News

Network hardware

• September 28, 2011 28 Sep'11

  Amazon launches Kindle Fire tablet but experts doubt its use as a business device

  Amazon has confirmed its much-anticipated entry into the tablet market with the US launch of its Kindle Fire device - but analysts doubt it will appeal to corporate IT buyers.

• September 28, 2011 28 Sep'11

  Microsoft starts roll-out of Mango update for Windows Phone 7

  Microsoft has started rolling out the next major version of its Windows Phone 7 operating system, codenamed Mango.

• September 28, 2011 28 Sep'11

  Government deploys Wi-Fi for Olympics as mobile networks face capacity crunch

  The government is planning to deploy free Wi-Fi around London during the Olympic Games in 2012 amid fears that mobile phone networks could run out of capacity.

• September 27, 2011 27 Sep'11

  Regulator tightens rules on rogue mobile app charges

  Developers could face stricter rules over mobile application charges following changes to the way premium rate services are regulated.

• September 26, 2011 26 Sep'11

  UK ranked fourth globally for fixed broadband speeds

  The UK has been ranked fourth globally for fixed line broadband internet access speeds, out of a list of 38 countries.

• September 22, 2011 22 Sep'11

  BASF extends BT network contract

  Chemical group BASF has signed a €200m deal with BT for networking 900 BASF sites in more than 80 countries. The contract includes the provision of IP telephony and local network services (managed LAN services) at 300 sites in North and South ...

• September 20, 2011 20 Sep'11

  Google rolls out Mobile Wallet across Sprint Nexus S 4G phones

  Google is rolling out its Google Wallet across all Android-operated Sprint Nexus S 4G phones to allow consumers to pay using their handsets.

• September 20, 2011 20 Sep'11

  How to justify the business case for virtual desktop infrastructure licensing

  Virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) technology can cut energy bills, increase business agility and improve mobile working flexibility. But licensing cost and complexity can wipe off the financial savings of VDI deployment. Jenny Williams explores ...

• September 15, 2011 15 Sep'11

  Jeremy Hunt warns UK could fall behind other countries in superfast broadband roll-out

  Jeremy Hunt, culture secretary, has warned that the UK could fall behind other countries in delivering superfast broadband. Hunt also criticised BT over its provision of broadband access, in a speech to the Royal Television Society.

• September 15, 2011 15 Sep'11

  Cashless future: VocaLink demos mobile payment gateway

  Payment processing company Vocalink will be showing the future of cash next week at the Sibos financial conference in Toronto.

• September 14, 2011 14 Sep'11

  Firms need to collaborate for mobile wallets to become the norm

  Consumers, retailers, advertisers and banks must work more closely together if mobile phones are to replace wallets in an era of mobile commerce.

• September 14, 2011 14 Sep'11

  Cisco halves sales forecast as CEO John Chambers eyes Huawei market share

  Following Cisco Systems' warning it is to halve its sales forecast as it struggles with reduced demand and increased competition, CEO John Chambers said he intends to battle with Chinese network provider Huawei.

• September 13, 2011 13 Sep'11

  Openreach expands fibre to 114 more exchanges

  BT Openreach has unveiled 114 exchanges that will be upgraded to deliver fibre broadband as part of its plan to deliver fibre to two-thirds of the UK by the end of 2015.

• September 08, 2011 08 Sep'11

  University challenge: using IT to improve services and reduce costs

  Universities face a balancing act as they become increasingly expected to improve the experiences of more demanding students while making budgets go further, and IT is a critical tool in finding this balance.

• September 08, 2011 08 Sep'11

  Doctors use HD video conferencing in rapid remote treatment for stroke patients

  Lancashire and Cumbria hospitals are to enable doctors to assess stroke victims who need rapid treatment using high-definition video conferencing.

• September 06, 2011 06 Sep'11

  Ofcom to further delay auction of 4G spectrum

  Regulatory body Ofcom is to delay the auction of its 4G spectrum due to a number of technical and competition issues around the sale.

