News

Internet infrastructure

July 25, 2019 25 Jul'19
Ofcom must do more to help operators invest in 5G

Telefónica UK boss Mark Evans warns that Ofcom is prioritising action on behalf of consumers to the exclusion of enabling the telecoms and mobile industry to grow
July 25, 2019 25 Jul'19
Surge in UK businesses switching bank account providers

The UK system that makes it easy to change bank account has seen a surge in businesses taking up the service
July 25, 2019 25 Jul'19
HPE and SAP among tech industry backers of UN climate change mitigation campaign

Enterprise tech giants HPE and SAP are among a number of technology firms which have responded to the UN’s calls for corporations to do more to reduce the risk of global warming and cut their emissions
July 24, 2019 24 Jul'19
Santander brings global digital services under one roof

Spanish banking giant Santander Group is creating a global digital unit as part of its transformation plans

July 24, 2019 24 Jul'19
US Department of Justice launches antitrust probe into dominance of online platform providers

The US Department of Justice has called for an antitrust investigation into how “market-leading” online platform operators in the search, social media and retail space operate
July 23, 2019 23 Jul'19
Government delays final decision on Huawei

Culture secretary says he cannot yet make specific decisions about Huawei’s involvement in the UK’s telecoms and mobile networks due to a lack of clarity from the US, effectively green-lighting its use
July 22, 2019 22 Jul'19
Openreach to slash wholesale fibre prices from September

Wholesale price cuts of almost 40% will help Openreach’s CSP customers grow their full-fibre customer bases, and generate a better return on their investment
July 15, 2019 15 Jul'19
UK launches 5G security inquiry

The Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy is to probe the UK government’s approach to telecoms technology as a national security issue
July 15, 2019 15 Jul'19
No technical grounds to ban Huawei, DCMS told

Science and Technology Committee tells Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport that there are no technical grounds for it to exclude Huawei
July 08, 2019 08 Jul'19
Buckinghamshire village pools broadband vouchers to fund full-fibre dig

The village Lillingstone Lovell in Buckinghamshire is helping to fund an Openreach broadband network dig using vouchers pooled through the government’s Rural Gigabit Connectivity scheme

July 05, 2019 05 Jul'19
Challenger bank shuts up shop in UK amid uncertainty

Digital bank Fidor is ending its time in the UK, blaming uncertainties in the market
July 04, 2019 04 Jul'19
Over half a million homes now using full-fibre as access improves

Ofcom’s latest Communications Market Report examines key trends in the UK’s broadband and mobile market, and finds that access to faster broadband is expanding rapidly across all delivery mechanisms
July 04, 2019 04 Jul'19
Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp outage resolved, but questions remain over what caused it

Facebook confirms that technical difficulties blighted its applications and services for several hours on 3 July 2019
July 03, 2019 03 Jul'19
Vodafone switches on 5G mobile network

The UK’s longest-standing mobile operator, Vodafone, has officially turned on its 5G mobile network at an event in London, and reintroduced unlimited data packages for users as it looks to shake up the market
July 03, 2019 03 Jul'19
BT and Openreach told to be more transparent over split

Ofcom’s latest monitoring report on the changing relationship between BT and Openreach finds room for improvement, but is mostly positive
July 03, 2019 03 Jul'19
Cloudflare outage: Firm blames global website outage on routine software update gone rogue

Content delivery provider traces outage back to failings that occurred during a routine update to its web application firewall service
June 28, 2019 28 Jun'19
Ofcom gets go-ahead for new Openreach access model

Following referral to the European Commission, Ofcom is pressing ahead with a new regulatory model governing more open access to Openreach’s ducts, poles and dark fibre
June 27, 2019 27 Jun'19
Isles of Scilly among first UK locations to get 5G

The Isles of Scilly are to be included in Vodafone’s 5G network roll-out from day one, with the aim of supporting local community organisations
June 20, 2019 20 Jun'19
HCL delivers digital services to Cricket Australia

Cricket governing body chooses Indian IT supplier to expand the boundaries of its customer engagement platforms
June 14, 2019 14 Jun'19
How digital transformation underpins Three’s 5G ambitions

At Three, the smallest of the UK’s four mobile network operators, a transformative attitude to underlying IT is helping the firm mount a serious challenge to its rivals when it comes to 5G roll-out
June 12, 2019 12 Jun'19
DCMS adds cash to 5G testbed fund and moves to ease planning laws

The government is to invest £40m in new projects under its 5G Testbeds and Trials scheme, and will explore new ways to liberalise planning laws to support quicker 5G deployment
June 11, 2019 11 Jun'19
MP brands Huawei exec a ‘moral vacuum’ as operators demand 5G clarity

Huawei chief security officer John Suffolk faces tough questions from parliament’s Science and Technology Select Committee over the firm’s links to the Chinese government
June 09, 2019 09 Jun'19
Three to launch 5G in August

Operator claims its contiguous block of 5G-ready mobile spectrum will put it streets ahead of its rivals
June 07, 2019 07 Jun'19
Ofcom confirms broadband USO to be introduced in March 2020

BT and Kcom will begin to provide broadband services under the government’s USO scheme from 20 March 2020
June 06, 2019 06 Jun'19
Ofcom’s Sharon White to step down at Christmas

Chief executive will leave her role at the telecoms regulator at the end of 2019
June 03, 2019 03 Jun'19
Consumer comms providers sign Ofcom’s new fairness pledge

