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Articles for Category Tag - Politics

CityFibre Start Legal Fight Over Ofcom Approval of Openreach FTTP Price Cut UPDATE2

8th December, 2021 (22 Comments)

CityFibre has this week carried out their earlier threats by launching an appeal via the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) to challenge Ofcom’s recent approval of Openreach’s “Equinox” offer (here), which introduced a “major” price cut (details) to the incumbents Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband products for UK ISPs.

Ofcom Reports Good UK Progress on Openreach’s Split from BT UPDATE

8th December, 2021 (8 Comments)

Ofcom has today published their annual monitoring report, which finds that Openreach continues to “operate with a high degree of strategic and operational independence” from BT and there has been positive progress in take-up of their Physical Infrastructure Access (PIA) product by rival broadband ISPs. Only a few small issues remain.

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All Public 2G and 3G UK Mobile Services Switched Off by 2033

8th December, 2021 (37 Comments)

The Government has unveiled a new agreement with the four primary mobile network operators, including Vodafone, EE (BT), O2 (VMO2) and Three UK, which among other things will see existing 2G and 3G signals being “phased out” by 2033 (benefitting 4G / 5G services and mobile broadband) and a new target for OpenRAN adoption.

Government Turns Building Digital UK into Executive Agency

3rd December, 2021 (22 Comments)

The Government’s Building Digital UK (BDUK) team, which is part of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & and Sport (DCMS) and has responsibility for delivering broadband networks across the nation (e.g. the £5bn Project Gigabit rollout scheme), is to become an Executive Agency from April 2022.

First Homes Live in ISP Wessex Internet’s Somerset FTTP Build

1st December, 2021 (0 Comments)

Rural UK ISP Wessex Internet has this week connected the first home in South Somerset to their new gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband network, which has been deployed as part of their state aid supported contract via the Connecting Devon and Somerset (CDS) programme.

Scotland Extends Interim Rural Broadband Voucher Scheme

1st December, 2021 (5 Comments)

The Scottish Government has announced that their Interim Broadband Voucher Scheme, which forms part of the £600m Reaching 100% (R100) project and is designed to help rural premises in the hardest to reach areas get a faster connection installed, has been extended to 31st March 2022 (it was previously due to finish this month).

Project Stratum FTTP Rollout in N.Ireland Hits 15,000 Premises

29th November, 2021 (0 Comments)

The £165m state aid supported Project Stratum rollout in Northern Ireland, which is working with UK ISP Fibrus to spread a gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband network to a further 76,233 premises in disadvantaged rural areas by March 2024 (84,500 if you include the expansion), has just completed 15,000 premises.

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Low Awareness Hampers Take-up of UK Social Broadband Tariffs

24th November, 2021 (11 Comments)

A new Opinium survey for Uswitch, which questioned 2,000 UK adults this month, has estimated that 65% of those deemed to be “financially vulnerable people” aren’t aware that social tariffs for broadband exist from various UK ISPs, with just 15% of eligible households actually applying for them.

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New UK Law Set to Boost Broadband Rollouts and Device Security

24th November, 2021 (4 Comments)

The UK Government has today introduced their new Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Bill (PSTI), which among other things will make it easier for broadband and mobile operators to upgrade and share infrastructure. The bill will also aim to ensure that internet connected devices are more secure.

Farmers and Landowners Launch Survey of Broadband in Wales

24th November, 2021 (5 Comments)

A large group of farming and landowners’ organisations have launched a new survey to examine the current state of broadband connectivity in Wales. The survey is partly designed to help them understand how well-equipped rural communities are for forthcoming farming regulations, which require vast amounts of online forms.

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ONS Finds 2021 R&D Spending on UK Telecoms Has Grown

22nd November, 2021 (0 Comments)

The UK Office for National Statistics (ONS) has revealed that the telecoms industry has gone from last year’s report, when spending on research and development grew by just 0.95% to total £956m, to this year when such spending has risen by 4.5% (£44m) to reach a 9-year high of £1.028bn.

Rivals Prep Legal Challenge Over Ofcom Approval of Openreach FTTP Price Cut

21st November, 2021 (31 Comments)

Several alternative UK network (AltNets) builders, including Gigaclear and CityFibre, among others, are reportedly set to launch a legal challenge against Ofcom’s recent approval of Openreach’s “Equinox” offer (here), which introduces a “major” price cut (details) to the incumbents Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband products.

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Gov Targets Universal UK Gigabit Broadband Coverage for 2030

20th November, 2021 (49 Comments)

The UK Government’s £5bn Project Gigabit rollout programme appears to have quietly confirmed that they now aim to deliver “full” 1Gbps broadband coverage to the final 20% of hardest to reach premises by 2030 (effectively universal coverage), at least where it is “value for money to do so.”

A Question of Eligibility as N.Ireland’s Fibre Rollout Skips Homes

18th November, 2021 (6 Comments)

The £165m state aid supported Project Stratum deployment in Northern Ireland, which is helping to spread a gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband ISP network to a further 76,000 premises in rural areas (84,500 if you include the expansion), has come under fire for how it appears to skip some nearby homes.

Openreach Officially Name the Next 170 UK FTTP Rollout Areas

17th November, 2021 (92 Comments)

Openreach (BT) has today officially added another 170 new towns and villages (covering 1.5 million premises) to the UK rollout plan of their 1Gbps Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband ISP network, which are all the same as those we published last month (here). The news comes as they reach 6 million premises passed.

Next UK Infrastructure Assessment to Focus on Gigabit Broadband Takeup

15th November, 2021 (5 Comments)

The National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) has today revealed the topics that will sit at the heart of their next (second) major assessment of the UK’s long-term infrastructure priorities, to be published in 2023, which among other things looks set to shift the focus on gigabit broadband from build to take-up.

3,835 UK Schools are in Postcodes with No Access to Full Fibre

14th November, 2021 (40 Comments)

New data from the UK Government’s Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and Schools Minister, Robin Walker, has revealed that 3,835 schools are in postcodes “that do not have access” to full fibre broadband connectivity “or are currently not in areas of proposed commercial build within the next five years“.