Home » UK ISP News Archive » Article Tag: USO (185 Posts)

Articles for Category Tag - USO

One UK Village’s Roller-Coaster Ride of USO Broadband Costs

18th October, 2020 (21 Comments)

The long running saga of trying to get a new Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband service installed across the village of Pandy in Wales is one step closer to a solution. But its plight also helps to highlight how difficult it’s been for some areas to harness the new 10Mbps Universal Service Obligation (USO).

Ofcom Opens Probe into BT Compliance with Broadband USO UPDATE

15th October, 2020 (16 Comments)

Ofcom has this morning opened an investigation to examine whether or not BT is complying with their obligations under the new UK Universal Service Obligation (USO), which requires them to help deliver at least a 10Mbps broadband download speed, upon request, to those in poorly served areas.

Broadband Woes Interrupt Meeting of the Welsh Parliament

15th October, 2020 (14 Comments)

The curse of flaky internet connectivity has struck again. A Plenary meeting of the Welsh Parliament had to be suspended for several minutes on Tuesday afternoon after a live video link to the Welsh Government’s Deputy Minister and Chief Whip, Jane Hutt MS, froze as she was responding to a question.

Government Pledge to Help Tackle Huge Broadband USO Costs UPDATE

9th October, 2020 (45 Comments)

The UK Government’s Digital Minister, Matt Warman, has called on Ofcom and BT to find a “resolution” to the situation with the new Universal Service Obligation (USO) for broadband, which results in some homes being quoted tens or even hundreds of thousands of pounds to get a 10Mbps+ capable ISP connection.

Ofcom – Full Fibre Broadband Grows to Cover 14% of the UK

10th September, 2020 (13 Comments)

Ofcom has today released their Summer 2020 update for UK broadband and mobile networks, which reveals that “full fibre” (FTTP) coverage has grown to 14% or 4.2 million premises (up from 12% in Jan 2020) and 2% (590,000 premises) are still unable to get speeds of 10Mbps+. Geographic 4G coverage is now 67% (unchanged).

The High Cost of Broadband for USO Excluded UK Communities

30th August, 2020 (56 Comments)

The elephant in the room of the UK Government’s broadband centric Universal Service Obligation (USO) has always been the fact that it isn’t truly “universal” and tens of thousands of premises have fallen outside of its scope. In other words, getting a minimum speed of 10Mbps can become very expensive for some.

2020 H1 – UK Gigabit Broadband Covers 22% as FTTP Hits 14.8%

7th July, 2020 (23 Comments)

The latest independent model has estimated that the H1 2020 coverage of “full fibre” (FTTP) broadband ISP networks across the UK has risen to 14.8% of premises (up from 11% in H2 2019), while 61.7% can get 100Mbps+ (up from 59.3%) and 22.1% are within reach of “gigabit” (1Gbps) speeds.

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.

UK Ranks 8th in 2020 EU Broadband Connectivity Progress Study

12th June, 2020 (6 Comments)

The European Commission has today published their annual 2020 Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI), which reveals how the UK’s fixed line broadband ISP and mobile networks compare with the rest of the EU. Overall the UK ranks just 20th for “Connectivity” (up from 21st in 2019), but we do better in other areas.

Granahan McCourt Exits N.Ireland Superfast Broadband Project

22nd May, 2020 (3 Comments)

Northern Ireland’s long awaited £165m Project Stratum, which originally hoped to extend “superfast broadband” (30Mbps+) to cover 97,000 extra premises but is now targeting “approximately” 78,500 premises, has lost one of its three potential bidders in Granahan McCourt. Only BT and Fibrus remain.

Ofcom Sets Out Funding Rules for 10Mbps UK Broadband USO

22nd May, 2020 (14 Comments)

After the fact. Ofcom has today set out the final funding regulations for their legally-binding Universal Service Obligation (USO), which went live in March (summary) – supplied by BT and KCOM – and aims to ensure that people in disadvantaged areas can request a minimum broadband speed of “at least” 10Mbps (1Mbps upload).

Ofcom – Full Fibre Broadband Grows to 3.5Million UK Premises

13th May, 2020 (25 Comments)

Ofcom has published their Spring 2020 update for UK broadband and mobile networks, which reveals that “full fibre” (FTTP) coverage has risen to 12% (up from 10% in September 2019) and the number of premises unable to get 10Mbps+ remains at 2% (608,000 premises). Geographic 4G coverage is now 67% (up from 66%).

Ofcom 2020 Study – Average UK Broadband ISP Speeds Hit 64Mb

13th May, 2020 (2 Comments)

Ofcom has published their annual report into fixed line home broadband speeds, which finds that the average download rate has risen from 54.2Mbps last year to 64Mbps now (uploads from 7.2Mbps to 14Mbps). It also examines the performance and latency of big ISPs including BT, Sky Broadband, TalkTalk, Virgin Media and others.

N.Ireland Broadband Project Appears to Scale Back Rural Focus UPDATE

8th May, 2020 (14 Comments)

Concerns are growing that Northern Ireland’s long awaited £165m Project Stratum, which originally hoped to extend “superfast broadband” (30Mbps+) to cover around 97,000 extra premises, may shun many rural villages due to a decision that could see it only focus on areas with a larger population. But the project team denies this.

COVID-19 – Ofcom Delays UK Telecoms Work for 2020 to 2021

30th April, 2020 (2 Comments)

In an unsurprising development Ofcom has today published a revision of their proposed annual work plan for 2020/21, which has naturally resulted in various delays to their broadband (e.g. full fibre competition), mobile (e.g. 5G auctions) and related regulation work due to the on-going COVID-19 (Coronavirus) crisis.

Flaky Parliamentary Video Debates Highlight Poor Broadband

24th April, 2020 (24 Comments)

Across the UK various devolved and central parliaments have been returning to work this week in a very different way, with many connecting to hybrid public debates via live video conferencing from their own homes for the first time. But a few hiccups have helped to highlight how some areas still suffer from poor connectivity.

BBC Suggests Broadband ISP Levy to Replace UK TV Licence Fee

1st April, 2020 (172 Comments)

The BBC has given its response to the UK Government’s (DCMS) consultation on their proposal to decriminalise TV licence fee evasion, which among other things includes a suggestion that the fee could be replaced by a levy or tax on consumer broadband bills. But they are not “advocating” for that, yet.