News

Voice networking and VoIP

• November 28, 2016 28 Nov'16

  Surrey County Council extends BT PSN contract for two years

  Council’s contract for Unicorn network, which provides a fully managed and integrated voice and data communications service, extended to 2021

• November 18, 2016 18 Nov'16

  European security industry has failed users, says expert

  Cryptology expert Bart Preneel says the European security industry must commit to secure communication for the masses and open source is the key to secure infrastructure

• November 17, 2016 17 Nov'16

  Home Office confident in Emergency Services Network delivery despite risks

  The Public Accounts Committee has begun its inquiry into the controversial Emergency Services Network, taking evidence from suppliers, emergency services and the Home Office

• November 15, 2016 15 Nov'16

  GSMA calls for global 5G agenda

  As advanced preparations begin for the next World Radiocommunication Conference in 2019, the GSMA calls on governments to work together on a global spectrum plan for 5G

• November 15, 2016 15 Nov'16

  TalkTalk bouncing back a year on from cyber attack, says CEO

  A year after a major data security breach laid waste to its reputation, TalkTalk boss Dido Harding says things are turning around

• November 08, 2016 08 Nov'16

  SSE Enterprise Telecoms doubles network footprint in Capita deal

  SSE Enterprise Telecoms set to expand national Ethernet connectivity service for business customers, while Capita and Updata get additional strength for outsourcing projects

• October 27, 2016 27 Oct'16

  BT reports solid growth despite weak pound

  The collapse in the value of the pound following the EU referendum has not dented BT’s confidence, with strong growth reported across multiple business units

• October 26, 2016 26 Oct'16

  Property firm flips to Azure to mobilise business processes

  Property consultancy Strutt and Parker engaged cloud services provider 3GI to upgrade its IT systems to Microsoft Azure as more clients demanded a mobile-first approach

• October 25, 2016 25 Oct'16

  BT builds phone boxes for the internet age

  BT has announced plans to roll out a free London-wide wireless internet and phone service

• September 15, 2016 15 Sep'16

  Emergency Services Network a risky proposition, say auditors

  The Emergency Services Network is untried, untested and carries significant implementation risk, according to the National Audit Office

• September 14, 2016 14 Sep'16

  NHS trusts and suppliers not ready for end of N3 network

  Network integrator Updata has warned that NHS organisations and network suppliers must mobilise now to get ready for the transition to the Health and Social Care Network next year

• August 12, 2016 12 Aug'16

  Care charity Avante enhances unified communications capabilities with 3CX

  Kent-based residential care charity Avante Care and Support installed an IP PBX to manage telephony across multiple sites and a mobile workforce

• August 09, 2016 09 Aug'16

  Operator Alfa launches Lebanon’s first LTE-A network

  LTE-Advanced network launched by operator Alfa, using technology from Nokia

• August 04, 2016 04 Aug'16

  Context warns of VoIP wars at Black Hat USA

  A lack of understanding of modern VoIP and unified communications security opens many service providers and businesses to cyber attack, a Context IS researcher warns at Black Hat USA

• July 12, 2016 12 Jul'16

  Private equity pushes Mitel out of Polycom deal

  Merger called off after private equity group Siris Capital offered more money for the video-conferencing services supplier

• July 12, 2016 12 Jul'16

  Cisco wants to be the foundation for digital transformation

  At Cisco Live in Las Vegas, CEO Chuck Robbins sets out his vision for the future and moves to position the supplier at the heart of enterprise digitisation

• July 08, 2016 08 Jul'16

  Cisco UK and Ireland CEO Phil Smith steps down after 22 years

  Phil Smith announces he is stepping down from the day-to-day running of Cisco’s UK and Ireland business to take up the role of chairman

• June 29, 2016 29 Jun'16

  Middle East and Africa to see fastest IP traffic growth by 2020

  IP traffic in Middle East and Africa to grow 41% a year by 2020, according to Cisco Visual Networking Index

• June 24, 2016 24 Jun'16

  Local Government Ombudsman moves to cloud network service

  Ombudsman service is on the way to realising 30% cost savings with 50% faster connectivity after procuring a cloud telephony service through G-Cloud

