News

Telecoms networks and broadband communications

• May 19, 2014 19 May'14

  Zayo buys UK dark fibre provider Geo Networks

  American bandwidth infrastructure newcomer Zayo adds more than 1,800 miles of national fibre across the UK following its acquisition of local player Geo Networks

• May 16, 2014 16 May'14

  EE looks forward to 5G

  Telecoms firm EE is in the midst of its 4G roll-out, and predicts that 5G will not begin appearing commercially until at least 2020

• May 16, 2014 16 May'14

  London unites local authorities on Public Services Network

  London is the first region to connect all of its local authorities to the Public Services Network (PSN) through the London Public Services Network (LondonPSN)

• May 16, 2014 16 May'14

  Net neutrality under threat from US plan

  The US telecoms regulator has approved proposals that opponents believe will quash the principle of net neutrality

• May 15, 2014 15 May'14

  Talk Talk grows business data

  Phone operator Talk Talk reports revenue from business data grew 38%, thanks to a number of major enterprise contracts

• May 14, 2014 14 May'14

  Can Tech City deliver reliable fast internet for startup businesses?

  Technology companies based in London’s Tech City are struggling to access high-speed fibre optic broadband, which is dramatically affecting the success their businesses.

• May 12, 2014 12 May'14

  HSBC puts free Wi-Fi in 650 UK branches

  HSBC is the latest bank to offer free Wi-Fi to customers in its branches through a deal with BT

• May 12, 2014 12 May'14

  ASA orders BT to remove misleading broadband speed checker

  The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has ruled that BT should take its broadband checker from its website until it provides accurate information following a customer complaint

• May 09, 2014 09 May'14

  Vodafone cuts 121 staff with Burton site closure

  A review of Vodafone sites following its 2012 acquisition of Cable & Wireless Worldwide will see its Vodafone Business Services centre in Burton-on-Trent shut down, with 121 jobs at risk

• May 09, 2014 09 May'14

  Anti-piracy lobby takes new strategy in UK with ISPs

  Music and film industry bodies have adopted a new tack in efforts to clamp down on piracy in the UK

• May 09, 2014 09 May'14

  Unify UC deployment helps prep NHS Trust for NPfIT exit

  Unify has signed a £2m deal to revitalise the Royal Free London NHS Trust’s comms and collaboration systems as it prepares to exit the National Programme for IT

• May 08, 2014 08 May'14

  BT Group sales flat despite consumer sport uptake

  Growth at BT’s Consumer business underpinned by take-up of its BT Sport service was not enough to offset flat and declining sales elsewhere in the Group’s fourth quarter

• May 08, 2014 08 May'14

  Tim Berners-Lee: Worldwide web Magna Carta by 2015

  Worldwide web inventor Tim Berners-Lee repeats his call for an online bill of rights at the Southbank Centre’s Web We Want festival

• May 07, 2014 07 May'14

  UK helping US military build intelligence software for drone targeting

  The UK has been helping the US military build software to share intelligence for weapons such as drones for the past 14 years

• May 06, 2014 06 May'14

  HTC vows to double sales as quarterly losses bite

  After posting a large quarterly net loss, HTC is pinning its hopes on new handsets and a stronger portfolio

• May 06, 2014 06 May'14

  Juniper and Nokia Solutions Networks expand partnership to address telco clouds

  Collaboration melds Nokia Solutions and Networks' Liquid Core system and Juniper’s MetaFabric datacentre architecture

• May 02, 2014 02 May'14

  Analysis: How the UK connects to the US global drone network

  A single acronym in a US defence contract provided the clue that established the role of the UK’s telecoms infrastructure in US drone flights

• May 02, 2014 02 May'14

  UK telecoms infrastructure used to support controversial US drone operations

  The UK’s telecommunications infrastructure is being used as part of a global defence network the US government uses for drone operations

• April 16, 2014 16 Apr'14

  Nationwide completes video consultation roll-out

  Nationwide Building Society has completed the roll-out of video mortgage consultation equipment at more than 60 branches

• April 08, 2014 08 Apr'14

  UK to review snooping powers of authorities

  UK surveillance watchdog is to investigate whether authorities make too many communications data requests

• April 08, 2014 08 Apr'14

  Top EU court declares data retention directive invalid

  The European Court of Justice has declared the EU Data Retention Directive invalid

• April 04, 2014 04 Apr'14

  European parliament votes in support of net neutrality

  The European parliament has voted in support of proposed telecoms legislation that aims to enforce net neutrality rules.

