News

Telecoms networks and broadband communications

• February 15, 2016 15 Feb'16

  AT&T to test first 5G wireless systems this year

  Network operator announces plans to test 5G technology to provide wireless connectivity before the end of 2016

• February 12, 2016 12 Feb'16

  Telstra outage fires warning to corporate Australia

  Mobile network interruption shows how dependent Australian organisations are on national supplier

• February 11, 2016 11 Feb'16

  CIOs must start planning for 5G today, says 451 Research

  A report from analysts at 451 Research urges businesses to start preparing their technology for 5G mobile networks ahead of deployment

• February 11, 2016 11 Feb'16

  Misgivings rise as EU-US agreement unravels under scrutiny

  Privacy Shield, the proposed replacement for Safe Harbour, looks increasingly like a PR exercise, rather than a genuine solution

• February 11, 2016 11 Feb'16

  TechUK calls on government to take reports on spy laws seriously

  Government must address the fundamental concerns raised by expert witnesses, MPs and Lords about the draft Investigatory Powers Bill, says TechUK

• February 11, 2016 11 Feb'16

  Estonian telco deploys 100Gbps core on national network

  Telia Eesti selects Adva Optical Networking technology to sit at the core of its national backbone network

• February 10, 2016 10 Feb'16

  Smart cities pointless without universal superfast broadband

  Smart city deployments will not get very far, or realise effective socioeconomic benefits, if more attention is not paid to the underlying infrastructure

• February 10, 2016 10 Feb'16

  London Mayoral candidates go head-to-head on technology policy

  From abolishing tuition fees for STEM subjects to recognising broadband as a “core utility” and using the tech sector to prevent terrorist attacks, the five London mayoral candidates set out their policies for the tech industry

• February 09, 2016 09 Feb'16

  ISC calls for more clarity in planned surveillance bill

  Parliamentary committee overseeing the UK intelligence community wants greater clarity on intrusive powers granted by the draft Investigatory Powers Bill

• February 09, 2016 09 Feb'16

  BT uses G.fast to deliver mobile backhaul over copper

  One of BT’s ongoing trials successfully delivers a cloud radio access network cell service over copper lines

• February 09, 2016 09 Feb'16

  Flexible working good for profit, productivity and reputation, says Vodafone

  A report conducted for mobile operator Vodafone indicates the scale of acceptance of flexible and mobile working practices

• February 09, 2016 09 Feb'16

  Chiltern Railways tests enhanced trackside Wi-Fi

  Chiltern Railways, part of the Arriva network, tests out an enhanced trackside Wi-Fi network to improve connectivity for passengers on its trains

• February 09, 2016 09 Feb'16

  BCS calls for criminalisation of reckless data disclosure

  The BCS believes criminalising reckless disclosure would reassure the public in how data is managed under planned surveillance laws

• February 05, 2016 05 Feb'16

  Agreement struck to put superfast broadband in new-build homes

  The government has struck a deal with Openreach and the Home Builders Federation to supply superfast broadband connectivity to new homes

• February 04, 2016 04 Feb'16

  How to survive a broadband service failure

  With BT yet again forced to apologise to consumer and business broadband customers after another technical fault, how can businesses reliant on one telco prepare themselves for the inevitable?

• February 04, 2016 04 Feb'16

  Global mobile traffic to hit 31 exabytes a month by 2020

  The boom in global mobile data traffic shows absolutely no signs of slowing, according to Cisco’s latest Visual Networking Index report

• February 04, 2016 04 Feb'16

  VoLTE calls not yet as reliable as 2G or 3G, says report

  Research by customer experience solutions supplier Amdocs claims VoLTE call drops are four to five times higher than on traditional mobile networks

• February 04, 2016 04 Feb'16

  Three chairman promises five-year price freeze after O2 merger

  Three chairman Canning Fok pledges a price freeze and a £5bn network investment if the acquisition of O2 is allowed to go ahead

• February 03, 2016 03 Feb'16

  Government admits altnets can compete against BT in rural areas

  A series of pilot schemes has proved that small broadband suppliers can effectively compete against BT Openreach in rural areas

