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Articles for Category Tag - Politics

LSE Identifies GBP1.1bn Shortfall in UK Governments Broadband Funding

3rd May, 2012 (6 Comments)

A new study from the London School of Economics (LSE) has estimated that the UK governments plan to make superfast broadband (24Mbps+) ISP services available to 90% of “people in each local authority area” by 2015 is now at risk due to a significant shortfall of £1.1 billion.

eXwavia Attacks Welsh Governments Lack of Broadband Investment in Anglesey

26th April, 2012 (3 Comments)

Wireless broadband ISP eXwavia has warned that the Welsh Government’s investment strategy for the island of Anglesey (Wales, UK) could result in a “business broadband meltdown” (a reference to the now uncertain future of Wylfa’s nuclear power station) because most of their efforts have so failed to focus upon the regions weak telecoms and internet infrastructure.

RaceOnline 2012 Initiative Replaced by Go ON UK to Help Get Everyone Online

23rd April, 2012 (1 Comment)

The UK’s Digital Champion and head of Race Online 2012, Martha Lane Fox, has today launched a “radical new cross-sector partnership” called Go On UK that aims to bring the benefits of the internet to “every individual, organisation and community” across the country. Sound familiar? It’s really just a replacement for RO2012 that formally ends today.

House of Lords UK Superfast Broadband Inquiry Publishes Written Evidence

18th April, 2012 (115 Comments)

The House of Lords Select Committee Inquiry into the UK governments superfast broadband strategy, which launched in mid-February 2012 (here) and closed for responses on 13th March 2012, has now published a full summary of all the written evidence submitted.

BT Bid for all Broadband Contracts as UK Gov Shun Universal Service Obligation

17th April, 2012 (11 Comments)

The UK government’s Communications Minister, Ed Vaizey, has confirmed that BT are officially bidding on all 8 of the currently active superfast broadband procurement contracts (more will follow). Separately Vaizey said that “the time is not right” to introduce a legal Universal Service Obligation (USO) for broadband.

UK TSB Grants Genesis GBP250k to Develop 400Mb DSL Rings Broadband Tech

16th April, 2012 (9 Comments)

The Technology Strategy Board (TSB), which advises the UK government on how best to remove barriers to innovation and accelerate the exploitation of new technologies, has awarded a new SMART grant worth £250,000 to Canadian firm Genesis Technical Systems (GTS) in order to help with the development of its potentially 400Mbps (Megabits/sec) capable DSLRings broadband technology.

Lack of Fast Broadband is NOT Just a Problem for UK Rural Areas

11th April, 2012 (8 Comments)

The lack of good broadband ISP connectivity, despite what some people might think, is most definitively not an issue that has confined itself to the United Kingdom’s many rural areas. Indeed over the past few years this has become quite a common misconception, not least because there is a lack of hard data to map the problem with any real accuracy.

ITU Claims Broadband Can Reduce Greenhouse Gasses and Save the Planet

4th April, 2012 (0 Comments)

The International Telecommunications Union (ITU), which is part of the United Nations, has released an interesting new report that highlights a number of different ways in which broadband internet access can help to reduce greenhouse gasses (GHGs), mitigate and adapt to the effects of climate change and promote resource efficiency, while at the same time “building more prosperous and inclusive societies“.

Brocade Calls for UK Superfast Broadband Plan to Refocus on Data Centres

26th March, 2012 (0 Comments)

Brocade, a global networking solutions provider, has warned that the current drive to deliver superfast broadband services to 90% of the UK population by 2015 desperately needs to “shift in focus” away from home connectivity and onto data centres. The firm claims that failure to do so would risk creating “too much demand” before appropriate infrastructure is in place.

UPD2 UK ISPs Give Mixed Reaction to Budget 2012 Broadband Commitments

22nd March, 2012 (1 Comment)

Yesterday’s Budget 2012 announcement (detailed summary) from the UK government appears to have drawn a mixed reaction from Internet Service Providers (ISP) and related organisations. The budget revealed which 10 cities will get “ultrafast” broadband services and better mobile / wifi connectivity through the £100m Urban Broadband Fund (UBF) and added a further £50m to support similar efforts in “smaller cities“.

UPD Budget 2012 Confirm Final 10 UK Cities for £100m Ultrafast Broadband Fund

21st March, 2012 (12 Comments)

The UK governments Chancellor, George Osborne MP, has this afternoon presented his annual Budget 2012 announcement to the House of Commons (Parliament) and confirmed which 10 cities can now expect to get “ultrafast” broadband ISP services and “high speed public wifi” through the £100m Urban Broadband Fund (UBF). A further £50m has today also been allocated for a second wave of “smaller cities“.

Former BT CTO Tells Inquiry the UK Needs £15bn to do Broadband Properly

21st March, 2012 (3 Comments)

The former Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of BT, Dr Peter Cochrane, has told a Lords Select Committee Inquiry into the UK governments superfast broadband strategy that the country would need to invest “at least £15bn” if it wanted to upgrade the national telecoms infrastructure properly and deliver a truly fibre optic (e.g. FTTH) service to everybody.

PM David Cameron Reiterates UK Governments Broadband Commitments

20th March, 2012 (12 Comments)

The UK Prime Minster (PM), David Cameron, has laid the groundwork for tomorrows Budget 2012 announcements by giving a special speech on national infrastructure to the Institute of Civil Engineering (ICE) that reiterated the governments various commitments for improving the country’s broadband internet access services.

Internet Access Contributes More to UK GDP than any other G20 Country

19th March, 2012 (5 Comments)

The Boston Consulting Group (BCG), a global management consultancy firm, has reported that broadband internet access and the online industry contributed 8.3% (£121bn) to the UK economy (Gross Domestic Product) in 2010 and will grow by 11% each year for the next four years to hit £221bn by 2016.

UK Government Adds Broadband ISP Bundles to its Inflation Calculations

17th March, 2012 (0 Comments)

The governments Office for National Statistics (ONS) has quietly announced a notable change to the way it measures inflation (Consumer Prices Index (CPI) and Retail Prices Index (RPI)) by adding “bundled communication services” (broadband internet access, phone and TV) to its calculations for the first time.

ISP Exwavia Fears UK Government to Fine Rural Farmers for Lack of Broadband

10th March, 2012 (4 Comments)

Welshpool-based ISP Exwavia, which uses wireless (WiFi) technology to deliver broadband internet access speeds of up to 14Mbps (Megabits per second) into isolated parts of rural Wales (UK), has warned that farmers could soon be hit by a new wave of fines and penalties if they do not start using the governments related online services (e.g. Taxation, Electronic Sheep Database etc.).

Majority of UK Local Authorities Meet Governments Broadband Deadline

8th March, 2012 (4 Comments)

The UK governments Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has today announced that all but two local authorities (councils) have managed to submit their draft Local Broadband Plans (LBP) on time, which aim to help make superfast broadband (25Mbps+) ISP services available to 90% of the country by 2015 (the last 10% will get at least 2Mbps). In addition 40% of local authority projects have been given the green light to proceed with procurement.