Jumps to 34% of UK Premises

9th November, 2020 (16 Comments)

The combined reach of 1Gbps (1000Mbps+) speed capable ISP networks, via both Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) and DOCSIS 3.1 technologies, has now helped to increase national “gigabit broadband” coverage to 34.1% of UK premises (up sharply from just 10% one year ago).