• February 02, 2016 02 Feb'16

  BT broadband network suffers technical fault

  A technical fault on the BT network left users around the country unable to access broadband and phone services

• February 02, 2016 02 Feb'16

  TalkTalk loses 100,000 customers in cyber attack

  Communications service provider says it lost 101,000 customers after last year’s data breach, but claims half a million took up its free upgrade offer

• February 01, 2016 01 Feb'16

  Boeing plugs ViaSat into new AH-64E Apache helicopters

  Boeing awards satellite broadband supplier ViaSat a contract to supply connectivity for its AH-64E Apache Guardian attack helicopters

• February 01, 2016 01 Feb'16

  Malaysia builds smart traffic system in its Silicon Valley equivalent

  Malaysia is testing out a traffic management system in the town of Cyberjaya, which is a test bed for smart city innovation

• February 01, 2016 01 Feb'16

  EE to retain brand, network and shops, says BT

  BT has announced a new organisational structure to come into effect in April, following its acquisition of mobile operator EE

• February 01, 2016 01 Feb'16

  UK surveillance bill could hurt tech sector, warn MPs

  Parliament’s Science and Technology Committee says government's planned surveillance bill is too vague and needs to be redrafted to avoid economic damage

• January 29, 2016 29 Jan'16

  Government adds wireless to BDUK consumer voucher scheme

  The government has extended the BDUK consumer broadband voucher programme to cover wireless systems in a few locations, in addition to satellite

• January 29, 2016 29 Jan'16

  BT completes EE acquisition on schedule

  BT has completed its £12.5bn acquisition of EE on schedule, with the mobile operator set to become a new business unit in the wider group

• January 28, 2016 28 Jan'16

  BBC awards broadcast network contract to BT

  BT is awarded a seven-year, £100m plus contract to supply networking services to the BBC

• January 28, 2016 28 Jan'16

  EE emerges as top performing network at London airports

  RootMetrics’ analysis of mobile broadband connectivity at London’s City, Gatwick and Heathrow airports reveals EE is far outpacing its rivals in terms of performance

• January 27, 2016 27 Jan'16

  Government may consider state-owned broadband provider

  A public sector-owned broadband infrastructure provider is one option on the table as DCMS consults on the future of the £1.7bn BDUK scheme

• January 26, 2016 26 Jan'16

  Could Sweden become the first cashless society?

  Sweden is fast becoming a country where cash is on the periphery of payments, and some think it might be the first to become cashless

• January 26, 2016 26 Jan'16

  Ofcom to let SMEs ditch broadband contracts due to slow speeds

  Ofcom announces protections and rights for SMEs buying standard broadband products

• January 26, 2016 26 Jan'16

  Nokia FastMile enhances LTE networks to boost rural broadband

  Nokia launches a long term evolution radio service called FastMile, which will allow operators to boost mobile broadband services in rural areas

• January 25, 2016 25 Jan'16

  Consumers wasting £156 a year on expired broadband offers

  Research by altnet Relish reveals that BT, Sky, TalkTalk and Virgin customers are locked into overpriced broadband deals

• January 25, 2016 25 Jan'16

  MPs’ broadband report renews row over Openreach future

  MPs have again called for BT and Openreach to be split up, but have been heavily criticised for including misleading statistics in their evidence

• January 22, 2016 22 Jan'16

  BT Mobile MVNO deploys agile NFV-based billing

  BT deploys an NFV-ready customer billing platform from BSS supplier Openet to give mobile customers more control of their service

• January 21, 2016 21 Jan'16

  Norfolk County Council embarks on £20m network and mobile upgrade

  Norfolk County Council has awarded Capita-owned public services network supplier Updata a £20m framework agreement to upgrade its network infrastructure

• January 21, 2016 21 Jan'16

  More telcos turning to NFV to cut costs and provision services

  Global telcos are increasingly deploying network functions virtualisation in their business, reports the OpenStack Foundation

• January 21, 2016 21 Jan'16

  Consumers misled by advertised broadband prices

  The ASA and Ofcom have produced a joint report warning that the current approach to presenting pricing in fixed broadband ads is frequently confusing and misleading

