News

Internet infrastructure

• December 11, 2018 11 Dec'18

  Slow action on broadband and 5G risks UK’s economic future, CBI warns

  A report from the CBI has called for the government to fast-track legislation to guarantee access to ultrafast network services

• December 10, 2018 10 Dec'18

  Vodafone’s 4G network goes underground

  Operator will roll out small 4G and 5G-ready antenna to boost network coverage over short distances in areas of dense usage, using manhole covers, among other things

• December 10, 2018 10 Dec'18

  O2 expected to pursue Ericsson for compensation over 24-hour stoppage

  Mobile network operator could seek up to £100m in damages from its supplier, which failed to update expired software certificates, causing a day-long outage

• December 06, 2018 06 Dec'18

  BT and KCOM named broadband USO suppliers

  Ofcom has named BT, and in East Yorkshire, KCOM, as the designated providers for the incoming broadband universal service obligation

• December 06, 2018 06 Dec'18

  China demands release of arrested Huawei CFO

  The Chinese government has called for the release of Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou, who was detained in Canada at the weekend

• December 06, 2018 06 Dec'18

  Software failure paralyses O2’s 4G network

  O2 is racing to fix a major outage on its 4G network that has left millions of mobile subscribers without access to data services

• December 04, 2018 04 Dec'18

  As commercial 5G nears, small cells generate interest

  Interest in small cells as an element of commercial 5G mobile networks is growing, particularly in countries with supportive regulatory environments. Meanwhile, a UK trial of wholesale small cell infrastructure has kicked off in London

• November 27, 2018 27 Nov'18

  Billions missing out on digital society as internet use soars

  As global internet usage continues to soar, billions of people around the world are missing out on the potential benefits of getting online, according to Cisco

• November 27, 2018 27 Nov'18

  Openreach extends Gfast roll-out to a million more homes

  Copper-based ultrafast broadband roll-out continues at pace

• November 19, 2018 19 Nov'18

  Top IT predictions in APAC in 2019

  Edge computing, data management and microservices will play a bigger role in the Asia-Pacific region in 2019 as enterprises reshape their technology architectures to become ‘digitally determined’ organisations

• November 16, 2018 16 Nov'18

  EE and Virgin Media fined for breaking consumer protection rules

  Ofcom has imposed fines totalling £13.3m on EE and Virgin Media, saying both providers levied excessive charges on customers who ended their contracts early

• November 13, 2018 13 Nov'18

  Broadband voucher scheme to end early thanks to high demand

  The government has urged small business owners to consider signing up for its ultrafast broadband connection voucher scheme before the available funding runs out

• November 13, 2018 13 Nov'18

  5G will unleash digital transformation for UK enterprises

  Mobile operator EE is working hand-in-hand with its largest enterprise customers to realise the potential of its future 5G mobile network

• November 08, 2018 08 Nov'18

  Plymouth’s Derriford Hospital has capacity to spare after HSCN upgrade

  University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust is unleashing the potential of digital for health after fixing up its internet connectivity with an upgrade to the new Health and Social Care Network

• November 07, 2018 07 Nov'18

  Openreach increasing use of drones to help build fibre networks

  Openreach plans to make greater use of drones to help it bring broadband to remote rural properties it could not previously touch

• November 07, 2018 07 Nov'18

  5G mobile masts bring installation challenges, EE finds

  EE has switched on a fixed wireless access network in central London to test elements of its future 5G mobile service, but faced some challenges setting it up

• November 07, 2018 07 Nov'18

  Investment fund buys into broadband supplier Hyperoptic

  Mubadala Investment Company, the VC arm of the government of Abu Dhabi, is to acquire a minority stake in full-fibre broadband supplier Hyperoptic as the firm brings forward its roll-out

• November 07, 2018 07 Nov'18

  Lloyds Banking Group shaking up its workforce to reflect digital times

  Lloyds Banking Group is revamping the roles of thousands of staff as it becomes digital

• November 06, 2018 06 Nov'18

  Smart Dubai platform is the backbone of the city's transformation

  Aisha bin Bishr, director general at Smart Dubai Office, talks about the Smart Data platform and soon-to-be-unveiled UAE Pass, a digital ID and signature which is being touted as one of the foundations a city needs to transform

• November 06, 2018 06 Nov'18

  GSMA urges fresh action on 5G mobile spectrum

  Mobile industry body says time is running out to ready enough radio frequency spectrum in the appropriate bands to account for the demands of 5G mobile networks

• November 05, 2018 05 Nov'18

  Openreach launches Fibre First programme in Belfast and Nottingham

  Openreach has named Belfast and Nottingham as the latest cities to benefit from a full-fibre broadband roll-out

• November 05, 2018 05 Nov'18

  TalkTalk makes ‘fair broadband’ promises

  TalkTalk has launched its own Fairer Broadband Charter as research reveals widespread dissatisfaction with some common industry practices

• November 02, 2018 02 Nov'18

  Ofcom has another go at liberalising duct and pole access

  Telecoms regulator is making a new attempt to establish better access to BT’s duct and pole infrastructure for communication services providers

• November 02, 2018 02 Nov'18

  BT makes progress with Global Services restructuring

  Telco sets out plan to get its troubled Global Services business unit fighting fit

• November 01, 2018 01 Nov'18

  Three introduces 4G+ at 2,700 sites

  Mobile operator Three hopes to boost average mobile data speeds by up to 33% through carrier aggregation

• October 31, 2018 31 Oct'18

  Hyperoptic full-fibre network hits public housing milestone

  More than 150,000 publicly owned homes have now been connected to Hyperoptic’s ultrafast fibre broadband network

• October 31, 2018 31 Oct'18

  Ofcom releases BT from 2005 Openreach undertakings

  Following the legal split of the two organisations, telecoms regulator Ofcom has formally ‘released’ BT from the 2005 undertakings set up to manage the Openreach infrastructure business

• October 30, 2018 30 Oct'18

  Budget 2018: No great leap forward for broadband, but no need to panic

  The chancellor set aside £1.6bn for digital technology in the Budget, but broadband services did not draw much attention. Is this a surprise, or a reflection of growing commercial investment in full-fibre, and what should the role of government be?