• June 08, 2016 08 Jun'16

  EDF Energy upgrades network with Vodafone

  EDF Energy signs a 10-year, multi-million pound contract with Vodafone to update its communications and IT infrastructure to support training and compliance

• May 26, 2016 26 May'16

  Australian police raid opposition offices over leaked broadband documents

  Australia’s federal police have raided the offices of a Labor opposition politician in an investigation into leaked National Broadband Network documents

• May 17, 2016 17 May'16

  Vodafone CEO hints at return to growth for mobile operator as full-year results drop

  Mobile operator Vodafone shares details of its full-year financial results, while talking up the role cloud has to play in its ability to deliver low-cost services

• May 10, 2016 10 May'16

  Tel Aviv: A smart city where community engagement is the measure of success

  Israel’s capital is using the latest technologies as a way of placing the needs of local citizens at the heart of regional government

• April 15, 2016 15 Apr'16

  Mitel and Polycom merge to form $2.5bn cloud unified communications firm

  Communications and collaboration suppliers Mitel and Polycom pool their resources to form a $2.5bn unified communications (UC) powerhouse

• April 12, 2016 12 Apr'16

  Banks see video banking as key to customer satisfaction

  Video banking is set to take off over the next few years to improve the personal connection between banks and customers, according to research

• April 12, 2016 12 Apr'16

  GDS appoints Public Services Network head

  Government Digital Service (GDS) elevates Mark Smith to head of the Public Services Network (PSN)

• March 30, 2016 30 Mar'16

  EE still generating most broadband complaints, but volumes fall

  The overall volume of complaints about broadband services dropped during the last three months of 2015, says Ofcom

• March 24, 2016 24 Mar'16

  Welsh secretary calls for taller mobile masts

  The Welsh secretary Alun Cairns has called on the devolved government to consider allowing mobile operators to build taller masts

• March 23, 2016 23 Mar'16

  Lloyds offers mortgage advice via video

  Lloyds Bank launches a video-based mortgage advice service for customers who are unable to visit a branch

• March 23, 2016 23 Mar'16

  University of Hull installs Avaya unified comms network

  The University of Hull is to deploy an Avaya telephone and unified communications environment to reduce costs as part of a digital transformation project

• March 15, 2016 15 Mar'16

  Leaked documents foretold problems with Australia's national broadband strategy

  External and internal documents suggest Australia's national broadband network (NBN) roll-out is likely to waste A$29bn

• March 14, 2016 14 Mar'16

  New UK law will criminalise failure to hack on demand

  MPs have been given only two weeks to read 1,200 pages of documents which disclose new powers to require technology companies to install secret surveillance capabilities in software, computer equipment or networks

• March 09, 2016 09 Mar'16

  CityFibre opens network to public sector supplier Updata

  Urban fibre infrastructure supplier CityFibre signs a national agreement to allow Updata to offer services over its ultrafast network

• March 08, 2016 08 Mar'16

  Broadband will reach 40% of Vietnam households by 2020, claims government

  The Vietnamese government announces plans to increase access to broadband networks for its citizens, proposing a figure of 40% in four years

• February 17, 2016 17 Feb'16

  Middle East telecoms operators face up to IoT smart city challenges

  As smart city initiatives spring up in the Middle East, telecoms operators contend with the strain of the internet of things (IoT) on networks

• February 12, 2016 12 Feb'16

  Telstra outage fires warning to corporate Australia

  Mobile network interruption shows how dependent Australian organisations are on national supplier

• February 08, 2016 08 Feb'16

  Nato enhances internal collaboration with Polycom technology

  International defence organisation enhances internal collaboration across its secure network with a new Polycom unified communications system

• February 04, 2016 04 Feb'16

  How to survive a broadband service failure

  With BT yet again forced to apologise to consumer and business broadband customers after another technical fault, how can businesses reliant on one telco prepare themselves for the inevitable?

