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Articles for Category Tag - Politics

Let’s Stop Having Different UK Definitions for “Superfast Broadband”

26th August, 2014 (27 Comments)

What is “superfast” or “fibre broadband“? The answer seems to vary depending upon whether or not you’re asking a Local Authority (council), the Government’s Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) office, mobile operators or the national telecoms regulator. The situation has become ridiculously confusing.

3269 Rural UK Premises Getting Superfast Broadband via RCBF Grants

21st August, 2014 (1 Comment)

The government’s £20m Rural Community Broadband Fund, which was setup to help rural areas in the last 10% of England gain access to superfast broadband (24Mbps+), has issued an update to confirm that a total of 3,269 (up from 2,118 at the last update) domestic and business premises are currently anticipated to have the “potential” to receive such a service thanks to RCBF investment.

PM David Cameron Switches On Gigaclear’s 1Gbps Broadband in Northmoor

19th August, 2014 (29 Comments)

Residents and businesses in the Parish of Northmoor (West Oxfordshire, England) can now benefit from an ultrafast 1000Mbps capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network after the UK Prime Minister, David Cameron, turned up for Gigaclear’s official switch-on event.

Broadband Delivery UK Scheme Passes the 1 Million Premises Mark

8th August, 2014 (8 Comments)

The Government have announced that the £1.7bn (excluding EU and BT contributions) state aid fuelled Broadband Delivery UK programme has now helped more than 1 million homes and businesses (premises passed) to get access to a “superfast broadband” connection, which BDUK typically defines as offering speeds of greater than 24Mbps (Megabits per second).

UK Moots Switching Off Copper Phone Networks and Fostering FTTP

6th August, 2014 (42 Comments)

The Government has today launched a new Digital Communications Infrastructure Strategy consultation document, which forms part of their effort to develop a long term strategy for helping to ensure that the United Kingdom has the “best connectivity” by 2025-2030 (phone, broadband, mobile etc.).

Wireless ISP County Broadband Helped by £200K from Colchester Council

30th July, 2014 (2 Comments)

Wireless ISP County Broadband has secured £200,000 worth of funding from the Colchester Borough Council and the new investment will be used to help serve local businesses, but sadly not homes, with access to superfast broadband speeds of greater than 30Mbps (Megabits per second).

Shropshire Unable to Solve Broadband Funding Woes via Growth Fund

29th July, 2014 (12 Comments)

The Shropshire County Council (SCC) has been dealt another blow in its on-going attempts to secure £11.38m of funding to extend their coverage of superfast broadband to 95%+ by 2017 after the UK Government refused to allow the council to match the funding allocation by drawing on £7.5m set aside via the new Local Growth Deals.

UPD BT Criticised by Campaign for Better Broadband in London’s Square Mile

28th July, 2014 (41 Comments)

The City of London Corporation has criticised BT for an “unacceptable” failure to deliver superfast broadband connectivity to businesses based within the heart of London’s Square Mile, which it hopes to put right by developing a new strategy and launching a campaign to help map demand for the service.

BDUK Blacklist No More – Government Lose £900m IT Case vs Fujitsu UK

26th July, 2014 (16 Comments)

Reports indicate that the Japanese technology and telecoms giant Fujitsu UK has won its case against the 2008 dismissal of their £900m contract for providing the NHS with new IT services. Crucially this is also part of the reason why Fujitsu ended up being classified as “high risk” by the Government for other IT projects, such as the Broadband Delivery UK programme.

UK MPs Consider Judicial Review of DRIP Internet Snooping Act

23rd July, 2014 (4 Comments)

The UK’s semi-recycled Data Retention and Investigation Powers Act (DRIP), which extends the range of Internet snooping that the Government can perform on its citizens and was controversially rushed into law last week under emergency powers (here), will become the subject of a Judicial Review process if some MPs get their way.

Low UK Uptake of Broadband Connection Vouchers Despite Tweaks

23rd July, 2014 (3 Comments)

The Government’s Broadband Connection Vouchers scheme, which offers grants worth up to £3,000 to help SME businesses install a superfast broadband (30Mbps+) service in 22 cities across the United Kingdom, is continuing to suffer from low uptake with only around 4% (1,500 approved applications) of the £100m fund being drawn down.

UPDATE UK ISPs Agree Voluntary Internet Piracy Warning Letters Scheme

19th July, 2014 (4 Comments)

The Government, Rights Holders and four of the country’s largest broadband ISPs, including Virgin Media, BT, TalkTalk and Sky Broadband, have resolved their differences and announced the launch of a new “education programme” to help combat Internet piracy (copyright infringement) by sending warning letters to customers suspected of sharing “illegal” copyright content via File Sharing (P2P) networks.

AAISP Pledges to Protect UK Users from Government Internet Snoops

16th July, 2014 (8 Comments)

As the controversial Data Retention and Investigation Powers Bill (DRIP) slips its way through the House of Commons and into the House of Lords, the outspoken boss of broadband ISP Andrews & Arnold (AAISP), Adrian Kennard, has promised to use “all practical legal means” in order to protect their customers from state sponsored Internet snooping.

UPDATE RSA Slams BT and Virgin for Lack of Broadband Competition in Cities

16th July, 2014 (9 Comments)

The RSA’s City Growth Commission, which claims to be an “enlightenment organisation” committed to finding innovative practical solutions to modern social challenges, has published a new report that calls on the Government to improve broadband provision in UK cities and criticises BT and Virgin Media for working to “constrain supply and market competition“.

England’s National Parks Agree to Better Mobile Broadband Coverage

15th July, 2014 (3 Comments)

The National Parks England (NPE) and UK Mobile Operators Association (MOA) have reached a new “landmark agreement” that aims to boost the coverage of mobile phone and Mobile Broadband connectivity in protected rural areas, albeit while also “minimising any adverse environmental impacts” and working “proactively and pragmatically in order to achieve these aims“.

Alternative Superfast Broadband Plan for South Yorkshire UK Picks BT

15th July, 2014 (18 Comments)

The South Yorkshire (England) councils of Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield appear to have progressed a proposal to roll-out superfast broadband (24Mbps+) connectivity across the region by matching an investment offer of £10.4 million from the Broadband Delivery UK programme, which will help to replace the defunct Digital Region network. BT is set to supply.

UPDATE Independent Scotland Could Gain a USO for Broadband Internet

14th July, 2014 (3 Comments)

The Scottish Government has announced that it will set-up a Rural Connectivity Commission as part of their new proposals, which would aim to improve the country’s postal, transport, mobile and broadband Internet access connectivity in the event of a vote in favour of becoming independent from the United Kingdom (i.e. referendum on 18th September 2014).