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Articles for Category Tag - Politics

UPDATE Big UK Broadband ISPs Pledge NO Exit Fees for Armed Forces Users

27th March, 2017 (2 Comments)

Internet providers including BT, EE, Plusnet, Sky Broadband, TalkTalk and Virgin Media have agreed not to charge Armed Forces personnel a cancellation fee for their broadband and media services, albeit only when posted overseas or to another part of the UK.

BCC Survey – Poor Quality Rural Broadband is Holding Back UK Businesses

27th March, 2017 (2 Comments)

A new survey of 1,465 business people from all regions of the UK, which was conducted by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), has claimed that 18% suffer from unreliable Internet connections and firms in rural areas are “at least twice as likely to have unreliable connections” (30%).

ISP Claims UK Lost £7bn in 2016 Due to Business Broadband Outages

24th March, 2017 (15 Comments)

A new survey of 500+ British businesses, which was commissioned by broadband ISP Beaming, has estimated that the UK economy could have lost as much as £7bn in lost productivity during 2016 because of Internet connectivity outages at 77% of businesses.

Ofcom Consult on Draft ECC Code to Help Boost UK Broadband Rollouts

24th March, 2017 (0 Comments)

Ofcom has published a Draft Code of Practice to support the Government’s proposed reforms to the Electronic Communications Code (ECC), which aim to make it easier and cheaper for network operators to roll-out new broadband and telecoms infrastructure (masts, cables etc.) on public and private land.

Scotland’s New Digital Strategy to Boost 5G and Superfast Broadband by 2021

22nd March, 2017 (5 Comments)

The Scottish Government has today published a new Digital Strategy, which among other things confirms their plan to make 30Mbps+ “superfast broadband” available to 100% of premises by 2021 via an “outside-in” approach (prioritising public investment for the hardest to reach rural areas).

UK ISP Entanet Criticises Lords Amendment for a 30Mbps Broadband USO

22nd March, 2017 (20 Comments)

Communications provider Entanet has criticised the House of Lords for its failure to consult with the industry before deciding to vote through a tough new Universal Service Obligation (USO), which aims to deliver a minimum download speed of 30Mbps (6Mbps upload) to all by 2020.

Lords Comms Committee Calls for Default-On UK Internet Censorship

21st March, 2017 (4 Comments)

The Lords Communications Committee has today published their new report (‘Growing up with the internet‘), which calls for an end to “underperforming” self-regulation and “intervention at the highest level of the Government” in order to help protect children online.

Scotland Boost Superfast Broadband Coverage with £15.6m Reinvestment

17th March, 2017 (20 Comments)

The £410 million Digital Scotland project with BT (Openreach) has announced that £15.6 million from contract clawback (Gainshare) will be reinvested to raise the number of homes and businesses that have access to “superfast broadband” speeds of greater than 24Mbps.

UPDATE Gov Amend UK Digital Economy Bill to Protect Openreach Pensions

15th March, 2017 (4 Comments)

As expected the Government has today tabled an amendment to their Digital Economy Bill 2017, which will work to maintain the Crown Guarantee for members of BT’s Pension Scheme (BTPS) as part of Openreach’s separation from the main group.

UPDATE4 Ofcom and BT Reach Voluntary Agreement on Openreach’s Future

10th March, 2017 (64 Comments)

After an exhausting year of disagreements it’s today been announced that BT and the UK telecoms regulator have finally reached an agreement on the future of the operator’s network access division, which means that Ofcom won’t need to force through Openreach’s “legal separation“.

UPDATE3 UK Budget 2017 – 5G and £200m More for Full Fibre Broadband

8th March, 2017 (9 Comments)

The Government’s Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond MP, has today given his first major Budget 2017 speech and announced several improvements for broadband connectivity in the United Kingdom, including boosts for 5G Mobile and another £200m for “full-fibre” (FTTH/P) networks.

Matt Warman MP Attacks ISPs for Advertising Misleading Broadband Speeds

7th March, 2017 (17 Comments)

The Conservative MP for Boston and Skegness, Matt Warman, has accused ISPs of being “complicit in fraud” for the way they advertise broadband speeds in the United Kingdom and has called a Westminster Hall event to debate the issue at 4.30pm tomorrow. He also wants “fibre” to only mean FTTP/H ISPs.

Christchurch and East Dorset UK Councils Hint at New Broadband Vouchers

6th March, 2017 (0 Comments)

The Christchurch and East Dorset Councils have confirmed that they intend to launch a new Broadband Voucher Scheme in April 2017, which will be aimed at helping local businesses to get a “superfast broadband” connection installed.

UK Drops to 7th Place in 2017 EU Broadband Connectivity Progress Report

3rd March, 2017 (1 Comment)

The European Commission has released their 2017 Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI), which uses data from 2016 to reveal the United Kingdom’s progress towards the EU’s Digital Agenda goals (e.g. NGA 30Mbps+ broadband for all by 2020). Sadly we’ve dropped from 6th to 7th place.

Human Rights Group Liberty Takes UK ISP Internet Snooping Law to Court

2nd March, 2017 (15 Comments)

Some £53,313 worth of donations from 1,861 people have this week enabled Liberty, a prominent Human Rights group, has launched a legal challenge against the Government’s controversial mass Internet surveillance powers in the new Investigatory Powers Act.

New UK Digital Strategy Sees Government Reiterate Broadband and 5G Pledges

1st March, 2017 (1 Comment)

The Government has today set out their future Digital Strategy for the United Kingdom, which aims to “create a world-leading digital economy” and “deliver world-class connectivity” but most of their broadband infrastructure commitments are re-announcements of existing policy.

UK Government Preps New Rural Business Broadband Voucher Scheme

27th February, 2017 (8 Comments)

Several Government MPs have hinted that the forthcoming 2017 Budget announcement on the 8th March will see a rural-focused reincarnation of the Connection Voucher scheme, which gifted grants of up to £3,000 to help smaller UK businesses get a superfast broadband (30Mbps+) service installed.