• February 02, 2016 02 Feb'16

  BT broadband network suffers technical fault

  A technical fault on the BT network left users around the country unable to access broadband and phone services

• January 28, 2016 28 Jan'16

  BBC awards broadcast network contract to BT

  BT is awarded a seven-year, £100m plus contract to supply networking services to the BBC

• January 21, 2016 21 Jan'16

  Norfolk County Council embarks on £20m network and mobile upgrade

  Norfolk County Council has awarded Capita-owned public services network supplier Updata a £20m framework agreement to upgrade its network infrastructure

• December 15, 2015 15 Dec'15

  EE and Plusnet are most complained about broadband providers

  Ofcom’s latest complaints stats show EE continues to generate the most complaints, while Plusnet sees a spike in dissatisfied consumers thanks to a major service outage

• December 15, 2015 15 Dec'15

  Norway’s TeliaSonera demonstrates 1Gbps 4.5G network

  Norwegian operator TeliaSonera demonstrates the fastest download speeds yet obtained over a commercial mobile network

• December 09, 2015 09 Dec'15

  Telecoms sector set to hire thousands to improve service quality

  Telcos seeking to improve their service quality will drive hiring during 2016, says recruitment firm ManpowerGroup

• December 07, 2015 07 Dec'15

  Airwave makes U-turn on emergency network injunction

  The UK emergency network operator decides to drop an injunction preventing the Home Office from finding a cheaper operator

• December 02, 2015 02 Dec'15

  Interview: BT CEO Gavin Patterson

  For BT CEO Gavin Patterson, the UKtech50 most influential person in UK IT 2015, the network is a vital tool to balance the demands of a global services business with the responsibility of being the national incumbent telecoms operator

• November 30, 2015 30 Nov'15

  Airwave to fight Home Office in court over ESN award

  Emergency services communications operator Airwave takes the government to court over the awarding of Lot 3 of the ESMCP to EE

• November 26, 2015 26 Nov'15

  City University London virtualises telephony and contact centre systems

  City University London replaces a 24-year-old comms setup with a virtualised, cloud-based contact centre system

• November 09, 2015 09 Nov'15

  Access to broadband to be as universal as water and electricity by 2020

  The government promises that UK people and businesses will all have access to broadband by the end of the current parliament

• October 09, 2015 09 Oct'15

  Case study: Consultancy AMR rebuilds comms platform on Colt IP Access

  Business and M&A consultancy AMR International turned to Colt’s fibre network after being badly let down by its old supplier

• October 08, 2015 08 Oct'15

  Take part in the Computer Weekly Technology Industry Survey 2016

  Share your views in Computer Weekly’s annual Technology Industry Survey, which provides an insight into the trends, challenges and aspirations of today’s IT professionals

• October 02, 2015 02 Oct'15

  Disabled consumers significantly more likely to be digitally excluded

  Ofcom research on disabled consumers’ access to and use of communications devices and services find a large number are digitally disconnected

• September 28, 2015 28 Sep'15

  Australian telecoms industry welcomes replacement communications minister

  Australian prime minister names Mitch Fifield as minister for communications

• September 24, 2015 24 Sep'15

  IP network upgrade rings the changes for Liberian operator Libtelco

  Libtelco, the only fixed-line telecoms operator in Liberia, turned to Cataleya to support a nationwide network upgrade

• September 23, 2015 23 Sep'15

  Metropolitan Police Service’s £240m network procurement opens for tenders

  London’s Metropolitan Police Service has invited tenders for the supply of network services over a five-year period

• September 23, 2015 23 Sep'15

  BT platforms streamline UCC deployments for Microsoft and Cisco users

  BT introduces new cloud unified comms and collaboration clouds to support Microsoft and Cisco environments

• September 22, 2015 22 Sep'15

  Telcos could help drive cloud services into SMEs, says report

  A study commissioned by cloud services marketplaces provider BCSG says telcos are a natural route to market for SME cloud services

• September 22, 2015 22 Sep'15

  Worldwide Skype outage finally fixed

  Microsoft-owned messaging service's technical difficulties have now been resolved, after users flooded social networking sites with downtime reports

• September 11, 2015 11 Sep'15

  Vodafone introduces nationwide Wi-Fi calling

  Vodafone becomes second UK mobile operator after EE to give customers the ability to place voice calls over a wireless network connection

