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Articles for Category Tag - Politics

Government Offers £1m to Help UK Businesses Harness 5G Mobile

18th March, 2019 (0 Comments)

The Government’s Innovate UK programme, which is being supported by CELTIC-NEXT, has today announced that it’s making £1 million available to help businesses looking to partner with international companies on 5G mobile Research and Development (R&D) projects.

No Gigaclear Deal Yet But Devon and Somerset Get Extension to 2023 UPDATE

18th March, 2019 (19 Comments)

The UK Government has officially backed a bid to extend £18.7m of public funding so that it can be used to further extend “superfast broadband” (30Mbps+) in Devon and Somerset up to March 2023, which follows various historic and recent delays to the project’s roll-out plan. Sadly they’ve yet to resolve the Gigaclear situation.

Scotland Gives 10 Year Business Rates Holiday to Fibre Broadband

16th March, 2019 (12 Comments)

On 1st April 2019 the Scottish Government will go one big step further than the UK Government in Westminster by introducing 100% relief from business rates on new “fibre broadband infrastructure“. Better yet, the tax break is set to last for 10 long years until 31st March 2029.

FTTH Council Report Lists Barriers to UK Copper Telecoms Switch-Off

13th March, 2019 (28 Comments)

The FTTH Council Europe has today published a new report that examines what progress has been made across the UK and Europe on the transition from older copper broadband networks to new “full fibre” (FTTH / FTTP) infrastructure. Suffice to say that some big barriers remain in the UK.

Government Lists 9 Winning UK Bidders for Wave 3 Full Fibre Fund

13th March, 2019 (3 Comments)

The Government has today confirmed which UK regions have so far secured £53m out of the £95m allocation that was made available to local authorities as part of the £190m Local Full Fibre Network (LFFN) challenge fund last year (Wave 3), which aims to stimulate commercial investment in “gigabit capable” broadband networks.

New Deal Pledges Faster Broadband and Mobile for South of Scotland

13th March, 2019 (7 Comments)

The Scottish Government has today committed to invest up to £85m over 10 years in order to support a new Borderlands Inclusive Growth Deal (BIGD), which among other things will aim to improve fibre optic broadband and 4G mobile coverage in poorly served areas. The UK Government will also provide up to £260m.

Welsh Government Tightens Lobbyist Rules After Cityfibre Meeting UPDATE

12th March, 2019 (2 Comments)

The Welsh Government have changed their “processes” in order to make it harder for professional lobbyists’ to access ministers, which occurred after a “misunderstanding” resulted in lobbyist Daran Hill attending a meeting between the Economy Minister, Ken Stakes, and UK fibre optic broadband ISP Cityfibre.

Chancellor Rebuffs MP’s Attempt to Reinstate B4RN’s EIS Tax Relief

8th March, 2019 (28 Comments)

The former leader of the UK Liberal Democrat party and MP for South Lakes, Tim Farron, has accused the Chancellor (Philip Hammond) of “fobbing off local communities” by effectively imposing a “tax rise” on rural broadband ISP B4RN with its decision to withdraw their EIS tax relief.

Government Predicting 97% UK Superfast Broadband Cover by 2020

8th March, 2019 (74 Comments)

The latest forecast from the Government’s £1.8bn Broadband Delivery UK programme appears to now be predicting that fixed “superfast broadband” (24Mbps+) capable ISP networks will cover 97% of premises by March 2020, which is slightly down on some previous 98%+ remarks (not official targets).

Report Calls for UK Government to Update on its Spectrum Targets

7th March, 2019 (0 Comments)

A new report from the Spectrum Policy Forum, which was conducted by Plum Consulting, has called on the Government to update on their progress toward doubling the annual contribution to the UK economy of use of spectrum by 2025 (mobile broadband, wifi, Satellite, digital TV etc.).

Shetland Secures £1.91m for Full Fibre Broadband Network Build

5th March, 2019 (5 Comments)

Good news. The remote Shetland Islands Council has secured a public investment of £1.91m from the UK Government’s Local Full Fibre Network (LFFN) fund, which will be used to extend their existing Gigabit fibre network to include public sector sites (schools, council buildings etc.) on the North Isles of Yell and Unst.

Government Study Examines the UK Digital Divide in Internet Use

4th March, 2019 (6 Comments)

The Office for National Statistics has published an interesting new study that explores the scale of digital exclusion in the UK, which examines the reasons why around 5 million adults (10%) still aren’t using the internet. The familiar issues of disability, sickness, lack of skills and limited desire all come into play. No quick fixes.

Suffolk UK Secure £1.725m to Extend Faster Rural Broadband

2nd March, 2019 (2 Comments)

The UK Government’s Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has released £1.725m to help improve “superfast broadband” (24Mbps+) coverage in rural parts of Suffolk. The money is expected to result in a further 550 business and 600 non-business (homes etc.) premises being covered.

Calls for New Pre-Brexit Rural Broadband Strategy from UK Gov

1st March, 2019 (20 Comments)

The Rural Services Network (RSN) are today leading calls for the UK government to produce an “urgent comprehensive strategy for rural areas” in preparation for Brexit, which among other things demands more investment to boost the “full fibre” (FTTP) broadband roll-out and stronger mobile coverage targets.

University of Surrey Paper Calls for Changes to Aid UK Rural 5G Cover

27th February, 2019 (5 Comments)

A new discussion paper from the University of Surrey, which was produced as part of the UK Government’s 5G Testbed and Trials programme, has warned that it will take more than “competition and public financing” to fill the existing rural mobile coverage gaps with 5G (mobile broadband) services. But they’ve got ideas.

UK Gov Reject Openreach Proposed Fix for Part Built Fibre in Wales

26th February, 2019 (14 Comments)

The UK Government appears to have rejected a £12.9m accelerated gainshare proposal from Openreach (BT), which was first proposed last year (here) as a possible solution to help complete a number of unfinished (part-built) “fibre broadband” (FTTC and FTTP) deployments in Wales.

Pilot to Connect 100 Rural Schools in England with Gigabit Broadband UPDATE

26th February, 2019 (14 Comments)

The UK Government has today announced the launch of a new £3m pilot project under their £190m Local Full Fibre Networks (LFFN) programme, which within the “next few months” aims to connect more than 100 primary schools in rural parts of England to a Gigabit capable FTTP broadband ISP network.