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Articles for Category Tag - Politics

Satellite Internet Welcomes Tweak to 2Mbps Broadband Subsidy Scheme

18th July, 2016 (2 Comments)

Satellite Internet, which supplies Satellite based broadband connectivity using the SES (ASTRA) platform, has welcomed a revision to the Government’s “2Mbps to all” broadband support scheme that means subsidies are “now being passed directly” to those who actually deliver the service (i.e. ISPs).

Confusion as Defence Minister Calls for Ban of End-to-End Encryption

15th July, 2016 (3 Comments)

Brace for political double-speak. The Minister for Defence, Earl Howe, has reignited concerns that the Government’s controversial Investigatory Powers Bill could force UK ISPs and Internet content providers to weaken end-to-end encryption services by saying they may have to “develop and maintain a technical capability to remove encryption.”

UPDATE2 UK Gov Appoint Karen Bradley to Oversee Media and Broadband

14th July, 2016 (12 Comments)

It’s all change. The new Prime Minister, Theresa May, has appointed the MP for Staffordshire Moorlands, Karen Bradley, to be her new Secretary of State for the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), which among other things oversees the Broadband Delivery UK project and telecoms matters.

Telford and Wrekin Prep Big Broadband Grants for 124 Local Businesses

14th July, 2016 (0 Comments)

Some 124 eligible small and medium sized businesses in Telford and Wrekin (Shropshire, England) could soon be offered an average level of grant payment worth £15,000 per business (ranging from £7,000 to £25,000), which will help them to get a superfast broadband service installed.

UK ISP Entanet Calls for “Failing” Digital Minister Ed Vaizey to be Replaced

13th July, 2016 (3 Comments)

Entanet has called for the new UK Prime Minister, Theresa May, to sack the Digital Economy Minister, Ed Vaizey. The ISP claims that Ed is “failing to engage adequately” with ISPs and suffers from a “lack of experience” in the telecoms field, which they believe means he has “not been effective“.

ISP Sky Broadband Adopt Default-On Approach to UK Internet Censorship

7th July, 2016 (4 Comments)

Sky Broadband has today followed up last year’s promise (here) by becoming the first major ISP in the United Kingdom enable network-level filtering by default for all new subscribers when they sign-up (i.e. Parental Controls that block access to “adult” websites).

New UK Digital Economy Bill Details Broadband USO and Internet Changes

5th July, 2016 (5 Comments)

Compensations for faults with your Internet connection, a Universal Service Obligation to ensure everybody can get a minimum broadband ISP speed of 10Mbps and more protection for consumers from spam email, these are just some of the big changes being outlined today in the Government’s new Digital Economy Bill.

UPD Admin Cock-up Blamed for Lack of Fibre Broadband in Somerset Village

5th July, 2016 (12 Comments)

Two councillors for the Bath and North East Somerset area in England, Karen Walker and Sarah Bevan, have claimed that around 70 homes in the large village of Peasedown St John have been left without an upgrade to BT’s FTTC based “fibre broadband” network because of an “administrative error.”

Change Ensures New Build Homes are Ready for High-Speed Broadband

1st July, 2016 (0 Comments)

From today EU member states, which for now still includes the United Kingdom, are required to adopt the new Broadband Cost Reduction Directive (2014/61/EU) that will push for all newly constructed buildings to be equipped with “high-speed” ready broadband infrastructure.

Rural Services Network Slaps “Disappointing” 10Mbps Broadband USO

28th June, 2016 (0 Comments)

The Government’s plan to introduce a new legally-binding 10Mbps Universal Service Obligation (USO) for broadband has been criticised by the Rural Services Network, which described the proposal as “disappointing” and highlighted further dissatisfaction with the “right to request” approach.

UPDATE2 UK to Leave EU – What Next for Broadband and Internet Policy

24th June, 2016 (8 Comments)

It’s impossible to escape today’s big news, which is that the United Kingdom has voted by a tiny margin to leave the European Union. The immediate impact upon UK Internet and broadband policy will be mild, but some areas may be hit harder than others and the future beyond 2018/9 is particularly uncertain.

EU Publish New UK National Broadband State Aid Agreement in Full

23rd June, 2016 (8 Comments)

Last month the Government’s Broadband Delivery UK programme confirmed that it had established a new EU State Aid agreement (full summary), which would support the on-going roll-out of “superfast broadband” services. The EC has now published the full text of that deal, albeit with a caveat for Leased Lines.

UK Land Owners Call for 10Mbps Broadband USO to be “enshrined in law”

22nd June, 2016 (3 Comments)

The Country Land and Business Association (CLA), which represents 33,000 land owners from across England and Wales, has called on the Government to ensure that their forthcoming 10Mbps Universal Service Obligation (USO) for broadband includes a “legal guarantee for consumer compensation” where the speed is not met.

Entanet Warn “not clear or workable” UK Internet Spying Bill Will Pass

22nd June, 2016 (9 Comments)

Shropshire-based broadband and telecoms provider Entanet has warned that the Government’s controversial Investigatory Powers Bill (IPB), which will force ISPs to snoop on their customers, is “not clear or workable” but still “looks certain to become law within weeks.”

Inquiry Threatens to Fine ISPs and Companies for Internet Security Fails

20th June, 2016 (0 Comments)

A cross-party Culture, Media and Sport Committee has published the outcome from an inquiry into Internet (cyber) security, which was setup following last year’s TalkTalk hack. The report recommends a series of changes, including jail terms for “data abusers” and fines for those who “fail to report, prepare for or learn from data breaches“.

UPD CMA Reject TalkTalk and BT Appeals Over UK Fibre Broadband Prices

20th June, 2016 (2 Comments)

The Competition and Markets Authority has today rejected opposing appeals by BT and TalkTalk against Ofcom’s “margin squeeze” test, which is designed to keep the incumbent operator’s FTTC (VULA) based superfast broadband prices fair. But BT did win a small victory over its compliance period.

UK ISPs Virgin Media and Cityfibre Complain of Quadrupling Fibre Tax

17th June, 2016 (12 Comments)

Broadband providers Virgin Media and Cityfibre have complained that a change to the Valuation Office Agency’s (VOA) business rates (charges) for their network assets (e.g. any fibre optic cables that they put into the ground) is hitting them with a massive Fibre Tax hike.