• September 07, 2015 07 Sep'15

  Myanmar internet gets boost with content delivery network

  Myanmar internet users will start benefiting from changes in the law that encourages foreign direct investment in communications infrastructures

• September 07, 2015 07 Sep'15

  Toshiba share price up despite £208m loss

  Toshiba investors are said to be relieved that, by meeting the latest deadline to post its results, the company has avoided the risk of delisting

• August 27, 2015 27 Aug'15

  Kellogg Brown and Root wins ESN Delivery Partner contract

  Kellogg Brown and Root has won the contract to supply Lot 1 of the Emergency Services Mobile Communications Programme

• August 26, 2015 26 Aug'15

  Qualcomm sells L-Band mobile spectrum to Three and Vodafone

  Mobile components supplier Qualcomm sells its UK L-Band spectrum to network operators Vodafone and Hutchison 3G for an undisclosed sum

• August 19, 2015 19 Aug'15

  O2’s self-optimising network will learn from customers

  O2 upgrades its mobile network with features that learn from customer behaviour to optimise network coverage and performance

• August 16, 2015 16 Aug'15

  Mobile phone users at risk as hackers bug and track victims

  An investigation by Australian TV show 60 Minutes demonstrates how hackers based thousands of miles away in Germany were able to record the calls of an Australian senator and track his movements

• August 14, 2015 14 Aug'15

  Home Office puts out feelers for new Emergency Services Network deal

  Home Office issues a prior information notice that suggests it is planning to bring a revised version of Lot 4 of the Emergency Services Network procurement back to life

• August 07, 2015 07 Aug'15

  BT wins voice services contract with European Commission

  BT deepens its relationship with the European Commission after being awarded a €15m, seven-year contract to provide fixed voice line services for a number of European bodies

• August 07, 2015 07 Aug'15

  IET renews demand for 999 emergency call service rethink

  The Institute of Engineering and Technology has renewed its request for an overhaul of the emergency 999 call service

• July 24, 2015 24 Jul'15

  Vodafone sees limited growth from consumer mobile

  In a first-quarter trading statement, Vodafone says it is beginning to return to growth in its European markets, thanks to a growing consumer base

• July 16, 2015 16 Jul'15

  Network Services Framework goes live across public sector

  Crown Commercial Service launches wide-ranging Network Services Framework RM1045 across the public sector

• July 02, 2015 02 Jul'15

  Metropolitan Police picks Innopsis to lead network procurement

  London’s Metropolitan Police Service signs public-sector networking association Innopsis to lead engagement on network procurement

• June 30, 2015 30 Jun'15

  EE most complained about broadband operator, says Ofcom

  Ofcom releases statistics on the number of consumer complaints against broadband, phone and pay TV operators, collaring EE as the worst offender

• June 29, 2015 29 Jun'15

  Alstom runs 4G LTE multi-services pilot for train operations

  Transport engineering company Alstom conducts the first live pilot test of 4G LTE multi-services on French railways

• June 18, 2015 18 Jun'15

  MoD kick-starts procurement for new armed forces tactical communications system

  The Ministry wants to replace aging Bowman Communications system with cutting edge networking kit by 2026

• June 18, 2015 18 Jun'15

  BT and EE slam 'self-interested' competitors for trying to derail merger

  BT and EE make the case for merger in wake of competition watchdog inquiry

• June 10, 2015 10 Jun'15

  Vodafone launches home broadband service

  Vodafone unveils its Vodafone Connect broadband and home phone package, offering headline speeds of 76Mbps

• June 09, 2015 09 Jun'15

  Three sets out plan to cover 98% of Wales with 4G

  Mobile network operator Three rolls out low frequency 800Mhz spectrum to boost 4G coverage in Wales

• June 09, 2015 09 Jun'15

  O2 pulls out of ESN mobile network bid process

  O2 pulls out of the bidding process to supply the new Emergency Services Network 4G broadband voice and data network, leaving EE the presumptive provider

• June 08, 2015 08 Jun'15

  New rules to make switching broadband provider easier

  New rules designed to make it easier for consumers and businesses to switch broadband provider are to come into force on 20 June

