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Articles for Category Tag - Politics

Ed Vaizey MP Moots “Gigabit Britain” for 2025 and 10Mbps USO by 2018

14th April, 2016 (35 Comments)

The Government’s Digital Economy Minister, Ed Vaizey, has told a select committee inquiry into digital connectivity that he would expect to start seeing “gigabit” (1000Mbps+) speed broadband from 2020-25 and that the 10Mbps Universal Service Obligation (USO) should be “coming on stream” towards the end of 2017 or 2018.

Shropshire UK Moot New Broadband Tender for July or September

13th April, 2016 (0 Comments)

The Connecting Shropshire project in England, which is helping BT to deploy “fibre broadband” (FTTC/P) services to around 95% of local premises by 2018 (around 90% should get 24Mbps+ speeds), could be ready to put out another contract tender to further extend coverage in July or September 2016.

Suffolk Councillor – New Build Homes Must Support Superfast Broadband

12th April, 2016 (25 Comments)

Suffolk’s Deputy County Council Leader, Christopher Hudson, has called on the local authority to consider making it a requirement of the planning process for property developers to ensure that their new build homes support superfast broadband connectivity.

Devon and Somerset Offer £500 Vouchers for 10Mb Rural Broadband

11th April, 2016 (1 Comment)

The £94m Connecting Devon and Somerset project in England has announced the introduction of a new subsidy scheme (worth up to £500 per property), which is designed to help those stuck on sub-2Mbps broadband speeds to get a 10Mbps or faster connection installed.

Ofcom Consults on the Proposed 10Mbps Broadband USO

7th April, 2016 (33 Comments)

The UK telecoms regulator has today launched a new ‘Call for Inputs‘ to help inform the design of the Government’s proposed broadband Universal Service Obligation (USO), which would ensure that everybody could get a minimum Internet speed of 10Mbps (Megabits per second) by 2020.

UK Government Publish Guidance for ISP Users Hit by Piracy Threat Letters

7th April, 2016 (2 Comments)

The Government’s Intellectual Property Office (IPO) has today published a very basic piece of new guidance that is designed to help consumers who may have received a letter that accuses them of having shared copyright material online via P2P (BitTorrent) file sharing networks.

UPDATE Labour Party Threatens to Delay UK ISP Internet Spying Bill

4th April, 2016 (9 Comments)

The UK Labour Party has today set out a list of changes that it would like to see being made to the controversial Draft Investigatory Powers Bill, which aims to force broadband ISPs into logging a much bigger slice of your online activity and to then share it with the security services.

FISP Calls for 1000Mbps Broadband to be Deployed Across London UK

31st March, 2016 (23 Comments)

The Foundation for Information Society Policy (FISP) think-tank has said that some 20 cities in the United Kingdom are on their way to rolling out Gigabit (1000Mbps+) class broadband services, but London isn’t one of them and they want the capital’s mayoral candidates to change that.

Liverpool to Rent Out Underground Ducts to Foster Fibre Optic Broadband

29th March, 2016 (3 Comments)

The city of Liverpool is already well covered by “superfast” (24Mbps+) capable broadband services, but the local authority are now looking to further boost connectivity to “ultrafast” levels (usually 100Mbps+ or Gigabit territory) by renting out their underground cable ducts to private investment.

Wales UK Moots Taller Mobile Masts to Improve Network Cover

24th March, 2016 (6 Comments)

One of the historic problems with improving mobile network (2G, 3G and 4G etc.) coverage has been the fact that local laws often limit their height in order to placate NIMBYs. But this is slowly changing and the Welsh Government are looking to follow suit.

UK Government Begins Consultation on 10Mbps Broadband USO

23rd March, 2016 (13 Comments)

The Government’s Department for Culture, Media and Sport has launched its official consultation on the proposal to introduce a new legally binding Universal Service Obligation (USO), which would ensure that everybody could get a minimum broadband speed of 10Mbps (Megabits per second) by 2020.

UK National Infrastructure Delivery Plan – Nothing New for Broadband

23rd March, 2016 (0 Comments)

The Government has today re-announced published their ‘New National Infrastructure Delivery Plan‘, which highlights a commitment to invest over £100bn into UK infrastructure by 2020-21 (transport, housing, digital comms, energy etc.). But there’s not much new for broadband Internet connectivity.

Inverness Promised Step Change in Broadband and Mobile Connectivity

22nd March, 2016 (0 Comments)

The UK and Scottish Governments have today joined with the Highland Council to sign a new £315m City Region Deal for Inverness and its surrounding areas, which among other things has promised to create the “best digitally connected rural region in Europe.”

UK Government Moots End to Separate Line Rental, But You Will Still Pay

22nd March, 2016 (20 Comments)

The Government’s Digital Economy Minister, Ed Vaizey, risks shunning smaller ISPs by proposing a significant shift in the broadband and phone market, which on the upside could mean an end to separate line rental charges and clearer pricing. But you’ll still pay for the line.

EuropaSat CEO Warns UK Satellite Broadband Subsidy Too “Complicated”

21st March, 2016 (3 Comments)

The CEO of ISP EuropaSat, Andrew Walwyn, has warned that the Government’s rural broadband subsidy scheme for meeting the 2Mbps Universal Service Commitment (USC) is suffering from low uptake because its “very complicated” and the subsidy (up to around £350) is too small.

BT Reveal FTTC “Fibre Broadband” Cabinet Cost as BDUK Clarify Delays

18th March, 2016 (56 Comments)

The cross party Culture, Media and Sport Committee inquiry into UK broadband infrastructure has revealed some useful new information on the “cost per [street cabinet]” of BT’s (Openreach) FTTC “fibre broadband” service and confirmation of which BDUK areas have fallen behind their coverage targets.

UK Budget 2016 – No Big New Bits for Boosting Broadband Connectivity

16th March, 2016 (2 Comments)

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, has today set out the annual Budget 2016 report for the United Kingdom, which among other things announced the plan to publish a strategy for 5G mobile services in 2017 and the release of more radio spectrum below 10GHz (bands).. but not a lot else.