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Articles for Category Tag - Politics

5G Mobile is in Danger of Becoming the Next M2 Bradley Tank

3rd April, 2015 (7 Comments)

Let’s get something straight, the next generation of 5G mobile technology probably won’t bring about world peace, fix famine, cure cancer or save that baby from a burning building; at least not literally. It’s a telecoms network upgrade, not superman. But in listening to some of the politicians speak you’d be forgiven for thinking that it could perform miracles.

Ex-UK Copyright MP Calls for ISPs to Proactively Tackle Internet Piracy

31st March, 2015 (3 Comments)

The former Intellectual Property Adviser to the Prime Minister, Mike Weatherley MP, has published a new paper that calls for a dramatic change to the current EU Safe Harbour provisions (this removes ISPs, in certain circumstances, from liability for the illegal activity of their customers), which would weaken some of its protections and force ISPs to act more like an Internet police force.

Nothing New as Government Responds to EFRA UK Rural Broadband Report

26th March, 2015 (7 Comments)

The Government has today issued its official response to the recent Select Committee report for the Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, which called for a 10Mbps minimum broadband speed to be adopted and suggested a few other tweaks. But most of the official response merely echoes existing policy and last week’s Budget 2015 announcement.

Another Blow for the UK Gov’s Mobile Coverage Plans – No Tall Masts

26th March, 2015 (12 Comments)

The Government’s agreement with mobile operators (i.e. Three UK, O2, EE and Vodafone) to extend the geographic coverage of 2G (voice and text) networks from 80% today to 90% by 2017 (the target for 3G and 4G is 85%) appears to have suffered another blow after operators were warned that they might not be allowed to build taller masts.

Ed Vaizey Calls on Councils to Push Superfast Broadband for New Builds

25th March, 2015 (3 Comments)

The UK Government’s Digital Economy Minister, Ed Vaizey MP, has made public a copy of the letter that he recently distributed to local authorities across England. The letter itself appears to encourage council leaders to ensure that new build housing developments include provision for superfast broadband connectivity.

UK Superfast Broadband Connection Vouchers Help 14,000 Businesses

25th March, 2015 (7 Comments)

The Government’s Connection Voucher scheme, which offers grants worth up to £3,000 to help small and medium sized businesses around multiple cities across the United Kingdom to install a superfast broadband (30Mbps+) service, has so far helped 14,000 SMEs gain access to better connectivity.

Study – UK Mobile Coverage Will Improve, But Only if Land Owners Lose Out

24th March, 2015 (0 Comments)

A new Deloitte report, which was commissioned by the Mobile Operators Association, has claimed that up to £270m could be saved by updating the current Electronic Communications Code so that UK mobile operators can improve their network coverage without having to pay huge fees to install wireless masts on private land.

Nearly Half of UK Councils Expect Superfast Broadband Target to Slip

23rd March, 2015 (41 Comments)

A new survey of local authorities across the United Kingdom, which was conducted by the County Councils Network, has claimed that 45% of councils are expecting the Government’s target of bringing fixed line superfast broadband (24Mbps+) to 95% by 2017 to be missed.

UK Government Suddenly Moots 6G Mobile Networks – Before 5G Exists

23rd March, 2015 (0 Comments)

At present the next generation of 5G based Mobile Broadband networks haven’t even been defined and the first commercial services aren’t expected to surface until around 2020. But that hasn’t stopped the Government from putting an early investment towards the distant future 6th Generation (6G) replacement for 5G. Well, sort of.

Government Won’t Force Farmers in England into Online-Only Land.. Yet

20th March, 2015 (8 Comments)

The UK Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) appears to have delayed a long-planned strategy that would have effectively forced farmers in remote rural parts of England to go online, which is despite a lack of good broadband connectivity and IT skills among some in the community.

UPDATE Budget 2015 – Osborn Pledges to Deliver 100Mbps Ultrafast Broadband

18th March, 2015 (44 Comments)

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne MP, has today set out the Government’s annual Budget 2015 report for the United Kingdom. Unlike past budgets this one is different because it comes immediately before a General Election and that usually means big promises, such as pledging 100Mbps “ultra-fast” broadband to “nearly all the homes in the country” and a possible 5Mbps+ USO.

Scotland’s Deputy First Minister Demands USO for Broadband from UK Gov

17th March, 2015 (1 Comment)

The Deputy First Minister for the Scottish Government, John Swinney, has written to the UK’s Digital Economy Minister, Ed Vaizey, in order to call for broadband in Scotland to become part of a legally binding Universal Service Obligation. The move is designed to “ensure everyone in Scotland can access affordable, high-speed broadband“.

Review of Business Rates Might Benefit the Rural Broadband Rollout

16th March, 2015 (2 Comments)

As expected the central UK Government has today announced the start of a new review into Business Rates and thus the related taxation set by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA). It’s just possible that this could also result in an adjustment that benefits the roll-out of rural broadband services, but don’t hold your breath.

POST Tells UK Government – You Can’t Easily BAN Internet Anonymity

11th March, 2015 (4 Comments)

The Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST) has published an interesting new note that examines Internet anonymity technologies, such as TOR and the so-called “DarkNet” websites (e.g. SilkRoad), which can be used to support freedom of expression by circumventing censorship and yet also act as a tool that is exploitable by trolls, criminals and terrorists.

Blackford Village Locals Furious After Loss of O2 and Vodafone Mobile Signal

10th March, 2015 (7 Comments)

Residents of Blackford village in Perth and Kinross (Scotland), which is home to ‘Highland Spring’ water, the ‘Tullibardine’ whisky distillery and sits right next door to Gleneagles (2014 Ryder Cup), have vented their frustrations after suffering a year of problems with their local O2 and some Vodafone based mobile reception.

Consumers Back Calls for a Universal Service Obligation on Broadband

9th March, 2015 (7 Comments)

The recent discussion over whether broadband should be added to a legally binding Universal Service Obligation has prompted us to conduct a survey, which found that out of 1,445 respondents some 71.5% supported the idea of imposing a USO on BT (or KC in Hull) to deliver fixed line broadband speeds of at least 2Mbps to all.

Ed Vaizey Talks BT’s “quiet life” Option and Contracts by Broadband Speed

6th March, 2015 (136 Comments)

The Digital Economy Minister, Ed Vaizey, has warned critics of BT’s dominance in the national Broadband Delivery UK programme that the operator could have simply opted for the “quiet life” by not bidding for any contracts. The minister also floated the idea of ISPs offering different broadband packages for areas that suffer from slow speeds.