News

Telecoms networks and broadband communications

• October 09, 2015 09 Oct'15

  BT warns it will cut Openreach investment if split goes ahead

  In its submission to Ofcom’s Digital Communications Review, BT argues for Openreach to remain part of the BT Group and warns that a split will damage broadband investment

• October 09, 2015 09 Oct'15

  Case study: Consultancy AMR rebuilds comms platform on Colt IP Access

  Business and M&A consultancy AMR International turned to Colt’s fibre network after being badly let down by its old supplier

• October 08, 2015 08 Oct'15

  Scottish Natural Heritage logs onto Capita’s Swan

  Scottish Natural Heritage has joined the Scottish Wide Area Network, the national public services network being delivered by Capita IT Enterprise Services

• October 08, 2015 08 Oct'15

  Vodafone tells Ofcom: Time to break up BT

  Mobile network operator Vodafone lends its voice to the growing clamour arguing for full structural and functional separation of Openreach from BT

• October 08, 2015 08 Oct'15

  Take part in the Computer Weekly Technology Industry Survey 2016

  Share your views in Computer Weekly’s annual Technology Industry Survey, which provides an insight into the trends, challenges and aspirations of today’s IT professionals

• October 07, 2015 07 Oct'15

  Internet of things is next step along Infiniti Red Bull’s F1 journey

  Formula 1 team Infiniti Red Bull Racing is beginning to explore the potential of the IoT as it makes ongoing improvements to its networking infrastructure with support from AT&T

• October 06, 2015 06 Oct'15

  Ofcom raps BT over Openreach governance failures

  Ofcom says it is disappointed to learn that as the result of an internal error, BT plans to let Openreach use the BT Enterprise Cloud to temporarily run some of its systems

• October 06, 2015 06 Oct'15

  CityFibre to sell backhaul capacity to Vodafone

  CityFibre and Vodafone strike a master services agreement to enable the supply of fibre backhaul connectivity to the mobile operator’s cell sites

• October 05, 2015 05 Oct'15

  Vodafone uses femtocells to turn pubs into hubs

  Vodafone pilots a new programme to bring connectivity to community pubs in remote parts of the country

• October 02, 2015 02 Oct'15

  Disabled consumers significantly more likely to be digitally excluded

  Ofcom research on disabled consumers’ access to and use of communications devices and services find a large number are digitally disconnected

• October 02, 2015 02 Oct'15

  In-flight broadband increasingly in demand, says Inmarsat

  Three in five European airline passengers report that they ‘need’ in-flight internet access, according to an Inmarsat report

• September 30, 2015 30 Sep'15

  Vodafone challenges for best network performance in London

  RootMetrics report reveals a comprehensive analysis of mobile network quality in central London, with EE and Vodafone the top performers

• September 29, 2015 29 Sep'15

  Surrey University 5G lab puts UK plc at forefront of mobile innovation

  At the launch of Surrey University’s 5G Innovation Centre in September 2015, mobile experts said the lab will put the UK at the heart of networking development

• September 29, 2015 29 Sep'15

  Facebook shares dip after site outage

  Facebook was down for 42 minutes around midday in California, after being out of service for 12 minutes four days earlier

• September 28, 2015 28 Sep'15

  Australian telecoms industry welcomes replacement communications minister

  Australian prime minister names Mitch Fifield as minister for communications

• September 28, 2015 28 Sep'15

  TalkTalk: We will beat BT on fibre broadband take-up rates

  As it connects its first trial customers to its Ultra Fibre Optic network in York, TalkTalk says it can beat BT on customer take-up and cost of roll-out

• September 25, 2015 25 Sep'15

  Brit spooks snoop on users of the BBC, Facebook, Google and more

  Documents handed to The Intercept by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden reveal that GCHQ has harvested data from users of search engine, social media, news and adult websites, as well as online radio

• September 25, 2015 25 Sep'15

  BT embarks on year-long IPv6 transition

  BT says it will move its entire network to IPv6 by the end of 2016

• September 25, 2015 25 Sep'15

  Ofcom gives thumbs up to more white space devices

  Ofcom reaches a decision on the use of a greater variety of devices that exploit white space gaps in radio and TV spectrum bands

