News

Telecoms networks and broadband communications

February 22, 2018 22 Feb'18
O2 uses The O2 to run 5G mobile network trials

Mobile network operator O2 is to trial a 5G ‘experience’ at the eponymous London music venue later in 2018
February 21, 2018 21 Feb'18
CityFibre launches consumer broadband partnership in Aberdeen

CityFibre and Vodafone are preparing to launch a consumer FTTP broadband service in Aberdeen
February 21, 2018 21 Feb'18
VX Fiber brings Swedish open access full-fibre broadband model to UK

Flush with success in its home market, Swedish open access full-fibre broadband specialist VX Fiber is launching in the UK, with plans to shake up service delivery to users by helping local councils monetise their network assets
February 19, 2018 19 Feb'18
Church spires to become mobile coverage hotspots

Following successful trials in East Anglia, DCMS and Defra plan to encourage rural vicars to host broadband connectivity hotspots in their churches

February 14, 2018 14 Feb'18
Consumers wasting millions of gigabytes of inclusive mobile data

Over 140 million gigabytes of mobile broadband data included in UK consumer mobile contracts is going unused every month, according to uSwitch
February 13, 2018 13 Feb'18
Vodafone introduces 4G mini-masts in Cornwall

Vodafone has installed and trialled a pint-sized 4G ‘mini mobile’ mast, designed to be less obtrusive, in Cornwall
February 09, 2018 09 Feb'18
EE launches home broadband over 4G LTE

EE has been conducting tests of a powerful 4G antenna that it claims can provide isolated rural homes with broadband speeds equivalent to full-fibre
February 08, 2018 08 Feb'18
TalkTalk’s York FTTP broadband roll-out to go nationwide

Following successful delivery of an ultrafast FTTP broadband network in York, TalkTalk is planning to start work on a £1.5bn national roll-out
February 07, 2018 07 Feb'18
Orange announces European 5G testing

Mobile operator Orange will run 5G mobile network pilots in France and Romania later this year
February 02, 2018 02 Feb'18
Global Services still problem child for BT

Challenging market conditions and lost customers at its IT services unit weigh heavily on BT’s results in the third quarter

February 01, 2018 01 Feb'18
Full fibre becomes broadband network of choice for Openreach

Openreach CEO Clive Selley has pledged to extend the organisation’s full-fibre broadband network by 50% through a programme called Fibre First
January 31, 2018 31 Jan'18
Australia’s internet speeds limiting productivity

Australia’s broadband networks, already among the world’s slowest, could be further strained by the emergence of virtual and augmented reality
January 29, 2018 29 Jan'18
Superfast broadband available to 95% of country

The UK government has announced it has reached its target for making superfast broadband available
January 26, 2018 26 Jan'18
Hull and Highlands worst for superfast broadband availability

Government statistics on average broadband speeds by constituency have found that a great number of people living in Kingston upon Hull, and the Scottish Highlands and Islands, are still unable to receive an acceptable level of service
January 25, 2018 25 Jan'18
Select Committee highlights Brexit effect on roaming and data protection

House of Commons Select Committee report sets out Brexit challenges such as uncertainty around regulations, data protection, mobile roaming charges and skills
January 25, 2018 25 Jan'18
Sky to move pay TV services to broadband

The days of the satellite TV dish are numbered as Sky signals its intent to switch to an IP streaming delivery model over broadband connections
January 24, 2018 24 Jan'18
Colt Technology Services outage: European customers hit by internet connectivity issues

Voice and data network provider Colt Technology Services suffers outage, blighting users in several European countries
January 23, 2018 23 Jan'18
New controversies as Trump passes US Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act

The amended Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which seeks to legitimise US surveillance on foreigners, has been signed off by president Trump
January 21, 2018 21 Jan'18
Telstra invests in two new submarine cables to bolster Asia-US connectivity

The Hong Kong Americas and Pacific Light Cable Network cables will provide more robust connectivity to support the Asia-Pacific region’s growing internet traffic
January 18, 2018 18 Jan'18
Milton Keynes first to get CityFibre-backed consumer broadband

CityFibre’s FTTP broadband network will be launched to residential customers in Milton Keynes through ISP partner Vodafone
January 17, 2018 17 Jan'18
Ofcom pushes ahead with spectrum auction despite legal hold-up