• June 04, 2015 04 Jun'15

  Cisco CEO-elect Robbins reveals leadership team

  Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins has unveiled his leadership team, with more high-profile figures set to leave the business and a number of promotions

• June 03, 2015 03 Jun'15

  Cisco bans departing execs from vast swathe of IT industry

  A filing with the US government has revealed outgoing executives Rob Lloyd and Gary Moore will not be allowed to take up employment with, among others, HP, IBM or VMware

• May 27, 2015 27 May'15

  TfL kicks off network tower procurement

  TfL is to begin £400m network tower procurement exercise in June

• May 27, 2015 27 May'15

  More responsive PSN security compliance regime goes live

  Following a successful public beta of the updated Public Services Network compliance regime, the process has now gone live

• May 15, 2015 15 May'15

  Fire services to keep Airwave Tetra radios until 2020

  The Department for Communities and Local Government approves a major extension of the fire services' Firelink Tetra network to the end of 2019

• May 14, 2015 14 May'15

  TalkTalk not buying Tesco Mobile

  TalkTalk CEO Dido Harding tells the BBC she is not going to acquire mobile virtual network operator Tesco Mobile

• May 14, 2015 14 May'15

  Cisco’s John Chambers: I’m pumped about new leadership

  Outgoing Cisco boss John Chambers shares his thoughts on the future of the business as he prepares to step down from the bridge

• May 13, 2015 13 May'15

  Virgin adds Unify OpenScape UC software to public sector packages

  Virgin Media Business signs an agreement to offer Unify’s OpenScape unified communciations software to public sector customers

• May 11, 2015 11 May'15

  PSNGB rebrands to drive information sharing across PSN

  PSNGB, the trade association set up to promote the Public Services Network, rebrands itself as Innopsis and says its work is far from over

• May 07, 2015 07 May'15

  BT sales down at end of landmark year

  In fourth quarter and full-year results, BT revealed its revenues fell 2%

• May 06, 2015 06 May'15

  European Union rules Skype and Sky are too similar

  EU rules consumers may become confused between Skype’s video chat software and Sky’s TV and broadband services because the brands are too similar

• May 05, 2015 05 May'15

  Alcatel-Lucent to target enterprise UC market

  Alcatel-Lucent signs collaboration agreement with OTT unified comms firm Counterpath to target enterprise and operator customers

• May 05, 2015 05 May'15

  Cisco CEO John Chambers to step down in July

  Cisco CEO John Chambers announces plans to step down from the post after 20 years

• April 29, 2015 29 Apr'15

  Vodafone sends network in a backpack to Nepal earthquake zone

  Vodafone’s charitable arm, the Vodafone Foundation, deploys instant mini networks to help restore communications in quake-hit Nepal

• April 28, 2015 28 Apr'15

  UC Expo 2015: Cloud and mobile bring collaboration to the fore

  Unified communications is changing as organisations embrace cloud and shift away from on-premise and bringing collaboration to the fore

• April 15, 2015 15 Apr'15

  Nokia buys Alcatel-Lucent

  Networking suppliers hook up in £11.2bn deal with grand aims when it comes to network innovation

• April 15, 2015 15 Apr'15

  Microsoft rolls out Skype for Business in Office update

  Microsoft rolls out Skype for Business client in April Office update, marking the end of the line for Lync

• April 07, 2015 07 Apr'15

  EE offers Wi-Fi voice on Lumia 640 and Samsung Galaxy S6 devices

  EE launches a voice over Wi-Fi service to customers using selected handsets

• April 07, 2015 07 Apr'15

  Over-the-top services worth $14bn to carriers by 2020

  A study conducted by Juniper Research suggests that content paid for by carrier billing will be a lucrative money-spinner for communications providers

• March 31, 2015 31 Mar'15

  Brecon Beacons National Park soups up staff comms with Unify

  Brecon Beacons National Park Authority deploys Unify’s OpenScape voice technology to keep remote staff and home workers in touch

• March 31, 2015 31 Mar'15

  BT and Virgin warn of business broadband price rises

  BT, Virgin Media and Kcom have warned Ofcom that major regulatory changes to the business broadband market risk forcing price hikes