• September 24, 2015 24 Sep'15

  IP network upgrade rings the changes for Liberian operator Libtelco

  Libtelco, the only fixed-line telecoms operator in Liberia, turned to Cataleya to support a nationwide network upgrade

• September 23, 2015 23 Sep'15

  Metropolitan Police Service’s £240m network procurement opens for tenders

  London’s Metropolitan Police Service has invited tenders for the supply of network services over a five-year period

• September 23, 2015 23 Sep'15

  BT platforms streamline UCC deployments for Microsoft and Cisco users

  BT introduces new cloud unified comms and collaboration clouds to support Microsoft and Cisco environments

• September 22, 2015 22 Sep'15

  Telcos could help drive cloud services into SMEs, says report

  A study commissioned by cloud services marketplaces provider BCSG says telcos are a natural route to market for SME cloud services

• September 22, 2015 22 Sep'15

  BT unveils ultrafast broadband pledge card to support digital economy

  At an event in London, BT sets out four key pledges around broadband and connectivity to ensure and secure the digital future of the UK

• September 21, 2015 21 Sep'15

  MPs launch inquiry into the UK's digital economy

  Business, Innovation and Skills Committee investigation will examine the challenges facing digital industries

• September 21, 2015 21 Sep'15

  UK broadband consistently top among major European markets

  The UK is outperforming other major European countries on a number of fixed telecoms measures and will continue to do so, says an Analysys Mason report

• September 21, 2015 21 Sep'15

  Gigabit network is more than a fringe benefit for city of Edinburgh

  As CityFibre begins a 150km fibre dig in Edinburgh, local businesses and the city council outline their objectives and plans for ultrafast broadband

• September 18, 2015 18 Sep'15

  American Airlines forced to ground flights over IT issues

  US airline confirms "connectivity issue" that prompted it to halt flights from several airports yesterday has now been resolved

• September 17, 2015 17 Sep'15

  Rugby World Cup host city Gloucester gets free city Wi-Fi network

  BT tries out a free public wireless network in the centre of Gloucester as the city prepares to host the Rugby World Cup

• September 16, 2015 16 Sep'15

  Competition watchdog turns attention to O2 acquisition

  The Competition and Markets Authority invites formal comments on whether or not it should ask the European Commission to allow it to investigate the acquisition of O2 by Three

• September 16, 2015 16 Sep'15

  Australia's tech community has high hopes for digitally-literate prime minister

  Australia's IT community has high hopes for the country's new prime minister who has a strong digital pedigree

• September 16, 2015 16 Sep'15

  Consumers to get connection vouchers for satellite broadband

  DCMS looks set to offer connection vouchers to help consumers access satellite broadband in remote parts of the UK

• September 15, 2015 15 Sep'15

  Surrey University opens 5G Innovation Centre with pioneering demos

  Surrey University cuts the ribbon on its 5G Innovation Centre and shows off some early technical advances with video streaming and IoT technology

• September 15, 2015 15 Sep'15

  Boeing to offer ViaSat broadband service on new aircraft

  Boeing signs a technical agreement to offer ViaSat’s broadband connectivity as an option on all new commercial aircraft

• September 14, 2015 14 Sep'15

  Openreach rivals say no to more Openreach regulation

  Members of the Infrastructure Investors Group pressurise Ofcom to support fairer competition in infrastructure investment with lighter regulation

• September 11, 2015 11 Sep'15

  European Commission consults on the future of telecoms and broadband

  Twin European Commission (EC) consultations on the future of broadband and a review of the current telecoms framework will run until December 2015

• September 11, 2015 11 Sep'15

  BT extends fibre roll-out across London

  BT extends its commercial fibre roll-out in a number of London boroughs as it targets 95% coverage in the capital two years from now

• September 09, 2015 09 Sep'15

  Elderly and disabled travellers let down by mobile technology

  A report from the Institution of Engineering and Technology highlights a missed opportunity to use mobile technology to keep elderly and disabled people on the move

• September 09, 2015 09 Sep'15

  Virgin Media Business extends ultrafast service to Manchester tech quarter

  Businesses in Manchester’s government-backed startup hub are to get access to 50Mbps and 100Mbps ultrafast broadband services

• September 09, 2015 09 Sep'15

  BT launches technology scholarships and primary schools IT skills programme

  BT acts to close the skills gap in sponsoring a higher education technology scheme and plans to teach digital skills to primary school children

