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Articles for Category Tag - Politics

DONT USE - Wildanet Engineer Doing FTTP House Install

First Homes Live in Cornwall on Wildanet’s Project Gigabit Broadband Build

25th March, 2024 (10 Comments)

Rural UK broadband ISP Wildanet, which back in January 2023 secured the £36m state aid funded Project Gigabit broadband roll-out contract to cover more than 19,250 hard-to-reach premises across rural parts of Cornwall in South West England (here), has today announced that the first 1,000 homes on the new network have gone live.

Internet and UK Telecoms Security Picture by 123rf

techUK Raise Internet Snooping Concerns Over UK IP Act Amendments

22nd March, 2024 (14 Comments)

Industry body techUK, which represents many of the UK’s key technology companies, and a broad range of stakeholders have today issued a joint statement that expresses concern about proposed changes under the Investigatory Powers (Amendment) Bill, not least their potential impact upon internet security and privacy.

Wessex-Internet-Engineers-next-to-fibre-drum

Wessex Internet Win South Wiltshire Gigabit Broadband Build Contract

22nd March, 2024 (13 Comments)

The latest contract awarded under the UK government’s £5bn Project Gigabit broadband rollout scheme – worth £18.8 million – has today gone to ISP Wessex Internet, which will upgrade connectivity for “around” 14,500 hard-to-reach homes and businesses across rural parts of South Wiltshire in England.

mobile phone tracking by 123rf (83995611)

Ofcom Protect UK Consumers from Mobile Roaming BILL SHOCKS UPDATE

22nd March, 2024 (12 Comments)

The UK telecoms regulator, Ofcom, has today finalised new rules – due to be enforced from 1st October 2024 – that will require mobile network operators, such as Three UK, Vodafone, EE and O2 (inc. MVNO operators), to protect consumers who travel abroad from mobile BILL SHOCKS on data (broadband), call and text charges.

CMA Warn Vodafone and Three UK Merger Risks Price Rises and Less Competition

22nd March, 2024 (29 Comments)

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has this morning concluded its Phase 1 investigation of the proposed mega-merger (here) between mobile operators Three UK and Vodafone, which, much as expected, has raised concerns over the reduction in market competition and the potential for consumers to pay higher prices.

Government Boosts Resilience of UK 999 Calls After BT Fault

21st March, 2024 (0 Comments)

The UK Government has today proposed a series of recommendations to help “bolster the resilience” of the 999 emergency call handling system, which is operated by BT, following a technical fault (“complex software issue”) last summer (here) that resulted in 11,470 unique emergency calls being “unsuccessfully connected“.

Scotland Set to Tender for Rural Project Gigabit Broadband Rollout

20th March, 2024 (4 Comments)

The Scottish Government and the Building Digital UK (BDUK) agency have quietly revealed that they intend to publish the first official contract notice for the Project Gigabit broadband rollout scheme in Scotland, starting this month. Some £450m has already been allocated (here) to help this project spread 1Gbps speeds across rural Scotland.

Future-fibre-optic-broadband-connectivity-CoPilot-AI-Image-on-280224

DCF Report Examines Future UK Broadband Needs and Take-up

19th March, 2024 (4 Comments)

The Digital Connectivity Forum, which is an industry think-tank for the UK Government, has published a new “advanced connectivity” report that analyses “full fibre” (FTTP) broadband and 5G mobile deployments, take-up and use cases to understand the key barriers and drivers of adoption, as well as what we might need in the future.

First of 86 UK Gov-Funded 4G Mobile Mast Upgrades Go Live in Wales

19th March, 2024 (1 Comment)

The Government has today announced that the first of 86 new state aid supported 4G mobile masts in rural parts of Wales have been upgraded and switched-on. The work forms part of the £1bn industry-led Shared Rural Network project (i.e. extending 4G mobile / broadband cover to 95% of the UK by the end of 2025) with EE, Three UK, O2 and Vodafone.

Ofcom UK Warns its Powers are Limited on Broadband Poles

18th March, 2024 (15 Comments)

The UK telecoms regulator, Ofcom, has responded to a call by East Riding Council for them to conduct an “emergency review” of the situation around poles and KCOM’s infrastructure sharing in Hull. But the regulator says its powers to stop such works are limited and that no rival had raised a formal dispute about KCOM, yet.

Pound sterling broadband voucher by 123rf (100296328)

Government Extend UK Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme to 2028

15th March, 2024 (5 Comments)

According to our sources, the Government’s Building Digital UK (BDUK) agency has this afternoon informed UK network operators that their Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme (GBVS), which was originally due to end in March 2025, has been extended up to financial year 2027 to 2028, and “possibly beyond if needed“.

Government Calls on UK Broadband Operators to Limit Poles

15th March, 2024 (53 Comments)

The UK Digital Infrastructure Minister, Julia Lopez, has published a new letter to “telecoms firms” (Virgin Media, Openreach and KCOM etc.) that calls for them to “limit installation of telegraph poles” when deploying new fibre broadband networks because they risk upsetting communities by “inappropriately or unnecessarily throwing up new infrastructure.”

Engineers in Training up Telegraph Poles

Gov Ponders Action to Tackle Broadband Pole and 5G Mast Complaints

14th March, 2024 (29 Comments)

The UK Government’s Digital Infrastructure Minister, Julia Lopez, has revealed that she will next week hold a roundtable with colleagues, as well as Ofcom, to discuss rising community complaints against the use of broadband poles and wireless masts to deliver digital infrastructure. But this time, some action may follow.

Fiber optics network cable on technology background

Newcastle-under-Lyme Plans New 50km Full Fibre Network

11th March, 2024 (2 Comments)

The Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council in Staffordshire (England) has announced a new project that will seek to build up to 50km of new gigabit-capable fibre broadband infrastructure to help connect local businesses, public sector and community sites in poorly served parts of the town centre.

Bundle of optical fibers with lights in the ends lay on keyboard.

Town of St Helens Start £2.5m Project to Build Full Fibre Network

11th March, 2024 (6 Comments)

The local authority for the Merseyside (England) town of St Helens, which is home to a population of around 103,000, has notified ISPreview of a new digital infrastructure project that aims to invest £2.5m to deploy a fibre optic network to support businesses across the town centre with gigabit-capable broadband.

phone_voip_and_handset by 123RF ID 70258122

More UK Providers Commit to Protect Vulnerable Users During Digital Phone Switch UPDATE

11th March, 2024 (11 Comments)

The government has announced that seven UK broadband and phone operators, including Openreach, CityFibre, AllPoints Fibre, CommunityFibre, Ogi, KCOM and WightFibre, have today signed a charter that commits them to protect “vulnerable customers” (e.g. those with telecare devices) when upgrading phone lines to a new digital (IP) based network.

Red Road Closed road sign in a UK city street. 123rf

Gov Start Hunting New Supplier for £650m National Roadside Telecoms Service

9th March, 2024 (4 Comments)

The UK government-owned National Highways organisation, which operates, maintains and improves motorways and major A roads in England (they also set related UK standards), appears to have begun the process of hunting for a new supplier to manage the roadside National Roads Telecommunications Services (NRTS) network. The estimated contract value is £650m.