News

Telecoms networks and broadband communications

• December 18, 2014 18 Dec'14

  Government scraps national roaming in £5bn "not spot" pledge

  Government strikes £5bn ‘landmark’ deal with UK MNOs to address mobile "not spots"

• December 17, 2014 17 Dec'14

  Technology needed to help ambulance services cope with increased demand

  The future of the ambulance and emergencies services needs more investment in networking

• December 16, 2014 16 Dec'14

  Ofcom names HM Treasury’s Sharon White as chief executive

  Sharon White, second permanent secretary at the Treasury, will take the wheel at Ofcom in March 2015

• December 15, 2014 15 Dec'14

  BT to buy EE for £12.5bn

  BT announces intention to buy mobile network EE from Deutsche Telekom and Orange, rejecting a takeover of O2

• December 11, 2014 11 Dec'14

  DECC publishes annual report on delayed smart meter scheme

  The Department of Energy and Climate Change has published its annual report on the roll-out of smart electricity and gas meters

• December 11, 2014 11 Dec'14

  Whitechapel Bell Foundry to ring in 2015 with 4G network

  One of the UK’s oldest running businesses uses EE 4G network to sell its iconic bells around the world

• December 11, 2014 11 Dec'14

  JCDecaux partners with Vodafone to build small cell networks

  Vodafone joins outdoor advertising firm JCDecaux to deploy small cell technology on billboards to increase network performance

• December 10, 2014 10 Dec'14

  BT to decide between O2 and EE before Christmas

  The BT board has been locked in discussions over the possible acquisition of mobile network operators O2 or EE

• December 09, 2014 09 Dec'14

  Quad-play operators to drive telecoms recruitment, says Manpower

  Recruitment is slowing slightly in telecoms sector, but competition will rise in the new year, according to ManpowerGroup

• December 04, 2014 04 Dec'14

  DCMS gives broadband voucher scheme stay of execution

  Little-known broadband connection voucher scheme gets 12 months’ grace and will now run until March 2016

• December 04, 2014 04 Dec'14

  BT hires across Europe to meet broadband roll-out obligations

  BT updates MPs on its progress in getting broadband to rural communities to support the digital by default government policy

• December 02, 2014 02 Dec'14

  EE readies rural broadband mesh network in Cumbria

  The Cumbrian village of Sebergham will be the first rural community to receive a meshed micro network from EE , due to go live in 2015

• December 01, 2014 01 Dec'14

  Vodafone explores merger with Virgin Media owner Liberty Global

  Vodafone explores options in wake of BT’s talks with EE and O2

• November 28, 2014 28 Nov'14

  Three pondering bid for O2 or EE, say reports

  As BT conducts sales talks with both O2 and EE, reports have emerged the owner of Three is also preparing a bid for one or other of the two networks

• November 28, 2014 28 Nov'14

  CGI secures communications between pilots and air traffic control

  Satellite communications firm Inmarsat has outsourced the provision of security IT and services to CGI

• November 27, 2014 27 Nov'14

  Nottingham University Hospital embeds video in cystic fibrosis centre

  Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust used Cisco video technology to enhance care quality at a dedicated facility for cystic fibrosis patients

• November 26, 2014 26 Nov'14

  EE in sales talks with BT

  EE owners Deutsche Telekom and Orange eye up a sale to BT just days after news O2’s owner is also looking to exit the UK market

• November 25, 2014 25 Nov'14

  National Trust for Scotland overcomes legacy network challenge

  The National Trust for Scotland has replaced a historical network infrastructure with a core service from Brocade

• November 24, 2014 24 Nov'14

  BT in talks to buy mobile operator O2

  BT is currently in talks with Telefonica over buying the mobile network operator O2.

