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Articles for Category Tag - Politics

Central Manchester Trials Bus Stops with Free WiFi and USB Chargers

24th August, 2016 (4 Comments)

Public bus transport in Manchester city centre is already quite well covered by free WiFi hotspots, but now Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) has gone one further by deploying several “super” bus shelters that also offer free public WiFi connectivity and charging points for Smartphones.

2016 Audit Reveals Scotland’s Superfast Broadband Roll-out Progress

18th August, 2016 (14 Comments)

A new report from Audit Scotland, which works to ensure that public money in Scotland is spent correctly, has found that the £410m Digital Scotland roll-out programme with BT has achieved its initial coverage target. But delivering 95% “fibre broadband” coverage by December 2017 “will be more challenging.”

ISPs Fear Anti-Competitive Industry Levy to Fuel 10Mbps Broadband USO

16th August, 2016 (2 Comments)

Ofcom has published a summary of responses to their recent consultation on the introduction of a new Universal Service Obligation, which would ensure that everyone can get a broadband speed of 10Mbps by 2020. But ISPs have warned that funding this via an industry levy would be “anti-competitive“.

ITS Tech in 20 Year Deal for 100km Nottingham Fibre Broadband Network

15th August, 2016 (5 Comments)

The ITS Technology Group has today signed a new multi-million pound 20-year concession deal with Nottingham City Council, which gives them access to deploy superfast broadband services along an existing 17km fibre optic network that follows the local tram routes (this will be extended to 100km).

Risk to Broadband Roll-out as UK Councils Push for Roadworks Charges

13th August, 2016 (9 Comments)

The Local Government Association, which seems to have spent the past few weeks calling for faster broadband infrastructure (example), has taken a perhaps contradictory position today by calling for councils to get new powers so that they can charge utility companies more money for roadworks.

UK Government Agrees to Protect EU Funded Broadband Projects

13th August, 2016 (3 Comments)

After a nail biting few weeks of uncertainty the UK Government’s Chancellor, Philip Hammond, has finally pledged to protect and in some cases underwrite broadband infrastructure projects that are in the process of receiving or bidding for additional state aid funding from the EU.

Councils Criticise Misleading Ads for Broadband ISP Speeds in Rural Areas

10th August, 2016 (18 Comments)

The Local Government Association, which represents around 370 councils across England and Wales, has warned that the way broadband ISPs advertise their service speeds is particularly “misleading” for consumers in rural areas. Instead they want providers’ to promote “average” speeds and to also include upload speeds into their promotions.

Jeremy Corbyn Hopes to Splash £500bn on Infrastructure and Broadband

4th August, 2016 (12 Comments)

The embattled leader of the UK Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn MP, has promised to spend £500 billion on national infrastructure and use part of it to roll-out “high speed broadband” so that the United Kingdom can “stop languishing behind Bulgaria and Romania,” but only if he wins the leadership contest.

Devon and Somerset’s 10Mbps Rural Broadband Vouchers Prove Popular

4th August, 2016 (5 Comments)

The Broadband Delivery UK programme has claimed that a new rural broadband voucher scheme (up to £500 per property) in Devon and Somerset, which has received over 1600 applications (1100 of those have been approved), is “shaping up to be one of the most successful in the country.”

UK Government Q and A on the New Broadband Investment Fund

1st August, 2016 (0 Comments)

The Government’s Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA) has shared with us an interesting summary of queries received and their responses to them for the newly proposed Broadband Investment Fund (BIF), which aims to help alternative network ISPs to secure funds for building new “ultra-fast” (100Mbps+) broadband infrastructure.

EU Propose Legally Binding Broadband Universal Service Obligation

30th July, 2016 (7 Comments)

The United Kingdom is already building a legally binding Universal Service Obligation (USO) for 10Mbps broadband speeds and a new leak of future EU telecoms proposals appears to confirm that the European Commission are planning to do something similar.

City of London Agrees Standard Wayleave Deal to Boost Fibre Broadband

28th July, 2016 (1 Comment)

The City of London Corporation has successfully agreed a new standardised wayleave template with local developers, landlords, ISPs, property managers, government, legal firms and key trade associations that should make it easier, quicker and cheaper to roll-out superfast broadband to buildings.

UPDATE 191 New Build Homes in Portsmouth Left with SLOW Broadband

27th July, 2016 (30 Comments)

The Guardians Gate Residents Association (GGRA), which represents new build homes on the ‘Guardians Gate’ development in Milton (Portsmouth), has said that it is “angry and frustrated” over the failure of Openreach (BT) and property developer Bellway to roll-out superfast broadband.

Local UK Councils Demand Action on 10Mbps Broadband USO Pledge

27th July, 2016 (3 Comments)

The Local Government Association, which represents 370 councils in England and Wales, has called on the Government to set out a “timetable for action” on its plans to introduce a 10Mbps Universal Service Obligation for broadband in order to avoid masses of homes being left in a “digital twilight zone.”

UK Accused of Suspending Key EU Source of Broadband Investment

26th July, 2016 (0 Comments)

The UK Government has been accused of quietly suspending payments from the £3bn European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) due to the Brexit vote, which is despite both the EU and UK initially saying that it would be “business as usual” until we leave.

BT Chairman Confirms Offer of Independent Openreach Board

25th July, 2016 (5 Comments)

The Chairman of BT Group, Sir Michael Rake, has today confirmed that the operator is in the process of making a legally-binding offer to the national UK telecoms regulator that could result in Openreach creating a largely independent board with greater control over future investment and strategy.

EU Aims for Universal 100Mbps Ultrafast Broadband Coverage by 2025

19th July, 2016 (3 Comments)

A leaked draft of a new report from the European Commission has revealed that the EU intends to set a new target for broadband and mobile coverage, which will aim to ensure that “all European households” can get a minimum Internet download speed of 100Mbps (Megabits per second) by 2025.