• September 06, 2011 06 Sep'11

  Betfair increases mobile sales by 78%

  Gambling firm Betfair has increased mobile sales by 78% to reach £4.2m in its first quarter of the 2012 financial year.

• September 05, 2011 05 Sep'11

  Everything Everywhere and Three boost mobile broadband with £100m Virgin deal

  Customers of Everything Everywhere and Three will be given access to high-speed mobile broadband with Virgin Media Business. Virgin Media Business will build 14 regional aggregation networks across the UK for MBNL to support 3G functionality, from ...

• September 01, 2011 01 Sep'11

  Ofcom gives green light to use TV spectrum for rural broadband

  Telecommunications regulator Ofcom has given the go-ahead for internet providers to use unused TV spectrum to deliver broadband to rural areas.

• September 01, 2011 01 Sep'11

  Apple's future without Steve Jobs

  Steve Jobs' decision to stand down as chief executive last month, while not a surprise, created a storm. Jobs and Apple are so intricately intertwined that it is difficult to imagine the future of Apple without him at the helm.

• August 31, 2011 31 Aug'11

  World's thinnest material offers huge advances in high-speed internet

  Graphene, the thinnest material in the world, has the potential to bring about huge advances in high-speed internet and other optical communications, according to scientific research.

• August 30, 2011 30 Aug'11

  Government smart metering takes major step forward

  The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has called on IT suppliers to build the data and communications infrastructure that will enable data to be sent between smart meters in homes and businesses and the yet to be established Central ...

• August 30, 2011 30 Aug'11

  Three to give away mobile broadband to rural communities

  Mobile operator Three is giving free 3G broadband to rural communities in the UK that are currently unable to access fixed line broadband.

• August 30, 2011 30 Aug'11

  VMworld: Brocade offers subscription-based pricing on network ports

  Brocade is offering a global subscription model for its enterprise networking hardware, allowing businesses to upgrade network ports on demand.

• August 24, 2011 24 Aug'11

  Durham University upgrades communications infrastructure and adopts IP telephony

  Durham University is to upgrade its communications infrastructure after signing a deal with Siemens Enterprise Communications (SEC) which will see the university adopt IP telephony.

• August 24, 2011 24 Aug'11

  Nokia launches three smartphones running Symbian Belle operating system

  Nokia has unveiled three smartphone devices running its new operating system, Symbian Belle.

• August 23, 2011 23 Aug'11

  Surrey Police delivers open data app for iPhone users

  Surrey Police has introduced a free iPhone app, built using the Appcelerator Titanium development tool, which delivers local crime and policing information.

• August 23, 2011 23 Aug'11

  Case study: Land Securities enables access to corporate data via employee-owned mobiles

  Retail estate investment firm Land Securities has deployed software to provide employees with access to its corporate network and applications via personal mobile devices.

• August 22, 2011 22 Aug'11

  Alcatel-Lucent offers low-cost finance for converged network asset management

  Alcatel-Lucent Financial Services is offering businesses a finance deal to encourage them to upgrade their converged network systems.

• August 22, 2011 22 Aug'11

  Kent and Sussex lead UK’s worst broadband blackspot top 20, say researchers

  Over half of Britain's top 20 broadband blackspots are in the south of England, according to research from Uswitch.com. Kent and Sussex have three towns each on the list.

• August 19, 2011 19 Aug'11

  Analysis - HP to get out of personal computing

  HP's decision to get get out of the PC game might make CIOs nervous. Here's our take on why there's not much to worry about.

• August 19, 2011 19 Aug'11

  Twitter, Facebook and Blackberry called to Home Office to discuss role in riots

  Twitter, Facebook and Blackberry have been called to the Home Office next week to discuss the role of social media in the recent riots.

• August 18, 2011 18 Aug'11

  East London NHS Trust signs superfast broadband deal with Virgin Media

  East London NHS Foundation Trust has signed a five-year superfast broadband deal with Virgin Media to enable it use more online technologies in the future.