• November 21, 2014 21 Nov'14

  Network Rail extends fibre network to rural broadband providers

  Network Rail Infrastructure asks Ofcom for more powers to build out its fibre network for the benefit of broadband and mobile suppliers

• November 20, 2014 20 Nov'14

  Tech Mahindra buys network engineering firm Lightbridge Communications

  ICT consultancy Tech Mahindra buys Lightbridge Communications for £153m to develop IP-based and virtualised networks

• November 20, 2014 20 Nov'14

  BT asks Department of Business, Innovation and Skills to reject links to US drone strikes

  BT asks UK officials to reject a complaint about its alleged role in a US military network used to direct drone strikes

• November 19, 2014 19 Nov'14

  Increase in mobile users sees 2.7 billion devices worldwide in 2014

  Mobile subscriptions have increased by 800 million in 2014, bringing the total number of devices to 2.7 billion worldwide, according to a report

• November 19, 2014 19 Nov'14

  UK SMEs lose ₤90m because of missed calls

  UK SMEs lost ₤90m sales last year by failing to pick up phone calls because customers will not call back again

• November 17, 2014 17 Nov'14

  Tech Mahindra backs Milton Keynes smart city project

  Tech Mahindra’s telco services wing to support development and deployment of smart city solutions and IoT sensor networks

• November 13, 2014 13 Nov'14

  Hull gets dark fibre injection for EE and Three

  Mobile Broadband Network Ltd (MBNL), a joint venture between EE and Three, deploys dark fibre backhaul connections to masts in Hull

• November 13, 2014 13 Nov'14

  City of London Corporation fed up with BT broadband

  City of London Corporation launches drive to improve superfast broadband for residents and SMEs after losing patience with BT’s roll-out

• November 13, 2014 13 Nov'14

  Cisco CEO John Chambers attacks Barack Obama over net neutrality

  Just days after US president Barack Obama backed net neutrality, Cisco CEO John Chambers says it will hurt business

• November 12, 2014 12 Nov'14

  BDUK passes 1.5 million premises

  DCMS marks latest BDUK project milestone and says more than a quarter of all UK broadband connections are now superfast

• November 12, 2014 12 Nov'14

  Glasgow City Council tackles digital divide with Virgin Media

  Virgin Media expands its network to 5,000 more premises in the suburbs of Glasgow and launches skills schemes

• November 12, 2014 12 Nov'14

  ASA rules in BT’s favour on fibre-to-the-cabinet complaints

  The ASA has not upheld complaints that BT misled consumers when it claimed its Infinity service was fibre-optic broadband

• November 12, 2014 12 Nov'14

  Ericsson ranks Stockholm, London and Paris the world’s most connected cities

  Ericsson’s Networked Society Index puts London near the top of its connected cities table but others may challenge it soon

• November 11, 2014 11 Nov'14

  Microsoft Lync becomes Skype for Business

  Microsoft rebrands Lync before updating unified communications and collaboration suite

• November 11, 2014 11 Nov'14

  Vodafone launches UK residential broadband service

  Mobile operator Vodafone announces UK consumer broadband service as it steps up its 4G network investment

• November 11, 2014 11 Nov'14

  Obama backs net neutrality

  US president Barack Obama has come out in support of net neutrality, saying open access should be seen as a basic right

• November 10, 2014 10 Nov'14

  Vtesse loses appeal over state aid for broadband in Cornwall

  Court rejects Vtesse’ appeal against the European Commission’s decision that state aid for BT was legal

• November 10, 2014 10 Nov'14

  Digital Scotland passes 150,000 premises with superfast broadband

  Scottish government celebrates milestone in £410m Digital Scotland superfast broadband roll-out

• November 10, 2014 10 Nov'14

  BT to train counsellors working with online child abuse victims

  BT and Marie Collins Foundation to pilot training programme for professionals working with young victims of online sexual abuse

• November 10, 2014 10 Nov'14

  Price hikes on comms and internet services loom under changing EU VAT rules

  Businesses unaware of effect of radical changes to EU VAT rules on supply of telecoms, broadcasting and electronic services

