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Articles for Category Tag - Politics

£200m UK Rural Gigabit Broadband Connectivity Programme Starts

19th May, 2019 (33 Comments)

The UK Government has today officially launched their new £200m Rural Gigabit Connectivity (RGC) programme, which was originally announced during the 2018 Budget and aims to encourage an “outside-in” approach to building new ultrafast broadband ISP networks by focusing on helping to connect rural areas.

Rural UK ISP Gigaclear Fined £10,339 for Roadworks in Somerset

17th May, 2019 (14 Comments)

Rural broadband ISP Gigaclear has been fined £10,339.17 in Somerset UK after it admitted that some of its work, which involved deploying a new 1Gbps capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network around the small market town of Wellington, had failed to comply with the 1991 New Road and Street Works Act.

Welsh Gov Admit Subsidised Rural FTTP Broadband Coming to an End

14th May, 2019 (61 Comments)

The Welsh Government’s Deputy Minister for Economy and Transport, Lee Waters AM, finally said something last week that has been becoming increasingly obvious over the past few years, “we need to confront the fact that the market’s appetite, even with subsidy, for reaching premises with [FTTP] broadband is coming to an end.”

Mobile Operators Strike UK Network Sharing Deal for Rural Coverage

13th May, 2019 (12 Comments)

Mobile operators EE (BT), Vodafone, O2 and Three UK have confirmed a new agreement that could help to boost the rural coverage of their 2G, 3G, 4G and future 5G networks. Under the deal a new infrastructure company will be established to help build masts in remote areas. Now they just need Ofcom to agree.

UK Infrastructure Chief Warns Gov Not to Make “Vague Promises”

13th May, 2019 (3 Comments)

The Chairman of the National Infrastructure Commission, Sir John Armitt, has warned the UK Government not to merely “pay lip service” to their proposals for improving broadband, 5G, energy and transport by “restating existing policy” and offering “vague promises” when they set a National Infrastructure Strategy (NIS) this autumn.

Government Re-brands UK Broadband and Full Fibre Programmes

13th May, 2019 (22 Comments)

The Government’s Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) has decided that it has too many different named broadband and “full fibre” programmes and as a result they’ve today opted to simplify by aligning all of them under just two overarching programmes – ‘The UK Fibre Programme‘ and ‘Building Digital UK‘.

Mobile Operators Call on UK Councils to Help NOT Hinder 5G Networks

12th May, 2019 (27 Comments)

The trade association for mobile operators, Mobile UK, has warned that many councils currently adopt an “inconsistent” approach to improving mobile connectivity and fixed line broadband is often given a higher priority. Instead the group wants local authorities to take the future roll-out of ultrafast 5G networks more seriously.

4G Emergency Services Network Faces Huge UK Delay and £9.3bn Cost

10th May, 2019 (9 Comments)

The National Audit Office (NAO) has today issued a damning report into the Home Office’s handling of the new 4G (EE) based Emergency Services Network (ESN), which will now cost a total of £9.3bn (£3.1bn more than forecast in 2015) and it will be July 2029 before the financial benefits outweigh its costs (7 years late).

10 Northern Ireland Councils to See New £15m Full Fibre Network

9th May, 2019 (7 Comments)

Further details have today been revealed about a new UK Government funded project that will see ten councils (outside of Belfast) in Northern Ireland coming together in order to benefit from a new Gigabit speed “full fibre” (FTTP / Dark Fibre) network, which aims to connect around 880 public sector sites by March 2021.

Greater Manchester UK Issues £32m Tender for Full Fibre Network

7th May, 2019 (3 Comments)

The Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), which last year secured public funding of £23.8m from the UK Government’s Local Full Fibre Network (LFFN) challenge fund, has now issued a related £32m tender to help build a new 450km long Gigabit speed “full fibre” network to serve 1,300 public sector sites.

Let ISPs get on with the job of rolling out and delivering broadband

4th May, 2019 (4 Comments)

Broadband is no longer a luxury good, but flows through households and businesses as freely as running water. Quality broadband allows us to live better and more fulfilling lives, and it is a lifeline for businesses to connect with the rest of the world.

New UK Laws to Make Broadband Routers and IoT Kit More Secure

1st May, 2019 (14 Comments)

The Government has today launched a new consultation on their proposal to introduce new laws that would seek to improve the security of internet connected devices, such as smart TVs, broadband ISP routers, smart speakers and other Internet of Things (IoT) style devices. But “initially” these will only be voluntary.

All UK GPs, Hospitals and Community Care Facilities to Get Full Fibre

30th April, 2019 (12 Comments)

The Government’s Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Matt Hancock MP, has today announced his intention to upgrade the National Health Service (NHS) with better digital connectivity, not least by ensuring that all GPs and Hospitals are connected to Gigabit capable “full fibre” connections (FTTP or leased lines).

Digital Scotland Broadband Rollout Boosted Economy by £2.76bn

29th April, 2019 (6 Comments)

A new Analysys Mason report has estimated that the £442.2m (public and private investment) Digital Scotland project with BT (Openreach), which covered an extra 930,000 premises via a mix of FTTC (VDSL2) and a little FTTP broadband technology, will create a total benefit to the Scottish economy of £2.76bn over 15 years.

Lords Report Propose Fixes for Poor UK Rural Broadband and Mobile

27th April, 2019 (48 Comments)

A new cross-party report from the House of Lords Select Committee on the Rural Economy has warned that rural communities across the UK are still being “ignored and underrated,” with many still suffering from poor fixed line broadband ISP and mobile network connectivity. But they also recommend some possible solutions.

Government Bans Huawei Kit from Core UK 5G Mobile Networks

24th April, 2019 (17 Comments)

Mobile operators Three UK, Vodafone, EE (BT) and O2 are to be officially told by the Government that they will be banned from deploying hardware and software from Chinese tech giant Huawei into the core of their future 5G based mobile broadband networks, although non-core 5G kit (antennas etc.) will be exempt.

Government Sets Tough Age Verification Rules for Internet Porn Ban

17th April, 2019 (49 Comments)

The UK Government has sent final terms to Age Verification Providers for the related BBFC certification scheme, which sets strict rules for how such providers must verify a user’s age before allowing them to access a porn site. As before, broadband ISPs must block websites that fail to comply. The system will begin in July 2019.