• September 08, 2015 08 Sep'15

  German villages to take the lead in €2.7bn superfast broadband programme

  The German government is aiming for universal 50Mbps broadband coverage by 2018 through a major community-led programme

• September 08, 2015 08 Sep'15

  CityFibre ousts BT from Edinburgh Council WAN

  Edinburgh City Council to connect 294 of its sites to CityFibre’s Edinburgh Core fibre network as it ends a long-term contract with BT

• September 07, 2015 07 Sep'15

  Myanmar internet gets boost with content delivery network

  Myanmar internet users will start benefiting from changes in the law that encourages foreign direct investment in communications infrastructures

• September 04, 2015 04 Sep'15

  Wandsworth Council housing tenants get gigabit fibre broadband

  Wandsworth Council and Community Fibre pilot a gigabit fibre network on a Battersea council estate

• September 03, 2015 03 Sep'15

  Clock ticking on SME broadband voucher scheme

  The government has urged small businesses to consider applying for broadband connection grants as the scheme nears its end

• September 03, 2015 03 Sep'15

  Rapid7 research exposes internet of things security problems

  Security flaws exposed on internet-connected baby monitors indicate the poor state of consumer internet of things (IoT) security that businesses should not ignore, warns Rapid7

• September 02, 2015 02 Sep'15

  GDS sees “significant demand” for government’s unused IPv4 addresses

  GDS says it has released some value from the sale of unused IPv4 addresses belonging to the Department of Work and Pensions

• September 02, 2015 02 Sep'15

  Virgin Media earmarks £25m for broadband in Nottingham

  Virgin Media is to offer its ultrafast 152Mbps service to 50,000 homes and businesses in Nottingham as part of its £3bn national network investment

• August 27, 2015 27 Aug'15

  Kellogg Brown and Root wins ESN Delivery Partner contract

  Kellogg Brown and Root has won the contract to supply Lot 1 of the Emergency Services Mobile Communications Programme

• August 27, 2015 27 Aug'15

  Jim Henson’s Creature Shop kermits to Brocade network infrastructure

  Jim Henson’s Creature Shop – the studio behind the Muppets and Sesame Street – picks a Brocade-powered network to run its advanced software platform

• August 26, 2015 26 Aug'15

  Consumers shun connected cars, says JD Power report

  Automotive market research specialist JD Power warns that car manufacturers are wasting money on connected car technologies that most people don’t use

• August 26, 2015 26 Aug'15

  Qualcomm sells L-Band mobile spectrum to Three and Vodafone

  Mobile components supplier Qualcomm sells its UK L-Band spectrum to network operators Vodafone and Hutchison 3G for an undisclosed sum

• August 25, 2015 25 Aug'15

  Openreach connects first test customers to G.fast broadband

  Openreach switches on its first pilot of G.fast ultrafast broadband services in Huntingdon

• August 24, 2015 24 Aug'15

  Scottish government launches £9m community broadband project

  Scottish Rural Development Programme will offer grants to community-led fibre broadband projects around Scotland

• August 24, 2015 24 Aug'15

  Labour MP Chris Bryant calls for Openreach sell-off from BT

  Labour’s Chris Bryant says Ofcom’s communications review should be working on the basis that the split of Openreach from BT is a done deal

• August 21, 2015 21 Aug'15

  Westcountry businesses’ anger over Devon and Somerset broadband fiasco

  More than 14,000 businesses tell Connecting Devon and Somerset to get its act together over rural broadband after it binned its second-phase BDUK contract with BT

• August 20, 2015 20 Aug'15

  Altnet association calls for share of BDUK clawback cash

  Broadband trade association Inca calls for BT’s BDUK broadband claw-back money to be opened up to altnet suppliers

• August 20, 2015 20 Aug'15

  Broadband Stakeholder Group to review UK net neutrality policy

  The Broadband Stakeholder Group commissions an independent review into the UK’s industry-led approach to net neutrality and the open internet

• August 19, 2015 19 Aug'15

  O2’s self-optimising network will learn from customers

  O2 upgrades its mobile network with features that learn from customer behaviour to optimise network coverage and performance

