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Articles for Category Tag - Politics

BT Claim Broadband Investment to Boost Northern Ireland by £1.2bn

4th June, 2018 (20 Comments)

A new “independent” DotEcon study, which was commissioned by BT, has predicted that last year’s agreement to invest an additional £150m of state aid into improving the availability of “ultrafast broadband” (100Mbps+) across Northern Ireland could result in economic, social and environmental benefits worth £1.2bn.

Cityfibre Secure First Local Full Fibre Network Contract in West Sussex

31st May, 2018 (11 Comments)

Fibre optic network builder Cityfibre has today claimed to have won the first contract under the UK Government’s new £190m Local Full Fibre Network (LFFN) challenge fund, which will see them working with West Sussex County Council to provide Gigabit FTTP broadband ISP connectivity to 9 urban areas within the council’s jurisdiction.

New UK 4G Emergency Services Network Faces Possible Delay

30th May, 2018 (5 Comments)

A new report claims that the Government’s £1.2bn Emergency Services Network (ESN), which will be delivered by mobile operator EE using 4G technology (supported by Motorola Solutions and KBR), could be facing a significant delay of several years before achieving completion.

Scotland’s Rural Minister to Quit if R100 Broadband Target Missed

30th May, 2018 (3 Comments)

The Scottish Government‘s Rural Economy Secretary, Fergus Ewing, has pledged to quit if he fails to deliver on the new £600m R100 project, which aspires to make “superfast broadband” (30Mbps+) ISP networks available to “every single premise in Scotland” by the end of 2021 (here and here); March 2022 as a financial year.

Delays Bog Down ABC Rural Broadband Subsidy Scheme in Wales

29th May, 2018 (1 Comment)

Several internet providers in Wales have accused the Welsh Government of falling behind in approval of grants and payments under the Access Broadband Cymru (ABC) scheme, which offers vouchers worth up to £800 to help isolated rural homes get a 30Mbps+ superfast broadband ISP installed.

Q1 2018 BDUK Extend Superfast Broadband to 4.85 Million Premises

24th May, 2018 (11 Comments)

The £1.6bn+ state aid supported Broadband Delivery UK programme has published its final progress update for Q1 2018, which confirms that it has so far helped 4,852,808 extra premises across the United Kingdom to be put within reach of a fixed “superfast broadband” (24Mbps+) network.

Challenges as UK ISPs Start Advertising Average Broadband Speeds

23rd May, 2018 (12 Comments)

Starting today all broadband offering Internet Service Providers (ISP) in the United Kingdom will be expected to change how they advertise service speeds, primarily by only promoting “average” speeds (a median measured at peak time) for their headline packages instead of an “up to” (fastest 10%) figure.

Chancellor Targets Full Fibre for Majority of UK Premises by 2025 UPDATE3

22nd May, 2018 (28 Comments)

The Government’s Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond MP, has this afternoon surprised and confused in equal measure by announcing that he wants to see the “majority” of UK homes and businesses being reached by Gigabit capable “full fibre” (FTTP/H) broadband ISP networks by the end of 2025.

EU Warns Mobile and Broadband ISP Websites May Shirk the Rules

22nd May, 2018 (2 Comments)

The European Commission’s national consumer protection authorities have screened 207 EU websites (including some from the UK) for fixed/mobile phone, internet, audio and video streaming services, which revealed that 163 of them could be infringing consumer law by adopting “misleading practices“.

UK Ranks 7th in 2018 EU Broadband Connectivity Progress Report

18th May, 2018 (16 Comments)

The European Commission has publish their 2018 Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI), which uses data from 2017 and 2018 to reveal the United Kingdom’s progress toward the EU’s Digital Agenda goals (e.g. NGA 30Mbps+ broadband for all by 2020). This year we remain ranked 7th out of 28 member states.

Welsh Government Update on BT Rollout of Superfast Broadband

16th May, 2018 (12 Comments)

The Welsh Government has issued a progress update on their existing Superfast Cymru project with Openreach (BT), which suggests that BT has delivered a “significantly larger volume” of premises than either party anticipated at the outset but some areas are still causing problems.

Up Your Street – Scotland Tries to Boost Fibre Broadband Take-up

14th May, 2018 (3 Comments)

The Scottish Government‘s Connectivity Secretary, Fergus Ewing, has this week launched a new “Up Your Street” campaign that aims to promote more take-up of the country’s hybrid fibre (FTTC / Cable) dominated fixed line broadband services, which can reach nearly 97% of homes and businesses across Scotland.

Over 50 Cross Party UK MPs Call for Better Rural 4G Mobile Coverage

13th May, 2018 (13 Comments)

More than 50 MPs have signed a letter by the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Rural Services that calls on the government’s digital secretary, Matt Hancock, to ensure that 95% of the UK’s landmass can access a mobile service from all operators (Three UK, Vodafone, EE and O2) by the end of 2022.

Ofcom Study Finds Faster Broadband Speeds Can Boost UK GDP

1st May, 2018 (8 Comments)

A new study, which examined the economic impact of broadband connectivity among 35 OECD countries between 2002 to 2016, has found that a rise in broadband adoption and speeds over the period led to an increase in UK GDP of 0.47% per annum on average (cumulative total of 6.7% over the period).

High Court Rules Part of UK ISP Internet Snooping Law is Unlawful

27th April, 2018 (5 Comments)

The High Court of Justice (Queen’s Bench Division) has today ruled that a key part of the controversial 2016 Investigatory Powers Act, which would force broadband ISPs to log the internet activity of all their customers for up to 12 months, is unlawful and must be amended.

Ofcom UK CEO Warns BT to “fibre-up, or risk fading away”

26th April, 2018 (66 Comments)

The boss of UK telecoms regulator Ofcom, Sharon White, has told a conference in London today that BT (Openreach) must replace their “Victorian-era” copper ISP network with a modern “full fibre” (FTTP/H) broadband alternative or “risk losing swathes of customers to [rivals].”

Northern Ireland to Consult on £150m Ultrafast Broadband Boost

25th April, 2018 (1 Comment)

Last year the Conservative UK government agreed to hand £75m per year (over two years) to “help provide ultra-fast broadband” (100Mbps+) across Northern Ireland, which formed part of a political deal with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) in order to secure the support of their 10 MPs.