• October 30, 2018 30 Oct'18

  Hammond’s digital services tax is a big risk, say experts

  The tech industry is not impressed with the chancellor’s plan to tax web giants, saying it can stifle innovation, while tax lawyers warn that it is a very risky move that could lead to US retaliation

• October 30, 2018 30 Oct'18

  Government consults on full-fibre for tenants, new-build homes

  Proposed legislation would compel landlords and property developers to offer full-fibre broadband to tenants and customers

• October 29, 2018 29 Oct'18

  O2 extends rural 4G network to 339 communities

  O2 has extended its rural network roll-out, targeting over 300 small communities all over the UK

• October 26, 2018 26 Oct'18

  NGA secures £22m for Bristol-Newport fibre link

  Ultrafast wholesale network builder Nextgenaccess has been awarded funding from the National Digital Infrastructure Fund to improve connectivity in South Wales

• October 26, 2018 26 Oct'18

  Openreach slashes cost of full-fibre to new-build homes

  Property developers will receive a 75% discount on the cost of full-fibre installation

• October 25, 2018 25 Oct'18

  Vodafone claims UK 5G first

  Mobile network operator Vodafone claims the activation of a trial site in Manchester marks the first time mobile data traffic has been streamed to and from the internet exclusively over 5G technology

• October 25, 2018 25 Oct'18

  Nordic banks target SME customers with fintech services

  Traditional Nordic banks are slimming down workforces as they turn increasingly to technology-based service delivery, and some are linking up with small fintech companies to deliver online products.

• October 24, 2018 24 Oct'18

  CityFibre backers pump £2.5bn into full-fibre broadband

  Network expansion will add 27 towns and cities to CityFibre’s current roll-out to 10 locations in support of a consumer full-fibre service delivered by Vodafone

• October 24, 2018 24 Oct'18

  SMEs use fintech in fight against online giants, but fears remain

  Online SMEs are turning to financial technology to help them make payment processes easy for customers as they try to compete with online giants

• October 19, 2018 19 Oct'18

  Russians using less cash after accelerated use of electronic payments

  Russians are increasingly using electronic payments rather than cash, a recent study by Sberbank has found

• October 19, 2018 19 Oct'18

  Competition, not consumer demand, is driving full-fibre roll-out

  Market competition among telecoms operators, not consumer demand, appears to be driving the trend towards ultrafast full-fibre broadband roll-out in Europe

• October 16, 2018 16 Oct'18

  Commuter trains may need over 3Gbps of mobile data capacity by 2025

  Ofcom has set out its vision of what will need to be done to meet the government’s goals around data connectivity on the UK’s rail network

• October 16, 2018 16 Oct'18

  UK faces 10 cyber attacks a week as hostile states step up hacking, says NCSC

  The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre has thwarted more than 1,600 attacks over the past two years – many by hostile nation states

• October 09, 2018 09 Oct'18

  Access to full-fibre broadband continues to expand under Vodafone-CityFibre partnership

  Customers in three more towns and cities will soon be able to access ultrafast fibre-to-the-premises broadband service

• October 05, 2018 05 Oct'18

  EE switches on 5G test network at Canary Wharf

  MNO explores high-capacity zone testing for its 5G network roll-out, with the first phase expected to target hotspots such as London’s Canary Wharf

• October 02, 2018 02 Oct'18

  Openreach extends full-fibre broadband roll-out to Coventry

  Openreach is forging ahead with its Fibre First full-fibre broadband programme and has started to roll out ultrafast services in Coventry

• October 02, 2018 02 Oct'18

  Full-fibre broadband penetration reaches 5%

  The number of UK properties able to access a full-fibre broadband connection has hit a small but significant milestone, according to Ofcom

• September 30, 2018 30 Sep'18

  Openreach completes largest Tupe transfer in history

  More than 30,000 BT employees have transferred across to the quasi-independent Openreach, completing what is thought to be the largest one-off Tupe transfer in history

• September 28, 2018 28 Sep'18

  Brighton’s 5G experiment enters new test phase with focus on virtual reality

  The latest phase of the Digital Catapult’s 5G mobile network testbed in Brighton has begun, with digital businesses from across Sussex taking part in trials of augmented, mixed and virtual reality technology

• September 28, 2018 28 Sep'18

  Finland’s e-retail sector driven by international growth

  Finland has a fast-growing e-retail industry as a positive consequence of the huge job cuts at Nokia

• September 26, 2018 26 Sep'18

  Rural business bodies seal new broadband agreement

  The Country Land and Business Association and the National Farmers’ Union have reached an agreement with Openreach to put new wayleave arrangements in place for broadband network builds

• September 25, 2018 25 Sep'18

  MI5 admits to ‘unlawful’ spying on Privacy International

  The UK's intelligence agencies acted unlawfully by intercepting communications data on NGO, Privacy International, the UK's most secret court ruled.