Regulator starts preparation work for the long-delayed auction of radio spectrum to support enhanced 4G and future 5G mobile network roll-out
January 16, 2018 16 Jan'18
Telstra adds narrowband capability to its IoT network

Australian telco claims to be one of the first in the world to support both narrowband internet of things and Cat M1 technologies
January 16, 2018 16 Jan'18
Consumers demand better treatment from mobile operators

Mobile operators need to work to win back consumer trust ahead of widespread 5G deployment, according to a report from Ericsson
January 12, 2018 12 Jan'18
Telecoms industry at major tipping point

Communications service providers should gear up for a software-driven operations model and embrace microservices and DevOps to thrive in the digital economy
January 10, 2018 10 Jan'18
Margot James takes over as digital minister after government reshuffle

Former minister for business succeeds Matt Hancock after his promotion to secretary of state
January 04, 2018 04 Jan'18
Scottish Ambulance Service tests satellite to improve critical care process

The Scottish Ambulance Service is testing satellite broadband to help paramedics gather vital information on their patients’ conditions whilst in transit
January 04, 2018 04 Jan'18
NHS Coventry connects GPs to CityFibre broadband

NHS Coventry and Rugby Clinical Commissioning Group is upgrading to full-fibre broadband infrastructure for GP practices and community health centres
January 04, 2018 04 Jan'18
Intel, Nokia prepping APAC telcos for 5G wave

The two tech firms are among others that have been working with telcos across the Asia-Pacific region to test 5G technologies and applications
January 03, 2018 03 Jan'18
Nuffield Health hits peak performance after switching to SDN

The non-profit healthcare and fitness organisation has improved both its network and wider IT performance after switching over to SDN technology
January 02, 2018 02 Jan'18
Trackside network to bring 5G to UK rail travellers by 2025

The government has launched a consultation on improving mobile connectivity for rail passengers
January 02, 2018 02 Jan'18
Controversial council broadband service sold to Gigaclear

Ultrafast broadband services supplier Gigaclear has acquired the assets of troubled district-council-backed altnet Aylesbury Vale Broadband
December 28, 2017 28 Dec'17
Top 10 mobile stories of 2017

A look back at some of Computer Weekly’s most read mobile networking stories of 2017
December 21, 2017 21 Dec'17
Ofcom defeats legal challenge from mobile network operators over 5G spectrum

Ofcom has seen off a legal challenge from mobile suppliers that oppose its latest spectrum auction
December 20, 2017 20 Dec'17
Government rejects BT's offer and makes broadband USO legal right

The government announces it will make high speed broadband a legal right, thereby rejecting BT’s offer to deliver the 10Mbps Universal Service Obligation broadband service across the UK on a voluntary basis
December 19, 2017 19 Dec'17
Government publishes 5G strategy update

Update highlights the need for greater infrastructure sharing, tests the water for further 5G pilots and reveals the winning bid for the 5G Innovation Network
December 18, 2017 18 Dec'17
Highways England awards telecoms service contract to Telent

Network upgrade will enable Highways England to prepare for technologies such as 5G and connected cars
December 18, 2017 18 Dec'17
Top 10 broadband stories of 2017

Here are Computer Weekly's top 10 broadband stories from 2017
December 15, 2017 15 Dec'17
Over one million homes and businesses still lack ‘decent’ broadband despite narrowing digital divide

More than a million homes and businesses still cannot access a broadband connection capable of delivering a service of 10Mbps or higher, says Ofcom
December 14, 2017 14 Dec'17
Aberdeen City Council launches next phase of fibre broadband programme

A further 57 council sites around Aberdeen will be connected to CityFibre’s gigabit broadband backhaul network in the coming months
December 14, 2017 14 Dec'17
B4RN breaks ground on rural broadband network in East Anglia

Community ultrafast fibre broadband organisation B4RN East Anglia has started work on its first dig in Norfolk
December 13, 2017 13 Dec'17
Labour MP Liam Byrne launches ‘People’s Plan for Digital’