• April 03, 2014 03 Apr'14

  David Cameron calls on BT to present rural broadband roll-out plans

  Prime minister asks BT to provide more details about its rural broadband roll-out - but BT says it is not its responsibility to do so

• April 02, 2014 02 Apr'14

  Millions of routers open to criminal exploitation, study shows

  More than 24 million routers worldwide could be used by cyber criminals to launch DDoS attacks, a study shows

• April 01, 2014 01 Apr'14

  BT and government under fresh fire over rural broadband

  BT and the government have come under fresh criticism over the provision of broadband services to rural areas

• March 31, 2014 31 Mar'14

  Government failed at promoting competition over BDUK, say MPs

  The government has consistently failed to promote competition during the roll-out of rural broadband across the UK, according to the PAC.

• March 26, 2014 26 Mar'14

  Case study: Logicalis helps Birmingham and Loughborough universities with networking challenges

  Computer Weekly European User Award Supplier of the Year winner Logicalis explains how it developed modern infrastructures for two universities

• March 25, 2014 25 Mar'14

  Broadband users lose out with ISPs failing to deliver advertised bandwidth

  People are getting poor value for money in their broadband contracts, according the European Commission

• March 25, 2014 25 Mar'14

  Case study: City of York connects citizens with Ruckus Wi-Fi

  The City of York delivers wireless connectivity to its residents and businesses

• March 25, 2014 25 Mar'14

  China demands explanation of NSA spying on Huawei

  China demands an explanation from the US over reports that its National Security Agency (NSA) infiltrated the networks of Chinese telecoms firm Huawei

• March 24, 2014 24 Mar'14

  DCMS to fund rural trials of superfast broadband

  The DCMS has opened up its £10m funding pot for suppliers with innovative ideas to help superfast broadband reach remote UK areas

• March 24, 2014 24 Mar'14

  NSA infiltrated Huawei, claim Snowden leak documents

  The National Security Agency (NSA) created “back doors” in the networks of Chinese telecoms firm Huawei, claim documents leaked by Edward Snowden

• March 14, 2014 14 Mar'14

  Red Bull ramps up network for 2014 F1 championship

  An extended relationship with AT&T will support RedBull Infiniti Racing on and off the track as it prepares its 2014 championship bid

• March 13, 2014 13 Mar'14

  Gigaclear instals fibre optic broadband in rural business park

  UK ISP Gigaclear instals fibre optic broadband in Oxfordshire business park in efforts to roll-out fast internet to rural areas

• March 13, 2014 13 Mar'14

  Case Study: Caterham F1 boosts productivity with mobile communication network

  The Caterham F1 team is using the Truphone telecoms network to increase ease of communication in its global business

• March 12, 2014 12 Mar'14

  Ofcom 4G auction achieved competition goal

  National Audit Office report says Ofcom achieved its goal of maintaining a competitive market through last year's 4G auction

• March 10, 2014 10 Mar'14

  UK more than doubles funds to build internet of things

  UK government more than doubles funding for technology companies making devices that communicate over the internet.

• March 06, 2014 06 Mar'14

  Government must drive SMEs to take up broadband

  The Broadband Stakeholder Group claims SMEs are missing out on the technological benefits faster broadband can bring and calls on the government to encourage more companies to go digital

• March 05, 2014 05 Mar'14

  Does Gigaclear’s broadband win show new direction for BDUK?