• August 17, 2011 17 Aug'11

  HTC turns up the heat in the smartphone patent wars with a new lawsuit against Apple

  Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC has filed a fresh lawsuit against Apple in the US, deepening the legal wrangle between the two companies.

• August 17, 2011 17 Aug'11

  Will £530m be enough to deliver UK-wide superfast broadband?

  Will the government's latest investment be enough to deliver next-generation broadband speeds in homes and businesses across the UK? We ask the experts.

• August 16, 2011 16 Aug'11

  GCHQ to help police catch rioters who used social networks to coordinate violence

  The Government Communications Headquarters and MI5 are working with police to hunt rioters by trawling social networks.

• August 16, 2011 16 Aug'11

  Information Commissioner calls for more privacy improvements at Google

  The Information Commissioner's Office says an audit at Google's London office shows the company has taken reasonable steps to improve its privacy policies, but could do more.

• August 16, 2011 16 Aug'11

  Government announces £363m investment in broadband

  The government has announced £363m in investment to improve broadband speeds in homes and businesses in England and Scotland.

• August 15, 2011 15 Aug'11

  Government allocates £4.4m to improve Northern Ireland broadband capacity

  Northern Ireland is to receive £4.4m from the government to improve broadband connectivity. The news comes as culture secretary Jeremy Hunt is expected to announce the allocation of the remaining £530m fund for improving broadband in rural ...

• August 15, 2011 15 Aug'11

  Telcos offer cloud alternative

  Telecommunications companies are providing businesses with a credible alternative to established IT suppliers, according to analyst firm Ovum.

• August 12, 2011 12 Aug'11

  Medical specialist BPL virtualises IT

  Medical research and blood product supplier Bio Products Laboratory (BPL) has outsourced a project to virtualise its server and storage infrastructure to help it cut costs and energy consumption while actually providing more computing resources.

• August 11, 2011 11 Aug'11

  Worldwide smartphone sales grow 74% in second quarter of 2011, says Gartner

  Global smartphone shipments have increased 74% year-on-year with Google's Android operating system (OS) accounting for almost half of the mobile OS market, according to research firm Gartner.

• August 11, 2011 11 Aug'11

  Cisco shares up 13% on better-than-expected financial results

  Cisco Systems has reported fourth fiscal quarter sales of $11.2bn, net income of $2.2bn, and earnings per share of 40 cents, beating estimates and driving the share price up 13% in after-hours trading.

• August 10, 2011 10 Aug'11

  BT infrastructure forces Virgin Media to pull Westminster broadband and TV services

  Virgin Media has pulled its broadband services to homes in Westminster because the BT infrastructure it uses means it cannot upgrade services. Virgin's broadband and analogue TV services will stop from January 2012.

• August 09, 2011 09 Aug'11

  Blackberry to co-operate with police after youths used BBM to organise riots

  Research in Motion has said that it will co-operate with the police after it was revealed that London rioters used Blackberry Messenger rather than Twitter to organise looting sprees across the capital, with violence later spreading to Birmingham, ...

• August 08, 2011 08 Aug'11

  Lightning takes down Amazon and Microsoft cloud services

  Amazon and Microsoft European cloud services were down at the weekend after a lightning strike caused power failures at their datacentres in Dublin.

• August 04, 2011 04 Aug'11

  Google gears up to challenge Skype by going global with VoIP service

  Google is expanding its Google Talk phone call service beyond the US to more than 150 locations around the world in 38 languages in an apparent bid to go head-to-head with Microsoft's Skype service.

• August 04, 2011 04 Aug'11

  Mobile data traffic increased 40-fold in three years, says Ofcom report

  With over a quarter (27%) of adults and almost half (47%) of teenagers owning a smartphone, the use of mobile data services has accelerated, Ofcom has said in a report.

• August 04, 2011 04 Aug'11

  CIO interview: Peter Ransom, chief information officer, Oxfam

  Oxfam works in 98 countries and as one of the world's leading development charities, demands for a better IT service are on the rise.