• January 19, 2016 19 Jan'16

  Digital Single Market must be adopted without delay, says EU parliament

  MEPs pass resolution urging the EU to adopt Digital Single Market proposals and enact new protections for consumers as soon as possible

• January 19, 2016 19 Jan'16

  Canary Wharf Group brings 4G network coverage inside its properties

  Arqiva deploys an in-building network to enable 4G browsing in the underground shopping centres at Canary Wharf

• January 19, 2016 19 Jan'16

  BT names global IT architect Howard Watson as CIO

  BT chief architect and managing director of global IT platforms, Howard Watson, is to replace Clive Selley as the telecoms firm's CIO

• January 19, 2016 19 Jan'16

  BT brings 1,000 customer service jobs back to UK

  BT is to create 1,000 jobs as part of its commitment to answer the majority of its consumer-facing service calls in the UK

• January 18, 2016 18 Jan'16

  Still no consensus on need for FTTP, argues government

  In its response to a European consultation on broadband speed and quality, the UK government sticks to its guns, advocates for a mix of delivery technologies and insists there is no consensus on the need for FTTP

• January 15, 2016 15 Jan'16

  BT and EE to merge in weeks after deal gets final approval

  Acquisition of mobile network operator is expected to conclude at the end of January after Competition and Markets Authority gives go-ahead

• January 14, 2016 14 Jan'16

  Gigaclear gets European funding boost for further expansion

  Rural broadband provider secures £18m loan from the European Investment Bank

• January 14, 2016 14 Jan'16

  TalkTalk users report vanishing dial tone

  TalkTalk users say they have been unable to place calls from landline telephone lines and the dial tone has disappeared

• January 14, 2016 14 Jan'16

  Nokia and Alcatel-Lucent celebrate honeymoon

  Nokia and Alcatel-Lucent officially complete their merger and celebrate their first day of combined operations

• January 14, 2016 14 Jan'16

  Enterprise IoT projects will be costly, lengthy and vulnerable, says Gartner

  By 2020, half of new business processes and systems will incorporate elements of the internet of things, but will be expensive, liable to overrun and extremely vulnerable

• January 14, 2016 14 Jan'16

  CityFibre readies KCOM gigabit fibre network in Bristol

  After taking over KCOM’s national fibre assets at the end of 2015, CityFibre has begun commercialising an 82km network in Bristol

• January 13, 2016 13 Jan'16

  Valve deploys 100Gbps ports to support Steam gaming growth

  Gaming firm Valve upgrades its network infrastructure with Level 3 to support the growth of its social entertainment and gaming platform Steam

• January 13, 2016 13 Jan'16

  Polish city builds network to manage smart public transport systems

  The city of Rzeszow in Poland is building a microwave data transmission platform to manage transport systems in a smart city project

• January 13, 2016 13 Jan'16

  Scottish Power picks Vodafone to manage smart electricity grid

  Four-year contract will see mobile operator manage performance monitoring and fault identification systems as energy supplier transitions to smart grid technologies

• January 12, 2016 12 Jan'16

  Used smartphones worth $17bn to global economy, say accountants

  Deloitte’s technology, media and telecoms practice suggests there is now a vast market for used smartphones

• January 12, 2016 12 Jan'16

  New rules to clamp down on nuisance calls

  Government sets out plans to force direct marketing companies to proactively identify themselves as part of a drive to end nuisance calls

• January 12, 2016 12 Jan'16

  EE and O2 mobile networks hit by mystery outage

  Operators struggle to account for fault that left customers unable to place calls to landline numbers

• January 11, 2016 11 Jan'16

  Most Britons back mass internet surveillance, claims survey

  The recent spate of terror attacks may have flipped public opinion in favour of the Investigatory Powers Bill, claims Broadband Genie

• January 11, 2016 11 Jan'16

  BT picks insider Clive Selley to run Openreach

  BT has announced CIO Clive Selley will take charge of the organisation's Openreach infrastructure division

• January 11, 2016 11 Jan'16

  Closer co-operation in Asean with ICT masterplan

  Asean countries will work more closely together on the region’s latest plan for increasing the use and benefits of IT

• January 08, 2016 08 Jan'16

  Time Warner Cable denies breach

  US telecoms firm believes passwords were stolen either through phishing attacks or data breaches at other companies that store its customer information

