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Hampshire-based alternative network toob, which has deployed their own gigabit speed full fibre (FTTP) broadband network across South England and also harnesses CityFibre’s network in other UK areas, has suffered a blow today after investor INPP “elected not to commit further capital” to the provider and handed most of its original £24.1m investment off to debt holders. (more…)
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Managed ISP ASK4, which is headquartered in the UK and delivers gigabit-capable broadband to students and residents (renters) in multi-tenant buildings across the UK (as well as parts of Europe), has announced the completion of a £170 million refinancing project with new capital expenditure facility to help “accelerate growth“. (more…)
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The UK government’s proposed plan to switch-off Digital Terrestrial TV (DTT) signals in either 2034 or 2044 as part of a wider change to move toward broadband-based TV streaming (here), such as via the new Freely service, arguably suffered a bit of a reality check last week after that very same service experienced a major outage. (more…)
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A business update from technology provider Dotlines UK has today revealed that they’ve signed a 5-year contract with retail broadband provider Olilo, which will see the ISP deploy Dotlines Catena Cloud platform, which is an all-in-one system that’s designed to help internet providers to “seamlessly sell, deliver and manage end-to-end telecoms services“. (more…)
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Network operator EE Mobile is preparing to launch a new “Full Works Plus” airtime plan in the near future (probably the next month or so), which will cost £5 extra per month than their regular “Full Works” plan and introduce enhanced 5G+ (5G Standalone) mobile broadband network slicing via a new ‘Fast Lane‘ feature. But there’s a big caveat. (more…)
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The Government’s Department for Education (DfE) has launched an early market engagement exercise to identify organisations that might be interested in supplying the second phase of their gigabit broadband roll-out programme for Schools, which has been allocated £20m of public funding to reach around a further 800 schools across England. (more…)
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New student customers of mobile operator giffgaff, which is controlled by Telefónica UK (part of the VMO2 Group) and uses O2’s virtual network platform, may like to know that the provider recently introduced a new SIM that gives you 100GB (GigaBytes) of mobile broadband data and other features for just £10 per month. (more…)
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The UK government may have surprised a few people just after 7pm tonight after using the Emergency Alerts service via mobile network operators to send out a national warning about the “very high risk of wildfires nationally“, which advises people across the country to avoid undertaking any activity that could start a fire. (more…)
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Over 150 4G mast upgrades are now live across the UK’s national parks, including the Yorkshire Dales and Eryri, Snowdonia, as part of the continued rollout of the Shared Rural Network.
The latest upgrade provides extended 4G coverage across over 5,684 square kilometres, in areas that previously only had access to EE coverage, or none at all.
The government-funded 4G mast upgrades are delivered through existing infrastructure and bring 4G coverage from EE, Virgin Media 02, and Vodafone and ThreeUK in order to bolster connectivity in rural areas.
The rollout is intended to support accessing online public services, working more flexibly from home, running payments and bookings for local firms, and for holidaymakers accessing location data or calling for emergency assistance.
Mike Hellers, Product Development Manager at the London Internet Exchange, commented: “Strengthening connectivity in rural areas is a key aspect of the UK’s growth ambition, providing greater access to digital services, AI tools and streaming in hard-to-reach locations like the Yorkshire Dales and Eryri.”
“As more communities gain access to reliable 4G coverage through the Shared Rural Network, efficient traffic exchange and keeping data as local as possible will become increasingly important in delivering the low-latency, resilient services people expect. Continued investment across the wider internet ecosystem will be essential to support growing demand and maximise the benefits of expanded mobile connectivity.”
42 Shared Rural Network sites are now active across the UK’s national parks, including 25 sites in England covering areas such as the Lake District and Yorkshire Dales, 16 sites in Wales including Eryri, and 1 site in Scotland in Loch Lomond and The Trossachs.
Elizabeth Anderson, CEO of the Digital Poverty Alliance, commented: “Connectivity continues to get taken for granted across the UK despite being something we all rely on so heavily. Rural communities, in particular, have long faced challenges as essential digital services such as healthcare, banking and education shift online, also having a knock-on impact on wider employment and access opportunities.
“The government’s latest expansion of the Shared Rural Network rollout is an important step in recognising the importance of reliable mobile and internet access to keep people connected in remote areas. Connectivity is a key component of digital inclusion, and the next step is ensuring people in Yorkshire have affordable and suitable devices for work and school, alongside the digital skills to use them effectively. These government initiatives set the tone for inclusivity in the UK’s regions.”
The government has outlined that the Shared Rural Network programme has hit its rollout objective of extending 4G coverage to 95 per cent of the UK landmass a year ahead of schedule.
Minister of State for the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Ian Murray, said: “You should be able to switch off in the countryside without being cut off from the help and services you need.”
“These 150 masts are helping change that – giving walkers, visitors and rural communities better access to signal when they are checking a route, contacting family, running a business or calling for help.”
The post Shared Rural Network rollout extends to UK national parks with over 150 4G masts live appeared first on Total Telecom.
