News

Internet infrastructure

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
April 30, 2019 30 Apr'19
Every NHS body to get full-fibre broadband, says health secretary

Matt Hancock announces plans to give every NHS organisation and community care service access to full-fibre broadband services
April 29, 2019 29 Apr'19
Ofcom must rethink rural broadband USO, says Lords report

There are still serious concerns about whether or not the 10Mbps broadband USO is fit for purpose, and Ofcom needs to take account of them, according to The House of Lords Select Committee for the Rural Economy
April 26, 2019 26 Apr'19
British 5G developers to test their mettle in South Korea

DCMS launches £2.4m project to support the development of 5G applications for public transport alongside its South Korean counterpart
April 26, 2019 26 Apr'19
Huawei leak inquiry launched

Cabinet secretary Mark Sedwill has instituted an inquiry aimed at discovering who leaked confidential discussions about UK mobile operators’ use of Huawei in their future 5G networks to the press
April 25, 2019 25 Apr'19
Public becoming more aware of privacy abuses and unethical tech

Widespread abuses of privacy, biometric information and artificial intelligence mean the internet is in poor health, but growing popular awareness of its problems gives some cause for hope, says the Mozilla Foundation
April 24, 2019 24 Apr'19
How technology is shaping Malaysia’s economy

Malaysia has one of the most digitally connected societies in the world, but more work is needed to bridge the digital divide
April 23, 2019 23 Apr'19
Apple spends upwards of $30m a month on AWS during first quarter of 2019, report claims

According to US media reports, Apple is spending upwards of $30m a month on procuring cloud services from Amazon Web Services
April 17, 2019 17 Apr'19
Autonomous vehicle tech is too costly and unreliable for production

Level 5, fully autonomous vehicles are a decade away. By then, the tech will be so expensive, that it will only be available on high-end vehicles
April 17, 2019 17 Apr'19
Construction halted at Apple datacentre in Denmark over alleged contractor dispute, report suggests

A local media report suggests construction of Apple's first non-US datacentre has halted in Denmark over a dispute over missed deadlines by the contractor tasked with delivering the build
April 17, 2019 17 Apr'19
TfL suspends Wi-Fi service as Extinction Rebellion spreads

Transport for London has cut off its public Virgin Media Wi-Fi service to disrupt climate change protests
April 16, 2019 16 Apr'19
Vodafone upgrades old phone boxes to support surfers

MNO is giving old phone boxes in Cornwall a new lease of life with a 4G upgrade
April 16, 2019 16 Apr'19
Huawei cyber security chief John Suffolk: It’s not our culture to be aggressive

John Suffolk, global cyber security and privacy officer at China-based telecoms equipment supplier Huawei, tells Huawei Analyst Summit growth is the best answer to US criticism
April 15, 2019 15 Apr'19
Facebook takes extraordinary legal steps to contain document leak

Facebook targets journalists and news organisations for computer searches
April 15, 2019 15 Apr'19
CityFibre loses court battle over ‘fake fibre’

CityFibre has been knocked back by the courts in its dispute with the ASA over the use of the word ‘fibre’ in broadband ads
April 15, 2019 15 Apr'19
Broadband upgrade improves response times for cave rescue team

The South and Mid Wales Cave Rescue Team has switched on a new ultrafast broadband connection to help its members react more quickly in life-threatening emergencies
April 12, 2019 12 Apr'19
ASEAN datacentre providers must up their game

Digital transformation trends are changing the ASEAN datacentre landscape and those that wish to succeed must transform themselves, says Frost & Sullivan
April 08, 2019 08 Apr'19
Openreach extends full-fibre build across Northern Ireland

Openreach has added 10 more towns and cities to its Fibre First programme in Northern Ireland, as it hits a new milestone in terms of homes passed
April 03, 2019 03 Apr'19
Business ISP Giganet plugs into Openreach’s Salisbury network

Local business ISP Giganet has started to roll out its own full-fibre broadband services in Salisbury, using Openreach’s new-build network
April 02, 2019 02 Apr'19
Huawei reports record numbers despite tumultuous year