• November 07, 2014 07 Nov'14

  Ofcom to auction tranche of MoD-owned spectrum

  190 MHz of spectrum in two bands currently controlled by the Ministry of Defence is to go under the hammer

• November 07, 2014 07 Nov'14

  Vodafone’s Rural Open Sure Signal 3G communities begin to go live

  The first communities to receive 3G mobile coverage over femtocells under Vodafone’s Rural Open Sure Signal programme have been announced

• November 07, 2014 07 Nov'14

  How networking brought innovation and automation to Heathrow Terminal 2

  Heathrow Airport has put automation and collaboration at the heart of a £34m network deployment in Terminal 2

• November 07, 2014 07 Nov'14

  Ofcom launches initiative to plug SMEs' lack of confidence in communications services

  Regulator Ofcom launches online portal to help business owners exploit commercial communications services

• November 06, 2014 06 Nov'14

  Huawei invests £5m in University of Surrey 5G innovation centre

  Huawei invests £5m in the University of Surrey’s 5G innovation centre (5GIC) to develop 5G network technology

• November 06, 2014 06 Nov'14

  ITN deploys wireless transmission technology for breaking news

  ITN introduces camera-mounted wireless transmission technology from BT to track breaking news stories around London

• November 06, 2014 06 Nov'14

  CityFibre takes gigabit network to West Yorkshire

  Fibre network operator CityFibre urges businesses in West Yorkshire to sign up to Kirklees Core network service

• November 06, 2014 06 Nov'14

  Advanced Mobile Location pinpoints 999 calls to within 30m

  BT, EE and HTC deploy a new service to pinpoint the source of 999 calls from mobile phones with a far greater degree of accuracy

• November 05, 2014 05 Nov'14

  Why national roaming may not be the answer to mobile not-spots

  Industry suggests alternative strategies as government threatens to force mobile operators to allow national roaming

• November 05, 2014 05 Nov'14

  Government may force networks to accept national roaming

  The government plans to eliminate poor mobile coverage in the UK by making MNOs adopt national roaming

• November 04, 2014 04 Nov'14

  Wi-Fi forecast predicts one hotspot for every 20 people by 2018

  Worldwide audit for Wi-Fi network aggregator iPass reveals how public Wi-Fi might change in the next four years

• November 03, 2014 03 Nov'14

  West Yorks Police deploys 4,000 Samsung Galaxy Note 3 phablets

  West Yorkshire Police force partners with Samsung to provide 4,000 Galaxy Note 3 devices to frontline staff

• November 03, 2014 03 Nov'14

  MPs launch inquiry into rural broadband coverage for farmers

  Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee launches inquiry into rural broadband coverage and its impact on digital-only services

• October 30, 2014 30 Oct'14

  BT sees increasing fibre demand, but sales remain flat

  BT attracts new fibre customers but fails to translate growth to revenues in the second quarter of 2014

• October 30, 2014 30 Oct'14

  EE LTE Advanced network goes live in London

  EE has switched on its LTE Advanced 4G+ network in central London, but other cities will have to wait until next summer

• October 30, 2014 30 Oct'14

  Government offers free Wi-Fi in 1,000 public buildings

  DCMS plans to make free Wi-Fi hotspots available in 1,000 public buildings as part of its Super-Connected Cities programme

• October 28, 2014 28 Oct'14

  Internet of trains takes centre stage for Cisco IoT startup contest

  Cisco launches contest to help startups and SMEs engage the transport sector around the internet of things (IoT) for railway stations of the future

• October 27, 2014 27 Oct'14

  Brits will buy more expensive homes to get faster broadband

  Report commissioned for Halifax finds many people are prepared to pay more for a home with superfast broadband

• October 27, 2014 27 Oct'14

  UK government cracks down on nuisance calls and texts

  Government consults over making it easier for the ICO to prosecute rogue firms that make nuisance calls and texts

• October 26, 2014 26 Oct'14

  How big data, mobile and cloud are fighting Ebola in Sierra Leone

  IBM applies data analytics, mobile technology and cloud computing to help fight the Ebola outbreak in West Africa