  Why Gigaclear's rural broadband contract win could signal a change of direction for the future of the BDUK project

• March 03, 2014 03 Mar'14

  CIO interview: Phil Jordan, global chief information officer, Telefónica

  Telefónica global CIO Phil Jordan is leading one of the most complex and challenging IT transformations in the private sector

• February 28, 2014 28 Feb'14

  The big themes of Mobile World Congress 2014

  This week saw the world’s largest mobile conference hit Barcelona. Computer Weekly takes a look at the big themes of Mobile World Congress 2014

• February 28, 2014 28 Feb'14

  CSL and ZTE bring LTE Advanced 300Mbps network to Hong Kong

  CSL and ZTE will deploy the first LTE Advanced 300Mbps network in Hong Kong, it was announced at MWC in Barcelona

• February 28, 2014 28 Feb'14

  BT criticises Ofcom over unbundling prices

  BT claims Ofcom regulations give Sky and TalkTalk an unfair advantage over smaller ISPs and calls for change

• February 28, 2014 28 Feb'14

  Computer Weekly European User Awards for networking: 2014 winners

  The winners have been announced for the Computer Weekly European User Awards for networking. See who made the top spots

• February 28, 2014 28 Feb'14

  Inca launches superfast broadband ‘notspot’ scheme

  The networks organisation asks individuals, businesses and communities to speak out about where rural broadband funding needs to go

• February 28, 2014 28 Feb'14

  Virgin Media boosts broadband speeds

  Virgin Media promises a top speed of 152Mbps for customers across the UK, as well as boosting its entry-level connection from 30Mbps to 50Mbps

• February 27, 2014 27 Feb'14

  BT pledges hiring push for graduates and apprentices

  The telecoms giant will be seeking top science, technology and business graduates, as well as school leavers and out of work youngsters in this government approved recruitment drive

• February 26, 2014 26 Feb'14

  Telefónica to embrace SDN and NFV with UNICA network initiative

  The mobile operator plans to revamp its network infrastructure to embrace more virtualisation technologies and bring more efficiency to its backhaul.

• February 25, 2014 25 Feb'14

  Government confirms extra £250m for rural broadband roll-out

  The government has confirmed details for providing an extra £250m towards the roll-out of superfast broadband in rural areas

• February 24, 2014 24 Feb'14

  IP networks "inherently less secure"

  We may have come far when it comes to performance in telecoms networks but Juniper Networks claims the move from fixed connections to IP has brought more security challenges

• February 24, 2014 24 Feb'14

  Nokia sidelines Windows 8 to launch Android device at MWC

  Nokia will release a phone running the Android operating system, it announced at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona

• February 24, 2014 24 Feb'14

  Operators preventing dual SIM handsets

  Acer claims that although its new handset offers dual SIM capabilities for the business user, mobile operators will stop the feature coming to market to protect revenues

• February 20, 2014 20 Feb'14

  EE posts steady results for ‘year of 4G’

  Mobile operator EE posts solid numbers after its first full year offering 4G to the UK

• February 19, 2014 19 Feb'14

  EE connects commuters via 4G

  EE has announced plans to expand its 4G network to aid commuters, and will be recruiting more than 1,000 new customer service staff over the next 24 months

• February 19, 2014 19 Feb'14

  Newcastle to go digital with £9m government fund

  The North Eastern city will benefit from superfast broadband, free Wi-Fi and a cloud computing centre

• February 19, 2014 19 Feb'14

  UK start-ups get ready for Mobile World Congress 2014

  With the world’s biggest mobile trade show just days away, we talk to some of the representatives of the UK start-up industry representing us on the show floor

• February 19, 2014 19 Feb'14

  Hyperoptic targets three more UK cities for 1Gbps broadband

  The fibre to the home provider is extending its reach outside of London to bring 1Gbps connections to Bristol, Cardiff and Reading

• February 17, 2014 17 Feb'14

  Care UK to introduce 4G to 4,000 employees

  Advanced Mobile Communications has won a multi-million pound contract to provide EE’s 4G connectivity to Care UK’s 4,000 employees

• February 17, 2014 17 Feb'14

  Latvia’s Lattelecom: 1Gbps will be standard by 2018

  Latvian telecoms firm will make 1Gbps its standard connection to homes by 2018, with the internet of things and customer demand necessitating the rise

• February 17, 2014 17 Feb'14

  NHS Scotland awards SWAN contract to Capita

  Capita wins the £110m contract for the Scottish Wide Area Network project, while BT continues to seek damages for losing out

• February 17, 2014 17 Feb'14

  SABMiller upgrades IP network

  Drinks manufacturer SABMiller has selected T-Systems to supply its global backbone and European network as it integrates its business globally