• August 18, 2015 18 Aug'15

  Hyperoptic turns on gigabit service in Nottingham

  Urban FTTP supplier Hyperoptic has switched on its gigabit fibre broadband service in Nottingham

• August 17, 2015 17 Aug'15

  More than half of all smartphones 4G-capable

  GfK figures suggest that six in 10 smartphones sold in the second quarter of 2015 were 4G-enabled, with China and India both big growth spots

• August 16, 2015 16 Aug'15

  Mobile phone users at risk as hackers bug and track victims

  An investigation by Australian TV show 60 Minutes demonstrates how hackers based thousands of miles away in Germany were able to record the calls of an Australian senator and track his movements

• August 14, 2015 14 Aug'15

  Connecting Cheshire funds masterclasses for women entrepreneurs

  #Eveolution scheme to support women-led SMEs in Cheshire with broadband support and advice on going digital

• August 14, 2015 14 Aug'15

  EC awards €8m to consortium to develop cloud-enabled 5G network

  Consortium led by incumbent Greek telco OTE awarded €8m of funding to support RAN virtualisation and mobile edge cloud computing for 5G networks

• August 14, 2015 14 Aug'15

  Home Office puts out feelers for new Emergency Services Network deal

  Home Office issues a prior information notice that suggests it is planning to bring a revised version of Lot 4 of the Emergency Services Network procurement back to life

• August 13, 2015 13 Aug'15

  Gloucester City Homes embarks on VDI-led tech transformation with Exponential-e

  Social housing firm taps into Exponential-e's Ethernet capabilities to make it easier for its staff to work flexibly

• August 13, 2015 13 Aug'15

  TFL still wasting millions on telecoms despite IIPAG criticism

  One year on and Transport for London is still pouring millions into dispersed telecoms systems, according to the Independent Investment Programme Advisory Group

• August 12, 2015 12 Aug'15

  Vodafone extends home broadband service across the UK

  Vodafone rolls out its home broadband service nationwide following a successful trial

• August 12, 2015 12 Aug'15

  Liverpool is best for mobile internet performance, says RootMetrics

  Liverpool has UK's best mobile network performance, reliability and speed, according to new analysis by RootMetrics

• August 11, 2015 11 Aug'15

  BDUK broadband roll-out reaches three million homes and businesses

  The BDUK superfast broadband roll-out has hit three million premises around the UK

• August 11, 2015 11 Aug'15

  Digital Scotland claws back £18m for superfast broadband

  Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband programme receives an £18m funding boost to extend rural connectivity

• August 11, 2015 11 Aug'15

  Hotel trade body offers members 100GbE networking capability

  Hospitality sector trade association Hospa partners with network provider Exponential-e to enhance connectivity for its members

• August 10, 2015 10 Aug'15

  BDUK ad campaign cost taxpayer £5m

  New figures released by DCMS reveal the government’s superfast broadband advertising campaign cost it over £5m

• August 10, 2015 10 Aug'15

  iPass expands worldwide Wi-Fi offering with 20 million more hotspots

  Wireless network aggregator iPass signs an agreement with competitor Devicescape to offer even more widespread internet access to customers

• August 10, 2015 10 Aug'15

  Three and O2 risk slow death if merger not approved

  Reports suggest Hutchison Whampoa will argue it does not hold enough mobile spectrum to compete effectively against the BT-EE combination

• August 07, 2015 07 Aug'15

  BT wins voice services contract with European Commission

  BT deepens its relationship with the European Commission after being awarded a €15m, seven-year contract to provide fixed voice line services for a number of European bodies

• August 07, 2015 07 Aug'15

  Battle lines being drawn for control of domestic internet of things

  A Gartner report suggests that ISPs will be fighting one another for control of the home IoT gateway

• August 07, 2015 07 Aug'15

  IET renews demand for 999 emergency call service rethink

  The Institute of Engineering and Technology has renewed its request for an overhaul of the emergency 999 call service

• August 06, 2015 06 Aug'15

  Smartphones now device of choice for UK consumers

  Smartphones have overtaken laptops and PCs as the most popular device used for browsing the internet, according to Ofcom

• August 05, 2015 05 Aug'15

  Customers on Gigaclear waiting list to get satellite broadband

  Altnets Gigaclear and SSW agree to collaborate on rural broadband roll-out using satellite services as a stopgap