The UK’s biggest communications service providers have signed up to a series of new commitments pledging to put fairness to customers at the heart of their business
May 31, 2019 31 May'19
New-build homes to get broadband quality certification

Broadband connectivity rating firm WiredScore is offering its full-fibre certifications to residential property developers and landlords for the first time
May 30, 2019 30 May'19
EE launches consumer 5G, but experts say no rush to upgrade

EE launched the UK’s first official 5G network this week, but with limited availability and 4G networks improving all the time, industry watchers say there is no big impetus for users to upgrade yet
May 30, 2019 30 May'19
Microsoft embarks on renewable-powered datacentre push in Sweden

Microsoft is doubling down on its efforts to have more of its datacentres powered by renewable energy, with commitment to make its facilities in Sweden the most sustainable yet
May 30, 2019 30 May'19
Hyperscale datacentre operators report first drop in capex growth for seven quarters

Datacentre investments of cloud and internet giants dropped in the first quarter of 2019 after seven consecutive quarters of growth, but market watcher claims it is just a blip
May 28, 2019 28 May'19
NHS Digital sets out Internet First policy

NHS Digital is soliciting input to its Internet First policy, a set of standards and guidelines to help health and social care organisations make digital services accessible over the internet
May 24, 2019 24 May'19
Ofcom makes new proposals to liberalise access Openreach’s ducts and poles

The telecoms regulator is proposing new regulations on accessing Openreach’s infrastructure that it hopes will incentives others to roll out ultrafast networks quicker
May 22, 2019 22 May'19
Hundreds of European retail banks will disappear as challengers scoop up customers

One in every 10 banks in Europe will no longer exist as digital challengers take customers from them
May 21, 2019 21 May'19
Sheffield’s network-of-networks goes beyond free Wi-Fi

For the city of Sheffield, rolling out a free-to-use city Wi-Fi network has become about much more than just letting shoppers browse the internet. We find out more
May 21, 2019 21 May'19
US grants Huawei stay of execution

US Commerce Department temporarily restores Huawei’s ability to maintain its existing networks and smartphone user base
May 20, 2019 20 May'19
DCMS shakes up BDUK with new rural full-fibre scheme

The Rural Gigabit Connectivity programme will run for two years, trialling a new model for full-fibre broadband delivery – meanwhile, BDUK is getting a new name
May 16, 2019 16 May'19
ISPs get nine months prep time for Ofcom shake-up of broadband contract renewal rules

Regulator Ofcom is giving broadband, phone and pay-TV service providers nine months to ready their systems and processes for the emergence of new rules, designed to make it easier for consumers to switch providers
May 15, 2019 15 May'19
Stella McCartney and Google Cloud start machine learning and fashion-focused sustainability push

Stella McCartney and Google Cloud are embarking on a joint pilot project that will draw on the tech giant's machine learning and cloud-based data processing portfolio to help clean up the fashion industry's supply chains
May 09, 2019 09 May'19
Home Office failing on Emergency Services Network, says NAO

The delayed Emergency Services Network is slipping further behind schedule and is getting more expensive all the time – and the Home Office’s management of the project is to blame, says the National Audit Office
May 09, 2019 09 May'19
Confident BT Group calls on Openreach to build full-fibre faster

Openreach will ramp up the pace of its full-fibre network build over the next six years, with ambitious targets to bring ultrafast broadband within reach of 15 million homes by the middle of the 2020s
May 09, 2019 09 May'19
NHS Digital starts on multi-cloud push with VMware Cloud on AWS deployment

NHS Digital has adopted a cloud-first strategy to ensure it has the correct infrastructure in place to support the online delivery needs of its service users
May 08, 2019 08 May'19
Government 'cloud-first' policy under review by CCS and GDS

Longstanding cloud-first policy set to be replaced by more "appropriate" guidance to reflect public sector's changing technology deployment habits, CCS confirms
May 08, 2019 08 May'19
Average UK broadband speeds up a fifth in 12 months

Research from telecoms regulator Ofcom suggests efforts to encourage consumers to switch to faster broadband services are paying off
May 07, 2019 07 May'19
Red Hat CEO weighs in on hybrid cloud play

Jim Whitehurst claims Red Hat’s ability to support an entire technology stack is valuable to enterprises that want a common platform on-premise and in the cloud
May 07, 2019 07 May'19
Early adopters expect to pay 32% premium for 5G

Potential early adopters of 5G say they expect, on average, to pay more for their devices and services, but they expect measurable improvements on 4G from the get-go
May 07, 2019 07 May'19
Greater Manchester invites bidders for public sector broadband

£32m tender request will enable ultrafast full-fibre connectivity to more than 1,300 public sector sites in Greater Manchester
May 07, 2019 07 May'19
Swedish government tells citizens to hoard cash in case of cyber attack

Civil Contingencies Agency says cash is needed in case of emergencies such as technology failures and cyber attacks
May 02, 2019 02 May'19
Ultrafast broadband within reach of ‘most’ homes

More than half of homes in the UK can now receive a broadband service capable of delivering speeds of more than 300Mbps, Ofcom claims
May 02, 2019 02 May'19
Defence secretary sacked over Huawei leak

Defence secretary Gavin Williamson has been sacked after leaking confidential discussions over the use of Huawei networking equipment
April 30, 2019 30 Apr'19
Alphabet Q1 results: Revenue falls short of expectations as EU fine takes toll

The conglomerate that owns Google missed market expectations, despite positive performance in other revenues such as cloud