Home » UK ISP News Archive » Article Tag: Politics (3108 Posts)

Articles for Category Tag - Politics

Three UK Politicians Hacked After Using Public Wi-Fi Hotspots

9th July, 2015 (4 Comments)

Security firms F-Secure and Mandalorian Security Services have teamed up to show how risky public WiFi hotspots can be, which they did by hacking into the Internet surfing activities of three politicians (David Davis MP, Mary Honeyball MEP and Lord Strasburger) while they were connected in London.

Look Out – Another UK Rural Broadband and Mobile Debate in Parliament

9th July, 2015 (8 Comments)

The Central Suffolk and North Ipswich MP, Dr Dan Poulter (Conservative), has secured a 30 minute debate on the topic of poor rural broadband and mobile connectivity for Monday next week, which will no doubt rehash many of the familiar concerns over the Government’s Broadband Delivery UK project.

Emergency UK Summer Budget 2015 – Anything for Broadband or Mobile?

8th July, 2015 (7 Comments)

The new Conservative Government has today released its Summer Budget 2015, but those hoping for some extra details on the broadband related announcements from the prior March 2015 budget will be left disappointed. But there is a £10m boost for 100Mbps+ connectivity in the South West.

Wales UK to Name and Shame Fibre Broadband Obstructing Land Owners

8th July, 2015 (4 Comments)

The Welsh Government (WG) has pledged to “name and shame” private landlords in Wales who are making it difficult to deploy new fixed line superfast broadband services, most often by either delaying or refusing to give permission for BTOpenreach’s telecoms engineers to access the sites.

Scottish MP Calls for Easy UK Mobile Contract Exit in Areas of Poor Signal

6th July, 2015 (7 Comments)

A recently elected Highlands MP in Scotland, Drew Hendry (SNP), has called for a radical change in Ofcom’s regulatory policy that would allow UK mobile phone customers to exit their contracts without penalty if they suffered from poor or no signal coverage. But notspots or areas of weak signal are common.

N.Ireland Broadband Project – How to Spend EUR1.3m on Kit Worth 30k

1st July, 2015 (0 Comments)

A new report from Northern Ireland’s Public Accounts Committee has blasted the EU funded Bytel project after it “grossly mishandled” public funding and spent £920k on unused equipment that should have cost just £21.3k+. The 2004 scheme aimed to provide “high-speed broadband” between Belfast, Craigavon, Armagh, Dundalk and Dublin

Watered Down EU Deal to Protect Open Internet and End Roaming Charges

30th June, 2015 (1 Comment)

After years of disagreement the European Parliament, Council and Commission claim to have finally reached a deal that will both “end” mobile roaming charges on 15th June 2017 and introduce “strong net neutrality rules” in order to protect open Internet access. But some of the rules have been watered down.

MPs Setup Rural Broadband All-Party Parliamentary Group to Tackle BT

20th June, 2015 (39 Comments)

A group of MPs, primarily from Devon and Somerset in England’s South West, have established a new All-Party Parliamentary Group that will investigate the roll-out of superfast broadband (24Mbps+) services. The group also intends to “put pressure” on BT to stop the operators alleged “delaying antics” and be more transparent with their coverage plans.

UPDATE East Riding of Yorkshire UK Signs New Superfast Broadband Deal

19th June, 2015 (2 Comments)

The Broadband East Riding project in Yorkshire (England) has signed a new Superfast Extension Programme contract with the government’s Broadband Delivery UK office, which should help the area to meet the goal of putting superfast broadband (24Mbps+) within reach of 95% by 2017.

Hereford Enterprise Zone Hunts for Ultrafast Fibre Optic Broadband Fix

19th June, 2015 (1 Comment)

The Herefordshire County Council are working to deliver an alternative “ultrafast broadband” solution to help businesses within the Hereford Enterprise Zone at Rotherwas, which can already receive expensive leased lines or cheaper FTTC connectivity from BT; but apparently neither of those are good enough.

EU Says Governments Can’t Force Universe Mobile Broadband Coverage

19th June, 2015 (0 Comments)

Efforts by the Government to force UK mobile operators into offering universal coverage have been dealt a blow after the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) ruled that such a legally binding Universal Service Obligation (USO) cannot, under current EU rules, be forced upon providers.

Shropshire’s Deputy Leader Attacks Critics of Local Broadband Project

19th June, 2015 (7 Comments)

The deputy leader of Shropshire County Council in England, Steve Charmley, has taken the unusual step of published an Open Letter in order to “dispel some of the myths perpetrated by detractors” of the local Connecting Shropshire project, which is working with BT to roll-out “fibre broadband” services.

UK Falls One Place in 2015 EU Digital Agenda Broadband Progress Report

18th June, 2015 (23 Comments)

The European Commission has updated their EU Broadband Scorecard, which uses data from Dec 2014 and Jan 2015 to reveal the United Kingdom’s progress toward Europe’s overall Digital Agenda goals (e.g. ensuring 100% coverage of 30Mbps+ Internet speeds, with 50% take-up of 100Mbps+). But we’re now ranked 5th for connectivity, down one place from 4th last year.

ISPA Reveals UK Internet Hero and Villain Shortlist for 2015 Awards

18th June, 2015 (0 Comments)

The UK Internet Service Providers Association (ISPA) has today revealed the final shortlist of potential winners for their annual Internet Hero and Internet Villain gongs at the forthcoming 2015 Internet industry awards and it’s no surprise to find that both lists are once again being dominated by Internet snooping.

New Map of London UK Shows Slow Broadband is Like a Digital Cancer

17th June, 2015 (32 Comments)

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, has today launched a “major drive” to boost broadband connectivity in the capital, although it’s mostly the same stuff as we saw being announced last year. At least there’s now a map to depict just how bad the situation is, especially in the city centre.

British Bankers Association Demands Better Universal Broadband and Mobile

15th June, 2015 (25 Comments)

The British Bankers Association has called on the Government to invest more money into delivering universal broadband and mobile connectivity to plug not-spots and thus allow more customers to take advantage of mobile and Internet banking, which is becoming increasingly popular.

Hampshire Seeks Legal Power to Push Superfast Broadband for New Homes

15th June, 2015 (10 Comments)

The Hampshire County Council in England has called on the UK Government to give district councils “clear legal powers” so they can insist, as part of the planning process, that superfast broadband speeds (24Mbps+) are made available to both new build homes and even retrofitted into existing developments.