News

Telecoms networks and broadband communications

• November 26, 2015 26 Nov'15

  City University London virtualises telephony and contact centre systems

  City University London replaces a 24-year-old comms setup with a virtualised, cloud-based contact centre system

• November 26, 2015 26 Nov'15

  Singapore leads Asean smart city push

  Singapore is the Asean smart city project that stands out, but Thailand and Malaysian initiatives are gaining credit, according to IDC study

• November 26, 2015 26 Nov'15

  Glasgow builds gigabit fibre network

  Glasgow City Council teams up with CityFibre and local ISP provider HighNet to roll-out an ultrafast gigabit fibre network in Glasgow in early 2016

• November 25, 2015 25 Nov'15

  Government explores altnet fund and finds cash for mobile broadband

  In the spending review, the government announced the possibility of setting up a new fund to invest in altnets and found £550m to support more spectrum for mobile broadband

• November 25, 2015 25 Nov'15

  Emergency Services Network gets funding boost in Spending Review

  The Emergency Services Mobile Communications Programme emerges from the government's Spending Review a billion pounds better off

• November 25, 2015 25 Nov'15

  SSE network extension supports Ethernet services growth

  SSE Enterprise Telecoms adds a further 33 BT exchanges, covering 50,000 city centre business postcodes to its national network in its expansion plan Project Edge

• November 25, 2015 25 Nov'15

  Police make fifth arrest over TalkTalk hack

  Metropolitan Police have arrested a fifth person, an 18-year-old boy, in connection with the cyber attack on TalkTalk that exposed more than a million customers details

• November 19, 2015 19 Nov'15

  Ericsson gives shipping a boost with Inmarsat connectivity

  Ericsson will offer Inmarsat’s XpressLink service to maritime customers, and sets about integrating its Maritime Cloud managed service with Inmarsat’s satellite comms network

• November 17, 2015 17 Nov'15

  Gigaclear trials first 5Gbps broadband for homes and small businesses

  Gigaclear announces it will be trialling the fastest broadband internet package in the UK

• November 16, 2015 16 Nov'15

  Over 55,000 businesses took advantage of government Connection Vouchers

  As the DCMS-sponsored Connection Voucher scheme winds down, statistics reveal that over 55,000 small businesses in the UK took advantage of the grants

• November 16, 2015 16 Nov'15

  Openreach CEO Joe Garner to step down

  Openreach CEO Joe Garner is returning to the financial services sector after two years at the helm

• November 13, 2015 13 Nov'15

  Case study: Eir embarks on datacentre consolidation to support quad-play telco growth

  Irish telco Eir shares details of its datacentre consolidation project and explains why investing in a robust UPS was a must

• November 12, 2015 12 Nov'15

  Openreach network sees heaviest loads on Sundays at 9pm

  BT Openreach offers new insight into the inner workings of its fibre network as part of its mission to make itself more transparent

• November 12, 2015 12 Nov'15

  Environment Agency to issue flood warnings to EE customers

  Following a successful pilot, the Environment Agency’s Floodline Warnings Direct service is to be offered to EE mobile customers in low-lying parts of Yorkshire

• November 12, 2015 12 Nov'15

  BDUK passing 8,900 homes for every million pounds spent

  Government figures suggests the BDUK programme is delivering better value for money to the public as the roll-out continues

• November 11, 2015 11 Nov'15

  Snoopers’ charter will force ISPs to raise broadband prices

  The Science and Technology Select Committee hears that ISPs may be forced to put up their service charges to cover the cost of retaining communications data, should the Investigatory Powers Bill become law

• November 11, 2015 11 Nov'15

  Data breach will cost TalkTalk £35m

  TalkTalk CEO Dido Harding expects to lose between £30m and £35m as a result of its recent breach

• November 10, 2015 10 Nov'15

  Watford Council deploys Wi-Fi across sheltered housing estates

  Watford Borough Council installs free Wi-Fi networking service in sheltered housing and community centres

• November 10, 2015 10 Nov'15

  Vodafone chief renews calls for BT - Openreach separation

  Vodafone’s Vittorio Colao renews calls for BT and Openreach to be separated, and says Ofcom should take a firmer line on the BT - EE merger

• November 09, 2015 09 Nov'15

  Access to broadband to be as universal as water and electricity by 2020

  The government promises that UK people and businesses will all have access to broadband by the end of the current parliament

• November 06, 2015 06 Nov'15

  Malaysia Budget 2016 favours ICT for citizens but offers less for enterprise ICT

  Although broadly welcomed, the latest Malaysian budget is better news for citizens using IT than for businesses

• November 06, 2015 06 Nov'15

  GSMA looks for more spectrum to head off mobile capacity crunch

  The World Radiocommunication Conference 2015 is taking place in Geneva, and the GSMA is pushing hard to secure more spectrum to support mobile broadband

• November 05, 2015 05 Nov'15

  Gigaclear breaks ground on BDUK FTTP networks

  Altnet Gigaclear starts digging on a broadband network of 12,000 premises in Berkshire, and reveals more details of its progress in Gloucestershire

• November 04, 2015 04 Nov'15

  Singapore’s Smart Nation vision entices startups and IoT developers

  The Singapore government is pitching to make the tiny Asean city-state a centre for the development of smart city and internet of things technology, and wants to bring UK startups to its shores. Computer Weekly meets Steve Leonard, the man in charge...

