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Articles for Category Tag - Politics

Gov Still Hopes for 90% Superfast Broadband in 2015 Despite BT Bung Fear

1st November, 2013 (11 Comments)

The UK Government’s Communications Minister, Ed Vaizey, told a debate in the House of Commons yesterday that “half” of the local Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) projects were running “ahead of schedule” and thus there was still a strong possibility of reaching the original target for 90% to be within reach of superfast broadband (25Mbps+) in 2015.

UPD UK Gov Creates Confusion Over BT and BDUK Broadband Coverage Data

28th October, 2013 (39 Comments)

The Cumbria County Council appears to have confirmed that the government’s culture secretary, Maria Miller, will not require local authorities to publish BT’s postcode-based superfast broadband speed and coverage data for Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) funded deployments. The decision could leave small (altnet) ISP schemes in limbo for several years.

UPD Government Seek Procurement Lead for Broadband Delivery UK

21st October, 2013 (2 Comments)

The Government’s Department for Culture Media & Sport (DCMS) has placed an interesting new job listing for a Broadband Procurement Lead whom would be paid £120k to help extend fixed line superfast broadband to 95% of UK premises by 2017 (99% by 2018 when you include mobile and wireless technologies).

EU Regulators Seek Delay to New Broadband and Telecoms Measures

21st October, 2013 (0 Comments)

The Body of European Regulators of Electronic Communications, which represents national telecoms regulators (e.g. Ofcom in the UK) across the EU, has called upon the European Commission to delay its Single Telecoms Market reform because, they claim, it fails to take correct account of actual NGA broadband coverage, service speeds, prices and 4G investment etc.

Europe Claims 100% Basic Broadband Target Won via Satellite

18th October, 2013 (17 Comments)

Sooner or later a politician was bound to play the quick-fix card. The European Commission has declared that the race to achieve 100% coverage of basic broadband services has been achieved thanks to the help of pan-EU Satellite availability. Concerns over capacity, performance and price appear to have been left at the door.

BDUK Uptake Statistics from the SME Broadband Connection Voucher Trial

17th October, 2013 (0 Comments)

The Broadband Delivery UK office has published some interesting statistics from the recent market test of its Connection Vouchers scheme, which uses part of the £150m Urban Broadband Fund (“Super-Connected Cities“) to help businesses install superfast broadband. Some residential premises may also benefit under Phase 2 but the 30Mbps+ target might be reduced.

Angus Council Approves Major Superfast Broadband Rollout Plan

17th October, 2013 (0 Comments)

Some 93% of homes and businesses in Angus (Scotland, UK) could soon be within reach of a fibre optic based broadband service after the regional council approved a plan that will see at least £2m of public money (between 2014 – 2016) being used to help fund the deployment.

UK ISP Rutland Telecom Fix Broadband Altnet Woes in Essendine Village

17th October, 2013 (0 Comments)

Rural focused Internet provider Rutland Telecom (Gigaclear) appears to have now resolved the broadband problems that recently beset Essendine village in the East Midlands of England, which initially resulted in the local parish council perhaps unfairly describing the small ISP as a “virtual monopoly“.

ISPreview UK Survey Finds Support for Big Broadband Public Funding Boost

14th October, 2013 (17 Comments)

The government of the United Kingdom has so far committed around £1.2bn in public funding to help make fixed line superfast broadband speeds of 25Mbps+ available to 95% of the country by 2017. But the latest ISPreview.co.uk survey of 2,197 people has found that 67.2% of respondents would like even more state aid to be spent.

Microsoft and Estate Agents Bash Slow UK Broadband Speeds and HS2

12th October, 2013 (28 Comments)

Microsoft and a variety of Estate Agents have this week criticised the poor performance of broadband in rural parts of the United Kingdom. At the same time the software giant also warned that spending £42.6bn on the High Speed Two (HS2) railway link instead of super-fast Internet connectivity is a “strategic mistake“.

Lack of Fast Broadband Could be Fuelling Rural Depopulation in Scotland

9th October, 2013 (4 Comments)

The Scottish Government’s Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and Environment, Richard Lochhead, has told Scotland’s Rural Affairs Committee that there is “now evidence of people leaving rural communities to live in urban areas” due to a lack of good broadband connectivity.

UPD UK Government Creates Confusion with Talk of 15Mbps Broadband

9th October, 2013 (18 Comments)

The government has caused confusion after yesterday’s crucial Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) industry day, which was supposed to help resolve some long standing problems and design a way forward, created more questions than it answered.

ISP AB Internet Warns Against UK Wireless Tax and a Pure Fibre Optic Focus

7th October, 2013 (3 Comments)

AB Internet has told ISPreview.co.uk, as part of our exclusive interview, that the Valuation Office Agency’s review of how its business rates can be applied to fixed wireless networks could result in a “whole segment of society” being “digitally marooned“. The ISP also warned against an “all roads must lead to fibre” approach to broadband.

UPD Broadband Delivery UK Invite BT and Smaller ISPs to Crucial Meeting

3rd October, 2013 (25 Comments)

The Government’s Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) office has put out a new tender that is seeking “as many suppliers as possible” to help it spend the extra £250m, which will be used to extend fixed line superfast broadband coverage from around 88% of the population by the end of 2015 to 95% by 2017 (or 99% by 2018 if you include wireless).

MPs Call on UK Government to Implement ISP Piracy Warning Letters ASAP

27th September, 2013 (6 Comments)

A new report from the Culture, Media and Sport Committee has taken a broadly pro-enforcement line on tackling Internet copyright infringement (piracy) and called for the much-delayed 2010 Digital Economy Act (DEAct) system of Warning Letters from broadband ISPs to be implemented at “far greater speed” than planned.

UPD2 PAC Report Attacks UK Gov for Giving BT a Monopoly on Broadband

26th September, 2013 (87 Comments)

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC), which works alongside the House of Commons to examine public expenditure, has today published its final report into the £1.2bn Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) scheme and it accuses the government of allowing BT to build a “quasi-monopolistic position which it is exploiting by restricting access to cost and roll-out information“.

David Cameron Defends Broadband Delivery UK from “slightly unfair” Criticism

20th September, 2013 (33 Comments)

The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, David Cameron, has told a select committee meeting that some of the recent criticism directed towards his £1.2bn scheme to improve the availability of superfast broadband has been “slightly unfair“. But he is prepared to look at the “possibilities” of BT having an unfair monopoly on related contracts.