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Articles for Category Tag - Politics

UK Government Targets 98% Superfast Broadband Coverage via £645m Clawback

9th September, 2017 (25 Comments)

The Government’s £1.6bn+ Broadband Delivery UK project has today confirmed that a total of £645m in public funding (i.e. clawback and efficiency savings) will be returned to help expand the reach of “superfast broadband” (24Mbps+) to 98% of premises in the United Kingdom by around 2020.

London Mayor Seeks Increased Funding for UK Broadband and 5G Mobile

8th September, 2017 (3 Comments)

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has warned that the city and other parts of the United Kingdom might be at risk of “grinding to a halt” unless the Government puts more investment towards faster broadband, 5G mobile, transport and other major infrastructure requirements.

Concern for Broadband Upgrades as UK Councils Eye New Charges for Roadworks

4th September, 2017 (8 Comments)

Deploying new broadband networks around parts of England could soon become more costly unless both operators and councils take extra care with a new power, which could allow them to charge utility companies by the hour for civil engineering work that causes significant disruption (traffic congestion etc.).

Government Prep £10m Pilot of 1Gbps Full Fibre Broadband for 6 UK Areas

3rd September, 2017 (15 Comments)

The Government has chosen a Sunday to announce that they’ve committed £10m from a new fund to launch 6 local pilots of “full fibre” (FTTP/H) broadband / Ethernet networks, which aims to “test innovative ways” of using the service to connect businesses, homes and public sector sites.

Aberdeen University Study Highlights UK Rural vs Urban Broadband Digital Divide

1st September, 2017 (3 Comments)

The digital divide between UK rural and urban areas is not a new or unfamiliar problem, although a new study from academics at Aberdeen University in Scotland has warned that the issue “will persist for the foreseeable future,” unless public policy does more to embrace alternative network providers.

UK Gov Consult on 5 Year Tax Break for New “Full Fibre” Broadband Networks

30th August, 2017 (37 Comments)

The Government of the United Kingdom has this week started a new consultation on their proposal to introduce 100% business rates relief for new “full-fibre” (FTTH/P) broadband networks (estimated to be worth £60m), which will run from 1st April 2017 to 31st March 2022.

Q2 2017 – BDUK Extend “Superfast Broadband” to 4.55 Million UK Premises

24th August, 2017 (8 Comments)

The Government’s £1.6bn+ Broadband Delivery UK programme has published its latest progress update to the end of June 2017, which confirms that the scheme has so far helped 4,551,226 extra premises across the United Kingdom to be put within reach of a fixed “superfast broadband” (24Mbps+) network.

techUK Calls for 90% UK Coverage of Ultrafast Broadband by 2025

14th August, 2017 (5 Comments)

A new report from techUK, which represents 950 companies in the United Kingdom’s technology sector, has called for “near universal” coverage of “superfast broadband” (30Mbps+) by 2020 and 90% coverage of “ultrafast broadband” (100Mbps+) to become a reality by 2025.

London Mayor Unveils Vague Plan to Tackle City’s Broadband “Not Spots”

10th August, 2017 (7 Comments)

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has today unveiled a bunch of new measures that are aimed at tackling parts of the city that suffer from slow and unreliable broadband or mobile connectivity “not spots“, such as those that exist around parts of Rotherhithe, Westminster and the central City of London.

Hampshire UK Commits £1m to Install Community Broadband Networks

10th August, 2017 (5 Comments)

The Hampshire County Council in England has allocated £1 million to help fund and support local communities that will not benefit from the regional roll-out of “superfast broadband” (24Mbps+) networks. Instead the communities can use the funding to help build an alternative, but there’s a catch.

UPD2 Ofcom Reveals Price Impact of BT’s Proposed 10Mbps Broadband USO

9th August, 2017 (7 Comments)

Ofcom has today revised their Wholesale Local Access (WLA) charge controls in order to show how their planned broadband / FTTC price reductions could be impacted by BT’s voluntary proposal to spend £450m to £600m on the roll-out of a 10Mbps Universal Service Obligation.

Scotland Fear 10Mbps Broadband USO Plan May Extend BT’s “Monopoly”

8th August, 2017 (13 Comments)

The Scottish Government has issued a letter to the UK’s Department for Digital (DCMS) that warns against accepting BT’s proposed investment of up to £600m to deploy a new 10Mbps+ Universal Service Obligation for broadband, which they fear could extend BT’s “monopoly position in rural areas.”

UPDATE2 Openreach Says “large-scale” UK FTTP Roll-out to Cost up to £6bn

7th August, 2017 (32 Comments)

Last month Openreach (BT) launched a new consultation that hinted at a large-scale deployment of “full fibre” FTTP ultrafast broadband, which could cover up to 10 million premises by around 2025 (here). Today a leaked copy of that document has pegged the cost at between £3bn to £6bn.

The Trouble with the UK’s New “Right to be Forgotten” Internet Law

7th August, 2017 (8 Comments)

The Government has today set out details of their new Data Protection Bill, which aims to give individuals more control over their data online by introducing a new “right to be forgotten” (i.e. asking for your personal data to be deleted) and enabling emails or files to be moved when switching ISP.

Ofcom Model a 20Mbps Broadband USO Option for the UK Government

1st August, 2017 (18 Comments)

Most won’t have noticed but Ofcom has published an update to last year’s cost analysis for the proposed broadband Universal Service Obligation, which reveals that the Government asked them to model a 20Mbps (2Mbps upload) USO option and it might be better value for money.

UPDATE BT and Gov Propose £600m 10Mbps Broadband USO Universal Service

30th July, 2017 (50 Comments)

After a lot of negotiation the Government and BT have today proposed a deal that could see the operator fund a new Universal Service Obligation (USO), which will aim to ensure that everybody can request a broadband download speed of at least 10Mbps by 2020. Now for the caveats.

New £30 Million Grant Offer to Help Build Rural Broadband Networks

29th July, 2017 (5 Comments)

The Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) has today announced that an additional £30 million of public investment is being allocated to help rural areas build new 30Mbps+ capable superfast broadband networks in areas where such services are not currently available or planned.