• January 08, 2016 08 Jan'16

  US officials to meet tech firms about countering Islamic State

  Discussions will cover ways of making it more difficult for extremist groups to use online services to further their aims

• January 07, 2016 07 Jan'16

  Mobile spectrum sharing pilot begins in France

  Ericsson joins with startup Red Technologies, Qualcomm and the French government to run a radio spectrum sharing pilot for future 5G mobile networks

• January 07, 2016 07 Jan'16

  UK interception powers need regular review, says privacy watchdog

  UK information commissioner Christopher Graham has called for a regular review of interception powers and greater audit powers

• January 06, 2016 06 Jan'16

  UK IoT research hub opens with support from academic world

  A consortium of nine UK universities have come together to work alongside the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council on research into the internet of things

• January 06, 2016 06 Jan'16

  Nationwide renews BT network contract to support digital transformation

  Building society upgrades network infrastructure to support apps and services for customers and staff

• January 06, 2016 06 Jan'16

  Audi drivers go online with European MVNO agreement

  Audi drivers will be able to buy in-car connectivity through an MVNO agreement spanning 13 European countries

• January 05, 2016 05 Jan'16

  Free public communications network rolls out in New York City

  Communication hubs will provide free public Wi-Fi, voice and video calls, device charging and tablets for internet browsing, access to city services, maps and directions

• January 04, 2016 04 Jan'16

  Nokia takes control of Alcatel-Lucent

  Nokia takes control of 80% of outstanding Alcatel-Lucent shares and prepares to wrap up multi-billion euro deal

• December 31, 2015 31 Dec'15

  Top 10 internet of things stories of 2015

  2015 was the year the internet of things began to move from theory to widespread practice, and the fledgling industry shook off the millstone of connected kitchen appliances

• December 31, 2015 31 Dec'15

  Top 10 networking stories of 2015

  A look back at Computer Weekly's most read networking news stories from 2015

• December 23, 2015 23 Dec'15

  Top 10 broadband stories of 2015

  The BDUK roll-out continued to gain momentum in 2015, but that didn’t mean for one second that the controversy that has dogged the programme died down. Meanwhile, BT began touting a new type of technology, called G.fast

• December 17, 2015 17 Dec'15

  Mobile tech saves more carbon than it emits, says Carbon Trust

  Use of mobile technology in Europe and North America is saving more than 180 million tonnes of carbon emissions a year, according to the Carbon Trust

• December 17, 2015 17 Dec'15

  DWP IP addresses ended up in hands of Daesh, hackers claim

  A number of social media accounts owned by jihadist militant group have been linked to IP addresses previously owned by the UK government

• December 15, 2015 15 Dec'15

  CIO interview: BT Business CIO Colin Lees

  The telecoms giant has overhauled its IT stack to become more agile for the changing needs of business customers

• December 15, 2015 15 Dec'15

  EE and Plusnet are most complained about broadband providers

  Ofcom’s latest complaints stats show EE continues to generate the most complaints, while Plusnet sees a spike in dissatisfied consumers thanks to a major service outage

• December 15, 2015 15 Dec'15

  Mobile roaming revenues to drop by a quarter in Europe

  Juniper Research looks ahead to 2017 to predict the likely effect of when mobile roaming charges across the EU member states are phased out

• December 15, 2015 15 Dec'15

  Norway’s TeliaSonera demonstrates 1Gbps 4.5G network

  Norwegian operator TeliaSonera demonstrates the fastest download speeds yet obtained over a commercial mobile network

• December 14, 2015 14 Dec'15

  CityFibre goes national with KCOM fibre acquisition

  Urban fibre supplier CityFibre acquires KCOM’s national fibre and duct network for £90m, with a round of financing

• December 10, 2015 10 Dec'15

  EE and Motorola confirmed as ESN suppliers by Home Office

  EE and Motorola have been formally selected to provide a resilient national 4G network for the UK’s ambulance, fire and police services

• December 10, 2015 10 Dec'15

  100Gbps network powers petabyte research cloud at Australia’s Monash University

  Australian university implements powerful network to support data hungry research cloud.

