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Articles for Category Tag - USO

Cross-Party MPs Criticise Weak UK Rural Broadband and Mobile

18th September, 2019 (11 Comments)

The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee (EFRA) will today publish the outcome of their inquiry into the rural challenges of gaining access to superfast broadband, 4G mobile networks and accessing digital-only services across the United Kingdom, which identifies a number of problems with the Government’s strategy.

Ofcom – 10Mb Broadband USO Gap Shrinks to 578000 UK Premises

17th September, 2019 (20 Comments)

Ofcom has published a Summer 2019 update to their Connected Nations report, which reveals that “full fibre” (FTTP) UK broadband coverage has risen to 8% (up from 7% four months ago) and the number of premises unable to get 10Mbps+ has declined from 619,000 to 578,000. Geographic 4G mobile cover remains at 66%.

Calls for Action to Tackle “Chronic” Rural Broadband and Mobile Problems

16th August, 2019 (27 Comments)

A new report from lesser known UK think tank Parliament Street has warned how a historic “lack of investment” and “chronic connectivity” problems mean that too many rural areas are still being “challenged” by issues such as “slow broadband, less bandwidth, and problematic mobile and TV reception,” among other things.

Pembrokeshire Unveils Plan to Improve Full Fibre Broadband Coverage

5th August, 2019 (2 Comments)

The Pembrokeshire (Sir Benfro) council in South West Wales has revealed the outline of a new plan that aims to help spread the availability of ultrafast “full fibre” broadband connectivity across rural parts of the county, which among other things includes a £2m investment to boost existing voucher schemes and a LFFN bid.

Northern Ireland’s £165m Broadband Plan to Help 98000 Premises

25th July, 2019 (11 Comments)

The Department for the Economy (DfE) in Northern Ireland has finally begun the procurement phase for Project Stratum, which reflects its plan to invest £165 million in order to ensure that most of the 98,000 premises still awaiting access to “superfast broadband” (30Mbps+) ISP networks can get it.

Broadband Segregation Risk as ISPs Shun Slower Speed ADSL Lines

20th July, 2019 (41 Comments)

A few years ago Sky Broadband became the first ISP to stop accepting orders from UK customers on lines – often rural ones – where speeds were stuck below 2Mbps (here). Sadly more providers appear to have joined this club of shunning those on slower lines, which for some may exasperate the feeling of digital exclusion.

Fibre ISPs Take Note – UK Consults on New EU Electronic Comms Code

19th July, 2019 (0 Comments)

The Government’s Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) has begun consulting on its plan to implement the new European Electronic Communications Code (EECC) into UK law, which includes new provisions that are intended to boost the rollout of Gigabit speed “full fibre” (FTTP) broadband and 5G mobile networks.

Countryside Alliance Calls on UK Gov to Set Out Full Fibre Funding

28th June, 2019 (6 Comments)

The Countryside Alliance, which is home to 100,000 members who campaign to protect UK rural areas, has called on the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee (EFRA) to demand a “funding strategy” from the Government to support the aspiration of making “full fibre” (FTTP) broadband available nationwide by 2033.

UK Ranks 5th in 2019 EU Broadband Connectivity Progress Study

11th June, 2019 (7 Comments)

The European Commission has published their 2019 Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI), which uses data from 2018 to reveal how the UK’s fixed line broadband and mobile networks compare with the rest of the EU. This year we jumped in overall rank from 6th to 5th out of 28 countries but are only 10th for connectivity.

Ofcom Set March 2020 Launch for 10Mbps UK Broadband USO

6th June, 2019 (46 Comments)

The national telecoms regulator, Ofcom, has today confirmed the final details for how the new 10Mbps+ (1Mbps upload) Universal Service Obligation (USO) for broadband – to be supplied by ISPs BT and KCOM – will be delivered and work once it’s introduced from 20th March 2020.

Cross-Party MPs Launch Another UK Rural Broadband Inquiry

29th May, 2019 (9 Comments)

The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee (EFRA) has launched a “short” inquiry that aims to examine the remaining problems with gaining access to superfast broadband ISP connectivity, mobile signals and accessing digital-only services in remote rural parts of the United Kingdom.

Ofcom 2019 Report – Avg. Home Broadband ISP Speeds Hit 54Mbps UPDATE

8th May, 2019 (20 Comments)

The national UK telecoms regulator has today published their 2019 study of fixed line home broadband ISP speeds, which reports that the average download rate has risen from 46.2Mbps last year to 54.2Mbps now and uploads hit 7.2Mbps (up from 6.2Mbps). But the gap between urban and rural areas has worsened.

Ofcom Finds Full Fibre Broadband Available to 7% of UK Premises

2nd May, 2019 (23 Comments)

Ofcom has published a Spring 2019 update to last year’s Connected Nations 2018 report, which uses more recent data to provide the latest coverage statistics for UK mobile and fixed line broadband networks. The key change is that “full fibre” (FTTP) coverage has risen to 7% (i.e. over 300K premises in the last 4 months, nearly 1.8 million total).

Lords Report Propose Fixes for Poor UK Rural Broadband and Mobile

27th April, 2019 (48 Comments)

A new cross-party report from the House of Lords Select Committee on the Rural Economy has warned that rural communities across the UK are still being “ignored and underrated,” with many still suffering from poor fixed line broadband ISP and mobile network connectivity. But they also recommend some possible solutions.

Ofcom Updates on Plan to Boost UK Full Fibre Broadband Investment UPDATE

29th March, 2019 (10 Comments)

The UK telecoms regulator has today set out more detail on how they intend to change market regulation in order to promote competition and investment in the roll-out of Gigabit capable “full fibre” (FTTP) broadband ISP networks, which will support the Government’s ambition for “nationwide” FTTP coverage by 2033.

Final Ofcom Plan for 2019-20 Confirms Mobile and Broadband Changes

25th March, 2019 (7 Comments)

The UK telecoms regulator, Ofcom, has today published their final annual plan for 2019/20, which summarises all of the major work they intend to do this year (e.g. boosting mobile coverage, new consumer protections, implementing the 10Mbps USO for broadband and promoting investment in “fibre” networks etc.).

Calls for New Pre-Brexit Rural Broadband Strategy from UK Gov

1st March, 2019 (20 Comments)

The Rural Services Network (RSN) are today leading calls for the UK government to produce an “urgent comprehensive strategy for rural areas” in preparation for Brexit, which among other things demands more investment to boost the “full fibre” (FTTP) broadband roll-out and stronger mobile coverage targets.