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Articles for Category Tag - Politics

Analyst Claims UK Broadband Rollout Targets Ignore the End User Experience

29th August, 2012 (25 Comments)

Point Topic’s Tim Johnson has told the Broadband Forum’s quarterly meeting in Bucharest that UK and EU plans to deploy superfast broadband are at risk of putting too much emphasis on headline speeds and “not enough on the user experience“, with 40 million homes in Europe still unable to get even basic speeds of 2Mbps (Megabits per second).

The UK vs Broadband Speed and Coverage Targets from Around the World

22nd August, 2012 (7 Comments)

Content delivery firm Akamai has today published a useful summary of national broadband ISP speed and coverage targets from different countries around the world, which provides for an interesting comparison with the UK’s own ambitions. But how do we compare?

Waiting Game Continues as Jeremy Hunt MP Updates UK Broadband Policy

20th August, 2012 (29 Comments)

The government’s Culture Secretary, Jeremy Hunt MP, has today said that he wants the UK to have not only the “best” but also now the “fastest broadband of any major European country by 2015” and to extend its coverage beyond the current 90% (population) target. So what’s new?

Doubts Cast Over Plan to Extend UK Mobile Broadband Coverage to 98%

14th August, 2012 (0 Comments)

Serious doubt has been cast over the viability of the government’s £150m Mobile Infrastructure Project (MIP), which aims to make Mobile Broadband and voice services available to “at least 98%” of the United Kingdom by the end of 2017 (currently 95%), after Three UK chose not to sign-up.. yet.

BBC Hands Over GBP300m to Help Rollout UK Superfast Broadband

10th August, 2012 (28 Comments)

As widely expected the BBC has officially confirmed that it will take an additional £300m from its TV Licence Fee (formerly the 3.5% Digital Switchover Budget) to help the UK government roll-out superfast broadband (25Mbps+) ISP services around the country.

Scotland Launches GBP5 Million Rural Community Broadband Scheme

9th August, 2012 (1 Comment)

The Scottish Government has today announced the launch of a new £5 million Community Broadband Scotland (CBS) initiative, which will apparently act as a “one-stop-shop” to provide rural community groups with “information” and “practical support” to help them find better internet access solutions.

Welsh Farming Unions Give Support to Montgomeryshire Broadband Campaign

8th August, 2012 (0 Comments)

The Monty Broadband campaign, which aims to bring faster internet access services into Montgomeryshire (Maldwyn) in northern Wales (UK), has today won vital support from the Farmers Union of Wales (FUW) and National Farming Union Cymru (NFUC).

ISP Entanet Calls for Open Access and Local Grants to Boost UK Broadband

8th August, 2012 (8 Comments)

Entanet, a UK voice and data communications provider, has called for the government to improve the country’s broadband infrastructure by fostering more “open access” to BT’s national telecoms network and offering community grants that would allow rural villages to choose the best internet access solution for their area.

Government Says UK Libraries are Safe from ISP Internet Piracy Law.. Maybe

7th August, 2012 (2 Comments)

The UK government’s communications minister, Ed Vaizey MP, has told the Open Rights Group (ORG) that “public intermediaries” (e.g. libraries and education networks) will “not be bound” by Ofcom’s Initial Obligations Code, which requires broadband ISPs to clamp down upon P2P internet copyright infringement (piracy).

AAISP Warns UK Government to Fix Costly Broadband Capacity Before Speed

7th August, 2012 (4 Comments)

The Director of UK ISP Andrews & Arnold (AAISP), Adrian Kennard, has warned that the recent focus upon improving the country’s broadband ISP speeds risk neglecting the need for more affordable back-haul capacity to support the new generation of superfast internet access services.

UK Government Confirms 3 Month Delay for Local Broadband Projects

3rd August, 2012 (30 Comments)

The UK government’s Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has confirmed that its national roll-out of superfast broadband (25Mbps+) services has been hit by “at least” a 3 month delay after the European Commission (EC) expressed competition concerns with the process.

Digital Policy Alliance Calls for UK to Review Failed Broadband Strategy

2nd August, 2012 (16 Comments)

The Information Society Alliance (EURIM), a not-for-profit policy studies group, has today re-launched itself as the Digital Policy Alliance (DPA) and immediately started calling for the UK government to review its “failed” national broadband strategy.

Hampshire UK Council Offer Grants for Alternative Rural Broadband Services

1st August, 2012 (1 Comment)

The Hampshire County Council (HCC) has quietly launched a new Alternative Broadband Pilot scheme, which borrows an idea from Wales by offering grants worth up to £300 to help “Not Spot” homes in rural areas install an “alternative” broadband service that can provide broadband speeds of more than 2Mbps+.

Analyst Warns of GBP1bn Shortfall for Lords UK Fibre Optic Broadband Proposal

1st August, 2012 (10 Comments)

Consultancy firm Analysys Mason has warned that yesterdays scathing House of Lords Select Committee report into the UK’s embattled superfast broadband strategy, which proposed to blanket the country with truly open-access fibre optic hubs, would require “substantially more public funding” (£1bn) than is currently available.

UPDATE2 Lords Inquiry Calls for UK to Deploy Robust Fibre Optic Broadband

31st July, 2012 (37 Comments)

The House of Lords Select Committee Inquiry into the UK government’s superfast broadband plan has published its first report, which criticises the lack of “strategy” and failure to focus upon “eliminating” the rural digital divide. Crucially it calls for the roll-out of a “robust and resilient national network” that should be linked primarily by open access fibre optic lines; but only if home owners pay for it first.

EU Giving High Priority to Resolution of UK Superfast Broadband Delay

30th July, 2012 (7 Comments)

The European Commission (EC) has given a “high priority” to resolving competition concerns over the UK governments allocation of State Aid for its national superfast broadband deployment, which appears to be delaying the approval of funding for several related Local Broadband Plans (LBP).

UK ISPs Give Conflicted Response to New Open Internet Code of Practice

26th July, 2012 (1 Comment)

Yesterdays release of a new voluntary Open Internet Code of Practice (OICP), which is designed to tackle Net Neutrality concerns by requiring members to ensure the provision of full and open internet access, has today received a starkly mixed response from the UK’s fixed line broadband ISPs.