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Articles for Category Tag - Politics

Wales to Unveil New BT Superfast Broadband Contract Next Week UPDATE2

10th October, 2018 (4 Comments)

The Welsh Government has today confirmed that it will be making a statement on the new “superfast broadband” (30Mbps+) contract next week, which could be worth up to £200m and tentatively aims to reach an additional 88,000 premises in poorly served areas. A strong focus on “full fibre” (FTTP) connectivity is expected.

Gigaclear Admit Significant Broadband Delays in Devon and Somerset

8th October, 2018 (34 Comments)

Rural focused fibre optic ISP Gigaclear has this evening apologised after it admitted that their state aid supported roll-out of a new Gigabit capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband network in Devon and Somerset had suffered delays. As a result the deployment is now running “significantly behind schedule.”

Government Encouraging Openreach to Fibre Up UK Doctors

8th October, 2018 (11 Comments)

The UK Government’s Health Secretary, Matt Hancock MP, has said that he believes “every single GP” should have access to a “full fibre” (e.g. FTTP) broadband connection and he wants Openreach (BT) to do the heavy lifting, albeit with the help of their Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme (GBVS).

UK Digital Minister Rages Against Telcos Over Ultra Cheap Wayleaves

5th October, 2018 (2 Comments)

The on-going effort to improve rural superfast broadband and mobile network coverage has taken another twist after the UK Government’s Digital Minister, Margot James MP, said it was an “outrage” that some telecoms operators were slashing rents on their infrastructure to “derisory” low levels.

Maldon District Council May Pull Out of Essex UK Broadband Project

4th October, 2018 (15 Comments)

Trouble seems to be brewing in Maldon after councillors on the District Council’s Finance Committee were said to have voted unanimously to ask the full council to scrap its deal for helping to fund the roll-out of “superfast broadband” with Essex County Council, which would have contributed £45,000 to the effort.

NIC Examine Regulation of the UK Telecoms and Broadband Industry

3rd October, 2018 (1 Comment)

The Government’s National Infrastructure Commission has announced that they intend to conduct an examination of regulation in the UK energy, telecoms and water industries. The study will look at what future changes may be required to meet future needs, as well as any impact upon competition and investment.

The ISP industry only has itself to blame for its bad reputation – Guest Editorial

1st October, 2018 (25 Comments)

There is a perception problem in the ISP industry. And it’s certainly not getting any better. If anything, we are falling into the same traps we always have. Lessons we should already have learned are not being heeded.

BT Group Complete Transfer of 31000 UK Employees to Openreach

1st October, 2018 (13 Comments)

BT has today announced that 31,000 of their employees have officially been transferred (TUPE process) to become part of an “independent workforce” under Openreach, which is a key part of Ofcom’s requirement that the network operator become a “legally separate” company (a wholly owned subsidiary of BT plc).

CLA, NFU and Openreach Wayleave Deal Means Fast Rural Broadband UPDATE

25th September, 2018 (4 Comments)

Good news. A newly negotiated Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and wayleave (access) agreement between key UK landowners and Openreach (BT) has today been announced, which means that the telecoms giant should find it easier to extend their superfast broadband ISP network(s) into rural areas.

Delayed 4G Emergency Services Network Adopts Phased Roll-out

24th September, 2018 (3 Comments)

The UK Government appears to have finally given up on their original and much delayed deployment plan for the new £1.2bn Emergency Services Network (ESN), which will be rolled out by the Home Office using 4G technology (supported by EE, Motorola and KBR). It’s now going to take a lot longer.

Shropshire Seek to Encourage Better Broadband for New Build Houses

21st September, 2018 (7 Comments)

The Shropshire County Council is considering the introduction of an accreditation scheme for new build home developments, which would act like a checklist for planning officers and applicants in order to help “highlight the qualitative aspects of schemes that sometimes get missed,” such as the need for broadband.

Report Casts Doubt Over Scotland’s R100 Superfast Broadband Plan

20th September, 2018 (13 Comments)

The Scottish Government’s future £600m R100 strategy has come under pressure after a new 2018 report from Audit Scotland, which works to ensure that public money in Scotland is spent correctly, warned that it “will be difficult” to deliver the stated ambition of 100% “superfast broadband” (30Mbps+) coverage by 2021.

Cityfibre Start Laying Gigabit Fibre Optic Cable in West Sussex UK

20th September, 2018 (7 Comments)

Within the next week Cityfibre will finally begin the deployment of a new 1Gbps+ fibre optic broadband and Ethernet network in West Sussex, which aims to connect 152 council sites in Bognor Regis, Burgess Hill, Chichester, Crawley, Haywards Heath, Horsham, Littlehampton, Shoreham and Worthing.

ISP Gigaclear and RSN Call on Ofcom to Consider Full Fibre in its USO

18th September, 2018 (21 Comments)

The Rural Services Network and UK ISP Gigaclear have today joined others by calling on Ofcom to ensure that their forthcoming 10Mbps Universal Service Obligation (USO) for broadband will reflect the national plan for “full fibre” (FTTP) coverage, which the government hopes could reach universal coverage by 2033.

Leeds UK Deploys FREE WiFi Trial to Social Housing Blocks

17th September, 2018 (1 Comment)

A new trial has begun that could eventually see thousands of social housing properties in multiple tower blocks across the city of Leeds (Yorkshire) being given “free” access to a bog standard 5Mbps broadband connection (after a small one-off fee is paid), which uses WiFi wireless technology.

Shropshire UK Won’t Achieve Universal Superfast Broadband by 2020

14th September, 2018 (27 Comments)

A new report on local economic growth will next week warn Shropshire County Council in England of the “disappointing” news that their goal of providing all homes and businesses in the region with access to “superfast broadband” (30Mbps+) by 2020 is “no longer likely [to] be achieved,” but it should get there eventually.

Five ISPs Express Interest in Delivering 10Mbps UK Broadband USO

13th September, 2018 (22 Comments)

Ofcom has revealed that only BT (Openreach), KCOM, Hyperoptic, Quickline and Broadway Partners have expressed a formal interest in becoming suppliers for the new Universal Service Obligation (USO), which from 2020 will make it possible for anybody in a slow speed area to request a broadband speed of at least 10Mbps.