• August 03, 2011 03 Aug'11

  eBay boosts virtual servers with 100 terabytes of flash memory

  Online auction site eBay has deployed more than 100 terabytes of flash memory to power its VMware virtual server infrastructure. The S-class flash storage from solid state disk provider Nimbus is believed to be among the world's largest consolidated...

• August 03, 2011 03 Aug'11

  Virgin Media plans free Wi-Fi roll-out in London

  Cable telecoms supplier Virgin Media is taking a "punt" on rolling out free Wi-Fi access across parts of London.

• August 03, 2011 03 Aug'11

  Sunderland City Council signs multimillion-pound 10-year network deal with BT

  BT will deliver a corporate network connecting 188 sites.

• August 02, 2011 02 Aug'11

  Amazon closes Android appstore submissions in Germany after Apple lawsuit

  Amazon has closed submissions for its Android app store in Germany following a lawsuit from Apple.

• August 01, 2011 01 Aug'11

  CIO interview: Michael Foster, European vice-president of IT, FedEx Express

  What role should IT play in business? This is the question Michael Foster, vice-president of IT at Fedex Europe, tackles at the global courier. Cliff Saran reports.

• July 29, 2011 29 Jul'11

  BSkyB wins 174,000 new broadband subscribers

  BSkyB has reported a surge in its broadband business in yearly results, taking its subscriber base to 711,000.

• July 29, 2011 29 Jul'11

  Apple and Samsung overtake Nokia as worldwide smartphone shipments grow 76%

  Nokia's woes continue as Apple and Samsung overtake the Finnish giant to become the largest global smartphone manufacturers, according to analyst figures.

• July 28, 2011 28 Jul'11

  RIM updates Blackberry Messenger to provide third-party app integration

  Blackberry maker Research in Motion (RIM) has made Blackberry Messenger (BBM) available to developers to embed within third-party apps in its update to version 6.

• July 28, 2011 28 Jul'11

  BT reports 38% profit rise as broadband customer base grows

  BT's pre-tax profit rose 38% from £375m to £517m in its fiscal first quarter as 251,000 new customers were introduced to its broadband network.

• July 28, 2011 28 Jul'11

  KLM deploys RightNow natural language search for mobile website

  KLM Royal Dutch Airlines has rolled out software-as-a-service provider RightNow's CX Intent Guide on its mobile website.

• July 27, 2011 27 Jul'11

  Virgin Media sees small drop in business sales, and loses 18,000 broadband users

  Cable telecoms supplier Virgin Media has reported a small drop in business revenue for its second quarter, while the firm also revealed it has lost 18,000 broadband users...

• July 27, 2011 27 Jul'11

  BT rolls out higher-speed broadband to additional 2.5 million premises

  BT is to extend access to higher-speed 20Mbps copper-based broadband to an additional 2.5 million premises by spring 2013...

• July 27, 2011 27 Jul'11

  Broadband ads still misleading on speed, says Ofcom

  Broadband advertising is still misleading on the actual speeds being delivered by ISPs, according to telecoms regulator Ofcom...

• July 27, 2011 27 Jul'11

  Everything Everywhere reports sales and customer decline

  The Orange and T-Mobile owner has reported a decline in customers and sales in its latest financial results...

• July 27, 2011 27 Jul'11

  Microsoft ships Windows Phone Mango and prepares handset updates

  Microsoft is preparing to release the "Mango" update to its Windows Phone operating system (OS) in October 2011 after releasing the latest version to mobile manufacturers...

• July 27, 2011 27 Jul'11

  Ofcom urged to widen 4G mobile coverage in next year's spectrum auction

  Ofcom has been urged to increase 4G mobile coverage in next year's radio spectrum auction. Industry watchdog the Communications Consumer Panel...

• July 26, 2011 26 Jul'11

  UK fails to make world’s top 10 high-speed broadband countries - but Ireland scrapes in

  The UK has failed to make it into the top 10 countries with the highest average broadband speed, but neighbouring Ireland scrapes in...