• November 03, 2015 03 Nov'15

  Business models still evolving as public Wi-Fi spend hits a high

  A report from the Wireless Broadband Alliance reveals that most city CIOs have plans in place to significantly increase their investment in public Wi-Fi networking, but see challenges around their business models

• October 30, 2015 30 Oct'15

  Social exclusion, IoT and data privacy the biggest issues facing digital economy

  At the 2015 Parliament and Internet conference in Westminster, a series of panels explored some of the key issues affecting the UK’s digital economy

• October 29, 2015 29 Oct'15

  BT revenue up 2% on broadband and BT Sport Europe

  BT reports rising demand for broadband services and BT Sport Europe, which has helped add a record number of BT TV customers in the past quarter

• October 28, 2015 28 Oct'15

  Housing, health and blue light customers targets for advanced 4G connectivity

  As EE announces a line of products and services for public sector and business users, Computer Weekly went to explore some of the possible applications

• October 28, 2015 28 Oct'15

  Ministry of Defence hoarding £38.5m worth of unused IPv4 addresses

  A Freedom of Information request by network control specialist Infoblox has revealed that the MoD is hoarding millions of pounds worth of unused IPv4 addresses, while the UK government remains woefully unprepared for IPv6

• October 28, 2015 28 Oct'15

  Competition watchdog provisionally clears BT EE deal

  The Competition and Markets Authority gives provisional clearance to the multi-billion pound tie-up between BT and mobile operator EE

• October 27, 2015 27 Oct'15

  European Union passes watered-down net neutrality laws

  The European Parliament rejects proposed amendments to the net neutrality regulations that would have closed a number of loopholes

• October 26, 2015 26 Oct'15

  Net neutrality laws have dangerous loopholes, says Tim Berners-Lee

  As the European Parliament prepares for a key vote on net neutrality, web inventor Tim Berners-Lee has warned that stronger amendments are needed to close a number of worrying loopholes

• October 26, 2015 26 Oct'15

  MoD spectrum auction to go ahead in early 2016

  Ofcom announces details of the upcoming auction of high-capacity spectrum owned by the Ministry of Defence

• October 26, 2015 26 Oct'15

  Barclays hit by 'network problems' at the weekend

  Barclays service disruptions raise cyber security concerns, but the bank says the problem was purely internal

• October 22, 2015 22 Oct'15

  Newcastle City Council puts free Wi-Fi in 69 public buildings

  Newcastle City Council enables 69 public buildings across the city as part of the government-supported Go Digital Newcastle programme

• October 22, 2015 22 Oct'15

  Is G.fast the answer to the UK’s fibre vs copper debate?

  At Broadband World Forum in London there was much talk of G.fast technology – but is it really the broadband panacea operators such as BT make it out to be?

• October 21, 2015 21 Oct'15

  Lufthansa picks Inmarsat GX for 10-year in-flight broadband deal

  German flag carrier Lufthansa will offer Inmarsat’s Global Xpress satellite broadband service on 150 of its aircraft

• October 21, 2015 21 Oct'15

  EU net neutrality laws a threat to UK Open Internet Code, says BSG

  The Broadband Stakeholder Group’s Richard Hooper says that the EU’s Connected Continent Regulation could damage the UK’s Open Internet Code

• October 21, 2015 21 Oct'15

  Consumer take-up of Gigaclear fibre broadband exceeds BDUK rates

  Ultrafast altnet Gigaclear marks a major milestone in its network roll-out and claims a higher take-up rate for its FTTP product than BT is seeing on the Openreach FTTC network

• October 20, 2015 20 Oct'15

  CityFibre fills broadband connection voucher gap

  CityFibre offers businesses free connections to replace government’s connection voucher scheme

• October 19, 2015 19 Oct'15

  FTTP roll-out almost justifiable in economic terms, say analysts

  The operational savings of deploying FTTP broadband are soon to overtake the capex costs associated with deployment, says Point Topic

• October 15, 2015 15 Oct'15

  Ofcom regulates Amazon Instant Video

  Broadcast watchdog Ofcom will regulate video-on-demand (VOD) services – such as Amazon Instant Video – although rules for VOD content differ from broadcast

• October 13, 2015 13 Oct'15

  Somerset MP brands council incompetent over BDUK fiasco

  MPs whose constituencies have been affected by Connecting Devon and Somerset’s decision to throw out its Phase 2 BDUK contract have hit out over council mismanagement

• October 13, 2015 13 Oct'15

  Broadband Connection Voucher scheme runs out of money

  The government has closed its SME broadband Connection Voucher scheme to new applicants after exhausting the available funding

• October 13, 2015 13 Oct'15

  Australia expands communication data retention programme

  Australia has introduced a communications data retention law along the same lines proposed for UK legislation, despite opposition from citizens

• October 13, 2015 13 Oct'15

  MPs weigh in over future of Openreach during superfast broadband debate

  MPs have their say on the future of Openreach, with many agreeing it would benefit broadband competition and investment if it were split from the BT group

• October 12, 2015 12 Oct'15

  Half of telco operators plan on deploying carrier Wi-Fi

  Smart cities, converged services and the internet of things are all driving demand for next generation Wi-Fi, says the Wireless Broadband Alliance

• 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