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Articles for Category Tag - Politics

DCMS Update on Plan for UK Rural Gigabit Broadband Vouchers

1st February, 2021 (4 Comments)

The UK Government (DCMS / BDUK) has confirmed a few more details about the future of their £200m Rural Gigabit Connectivity (RGC) programme to broadband ISPs, which is due to end on the 31st March 2021 but is widely expected to be superseded by a new programme with a fresh pot of “over” £250m.

Openreach’s Letter to Northern Ireland Council Draws Criticism

1st February, 2021 (16 Comments)

Openreach (BT) has faced some criticism after it sent a letter to one or more of Northern Ireland’s (NI) local authorities, which appeared to suggest that the operator would have provided FTTP broadband to more premises than the winner of the £165m Project Stratum contract, had they won it instead.

BDUK Study Shows Benefits of UK Superfast Broadband Project UPDATE

29th January, 2021 (20 Comments)

The Government has posted a useful State Aid evaluation of the UK National Broadband Scheme (Superfast Broadband Programme), which identifies a number of strong benefits from the £1.9bn (public) programme that has so far helped to extend “superfast broadband” (30Mbps+) connectivity to nearly 97% of premises.

3d rendering of optical fiber background

ITS Build of New Full Fibre Network Begins in Scunthorpe UK

29th January, 2021 (0 Comments)

The North Lincolnshire Council (NLC) has announced that UK network operator ITS Technology have begun construction work on a new gigabit-capable “full fibre” broadband network in the industrial town of Scunthorpe, which will be used to meet the demand for fast internet connections by the local business community.

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

Gov Consults on New ECC Changes to Aid UK Broadband Rollout

28th January, 2021 (2 Comments)

The UK Government has launched a consultation on a series of proposed changes to the Electronic Communications Code (ECC), which aims to put right some of the problems caused by their last revision in 2017 and could thus make it quicker for broadband and 4G or 5G mobile operators to deploy their networks.

1 in 6 UK People Struggle to Afford Broadband During Lockdown

28th January, 2021 (0 Comments)

A new survey from the Citizens Advice agency has claimed that more than 1 in 6 UK adults are “struggling to afford their broadband during the third lockdown.” As a result the charity wants cheaper ISP packages to be made available for those on low-income benefits or other vulnerable groups.

airband uk female broadband engineer in van

Rural Broadband ISP Airband to Create 1,000 Job Opportunities

27th January, 2021 (4 Comments)

Alternative UK wireless and full fibre ISP Airband, which currently aims to deploy their ultrafast Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network to cover over 500,000 premises by the end of 2025 (here), has revealed that their recent contract wins look set to help them create 1,000 new job opportunities.

O2, Three UK and Vodafone to Share 222 Rural 4G Mobile Masts

27th January, 2021 (32 Comments)

The £1bn Shared Rural Network (SRN) industry project made progress today after mobile operators O2, Three UK and Vodafone reached a related agreement to both build and share 222 new 4G mobile masts, which will be used to boost mobile voice and mobile broadband coverage in rural parts of the country.

4G Based Broadband ISP Haven Wireless Closing Service in Wales

26th January, 2021 (8 Comments)

A little known ISP called Haven Wireless, which helped to connect rural homes in Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire (Wales) by harnessing a mobile broadband connection from EE (BT) and other operators, is set to close on 31st March 2021 after running into “acute capacity issues on the frequencies used by the 4G masts covering our area.”

Fixed Broadband and Mobile Convergence May Boost Consumer Value

26th January, 2021 (4 Comments)

A new Assembly Research study of several countries, which was commissioned by Liberty Global (Virgin Media) and Telefonica (O2), has found that 60% of broadband customers benefit from faster speeds, higher quality connectivity and a greater range of products in markets where fixed and mobile networks have converged.

Rural Full Fibre Broadband Pilots Start Rollout in Pembrokeshire UPDATE

22nd January, 2021 (3 Comments)

The Pembrokeshire County Council (PCC) in Wales has today announced that the first of many gigabit-capable broadband cabinets have just been install in several rural communities, which stem from four new pilot schemes with Broadway Partners (UK ISP Broadway Broadband).

Telecoms Operators Spent £940m on UK COVID-19 Support

22nd January, 2021 (5 Comments)

A new Assembly Research study has found that UK broadband ISPs and mobile operators responded quickly to the COVID-19 crisis and have so far provided a colossal £940m worth of support, such as via free allowances (data, calls and texts), special packages, zero rated data on websites, discounts and support for online learning etc.

Mobile Operators Reject Call to Stop 5G Rollout Over Health Fears UPDATE

19th January, 2021 (0 Comments)

The trade association for UK mobile operators, Mobile UK, has warned that calls for the 5G rollout to be delayed on health grounds are “without merit“. The commentary comes after Professor John William Frank (University of Edinburgh) alleged that the transmitter density required for 5G may be “potentially harmful to health.”

Hands holding british pound coin and small money pouch by 123rf

Chair of UK Business Committee Pushes Social Tariff for Broadband UPDATE

19th January, 2021 (5 Comments)

The Chairman of the cross-party UK Commons Business Select Committee, Darren Jones MP (Labour), will tomorrow propose a new Private Members Bill that seeks to introduce a new low cost “social tariff” for broadband, which will be focused upon families with children on free school meals (i.e. disadvantaged groups).

UK Internet Censorship – Damned if you do, Damned if you don’t

18th January, 2021 (68 Comments)

Prompted by Donald Trump’s ban from social media, calls are once again growing from politicians for internet sites to be held liable if they remove lawful content and users. Soon it may be a case of damned if you do, damned if you don’t, as the future approach toward protecting freedom of speech risks doing the opposite.

Hyperoptic Gifts Free Fibre Broadband to Disadvantaged UK Kids

18th January, 2021 (9 Comments)

UK ISP Hyperoptic, which is rolling out a 1Gbps FTTP/B broadband network to large residential (MDU) buildings and office blocks, has today echoed last week’s news from CommunityFibre (here) by announcing that they too will supply a “free 50Mbps service” to homes with children stuck on slower connections (coverage allowing).

Softbank Invests $350m in OneWeb’s LEO Satellite Broadband Network

15th January, 2021 (6 Comments)

In an interesting development OneWeb, which is owned by a consortium of the UK Government and Indian conglomerate Bharti Global (here), has secured an investment of $350m (c.£257m) from Japanese company Softbank – the same firm that effectively forced it into bankruptcy last year by putting a stop on further funding.