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Articles for Category Tag - Politics

BT and Vodafone Seek 5-7 Years to Pull Huawei or Risk Blackouts UPDATE

9th July, 2020 (16 Comments)

Senior broadband and mobile figures from UK telecoms giants BT and Vodafone have today warned cross-party MPs on the Science and Technology Committee that they’d need at least 5-7 years to fully remove Huawei’s kit from their networks, or “blackouts” could be a risk. The cost may also rise into the billions.

Progress on BDUK Plan for £5bn UK Gigabit Broadband Rollout

8th July, 2020 (15 Comments)

Over the past few months’ we’ve seen the UK Government step-up market engagement exercises as part of work to develop a framework for their £5bn investment, which aims to ensure that “every home” can access “gigabit-capable” broadband by the end of 2025. As a result we now have a better idea of what this will look like.

Shetland Threatens to Go it Alone on Future Broadband Upgrades

7th July, 2020 (15 Comments)

The remote Shetland Islands Council (SIC) has decide to start exploring the possibility of extending “superfast broadband” coverage across the island(s) by itself, which they say is due to a “failure to deliver” under the Scottish Government’s wider £600m R100 (Reaching 100%) programme.

Fibrus Likely to Win Full Fibre Contract for 10 N.Ireland Councils

6th July, 2020 (4 Comments)

Belfast-based UK broadband ISP Fibrus appears as if it could be set to secure a key £15m Full Fibre Northern Ireland Consortium (FFNI) contract, which will construct a new gigabit-capable Dark Fibre or FTTP network to connect around 880 public sector sites across 10 council areas by March 2021.

OneWeb Broadband Satellite Service Sold to UK Gov Consortium

3rd July, 2020 (14 Comments)

The Government and Indian conglomerate Bharti Global have today made a successful £800m ($1bn) bid to acquire the British-registered space company OneWeb, which will see the UK invest £400m ($500m) in order to help build a new global network of Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites for ultrafast broadband and possibly GPS.

Ofcom Calls on UK Telecoms Firms to Extend COVID-19 Billing Support

3rd July, 2020 (3 Comments)

The UK communications and media regulator, Ofcom, has this week called on broadband ISPs, phone providers and mobile operators to “continue to support” consumers who may be struggling to pay their bills as a result of the on-going Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Broadway Partners Picked for 2 Pembrokeshire Broadband Pilots UPDATE

2nd July, 2020 (0 Comments)

The Pembrokeshire (Sir Benfro) council in South West Wales has today announced that Broadway Partners (UK ISP Broadway Broadband) have been chosen to build two new pilot networks in rural parts of the county, which will aim to deliver “gigabit-capable” broadband speeds to local premises. More pilots are expected to follow.

Lords Make Changes to Telecommunications Infrastructure Bill

30th June, 2020 (9 Comments)

The UK House of Lords has made a couple of key amendments to the Telecommunications Infrastructure (Leasehold Property) Bill (here), which aims to make it significantly easier, quicker and cheaper for “gigabit-capable” broadband ISPs to access big apartment blocks (MDU) when “rogue landlords” fail to respond.

Broadband ISPs Respond to Boris Johnson’s Call to Build, Build, Build

30th June, 2020 (60 Comments)

The UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, has today pledged to accelerate new infrastructure projects by establishing something called Project Speed to “scythe through red tape and get things done,” although unfortunately the announcement was rather short on specifics (or anything truly new) for broadband and mobile.

Fears of More Broadband Delays in Scotland from Gigaclear’s Lawsuit

29th June, 2020 (19 Comments)

At the end of last year the Scottish Government revealed that LOT 1 of their £600m R100 (Reaching 100%) project, which had given BT “preferred bidder” status and was aiming to extend “superfast broadband” (30Mbps+) coverage, had become the subject of a legal challenge by Gigaclear. Sadly the case is now threatening more delays.

Lords Tell UK Gov to Stop Pandemic of Internet Misinformation

29th June, 2020 (9 Comments)

A new cross-party report from the House of Lords Digital Technologies Committee has called on the UK Gov to ensure that their future Online Harms Bill can tackle the rising “pandemic of misinformation” on the internet, which they warn is a “threat” to democracy. More censorship and blocking by broadband ISPs is proposed.

West Sussex UK Boosts Rural Gigabit Broadband Vouchers to £4k

26th June, 2020 (4 Comments)

The West Sussex County Council has joined other parts of the UK in helping to top-up the Government’s £200m Rural Gigabit Connectivity (RGC) programme with some of their own funding, which more than doubles the maximum value of vouchers to help local homes get a “gigabit-capable broadband” service installed.

Government to Splash £500m on OneWeb Broadband Satellites

26th June, 2020 (30 Comments)

The UK Government will reportedly invest around £500m (equity) into British-registered space company OneWeb as part of a wider private-sector consortium bid. The firm has been busy building a global network of Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites for ultrafast broadband, but as part of the deal it may have to deliver GPS too.

79,000 Premises in Wales Remain Without Superfast Broadband UPDATE

24th June, 2020 (20 Comments)

The Welsh Government (WG) has today issued a short update on their various broadband schemes, which among other things reveals that 79,000 properties (categorised as “white premises”) still do not have access to “superfast broadband” (30Mbps+) and won’t benefit from any future roll-out plans within the next 3 years.

Northumberland and Cumbria Prep Broadband Voucher Boost UPDATE

24th June, 2020 (5 Comments)

A recent update on the planned £350m Borderlands Inclusive Growth Deal has confirmed that internet slowspots in Northumberland and Cumbria (England) will “shortly” be able to take advantage of a new £4m Digital Borderlands Voucher Scheme, which will enable locals to access bigger vouchers to help install gigabit broadband.

fibre optic blue light abstract 2017 by 123rf

TUC – Invest in UK Broadband and Create 40,000 Telecoms Jobs

24th June, 2020 (2 Comments)

A new report by the Trades Union Congress (TUC), which is based on research from Transition Economics, has called on the UK Government to “fast track” spending on projects such as gigabit broadband, green technology, transport and housing in order to deliver a 1.24 million jobs boost by 2022 (40,000 in telecoms alone).

New Report Calls for VAT Cut and Broadband to Aid UK Economy

22nd June, 2020 (11 Comments)

The Policy Exchange, which is an educational charity that also claims to be the UK’s leading think tank, has published a new report that calls on the UK Government to help the post-COVID19 recovery by, among other things, investing more into “gigabit broadband” and reducing VAT from 20% to 15%.. again.