Shadow digital minister launches online collaborative project for the public and industry to share and debate ideas on the UK’s digital future
December 13, 2017 13 Dec'17
Highways England plans for 5G, smart vehicles, drones

Highways England report sets out its aspirations for the next few years, and explores how digital technology will be used to keep people on the move
December 13, 2017 13 Dec'17
London mayor Sadiq Khan to invest in digital skills and infrastructure across the capital

Draft economic development strategy promises to help Londoners access tech jobs, increasing digital skills, funding for small tech companies, and growing digital infrastructure
December 08, 2017 08 Dec'17
Forging a new identity: IT underpins Openreach’s independence

Openreach chief technology and information officer Mark Lam discusses how IT is helping to forge a new and distinct identity for the network infrastructure business as it leaves the wider BT Group
December 07, 2017 07 Dec'17
EU telecoms ministers set out 5G mobile network roadmap

Telecommunications ministers from across Europe have agreed on a joint roadmap that will govern the deployment of 5G mobile networks across the EU
December 04, 2017 04 Dec'17
Giving machines a voice: what’s next for unified communications?

As Mitel closes its acquisition of ShoreTel, creating a new unified communications and collaboration powerhouse, CEO Rich McBee reveals what’s coming next in the sector
December 04, 2017 04 Dec'17
Australia-Singapore submarine cable connection cut again

The damage to the SEA-ME-WE3 cable took place more than 1,000 km from Singapore, affecting Australian internet users who can expect increased latency to Asian destinations
December 01, 2017 01 Dec'17
EE in drive to improve ‘time on 4G’ for mobile users

Mobile operator EE launches another phase of its long-running Clear on Coverage campaign, with a pledge to increase network coverage using data to show how long its customers spend on 4G
December 01, 2017 01 Dec'17
Openreach has incentive to stifle broadband competition, says Ofcom

Ofcom is proposing tighter regulation on the wholesale prices Openreach charges service providers, to avoid stifling competition
November 30, 2017 30 Nov'17
Digital infrastructure critical to future development of London

Mayor Sadiq Khan’s new London Plan will treat access to digital infrastructure as critical to the city’s development over the next 20 to 25 years
November 29, 2017 29 Nov'17
Mobile operators face profitability squeeze in 2018

Mobile operators will struggle to balance the twin challenges of rapidly declining revenues and rapidly growing demand for mobile investment, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit
November 29, 2017 29 Nov'17
DCMS to spearhead review of UK telecoms sector

The government is to embark on a landmark review of the UK’s telecoms markets to investigate how it can better support investment in future connectivity
November 28, 2017 28 Nov'17
CCS invites more SMEs to bid for NHS networking contracts

NHS Digital’s HSCN Dynamic Purchasing System framework has gone live, and the government is keen to get smaller services providers signed up
November 28, 2017 28 Nov'17
TfL forges ahead with 4G for the Tube after successful test

Having built a pilot 4G network for ESN on the Waterloo & City Line during the summer, TfL is pressing ahead with plans to roll out mobile broadband for all London Underground users
November 24, 2017 24 Nov'17
Academics and public sector organisations collaborate on London Wi-Fi project

Students and public sector staff across London will get easier access to the Jisc eduroam and govroam Wi-Fi networks through a new scheme spearheaded by City, University of London and Camden Council
November 23, 2017 23 Nov'17
DCMS opens local fibre broadband fund to applicants

Public sector bodies invited to apply for funding from £190m fund designed to stimulate local-level investment in FTTP broadband services
November 23, 2017 23 Nov'17
Advertising Standards tightens rules around broadband speed claims

ISPs will have to abide by a tighter set of rules that restrict the claims they are allowed to make about their broadband service speeds from May 2018
November 22, 2017 22 Nov'17
Government 5G investment must address roll-out as well as R&D

Chancellor Philip Hammond announces further round of investment in network connectivity technology, with more cash for 5G and fibre broadband projects, but some say it’s time for the government to invest in roll-out as well as R&D
November 22, 2017 22 Nov'17
Chancellor Philip Hammond pledges more than £500m for tech in 2017 Budget

Autumn Budget promises major investment in tech to drive the UK post-Brexit, including money for artificial intelligence, driverless cars, a new national centre for computing and a geospatial data commission
November 21, 2017 21 Nov'17
Nominet serves high-speed broadband service to Loch Ness