• July 26, 2011 26 Jul'11

  Mozilla plans mobile operating system for phones and tablets

  Mozilla plans to create a new mobile operating system, aiming to use web technologies to deliver all applications and functions on phones and tablets...

• July 25, 2011 25 Jul'11

  Virgin Media trials 1.5Gbps broadband at London's Silicon Roundabout

  Virgin Media has rolled out broadband speeds of up to 1.5Gbps as part of a trial for businesses in the "Silicon Roundabout" area of London...

• July 25, 2011 25 Jul'11

  Blackberry-maker RIM axes 2,000 jobs to cut costs

  Research in Motion (RIM) has announced plans to reduce its global workforce by 2,000 people as part of a cost-cutting exercise - putting over 10% of its staff at risk...

• July 22, 2011 22 Jul'11

  Vodafone increases UK enterprise sales, driven by greater data traffic

  Vodafone's latest results reflect increased use of smartphones and data consumption within the workplace.

• July 22, 2011 22 Jul'11

  TalkTalk scores lowest in Ofcom broadband satisfaction survey as Orange turns tables

  Broadband connection speeds remain the biggest issue for UK broadband customers, according to the latest customer service satisfaction survey by telecoms regulator Ofcom.

• July 21, 2011 21 Jul'11

  Cass Business School centralises IT infrastructure to save £500,000

  City University London's Cass Business School is moving its IT services and infrastructure to the university's centralised...

• July 20, 2011 20 Jul'11

  Eurostar outsources to build an IT infrastructure of its own

  Rail firm Eurostar has outsourced its IT to enable it to build its own IT infrastructure in preparation for the rise in demand expected when London hosts the Olympics next year.

• July 20, 2011 20 Jul'11

  Ofcom forces BT to cut rural ISP charges

  Ofcom has forced BT to reduce the prices it charges internet service providers (ISPs) in rural areas, in a move expected to benefit three million homes and businesses with cheaper broadband access.

• July 19, 2011 19 Jul'11

  Carphone Warehouse uses business process management to increase customer satisfaction

  Retailer Carphone Warehouse is claiming a 25% jump in its customer satisfaction ratings after investing in BPM software to help staff deal with sales, queries and complaints.

• July 19, 2011 19 Jul'11

  NPIA rolls out mobile fingerprint technology to the police service

  The soon-to-be-axed National Police Improvement Agency has rolled out mobile fingerprinting devices enabling police officers to check an individual's identity on the beat.

• July 19, 2011 19 Jul'11

  Everything Everywhere boss Tom Alexander steps down for 'personal reasons'

  Tom Alexander will step down as CEO at joint Orange and T-Mobile firm Everything Everywhere at the end of August 2011 for personal reasons.

• July 14, 2011 14 Jul'11

  CEOs propose internet reforms to meet EC speed targets, but threaten net neutrality

  European broadband speed targets will be missed unless authorities introduce cost-saving measures and allow revenue-generating business models, according to a report from three communications company CEOs.

• July 14, 2011 14 Jul'11

  Facebook launches Every Phone app to boost growth in developing world

  Facebook has made a new push for growth of the social networking site in the developing world by releasing an app that does not require a sophisticated smartphone.

• July 13, 2011 13 Jul'11

  Businesses should not ignore critical Microsoft Patch Tuesday update, say experts

  Although Microsoft's July Patch Tuesday monthly security update is relatively light, with only four updates as expected, the only critical bulletin MS11-053 should be taken seriously, according to security experts.

• July 12, 2011 12 Jul'11

  Wales gets £57m in broadband funding

  Wales is set to receive £56.9m to help provide superfast broadband to 90% of homes and businesses in the country and enable broadband access for everyone.

• July 08, 2011 08 Jul'11

  Development firm TTP trials white space technology in wireless broadband link

  Cambridge-based technology development company TTP says harnessing unused broadcast frequencies could accelerate the roll-out of low-cost wireless broadband in the UK.

