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Articles for Category Tag - Politics

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Government Appears Unlikely to Extend Relief from UK Fibre Tax

5th February, 2022 (18 Comments)

Since April 2017 the UK Government has allowed broadband networks to claim 100% business rates relief on new fibre infrastructure, but this “Fibre Tax” holiday is about to expire and there’s been no indication of an extension. Some operators fear this will add “significant cost and uncertainty to the investment case for full fibre.”

Gov Extend UK Online Safety Bill via New List of Criminal Content

4th February, 2022 (17 Comments)

The Government’s new Online Safety Bill (OSB), which tasks Ofcom with tackling “harmful” content online through website bans, fines and other sanctions, has today extended the legislation via a new list of “criminal content” (e.g. online drug and weapons dealing, people smuggling, revenge porn, fraud etc.) for tech firms to remove as a priority.

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Gov Levelling Up Plan Confirms Nationwide Gigabit Broadband for 2030

2nd February, 2022 (30 Comments)

The government will today publish their “flagship” Levelling Up White Paper, which sets out their “plan to transform the UK by spreading opportunity and prosperity to all parts of it” and also confirms their revised broadband target – that “by 2030, the UK will have nationwide gigabit-capable broadband.”

Persimmon Homes ISP FibreNest Keeps Broadband Prices Frozen

31st January, 2022 (10 Comments)

UK ISP FibreNest, which is the full fibre (FTTP) broadband network for new build housing sites developed by Persimmon Homes, has announced that they’ve opted to buck this year’s most frustrating industry trend – of major internet provider’s announcing huge price hikes (here) – by freezing their prices for the third year running.

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Credit Suisse Predict 90 Percent UK Full Fibre Coverage for 2025

26th January, 2022 (17 Comments)

A recent report from banking giant Credit Suisse has estimated that Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband networks will cover 90% of the UK by 2025. The country was also found to be the “most attractive market” for incremental investment in such networks, thanks to “strong build momentum and interest” in faster broadband.

Openreach Publish Next 113 UK FTTP Broadband Rollout Areas UPDATE2

25th January, 2022 (72 Comments)

Openreach (BT) has this morning published the first update of 2022 to the £15bn rollout plan for their gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband ISP network, which adds 113 new locations (towns and villages) to their coverage plan. The operator aims to reach 25 million premises (80% of the UK) by December 2026.

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DCMS Committee Finds Online Safety Bill Gets the Balance Wrong

24th January, 2022 (1 Comment)

A new cross-party UK report from the DCMS Select Committee has warned that the Government’s new Online Safety Bill (OSB), which will task Ofcom with tackling “harmful” content online, fails to get the balance right and “neither protects freedom of expression nor is it clear nor robust enough to tackle illegal and harmful online content.”

LibDems in New Push for Mandatory UK Social Broadband Tariffs

21st January, 2022 (42 Comments)

The MP for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, Jamie Stone – with backing from 14 Liberal Democrat peers, is to meet with the UK Minister for Digital Infrastructure, Julia Lopez, in an attempt to force all broadband ISPs to offer mandatory “universal social tariffs” to help those who are struggling to pay their bills.

Nicola Sturgeon Gives Brief Update on R100 LOT1 Broadband Progress

21st January, 2022 (11 Comments)

The First Minister of the Scottish Government, Nicola Sturgeon, has issued a short update on the LOT 1 (North Scotland and Highlands) contract with BT (Openreach) under their £600m Reaching 100% (R100) project, which is extending “superfast broadband” (30Mbps+) coverage across rural parts of Scotland (mostly via FTTP).

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Report Recommends Changes to Boost UK 5G and Gigabit Broadband

20th January, 2022 (5 Comments)

A new report produced by property consultants Cluttons and polling firm YouGov, which surveyed 103 UK MPs, 577 councillors, 101 IT decision markets and 1,996 citizens, has highlighted various problems that could obstruct the move to adopt 5G mobile and gigabit-capable (1Gbps+) broadband ISP connections.

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Big UK Broadband ISPs Can Now Confirm Huge 2022 Price Hikes

19th January, 2022 (38 Comments)

The Office of National Statistics has today published the latest UK inflation figures, which sees the Consumer Price Index (CPI) hit 5.4% and the Retail Price Index (RPI) reach 7.5%! Many of the country’s biggest broadband ISPs base their annual price rises off the figure published in January, thus we now know how huge the hit will be.

PAC Criticises UK Gov for Slow Rural Gigabit Broadband Progress UPDATE

19th January, 2022 (27 Comments)

The Public Accounts Committee has today issued a new report on the progress being made by the UK Government’s £5bn Project Gigabit rural broadband rollout programme, which questions whether it will meet its targets and criticises the project for “relying too heavily on commercial contractors for the progress that has been made.”

Phase 4 of the Superfast North Yorkshire Broadband Rollout Begins UPDATE

18th January, 2022 (4 Comments)

The first rural homes to benefit from faster broadband under Phase 4 of the Superfast North Yorkshire (SFNY) project, which reflects a partnership between NYnet, a North Yorkshire County Council-owned broadband company, and UK ISP Quickline Communications, have just gone live in the village of Picton.

Project Stratum’s N.Ireland FTTP Rollout Adds Another 8500 Premises UPDATE

17th January, 2022 (9 Comments)

The £165m state aid supported Project Stratum scheme in Northern Ireland, which is working with UK ISP Fibrus to spread a gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband network into rural areas, has just re-announced a network expansion that will add another 8,500 premises to the coverage and a big rollout delay.

End of BBC TV Licence Fee Raises Prospect of Broadband Tax Again

17th January, 2022 (117 Comments)

Reports over the weekend appear to have all but confirmed that the UK Government will end the existing BBC TV licence fee from 2027 and replace it with a new funding model, which could include a Netflix style subscription model, government grants, more advertising or possibly a levy or tax on consumer broadband ISP bills etc.

Report Warns of Underinvestment in Rural Connectivity and Skills

12th January, 2022 (2 Comments)

The latest State of Rural Services report, which is being published today by Rural England CIC, has warned that many people in the country’s small towns and villages still face being “digitally excluded and locked out of key services” due to an “underinvestment in rural connectivity” (e.g. broadband and mobile infrastructure) and skills.

GBP450K Brings FTTP Broadband to Two Rural Powys Communities

10th January, 2022 (1 Comment)

Rural broadband builder Broadway Partners (aka – UK ISP Broadway Broadband) has secured another contract in Powys (Wales), worth £450,000, to extend their gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network to serve premises in the communities of Aberedw and Glascwm (this follows Dwyriw and Manafon).