Villagers around Loch Ness to take advantage of more reliable broadband, but no word on whether the area’s most famous resident will sign up
November 21, 2017 21 Nov'17
Trade union helps members more efficiently with virtual contact centre

Prospect Union is setting out to improve its responsiveness and member experience by building an Enghouse virtual contact centre on its Skype for Business installation
November 20, 2017 20 Nov'17
African countries have world’s most expensive broadband

A survey of 196 countries has found many of the world’s poorest consumers are being forced to pay sky-high costs for fixed broadband services
November 17, 2017 17 Nov'17
Cambridge University sets up £25m network research group

Academic networking and communications research project will run for five years with financial support from BT and Huawei
November 17, 2017 17 Nov'17
BT sets aside £20m for FTTP roll-out in Northern Ireland

Telco hopes to deliver full-fibre broadband services to 140,000 properties by March 2019
November 17, 2017 17 Nov'17
Malaysia’s digital economy on track

Deputy prime minister outlines Malaysia’s digital efforts, noting that the digital economy will account for one-fifth of the country’s GDP by 2020
November 16, 2017 16 Nov'17
The race is on to build a 5G business case, says BT CEO

Speaking at a Huawei mobile broadband event, BT CEO Gavin Patterson said telcos and mobile operators must overcome the challenge of building viable business cases for investment in 5G mobile networks – and quickly
November 15, 2017 15 Nov'17
EE conducts UK’s first 5G mobile network test

Mobile operator has successfully conducted the first test of an end-to-end 5G network architecture in the UK
November 15, 2017 15 Nov'17
Ditch witch brings FTTP broadband to Highland hamlets

Openreach has been testing new network design techniques, and a brand new digger, as it rolls out full fibre broadband to some of the UK’s remotest communities
November 14, 2017 14 Nov'17
Prime minister Theresa May offers extra support for 'world-class' UK tech sector

Government announces expansion of visa scheme for top overseas tech talent, and additional funding to support startups and broadband
November 14, 2017 14 Nov'17
Emergency Services Network delay to cost hundreds of millions

The Emergency Services Network roll-out has hit further delays and is likely to become very costly indeed, the Public Accounts Committee has heard
November 14, 2017 14 Nov'17
SSE to build fibre broadband network in London’s sewers

SSE Enterprise Telecoms has signed an agreement with Thames Water to deploy fibre broadband cables throughout the utility’s sewage pipes
November 14, 2017 14 Nov'17
Waltham Forest Council gives 5G network plans a boost

Waltham Forest Council in London is to allow Arqiva to deploy small cell technology on 16,000 lampposts across the borough
November 10, 2017 10 Nov'17
ISPs agree to Ofcom broadband compensation proposals

BT, Sky, TalkTalk, Virgin Media and Zen Internet have agreed to introduce automatic compensation for consumers when their broadband service goes down
November 09, 2017 09 Nov'17
ISPs can play unique role in cyber security, says BT CEO

Internet service providers are perfectly positioned to make a significant contribution to cyber security for everyone, BT’s Gavin Patterson believes
November 09, 2017 09 Nov'17
CityFibre hands Vodafone exclusive rights for consumer broadband

Broadband partners say their collaboration will help the government hit five million properties with full fibre by 2025, which is half of its target
November 08, 2017 08 Nov'17
Swisscom picks Ericsson to build its 5G network

Swiss incumbent operator Swisscom commits to nationwide gigabit 4G from 2018, and 5G from 2020
November 02, 2017 02 Nov'17
BT Openreach divorce must move faster, says Matt Hancock

Digital minister has said that unless significant progress on the split of BT and Openreach is made soon, Ofcom may have to step in
November 02, 2017 02 Nov'17
BT quarterly revenues and profits fall after Global Services slump

Telco’s enterprise sales fall, but its consumer-facing EE division sees good growth
October 31, 2017 31 Oct'17
How SME comms firm Zen became a global network business

Zen Systems, a family-run SME communications reseller based in Suffolk, is able to target multinational enterprise customers by working with enterprise network platform provider Interoute
October 30, 2017 30 Oct'17
Gigaclear ramps up broadband network build in Oxfordshire