• February 13, 2014 13 Feb'14

  Cisco profits plummet for second quarter

  A one-off charge for faulty memory chips sees profits for the networking firm tumble by almost 55%, while revenues decline 8% year on year

• February 12, 2014 12 Feb'14

  BT sues NHS Scotland for £20m over SWAN project

  After losing its bid for the Scottish Wide Area Network project, the telecoms giant is suing the NHS National Services Scotland

• February 07, 2014 07 Feb'14

  Glasgow City Council signs BT for free Wi-Fi before Commonwealth Games

  Glasgow City Council signs BT to provide free Wi-Fi across the city in time for the Common Wealth Games in summer 2014

• February 07, 2014 07 Feb'14

  Poor European performance hits Vodafone revenues

  Vodafone's service revenues across Europe fell by almost 10% in the mobile operator’s third quarter

• February 06, 2014 06 Feb'14

  Three signs 4G backhaul deal with Virgin Media Business

  Three's five-year, multi-million pound deal will see Virgin Media Business soup up the mobile operator’s backhaul to prepare it for its 4G future

• February 03, 2014 03 Feb'14

  BT rolls out free Wi-Fi at Thistle Hotels

  The GLH hotel group chooses BT Wi-Fi to offer free internet connectivity in its 36 hotels across the UK

• February 03, 2014 03 Feb'14

  BT criticised for ‘knocking out competition’ in Wiltshire

  BT and Wiltshire County Council have been accused of using public funds to build out broadband in areas set to be served by alternative providers

• January 31, 2014 31 Jan'14

  BT Wholesale loses revenues as Post Office customers leave

  After losing its Post Office contract for broadband and phone in 2011, BT Wholesale revenues drop 9% as customers go to TalkTalk

• January 31, 2014 31 Jan'14

  Interview: Dame Wendy Hall on Global Commission on Internet Governance

  We speak to UK IT's representative on the new Global Commission on Internet Governance and ask what she hopes it will achieve

• January 24, 2014 24 Jan'14

  Dolphinholme debate raises questions over BDUK rural broadband funding

  We examine how one tiny village in Lancashire has pitted BT, the government and alternative providers against one another

• January 23, 2014 23 Jan'14

  SMEs given power to cancel phone contracts

  New rules from Ofcom will enable consumers and small businesses to cancel phone or broadband contracts if their provider ups its prices

• January 23, 2014 23 Jan'14

  Nokia ends 2013 in decline

  All of Nokia's divisions see falls in sales and profits, but its CEO remains positive the remaining businesses will flourish in the future

• January 22, 2014 22 Jan'14

  BT and Alcatel Lucent test 1.4Tbps broadband

  The two firms ran the trial over existing infrastructure and claim it is the fastest speed to have ever been achieved over commercial grade hardware

• January 22, 2014 22 Jan'14

  Huawei exec named chair at Open Networking Foundation

  In a boost to his company’s reputation, Dr Serge Manning is named the chair of the wireless and mobile working group for the ONF.

• January 22, 2014 22 Jan'14

  Chatham House founds Global Commission on Internet Governance

  The Royal Institute of International Affairs will work with the CIGI to form a strategy for the future of internet governance

• January 20, 2014 20 Jan'14

  EE routers vulnerable to ‘incredibly easy’ hack

  A blogger claims to have found a flaw in EE’s BrightBox broadband routers that could leave sensitive information accessible to hackers

• January 20, 2014 20 Jan'14

  BSkyB and Vodafone in talks for new broadband services

  Sources claim BSkyB and Vodafone are in discussions around forming an alliance to compete against BT with broadband and PayTV services

• January 16, 2014 16 Jan'14

  Ericsson CEO named as possible Ballmer successor

  Hans Vestburg is being considered for the top job at Microsoft, according to people close to the matter

• January 15, 2014 15 Jan'14

  Case study: Berkshire NHS adopts 4G for home visits

  The Foundation Trust enables its nurses to access and update patient records on the move with 4G mobile Wi-Fi from EE

