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Articles for Category Tag - Politics

Suffolk Opens New Tender for 95% Superfast Broadband Coverage Target

20th January, 2014 (2 Comments)

As expected the Suffolk County Council in England has confirmed the launch of a new tender “mini-competition” that will seek a supplier to help expand the reach of superfast broadband (25Mbps+) services to around 95% of the county, with work set to commence by the end of 2014.

Nominet Set to Scan UK Website Domain Names for Explicit Sex Terms

16th January, 2014 (4 Comments)

What’s in a name? Nominet, which handles the registry of .uk Internet domains, has bowed to Government pressure and agreed to begin the screening of website domain names so that any which “appear to signal … criminal content … or encourage serious sexual offences” can be blocked.

Broadband Delivery UK Gets New CEO and Date for GBP10m Competitive Fund

15th January, 2014 (10 Comments)

The Government’s Culture Secretary, Maria Miller, confirmed during a meeting yesterday that the former Commercial Director of the London 2012 Olympics Organising Committee, Christopher Townsend, would now lead its Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) project. A launch date for the new £10m Competitive Fund for rural areas was also revealed.

Liberal Democrat President Seeks to Halt UK ISP Internet Filtering

14th January, 2014 (2 Comments)

The national President of the UK Liberal Democrat’s, Tim Farron, has drafted a new motion for the party’s Spring Conference that will call upon their coalition partners in Government to protect the “digital rights of the citizen” and halt requirements for “misconceived, ineffective and illiberal” Internet censorship of “adult” websites.

Government Moot BDUK Fibre Broadband Plan for South Yorkshire UK

13th January, 2014 (19 Comments)

The Government has proposed a new £10 million scheme, which would be based off its existing Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) programme, to help deploy superfast broadband services across 90% of South Yorkshire in England (most likely with BT’s help). The region suffered a £155m failure last year when the alternative Digital Region network collapsed.

The Economic Impact of Alternative Wayleave Regimes on UK Broadband

11th January, 2014 (1 Comment)

The Department for Culture, Media & Sport has published a new report that highlights the potential economic and infrastructure benefits to the broadband market of adopting any one of three alternative wayleave regimes, which might make it easier, faster and cheaper for ISPs and mobile operators to install new telecoms infrastructure.

European Parliament Report Criticises UK for Mass Internet Surveillance

9th January, 2014 (7 Comments)

The European Parliament’s civil liberties committee has today published a damning new report that heavily criticises the USA, United Kingdom and other EU member states for their activities towards fostering mass Internet surveillance, which MEPs said often appeared to involve “illegal actions” that should be prohibited.

UK Government Set to Discuss Rural Broadband Cover on 14th January

4th January, 2014 (15 Comments)

The Government’s Communications Minister, Ed Vaizey MP, will chair another round table event at Parliament on 14th January 2014 to discuss extending faster broadband Internet connectivity into rural areas. A key focus of the meeting is likely to be the new £10 million competitive fund.

Residents of St Kew in Cornwall UK Start Petition for Superfast Broadband

3rd January, 2014 (19 Comments)

Locals residing in the Cornish parish of St Kew, which includes various smaller hamlets and villages, have launched a new petition that calls upon the joint BT and EU funded £132 million Superfast Cornwall project to extend its faster broadband connectivity into the area.

£9m EU Boost for Rural Projects and Broadband in Greater Lincolnshire

30th December, 2013 (1 Comment)

The European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) has allocated £8,782,191 to the Local Enterprise Partnership area of Greater Lincolnshire in England, which among other things could be used to fund small-scale renewable and broadband infrastructure improvements in rural areas.

£7m New Homes Bonus to Help Broadband in Basingstoke and Deane UK

30th December, 2013 (1 Comment)

The Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council has announced plans to invest up to £7 million from the central UK Government’s New Homes Bonus scheme to help support the building of new housing projects by funding the construction of new community facilities or better broadband connectivity.

UK Intellectual Property Advisor Threatens Fresh Piracy Legislation on ISPs

28th December, 2013 (17 Comments)

The UK Prime Minister’s new Intellectual Property Advisor, Mike Weatherley (Conservative MP for Hove and Portslade), has threatened fresh legislation against broadband ISPs that “knowingly facilitate illegal downloading practices” and do not take steps to stop it. But it’s unclear what could be changed that hasn’t already been tried.

UK People Want Superfast Broadband More than New Airports and HS2

28th December, 2013 (5 Comments)

A new survey of 2,011 British citizens (aged 16-75) by the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) has reported that 43% saw more economic benefit in extending the reach of superfast broadband to all premises in the UK than they did from building new Nuclear Power plants, airports or high speed trains.

UPDATE BBC Find UK ISP Filters Fail to Block Porn and Catch Legit Websites

19th December, 2013 (5 Comments)

An investigation by the BBC’s Newsnight programme has unsurprisingly discovered that the new generation of network-level Internet filtering (censorship) technologies, which are being adopted by all of the major broadband ISPs, often catch legitimate websites in their net and can also fail to block porn. Big SHOCK? Nope.

UPD Super Switch on Day for the National Broadband Delivery UK Scheme

18th December, 2013 (36 Comments)

The Government has flushed out a bit of new PR spin today by labelling the 18th December 2013 as “Super Switch on Day“, which apparently marks how the first BT Street Cabinets in a number of local Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) projects have finally gone live with “fibre broadband” (FTTC/P) services.

Government Publishes Cyber Security Principles for UK ISPs

12th December, 2013 (1 Comment)

The Government has today published a series of “aspirational” and “voluntary guiding principles” that have been designed to help improve online security for customers of the country’s major broadband ISPs. Better late than never?

Point Topic Backs Smaller ISPs to Fix UK Rural Superfast Broadband Woes

9th December, 2013 (9 Comments)

London-based broadband analyst firm Point Topic has told ISPreview.co.uk, as part of our exclusive interview, that hybrid fibre optic (FTTC, DOCSIS etc.) services are the best way of getting affordable superfast Internet access to 95% of the country by 2017 and that smaller (altnets) ISPs should play a “major role” in connecting the final 5%.