• July 31, 2015 31 Jul'15

  Facebook to boost Internet.org with UK drone

  Facebook is ready to test a UK-developed drone that is designed to fly in a circle with a radius of about 1.8 miles and provide internet coverage for an area with a radius of 30 miles

• July 30, 2015 30 Jul'15

  BT Group's first-quarter results buoyed by superfast broadband and mobile demand

  BT Group's first-quarter results highlight successes in superfast broadband and mobile divisions, but analyst warns of challenging times to come

• July 30, 2015 30 Jul'15

  BT refunds £129m public funding on reaching broadband targets

  Public funds will be re-invested in extending government-backed programme to deliver superfast broadband to 95% of the UK by 2017

• July 30, 2015 30 Jul'15

  Ultrafast network helps Williams Martini Racing stay among F1 contenders

  Four months after its 100Mbps MPLS network went live, Formula 1 team Williams Martini Racing says it is seeing big benefits

• July 29, 2015 29 Jul'15

  MPs to investigate superfast broadband roll-out to final 5% of UK

  Select committee inquiry will assess what is needed to provide high-speed connectivity to the 1.5 million premises outside current roll-out plans

• July 24, 2015 24 Jul'15

  Brussels clears Nokia's Alcatel-Lucent acquisition

  The European Commission has approved Nokia’s planned purchase of Alcatel-Lucent under the EU Merger Regulations

• July 24, 2015 24 Jul'15

  Vodafone sees limited growth from consumer mobile

  In a first-quarter trading statement, Vodafone says it is beginning to return to growth in its European markets, thanks to a growing consumer base

• July 22, 2015 22 Jul'15

  Mobile operators must adapt data plans to address video boom

  Over 52 million terabytes of data traffic will transit worldwide mobile networks this year alone, up by more than 50% on 2014, according to statistics from Gartner

• July 21, 2015 21 Jul'15

  Software audits cut government IT bill by £85m in 2014/15

  Annual accounts for the government purchasing agency show at least £220m in technology related savings

• July 20, 2015 20 Jul'15

  CMA to probe Three and O2 over BT-EE merger

  The Competition and Markets Authority will run the rule over Three's proposed acquisition of O2 as it makes up its mind over whether or not BT should be allowed to acquire EE

• July 20, 2015 20 Jul'15

  Openreach CEO defends current operating model

  Openreach CEO Joe Garner says that separating the organisation from BT would make no sense in light of improvements to its service

• July 16, 2015 16 Jul'15

  Network Services Framework goes live across public sector

  Crown Commercial Service launches wide-ranging Network Services Framework RM1045 across the public sector

• July 16, 2015 16 Jul'15

  Ofcom starts debate over future of BT and Openreach

  Telecoms regulator Ofcom wants to hear industry opinions on competition in broadband and mobile networks – including on BT's Openreach subsidiary

• July 15, 2015 15 Jul'15

  Huawei to implement 4.5G network for Shanghai Disney

  Huawei signs world’s first 4.5G network co-operation agreement to implement a smart city network at the Shanghai Disney resort

• July 14, 2015 14 Jul'15

  Vodafone scheme to help SMEs get online

  Vodafone is to trial a series of digital workshops for SMEs aimed at equipping them with a stronger online presence

• July 13, 2015 13 Jul'15

  Huawei joins European 5G research project

  Huawei commits to pan-European 5G Public Private Partnership (5G-PPP) plan to strengthen five separate 5G research projects

• July 13, 2015 13 Jul'15

  Dutch college live-streams lectures with SDN and load balancers

  Deltion College in the Netherlands beefs up its network with HP SDN and Kemp load balancing technology to support growing traffic levels across its infrastructure

• July 10, 2015 10 Jul'15

  Government moves to cut broadband red tape

  The government is considering making a temporary relaxation of broadband infrastructure planning regulations a permanent fixture

• July 10, 2015 10 Jul'15

  Government produces Digital Transformation Plan to boost UK productivity

  Chancellor George Osborne's Digital Transformation Plan puts digital technologies at the heart of the UK's economic future

• July 09, 2015 09 Jul'15

  Government finds £10m for ultrafast broadband in the South West

  The government announces a £10m funding boost for ultrafast BDUK projects in the South West of England