• January 15, 2014 15 Jan'14

  Olympics executive named new BDUK chief

  Chris Townsend will lead the government’s rural broadband project, including pilot schemes of alternative technologies for areas that are hardest to reach

• January 14, 2014 14 Jan'14

  Post Office seeks contractors for network and back-office work

  The Post Office is looking for IT services firms to provide back-office IT applications and networking technologies in contracts worth hundreds of millions of pounds

• January 13, 2014 13 Jan'14

  HSBC boss to take over BT Openreach

  BT confirms Joe Garner will take over as the CEO of its Openreach division when Liv Garfield steps down in February

• January 13, 2014 13 Jan'14

  Former WTO chief leads debate on future of European spectrum

  The future of the UHF spectrum band will be discussed by industry leaders over the next six months before presenting proposals to the European Commission

• January 13, 2014 13 Jan'14

  Free Wi-Fi coming to Edinburgh buses and trams

  Today sees the tender close for a government-funded project to bring free Wi-Fi to Edinburgh’s public transport network.

• January 09, 2014 09 Jan'14

  Fairfax bails out BlackBerry with another $250m

  The mobile manufacturer’s largest shareholder ploughs another $250m into the firm, buying up more of its debts and giving BlackBerry some extra cash to play with.

• January 09, 2014 09 Jan'14

  Eurotunnel signs deal with EE and Vodafone

  EE and Vodafone have signed a 10-year contract with Eurotunnel to enable customers to use their mobiles in the Channel Tunnel

• January 09, 2014 09 Jan'14

  Sky forced to update porn filter

  Sky has been forced to update its porn filter after it was found to be blocking legitimate file-sharing sites

• January 06, 2014 06 Jan'14

  BlackBerry hires ex-HTC exec to lead devices

  In the latest in a raft of new hires by BlackBerry CEO John Chen, the company appoints Ron Louks as its head of devices and emerging solutions

• January 03, 2014 03 Jan'14

  City Link contact centre gets real-time customer data

  Delivery firm City Link is reducing the time it takes for its contact center to handle customer requests through integrating Cisco technology with interactive software

• December 28, 2013 28 Dec'13

  Top 10 networking stories of 2013

  Computer Weekly looks back at the biggest headlines in the networking industry over the past 12 months

• December 20, 2013 20 Dec'13

  Ofcom threatens BT with fines over repairs

  Telecoms regulator Ofcom tells BT Openreach to fix faults with telephone and broadband services in two days or it could face fines

• December 19, 2013 19 Dec'13

  BT launches proceedings against Scotland's NHS over SWAN project

  Telecoms giant BT has launched a court case against the Scottish health service after failing to win the contract for the Scottish Wide Area Network project

• December 17, 2013 17 Dec'13

  Greater Manchester signs penultimate BDUK contract with BT

  Eight councils in Greater Manchester sign a £15m contract with BT to bring 39,000 homes high-speed broadband by March 2016

• December 17, 2013 17 Dec'13

  Is BT ‘embedding secret spy equipment’ in routers?

  UK telecoms giant BT is accused of enabling GCHQ and the NSA access to customer data through its routers used in millions of homes and businesses across the UK. BT claims it is just a conspiracy theory. Computer Weekly looks at both sides

• December 13, 2013 13 Dec'13

  Cable theft causes three-day broadband outage in West London

  Customers of BT, TalkTalk and Sky broadband in West London have been suffering outages for three days after an attempted cable theft in the capital

• December 13, 2013 13 Dec'13

  EE holds title for most complained about broadband

  With more than double the average number of complaints, EE – previously Orange Broadband – has been named the most complained about broadband provider by Ofcom for the fifth consecutive quarter

• December 12, 2013 12 Dec'13

  CIO Interview, David Southern, CIO WWF UK

  UK CIO of the World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF), David Southern, describes a technology refresh at its Woking HQ

• December 12, 2013 12 Dec'13

  BT launches scheme to get Plymouth residents online

  BT teams up with local charities and government organisations to put £330,000 into helping Plymouth residents get online and learn digital skills

• December 11, 2013 11 Dec'13

  EU quashes Cisco complaint on Skype sale

  The General Court of the European Union rules Microsoft’s $8.5bn acquisition of Skype adheres to competition rules