• December 10, 2015 10 Dec'15

  100Gbps network powers petabyte research cloud at Australia’s Monash University

  Australian university implements powerful network to support data hungry research cloud.

• December 09, 2015 09 Dec'15

  100Gbps network powers petabyte research cloud at Australia’s Monash University

  Australian university implements powerful network to support data-hungry research cloud

• December 09, 2015 09 Dec'15

  Consumers heading for broadband meltdown on Christmas Day

  Householders buying connected devices as presents are risking network paralysis come Christmas Day, warns a report from Cable.co.uk

• December 09, 2015 09 Dec'15

  Telecoms sector set to hire thousands to improve service quality

  Telcos seeking to improve their service quality will drive hiring during 2016, says recruitment firm ManpowerGroup

• December 08, 2015 08 Dec'15

  G.fast technical trials connect 100 Swansea homes and businesses

  BT has embarked on a technical trial of G.fast technology in Swansea

• December 08, 2015 08 Dec'15

  Subsidised satellite broadband to fill BDUK connection gap

  The Department for Culture, Media and Sport said a satellite broadband service will reach 300,000 properties in remote parts of the UK

• December 07, 2015 07 Dec'15

  Airwave makes U-turn on emergency network injunction

  The UK emergency network operator decides to drop an injunction preventing the Home Office from finding a cheaper operator

• December 07, 2015 07 Dec'15

  Obama hints at tougher stance on encryption

  The White House has begun raising concerns with tech firms over terrorists' use of encryption and social media as president Obama signals he plans to urge tech firms to help

• December 04, 2015 04 Dec'15

  Airwave sells up to Motorola Solutions for £700m

  Airwave, which operates the UK's emergency services network, is being sold to Motorola Solutions, which provides the underlying tech for the network

• December 03, 2015 03 Dec'15

  The 4G network in France: the business user opportunity

  France has auctioned off additional spectrum to the country's mobile operators – but what will this mean for business users?

• December 03, 2015 03 Dec'15

  Ofcom temporarily suspends MOD spectrum auction

  Ofcom has put the auction of a tranche of the 2.3GHz and 3.4GHz spectrum bands on hold due to the ongoing uncertainty over the future of the UK’s mobile operators

• December 03, 2015 03 Dec'15

  Manchester bags £10m smart city prize in government contest

  Manchester’s CityVerve project scoops the £10m jackpot in the government’s smart city and internet of things competition

• December 02, 2015 02 Dec'15

  Bristol rolls out smart meters in 3,000 council flats

  Bristol City Council completes the installation of smart meter technology across a number of its social housing properties

• December 02, 2015 02 Dec'15

  UKtech50 2015 - The most influential people in UK IT

  Computer Weekly has announced the sixth annual UKtech50 – our definitive list of the movers and shakers in the UK IT sector

• December 02, 2015 02 Dec'15

  Interview: BT CEO Gavin Patterson

  For BT CEO Gavin Patterson, the UKtech50 most influential person in UK IT 2015, the network is a vital tool to balance the demands of a global services business with the responsibility of being the national incumbent telecoms operator

• December 02, 2015 02 Dec'15

  Vodafone launches gigabit fibre broadband products in Ireland

  Roll-out of Ireland’s Siro network advances with the launch of a 1Gbps domestic service backed by Vodafone

• December 01, 2015 01 Dec'15

  Average UK broadband speed up to 28Mbps, says Ofcom report

  Ofcom’s Connected Nations 2015 report shows that availability, take-up and speed of broadband services is increasing across the board

• November 30, 2015 30 Nov'15

  U-boat defences deployed to bring broadband to Orkney Islands

  A series of causeways built to protect ships at anchor from German U-boats are being pressed into use to bring fibre-optic cables to remote parts of the Orkney Islands

• November 30, 2015 30 Nov'15

  Airwave to fight Home Office in court over ESN award

  Emergency services communications operator Airwave takes the government to court over the awarding of Lot 3 of the ESMCP to EE

• November 27, 2015 27 Nov'15

  First businesses connect to Edinburgh’s gigabit network

  The first businesses have begun to connect to Edinburgh’s council-backed CORE fibre network