• October 24, 2014 24 Oct'14

  Six networks that changed the world forever

  The Science Museum opens its Information Age gallery, dedicated to the history of information and communications

• October 24, 2014 24 Oct'14

  MasterCard to offer free Wi-Fi to cardholders visiting Britain

  MasterCard will offer its customers free Wi-Fi when travelling abroad as part of its Priceless Cities initiative

• October 20, 2014 20 Oct'14

  Government seeks suppliers for £2bn telecoms framework

  The government is seeking suppliers for a £2bn procurement framework to replace Whitehall’s telecommunications requirements

• October 20, 2014 20 Oct'14

  Oxford Flood Network brings internet of things to the community

  Oxford community scheme seeks volunteers to adopt internet of things (IoT) sensors and crowdsource floodwater data

• October 20, 2014 20 Oct'14

  Prime Minister’s Digital Taskforce targets skills and networks

  The Prime Minister’s Digital Taskforce has established a remit around skills, investment, and networks

• October 20, 2014 20 Oct'14

  Forget devices, we still need signal, says WWF IT director

  Organisations such as the WWF are still trying to focus on sufficient connectivity for remote workers says WWF director of ICT services, Linda Humphrey.

• October 15, 2014 15 Oct'14

  Samsung claims 5G speed record

  Samsung hits a data transmission speed record over a 5G network

• October 14, 2014 14 Oct'14

  Motorsport firm replaces ageing comms with cloud telephony

  Motorsport and automotive engineering firm Prodrive adopts cloud telephony to ease the pain of an office move

• October 13, 2014 13 Oct'14

  Argos provides free tablets and broadband to get UK online

  Argos will provide 10,000 free tablets and broadband access to encourage UK adults lacking digital skills to use the internet

• October 13, 2014 13 Oct'14

  Embedded SIMs key to unlocking internet of things

  GSMA’s eUICC Embedded SIM Specification will help M2M communications and the IoT become mainstream, say analysts

• October 10, 2014 10 Oct'14

  White space wireless trial brings free meerkat videos to wider audience

  Ofcom trials new wireless technology using vacant TV spectrum gaps with help from ZSL London Zoo and other organisations

• October 09, 2014 09 Oct'14

  Housing associations launch shared internet service from BT

  BT promises housing association tenants lower internet costs through new scheme

• October 08, 2014 08 Oct'14

  Welsh government hands control of PSN to BT

  BT to take over running of PSN across Wales from Logicalis

• October 07, 2014 07 Oct'14

  Samsung warns of 60% fall in profit

  Quarterly profits at Samsung Electronics are expected to drop by 60% due to increasing competition from smartphone rivals

• October 06, 2014 06 Oct'14

  BT insists MVNO project is on course despite glitch claims

  BT denies reports its plans to set up as an MVNO have been pushed back after running into technical problems

• October 06, 2014 06 Oct'14

  UNHCR deploys tablet-based learning at Dadaab refugee camp

  The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) deploys mobile-based learning system at Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya

• October 03, 2014 03 Oct'14

  Cable broadband now faster than fibre, claims Ofcom

  A report on UK broadband speeds reveals that cable broadband connections are now faster than fibre

• October 02, 2014 02 Oct'14

  Derby City Council promises 2Gbps connections at tech hub

  Up to 150 Derby SMEs are to get 2Gbps broadband through Virgin following a council-led investment in the city’s tech base

• October 02, 2014 02 Oct'14

  Sunborn puts network in the cloud at Docklands’ first floating hotel

  Hospitality firm Sunborn picks Mitel 3300 IP Communications platform for London's first floating hotel

• October 02, 2014 02 Oct'14

  O2, EE and Vodafone trial Boku mobile retail billing service

  UK mobile carriers sign up to carrier billing service to enable consumers to make physical purchases with a mobile phone

• October 02, 2014 02 Oct'14

  Ofcom chief executive Ed Richards to step down

  Ofcom chief executive Ed Richards is to stand down at the end of December 2014, says the telecoms regulator