More than 10,000 properties in rural Oxfordshire will get access to 1Gbps FTTP broadband by the end of 2019
October 26, 2017 26 Oct'17
BT to cut charges for landline-only customers after Ofcom review

BT is to cut charges for up to a million residential customers who only buy a landline telephone service
October 26, 2017 26 Oct'17
Health and Social Care Network connects first customer

Digital dictation and clinical records management systems firm Crescendo Systems has become the first customer to officially connect to NHS Digital’s Health and Social Care Network
October 24, 2017 24 Oct'17
University of Manchester launches city fitness application

University’s health research centre is using gamification to get people active as part of the Manchester CityVerve smart city demonstrator
October 24, 2017 24 Oct'17
Adtran and CCS collaborate on millimetre wave for 5G

At Broadband World Forum in Berlin, network specialists Adtran and Cambridge Communications announce a technology collaboration to help rapidly and cheaply deploy dense 5G networks
October 24, 2017 24 Oct'17
IT department keeps Volvo Ocean Race sailors connected around the world

As seven yachts compete in the latest Volvo Ocean Race, the IT team supporting the event is engaged in a race of its own
October 20, 2017 20 Oct'17
The 5G wheels are spinning in APAC

Adoption of 5G across the Asia-Pacific region will be led by China, South Korea and Japan, but telcos will need to find the right pricing strategy to compete with IoT connectivity upstarts
October 20, 2017 20 Oct'17
Operators urged to find compelling B2B use cases for 5G

5G has the capability to bring froward a number of use cases for the business-to-business sector, says Innovate UK
October 19, 2017 19 Oct'17
Government cuts cost of network infrastructure roll-out

Parts of the Electronic Communications Code have been updated to help communications providers deploy new infrastructure more quickly
October 19, 2017 19 Oct'17
Southend-on-Sea to become a smart city

Southend-on-Sea Borough Council will use Cisco’s Kinetic for Cities platform to improve service delivery, development and citizen engagement through digitisation as it transitions to a smart city model
October 18, 2017 18 Oct'17
Government opens dynamic purchasing system procurement for HSCN

The RM3825 Health and Social Care Network Access Services dynamic purchasing system procurement has been opened to supplier bids
October 18, 2017 18 Oct'17
Openreach to open ‘grey’ fibre to broadband providers

Openreach is proposing to add a new feature to its optical spectrum access product to give broadband communication services providers more control over their networks
October 17, 2017 17 Oct'17
Qualcomm successfully achieves first 5G data connection

Mobile chipset supplier Qualcomm claims it has achieved a 5G data connection on a 5G modem chipset for mobile devices
October 17, 2017 17 Oct'17
City of London Corporation launches ultrafast Wi-Fi network

City of London’s free Wi-Fi network is being backed by O2 and is supposed to deliver browsing speeds of up to 180Mbps
October 16, 2017 16 Oct'17
ADMCC monitors Abu Dhabi with Cisco technology

Abu Dhabi's surveillance system is using technology from Cisco
October 16, 2017 16 Oct'17
Government launches £25m trial fund to develop UK 5G industry

DCMS is drawing down £25m from the £740m National Productivity Investment Fund to fund a number of testbeds and trials of 5G mobile network technology in the UK
October 11, 2017 11 Oct'17
Australia outlines space ambitions

A national space agency would put the country in the league of nations with space capabilities, but questions about its true value remain
October 11, 2017 11 Oct'17
Tech investments key as European utility firms struggle

Utilities need to get their IT investments right if they are to regain and retain lost market share and boost revenue
October 10, 2017 10 Oct'17
Belgian telco Proximus picks Cloudify to support NFV roll-out

Belgium’s largest telecoms operator Proximus will deploy a cloud-native orchestration platform to support its adoption of NFV services in the business
October 09, 2017 09 Oct'17
Dubai’s integrated government on Gitex catwalk

At this year’s Gitex, Dubai's smart city project is showing off its successes in integrating government services
October 06, 2017 06 Oct'17
Ofcom adds new protections for consumer broadband buyers

ISPs will have to provide more detailed information on the range of broadband speeds customers are likely to receive during the buying process