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Articles for Category Tag - Politics

UPDATE David Cameron – Instant 800MB UK Film Downloads via 5G Mobile

10th March, 2014 (17 Comments)

The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, David Cameron, has joined forces with Germany to develop the next generation of ultrafast 5G based Mobile Broadband technology, which will apparently only take “one second” to download an 800MB (MegaByte) film. In reality, it won’t be quite that fast.

NFU Mutual Warns Education Damaged by Poor Rural Broadband

7th March, 2014 (45 Comments)

NFU Mutual, the farming friendly financial advice and insurance firm, has warned in a new study of 1,600 UK adults that 1 in 5 families have struggled to access online resources for their children’s schoolwork because of poor broadband connections. As usual, rural areas are likely to be the worst hit.

UK MPs Hold Out Hope of VOA Business Rates and Fibre Tax Review

6th March, 2014 (3 Comments)

The Business, Innovation and Skills Committee has called for a “wholesale review” of business rates, which are typically set by the Government’s Valuation Office Agency (VOA). In particular one of the recommendations could have a significant impact upon the taxation of NGA / fibre optic broadband networks, which might level the playing field between ISPs.

Labour Party Moot 3rd Attempt to Revive UK Internet Snooping Law

3rd March, 2014 (6 Comments)

The British Labour Party looks set to take a 3rd swipe at reviving their failed Internet Snooping laws, which over the past 6 years have twice been rejected due to issues of unpopularity, cost, technical viability and general confusion.

UPD2 Royal Society of Edinburgh Says Scotland to Miss 30Mb Broadband Target

3rd March, 2014 (9 Comments)

Scientists writing for the Royal Society of Edinburgh (Digital-Scotland Working Group) have warned that the Scottish Government’s Step Change programme, which apparently now aims to make BT’s “superfast broadband” network available to “around” 95% of local premises by the end of 2017-18, will actually only achieve less than 80%.

24% of EU Internet Users Suffer ISP Internet Content Restrictions or Blocking

27th February, 2014 (3 Comments)

A new survey of 28,000 Internet using citizens across the European Union (3290 from the UK) has revealed that 24% claim to have been prevented by their broadband ISP or mobile operator from watching videos, listening to music or using other applications of their choice, allegedly due to censorship measures or speed restrictions.

Europe Approve Weakened Broadband Infrastructure Investment for 100Mb+

26th February, 2014 (0 Comments)

The European Parliament has today approved a €1bn (£820m) Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) investment package, which aims to support pan-European digital projects. But only 15% has been earmarked to support broadband projects of which at least one third will aim at speeds of 100Mbps+.

UPDATE3 Broadband Delivery UK Detail Plan for Spending Extra £250m

25th February, 2014 (6 Comments)

The Government has today revealed more details for how it intends to spend the next £250 million that was last year set aside to help extend fixed line superfast broadband (24Mbps+) ISP network coverage out to 95% of the United Kingdom by 2017. So what, if anything, is new.

UPD Councils and BT Move Closer to Publishing Full Broadband Rollout Data

25th February, 2014 (1 Comment)

The procrastinating over whether or not BT and or Local Authorities will ever release detailed broadband speed and coverage data, ideally down to the 7 digital postcode level, as part of the Government’s national Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) scheme could soon come to an end.. in some areas, maybe.

Port Glasgow School Block ‘Yes Scotland’ Campaign Site for Policy Violation

24th February, 2014 (0 Comments)

The curse of skin deep Internet filtering (censorship) has struck again after a young pupil studying at St Stephens school in Port Glasgow (Scotland) found that she could access the pro-union website Better Together but was blocked from accessing the pro-independence Yes Scotland one due to a “policy violation” (hehe).

South Yorkshire UK Digital Region Network Sets August 2014 Closure Date

18th February, 2014 (6 Comments)

The controversial tax payer fuelled £100m+ Digital Region superfast broadband network in South Yorkshire (England), which surprised nobody when it finally collapsed last year under a pile of its own debt and a lack of political support (here), has finally set a closure date of 15th August 2014.

BT Helped by £24.5m Northern Ireland Broadband Improvement Project

13th February, 2014 (5 Comments)

The Northern Ireland Executive (NIE) has announced a £24.5m project, which is part funded by BT and the Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) scheme, to make faster Internet speeds available to over 45,000 of the regions most remote rural homes and business premises by December 2015.

INCA Launch UK Superfast Broadband Notspot Registration Scheme

3rd February, 2014 (1 Comment)

The Independent Networks Cooperative Association, which works to support altnet ISPs and the development of Next Generation Access networks around the United Kingdom, has launched a new registration scheme to identify Superfast Broadband “Notspots“. It wouldn’t be the first.

South Gloucestershire UK “village of the future” Suffers from Slow Broadband

31st January, 2014 (20 Comments)

Residents of Aurora Springs, a new homes development in South Gloucestershire (England) that forms part of the wider Cheswick “Urban Village Concept” near Bristol, have complained to BT and the city council because their “village of the future” suffers from slow broadband access and some even have no access to a phone service.

UPDATE MP Claire Perry Claims UK ISP Internet Filters Will Not Overblock

29th January, 2014 (15 Comments)

One of the UK Government’s strongest advocates of mandatory network-level Internet filtering, MP Claire Perry, has told a Westminster eForum that modern ISP censorship systems are “far better, far stronger, much more effective and will not overblock” websites (i.e. wrongful blocking). Even though they do.. quite a lot.

Broadband Delivery UK Again Push Councils to Publish More BT Map Data

28th January, 2014 (6 Comments)

The latest Public Accounts Committee event, which saw BT’s Group Strategy Director (Sean Williams) receive another grilling by Margaret Hodge MP, has revealed that the Government’s Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) office is once again writing to councils in the hope to securing a greater publication of viable broadband coverage data.

UK MPs Demand Prison Sentences for Repeat Internet Pirates

24th January, 2014 (17 Comments)

A debate on the United Kingdom’s Intellectual Property Bill has caused controversy after several MPs and the Prime Minister’s own Intellectual Property Advisor, Mike Weatherley (Conservative MP for Hove and Portslade), backed calls for persistent pirates to lose their “Internet rights” and suffer “some sort of custodial sentence“.