• July 08, 2011 08 Jul'11

  Ofcom moots analogue spectrum for rural mobile broadband devices

  Ofcom has proposed using radio spectrum freed up from the switchover from analogue to digital to deliver mobile broadband to rural areas

• July 07, 2011 07 Jul'11

  Government opens up data on NHS, schools, criminal justice and transport

  The government is opening up public data from the National Health Service, schools, criminal courts and transport as part of its transparency drive.

• July 07, 2011 07 Jul'11

  Facebook partners with Skype to add video calling to social network infrastructure

  Facebook has partnered with Skype to add a video-calling facility to the social networking site and open another channel of communication for businesses.

• July 06, 2011 06 Jul'11

  Ofcom UK broadband speed map shows wide areas of internet underinvestment

  An interactive map of broadband speeds has revealed large sections of the UK need investment in internet connectivity.

• July 06, 2011 06 Jul'11

  Citrix CEO hedges cloud bets on customer demand for web collaboration tools

  At Citrix's annual Synergy conference in May 2011, the company introduced its "personal cloud" concept to replace traditional desktop computing and cater for IT departments supporting multiple devices, delivering on-demand applications and desktops,...

• July 06, 2011 06 Jul'11

  Birmingham City Council poised to roll out 4G superfast broadband network

  Birmingham intends to roll out a 4G network to deliver superfast mobile broadband across the city.

• July 05, 2011 05 Jul'11

  Vaizey claims to favour light-touch regulation in the communications sector

  Communications minister Ed Vaizey has claimed he favours a light-touch approach to regulation in the communications sector.

• July 05, 2011 05 Jul'11

  National Audit Office casts doubt on smart meter roll-out cost

  The National Audit Office says it expects the cost of implementing smart meters across the UK to exceed the current budget and questions how a critical change in consumer behaviour will be stimulated.

• July 05, 2011 05 Jul'11

  Metering supplier Onstream moves legacy infrastructure to hosted private cloud

  Gas and electricity metering supplier Onstream is transforming its IT infrastructure by moving its legacy infrastructure into a Microsoft-based private cloud.

• July 05, 2011 05 Jul'11

  Slug and Lettuce rolls out contactless payments in 80 pubs

  Pub chain Slug and Lettuce has rolled out Barclaycard payment terminals to support contactless payments in 80 of its pubs across the UK.

• July 04, 2011 04 Jul'11

  European mobile roaming charges fall as EC executes plan to harmonise rates by 2015

  The cost of making and receiving mobile phone calls in Europe has been cut again, as the European Commission executes plans to make roaming rates the same as domestic rates by 2015.

• July 04, 2011 04 Jul'11

  Government signs framework agreement and names suppliers for public sector networks

  The government has signed a framework agreement worth an estimated contract value of £5m to enable central and local authorities transition to public sector networks (PSN).

• July 01, 2011 01 Jul'11

  £20m turnover threshold could exclude SMEs and communities from £2bn broadband deals

  Smaller network operators and local communities could be excluded from taking part in the government's rural broadband roll-out, according to leaked documents.

• July 01, 2011 01 Jul'11

  Betfair sees 120% increase in mobile customers

  The online gambling firm increased sales via mobile applications by 88% as customer mobile use grows.

• June 29, 2011 29 Jun'11

  Smart grid security challenge highlighted in report

  Government plans to create a smart grid for energy networks will require a coordinated focus on cybersecurity as communication networks play a key role, according to a report from The Energy Networks Association (ENA).

• June 29, 2011 29 Jun'11

  Cambridgeshire County Council signs PSN deal with Virgin for £30m

  Cambridgeshire County Council has signed a seven-year public sector network (PSN) contract with Virgin Media Business, estimated to be worth £30m.

• June 29, 2011 29 Jun'11

  Welsh Assembly networks fire and rescue control rooms for £2m

  The Welsh government has joined up its fire and rescue control rooms using a £2m grant.

• June 28, 2011 28 Jun'11

  Experts warn of growth of 'shadow IT' use outside IT department control

  Industry experts have warned of an increase in unauthorised IT systems within organisations as IT departments fail to keep pace with employees' technology demands and the consumerisation of IT.