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Articles for Category Tag - Politics

Isle of Wight Cable Operator Slams Councils Biased BT Broadband Plan

13th February, 2013 (2 Comments)

The Isle of Wight’s (England, UK) only provider of commercial and residential cable based TV, phone and broadband products, WightFibre (formerly WightCable), has accused the councils delayed roll-out plan for superfast broadband ISP services of being “biased in favour of BT” and of having shunned alternatives.

ISPreview Talks to Westminster City Council about its FREE O2 WiFi Service

11th February, 2013 (0 Comments)

Last year O2 UK signed a new deal to provide visitors and residents of Westminster, Kensington and Chelsea (i.e. Central London) with access to one of the largest free wireless internet (wifi) access zones in Europe. Today ISPreview.co.uk interviews both O2 and Westminster City Council (WCC) about what this means and how it’s been funded.

UPDATE3 Funding for EU Digital Agenda Broadband Projects Gets Wiped Out

9th February, 2013 (9 Comments)

Last night’s decision to cut the European Union’s seven-year 2014 to 2020 budget by 3% to around £768bn has taken a significant casualty. The European Commission’s (EC) plan to boost funding for future superfast broadband projects through its €9.2bn (£7.78bn) Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) has effectively been wiped out.

Gov Consults on Changes to Boost the UK Superfast Broadband Rollout

30th January, 2013 (4 Comments)

The government’s Department for Culture, Media and Sport has launched a new consultation on proposals that would see telecoms operators, such as BT, given a five year period of grace with which to install new street cabinets and poles (but not mobile masts) without the need for prior approval from a local planning authority.

UK Adopts FAST START Initiative to Boost the Superfast Broadband Rollout

25th January, 2013 (8 Comments)

The politicians responsible for the United Kingdom’s already heavily delayed national roll-out of superfast broadband services now have a new phrase to swing around, “Fast Start”, which will soon be available right across the country. The “new approach” will apparently smooth the deployment of faster connectivity by avoiding further delays.

Controversial UK Communications Bill White Paper Expected Later in 2013

24th January, 2013 (1 Comment)

The UK governments much delayed Communications Bill, which seeks to update and expand upon Ofcom’s ability to regulate the internet, telecoms, media sectors and could also introduce new online censorship measures (e.g. enforced parental controls and piracy website blocking), is now expected to publish its first White Paper “later this year“.

CLA and NFU Reach Wayleave Deal to Boost Broadband for UK Rural Areas

11th January, 2013 (0 Comments)

The Country Land and Business Association (CLA) and National Farmers Union (NFU) have unveiled a new wayleave agreement that should make it easier, quicker and cheaper to roll-out new superfast broadband services into rural parts of the United Kingdom. The deal has faced many delays and was originally intended to launch before the end of 2011.

UPD Policy Exchange Tells UK Government to Stop the Broadband Subsidy

7th January, 2013 (22 Comments)

The Policy Exchange, an educational charity which also claims to be the UK’s leading think tank, has warned the government that its case for “spending any more taxpayers’ money” to subsidise the roll-out of superfast broadband is “weak” and should be stopped in 2015. Instead it wants the country to focus on connecting people who don’t use the internet.

Northumberland UK to Benefit from £1.3m Broadband Loan Scheme

5th January, 2013 (2 Comments)

The Northumberland County Council (NCC) in North East England has announced the launch of a new £1.3 million loan scheme that has been designed to encourage small satellite, wireless or other alternative technology ISPs to come into the county and offer their broadband services to the most remote rural areas.

EU Adopts New State Aid Guidelines to Boost Ultrafast Broadband Rollouts

19th December, 2012 (11 Comments)

The European Commission (EC) has today adopted revised guidelines on the use of public funding to help deploy “super-fast” broadband (30Mbps+) ISP services to everybody in the EU by 2020. The updated “rules” support a technologically neutral approach and include a greater focus on funding for “ultra-fast” (100Mbps+) services in urban areas.

Facebook Lends its Weight to the UK Internet Service Providers Association

18th December, 2012 (1 Comment)

The ever growing concern over government interference in how internet access and online content are regulated became more obvious today after it was revealed that Facebook, the global social networking giant, had officially joined the UK Internet Service Providers Association (ISPA).

UK and USA Kill Feared Proposals for New ITU Internet Tax and Censorship

14th December, 2012 (0 Comments)

Proposals for a controversial change to the current International Telecommunications Regulations (ITR), which some country’s fear could have potentially opened the door to a new Net Neutrality busting internet tax or wider online censorship, has been fragmented after the UK, USA and Canada refused to sign the new treaty.

UPD4 Joint Government Committee Scalds Draft UK Internet Snooping Law

11th December, 2012 (8 Comments)

The Joint Committee responsible for conducting pre-legislative scrutiny of the UK government’s Draft Communications Data Bill, which threatens to expand internet snooping laws by forcing ISPs into logging a bigger and more accessible slice of your online activity, has today described the proposed new laws as “overkill” and called for it to be “significantly amended“.

Does the City of Derry Deserve its UK UltraFast Broadband Funding Boost

7th December, 2012 (6 Comments)

This week the UK government awarded £50m to help twelve “smaller cities” expand the coverage of “ultra-fast” broadband (80-100Mbps+) and “high speed” public wifi services into neglected areas. But some of the cities, such as Derry in Northern Ireland and Portsmouth in England, already have near perfect availability of “superfast” connectivity.

UPD2 Government Name 12 Smaller UK Cities for Ultrafast Broadband Boost

5th December, 2012 (0 Comments)

The UK government’s Chancellor, George Osborne MP, has today announced his Autumn Statement and revealed the final list of 12 “smaller cities” that will benefit from around £50m (Urban Broadband Fund) to help expand the coverage of “ultra-fast” broadband (80-100Mbps+) and “high speed” public wifi services into neglected areas.

Virgin Media Seek to Avoid Legal Clash Over UK City Broadband Funding

3rd December, 2012 (1 Comment)

Cable operator Virgin Media has written to the UK government’s culture secretary, Maria Miller, with a series of recommendations for changing the £150m+ Urban Broadband Fund. The UBF aims to support the roll-out of “ultrafast” broadband services and fast public wifi, although Virgin and BT have already threatened it with legal action.

Europe Blasts UK Government for False Broadband Funding Delay Jibes

28th November, 2012 (6 Comments)

Europe’s competition commissioner, Joaquín Almunia, has publicly criticised the UK government’s Culture Secretary, Maria Miller MP, after she blamed the European Commission for holding up the release of State Aid funding and thus delaying the country’s national roll-out of superfast broadband (25Mbps+) services.