Huawei has become one of the world’s largest technology companies by revenue, suggesting the accusations over its ties to the Chinese government are failing to have much impact
April 01, 2019 01 Apr'19
CLA calls for government intervention on rural 4G coverage

Country Land and Business Association urges government to consider broadband-style interventions to improve 4G mobile network coverage in rural areas
April 01, 2019 01 Apr'19
Broadband compensation rules come into force

Regulations that guarantee consumers’ rights to automatic compensation from broadband providers when things go wrong have come into force, and many suppliers have a lot of work to do
March 28, 2019 28 Mar'19
Swan lands in Scottish Highlands

Capita’s Scottish public sector network, also known as Swan, is to be extended to 150 sites in the Highland towns of Fort William, Inverness, Thurso and Wick
March 28, 2019 28 Mar'19
Huawei making no progress on addressing security concerns

Huawei has made no material progress on addressing the issues identified last year by the NCSC, according to the latest highly critical report from its HSCEC Oversight Board
March 27, 2019 27 Mar'19
Oslo car-free plan builds on micro-mobility trend

Norway’s capital steers away from reliance on cars as political agenda is aided by technological innovation to realise social goals
March 26, 2019 26 Mar'19
Web inventor wants a web built on solid data principles

Tim Berners-Lee has urged app developers to be courteous to users’ data privacy, saying users should own their own data and apps need to interoperate
March 26, 2019 26 Mar'19
Europe passes controversial Copyright Directive

The European Parliament has passed a new Copyright Directive, including a number of highly controversial articles
March 26, 2019 26 Mar'19
Nominet urges SMEs to register .uk domains to thwart squatters

The automatic right of .co.uk domain name holders to register the shorter .uk domains ends in June
March 25, 2019 25 Mar'19
Full-fibre broadband startup toob gets £75m funding round

Broadband startup toob has received a £75m funding injection to begin a full-fibre roll-out
March 25, 2019 25 Mar'19
UK’s largest broadband suppliers failing on customer service

Consumers say they’re unimpressed with BT, Sky, TalkTalk and Virgin Media, and fast-growing Vodafone has seen its customer satisfaction levels slump
March 22, 2019 22 Mar'19
UK government at odds over Huawei threat

The chair of the Science and Technology Committee has criticised the government’s vague response to concerns about Huawei’s activities in the UK
March 21, 2019 21 Mar'19
Towards a full-fibre Britain: the view from inside Openreach

Openreach chairman Mike McTighe discusses progress on the national full-fibre broadband roll-out, the impact of Brexit, how to better engage with the CSP community, and why dark fibre isn’t the cure-all they might want it to be
March 21, 2019 21 Mar'19
Openreach calls on CSPs to help formulate full-fibre strategy

Openreach has opened a six-week consultation seeking views from the industry on how best to upgrade consumers to full-fibre broadband
March 20, 2019 20 Mar'19
Network Homes signs Hyperoptic broadband deal

Expansion of Hyperoptic’s ultrafast network targets 20,000 properties in London and the south east
March 20, 2019 20 Mar'19
Bournemouth and Northampton next in line for CityFibre broadband upgrade

A £75m investment will see thousands of residential properties hooked up to full-fibre broadband services
March 19, 2019 19 Mar'19
Salisbury to get ‘universal’ full-fibre broadband

Every residential and business property in Salisbury will be able to access full-fibre broadband in 12 months, claims Openreach
March 13, 2019 13 Mar'19
Shetlands get broadband upgrade to support local NHS services

Shetland Islands Council is to receive £1.91m of funding to expand full-fibre broadband expansion to NHS sites on remote islands through the government’s Local Full-Fibre Networks initiative
March 12, 2019 12 Mar'19
Openreach exploring options for copper network shutdown

Openreach has begun to assess how and when it might be able to shut down its copper broadband network
March 12, 2019 12 Mar'19
The web turns 30: from proposal to pervasion

The web is celebrating its 30th anniversary, but can it remain true to its founder’s vision?
March 08, 2019 08 Mar'19
House of Lords committee calls for creation of a digital authority to oversee regulation