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Britain’s major banks, charities, TV broadcasters, broadband and mobile providers have today united to back a new report from the Connection Project, which calls for “coordinated action to ensure everyone” can get online and take part in a modern economy. But this is not the first time we’ve seen coordinated action on the subject.
The report, which is simply called ‘Connected’, starts by stating the obvious and points to how digital participation is not a peripheral issue, but “central to growth, entertainment, public services and opportunity“. It then claims that full fibre broadband alone could add £73bn to UK productivity, while digital transformation could save the government £45bn a year.
The BBC-commissioned research, in collaboration with Everyone TV, broadly points to tens of billions more in economic and wellbeing value. The report adds that many essential services are now moving online, and access to these services makes a huge difference when trying to find work, managing your money and getting medical help.
However, it’s always worth noting that trying to accurately gauge the economic impact of deploying faster broadband or mobile connectivity is notoriously difficult, not least since most premises won’t be starting from a point of zero connectivity (lloyds estimates that 1.6 million people in the UK are currently living offline). Likewise, we’re all very different in our consumption requirements, and not all homes and businesses get the same benefit from having access to significantly faster speeds than are currently available.
The fact that broadcasters are also involved in this latest push almost certainly stems from the Government’s proposals to switch-off terrestrial TV signals in either 2034 or 2044 – part of a wider change to reflect the move to internet-based streaming via broadband networks (here). Suffice to say they have a strong vested interest in helping to get everybody connected, as do banks and the other participants.
The report also examined international approaches. For example, in Denmark, connectivity is basic infrastructure — as standard as electricity or water – and digital services are made so simple with strong support that they are used almost universally. In Estonia, citizen-designed digital services are said to save each person 5 working days a year, worth 2% of GDP. “The UK doesn’t need a new model — just to apply ideas already proven, at scale,” said the announcement.
The report calls on Government to:
➤ Agree a shared national ambition for high digital participation, with agreed outcomes, dates and milestones.
➤ Unlock industry investment — back broadband to the hardest-to-reach households, and legislate to remove barriers to connectivity and enable safe, delegated digital access.
➤ Deliver a new settlement on affordability, so no one is priced out of the digital world.
➤ Set clear expectations for inclusive transitions — empowering cross-sector coordinators, industry, local authorities, civil society and government’s own services.
The big challenge is that not everybody wants to go online and nobody should be forced to use the internet, even if this may leave them at a disadvantage. Similarly, digital skills can change with age, as well as disability (the two are often associated). For example, you might be digitally skilled today, but this can go in reverse when you develop a disability (loss of sight, strokes etc.), which can make life a lot more difficult.
The reality is that some people will always require offline support in order to achieve what society asks or expects of us, although the new report does acknowledge this reality. “Success is not defined by the report as getting everyone online, acknowledging that some people never will be. Connected instead defines success as making sure everyone can manage their money, watch what they love and reach essential services, whether or not they go online themselves,” said the report.
The report also highlights that as many as 22 million people in the UK face at least one meaningful barrier to digital life, but that these are not a fixed minority, suggesting they are instead a shifting one: almost anyone can be caught out by cost, a lost password, or a change in circumstances.
Natalie Ceeney CBE, Chair of The Connection Project, said:
“Technology has the power to improve millions of lives, but only if people are able to participate confidently in the digital society we’re creating. The UK has a rare opportunity to get this right. By bringing together government, industry and civil society behind a shared plan, we can ensure digital change leaves people feeling more connected, more capable and better off, not left behind.”
Alex Towers, Director of Policy and Public Affairs at BT, said:
“Britain and BT have invested billions in world-class digital networks. But building that infrastructure is only part of the job. To get the full benefits of a digital society, we need to make sure nobody is left behind as services move online. That’s why BT is aiming to reach 30 million people and businesses with digital skills, tools and support by 2030, to help people make the most of the opportunities created by technology. There is much more to do though, and if we want to connect the whole population that will require a shared national effort backed by collaboration across government, industry and civil society.”
At this point it’s worth noting that there have been MANY coordinated attempts over the years to help get everybody online, including the existing government’s own Digital Inclusion Action Plan (DIAP), which is working with the major broadband and mobile operators (latest progress update). Such initiatives have had an impact, but they do keep running into the same issues with internet refuseniks, disability and other obstacles.
Organisations supporting the report include BT, Openreach, VodafoneThree, the BBC, ITV, Lloyds Banking Group, HSBC, Nationwide, Barclays, UK Finance, NatWest, PWC, Deloitte, Accenture, CapGemini, EY – alongside Everyone TV, Age UK, Citizens’ Advice, AbilityNet, Good Things Foundation, Money and Mental Health Policy Institute, FutureDotNow and Quarriers.
At the end of the day, it’s positive to see so many often-competing organisations coming together to support a shared goal, even if some of them might well disagree on the detail of how the problem should be resolved or even if it can be resolved at all. Lest we forget that a society which becomes too dependent upon digital technology would be extremely vulnerable to disasters that could disrupt such connectivity, but that’s an issue for another day.