• October 01, 2014 01 Oct'14

  Vtesse bought by Interoute in major fibre expansion

  Acquisition adds 7,000km of fibre infrastructure to Interoute’s European network

• October 01, 2014 01 Oct'14

  UK broadband lags as global average speed hits 4Mbps

  Akamai’s latest State of the Internet report into take-up of superfast broadband and IPv6 shows the UK is lagging

• September 29, 2014 29 Sep'14

  BT launches cloud voice service for businesses

  BT to deliver flexible cloud-based VoIP services to SME customers

• September 26, 2014 26 Sep'14

  BlackBerry losses narrow as restructuring plan bears fruit

  Losses at struggling mobile communications supplier BlackBerry narrowed significantly during the second quarter of its fiscal 2015

• September 25, 2014 25 Sep'14

  Councils and Countryside Alliance back Vodafone rural 3G plan

  Local councils and the Countryside Alliance lend support to Vodafone’s Rural Open Sure Signal programme for rural broadband

• September 25, 2014 25 Sep'14

  Lancaster University supports SDN development with HP Networking

  Lancaster Uni deploys 40 OpenFlow-enabled HP switches to run SDN research and production environments concurrently

• September 25, 2014 25 Sep'14

  Huawei ploughs $4bn into fixed broadband research

  Huawei announces major R&D investment in ‘ultra-broadband’ research over the next three years as interest in new networking standards grows

• September 24, 2014 24 Sep'14

  Virgin cuts travel costs by 20% after rolling out unified communications

  Employees saving 15 minutes a day as Virgin Media turns to social media, web conferencing and video

• September 23, 2014 23 Sep'14

  Ed Vaizey launches network for spectrum technologies

  Minister for business, innovation and skills, Ed Vaizey, launches the Future Technologies Network

• September 23, 2014 23 Sep'14

  Business ISPs court SME buyers with upgrade packages

  TalkTalk Business and competitor Virgin Media Business to support government broadband grant scheme

• September 22, 2014 22 Sep'14

  Government urges more SMEs to apply for broadband vouchers

  With six months left to apply, businesses are being urged to claim their share of the £100m government broadband grants

• September 22, 2014 22 Sep'14

  UK could be leader in 5G technology

  The UK could be a leader in the development of the 5G network if it is fast in implementing technology and standards, says MP David Willetts

• September 19, 2014 19 Sep'14

  Peterborough City Council launches cloud-enabled technology strategy

  Peterborough City Council is launching a cloud-enabled technology strategy to improve how it connects with citizens

• September 17, 2014 17 Sep'14

  UK is third most network-connected country in the world

  The UK is behind only Germany and the US in its development of internet services, according to a study

• September 16, 2014 16 Sep'14

  Security worries in US will not deter Huawei from its global ambitions

  Chinese telco Huawei claims it will develop rapidly as a global IT supplier, despite concerns over its ability to expand in the US

• September 16, 2014 16 Sep'14

  Cambridge villagers trial low-cost broadband roll-out method

  Virgin Media is trialling a low-cost 'narrow-trenching' method for supplying superfast 1Gbps broadband in the village of Papworth, in Cambridgeshire

• September 10, 2014 10 Sep'14

  Twitter and Netflix join ISP net neutrality internet slowdown protest

  Internet companies join a slowdown protest against US plans to allow internet service providers (ISPs) to charge extra for prioritised network access

• September 03, 2014 03 Sep'14

  Aberdeen to get city-wide gigabit network

  Aberdeen will this month become Scotland’s first city to be fully covered by a high speed fibre network

• September 03, 2014 03 Sep'14

  AA to refresh communications infrastructure

  The AA is upgrading the technology it uses to interact with 15 million customers 24 hours a day

• September 02, 2014 02 Sep'14

  Natural Resources Wales takes to the cloud with Microsoft

  The Welsh envoronmental public body adopts Microsoft cloud functionalities including Office 365 and Azure