The proposed regulatory framework would coordinate regulators, assess rules and make recommendations to respond to developments in digital services
March 04, 2019 04 Mar'19
Australia ramps up on 5G – telcos and banks among the first to benefit

Australia has been touted as a leader in 5G, although the promises of the technology supporting the use of autonomous vehicles will not be realised for now
March 04, 2019 04 Mar'19
UK among most expensive countries for mobile data

The UK ranks 136th in the world for the average cost of 1GB of mobile data, according to new statistics
March 04, 2019 04 Mar'19
Fresh data analytics tool slashes Openreach’s Ethernet delivery times

Openreach discusses its work with analytics partner Qlik, which is giving its teams new insights into Ethernet and enterprise fibre network service delivery data, and says it has seen significant service improvements in doing so
March 01, 2019 01 Mar'19
New broadband speed regulations come into force

Internet service providers must now tell consumers how fast their broadband service will be before they sign a contract, under new Ofcom rules
February 27, 2019 27 Feb'19
Icann calls for community collaboration to protect the internet

The domain name system watchdog Icann has reaffirmed its commitment to engage in collaborative efforts to ensure the security, stability and resiliency of the internet’s global identifier systems
February 25, 2019 25 Feb'19
Australia, Singapore say hello to 5G

Singtel and its Australian subsidiary Optus have made one of the first 5G video calls in the Asia-Pacific region
February 22, 2019 22 Feb'19
Facebook planned to spy on Android phone users, internal emails reveal

Facebook planned to use its Android app to track the location of its customers and to allow advertisers to send political advertising and invites to dating sites to ‘single’ people, confidential documents show
February 22, 2019 22 Feb'19
Government not doing enough to address mobile not-spots

The National Infrastructure Commission has criticised the government for a lack of progress in addressing mobile network not-spots, particularly along key road and rail links
February 21, 2019 21 Feb'19
MWC 2019: O2 to launch 5G by Christmas

Ahead of Mobile World Congress, operator O2 has revealed further details of how it is planning for the advent of 5G
February 20, 2019 20 Feb'19
MWC 2019: Huawei claims massive lead on 5G readiness

At a pre-Mobile World Congress event in London, Huawei’s Ryan Ding shared details of the firm’s rapidly expanding 5G mobile portfolio, and laid into his competitors
February 20, 2019 20 Feb'19
UK naïve to think China won’t try to exploit Huawei

A think-tank report has branded the UK government naïve at best, irresponsible at worst, over its use of Chinese networking equipment in critical national infrastructure
February 19, 2019 19 Feb'19
Activist Lauri Love’s computer ‘contained hacked data’, says judge

Lauri Love, who has been accused of hacking into US government computer systems, has lost a legal action against the NCA for the return of his computers and storage device
February 18, 2019 18 Feb'19
DCMS Select Committee claims Facebook ‘deliberately frustrated’ fake news inquiry

Facebook’s UK public policy manager defends its participation in MPs' inquiry into the spread of fake news and disinformation online, which concludes by declaring an end to self-regulation by social media firms
February 18, 2019 18 Feb'19
NCSC signals UK may take softer line on Huawei

The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre suggests Huawei will be allowed to form core elements of the country’s 5G mobile network infrastructure after all
February 14, 2019 14 Feb'19
Central Saint Martins hosts Three’s 5G trial for London Fashion Week

Three’s trial 5G network will enable the world’s first augmented reality fashion show at Central Saint Martins, while consumers can test out a prototype network at its flagship store
February 14, 2019 14 Feb'19
Satellite broadband secures Cornish observatory a brighter future

The Tolcarn Observatory near St Austell in Cornwall is putting its money where its mouth is and using satellite broadband to enhance its research work and educational outreach
February 11, 2019 11 Feb'19
Lauri Love takes legal action against NCA for return of seized computers

Lauri Love, a former engineering student who won a battle with the US Department of Justice against extradition to the US to face hacking charges, is suing the UK's intelligence agency, the NCA, for the return of his seized computers