The BT Group (inc. Openreach, Plusnet and EE) has today proposed to award frontline broadband and telecoms workers a £1,500 consolidated pay increase. But the Communications Workers Union, which represents c.40,000 of the operator’s UK staff, has rejected this and moved to “prepare for a statutory industrial action ballot.“ BT settled their last dispute with […]
Africell launches mobile services in Angola
Africell has launched commercial mobile services in Angola, having won the licence roughly 14 months ago.
For decades, the Angolan mobile market has been served by just two players, Unitel and Movicel. Discussions surrounding the introduction of a new competitor have been underway for years, but it was not until 2019, alongside a wider government Program for Integral and Partial Privatization of Public Enterprises (PROPRIV), that plans to auction a third telecoms licence began…
Vodacom expands m-mama mobile maternity transport app across Tanzania
Vodacom’s m-mama mobile service, developed by the Vodacom Tanzania Foundation and the Vodafone Foundation, is set to be scaled up to cover over half of Tanzania using a $10 million investment over the next six years.
The m-mama programme aims to help pregnant women received vital medical assistance as quickly as possible, especially in rural areas where ambulances are rarely available. To do this, the m-mama app creates a network of local taxi drivers, each ready to transport a pregnant woman to the nearest medical facility during an emergency…
Spectrum Coordination Act set to smooth collaboration between FCC and NTIA
Earlier this week, the US government voted to approve the Spectrum Coordination Act, a bill obligating the FCC and NTIA to update their Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) over spectrum coordination for the first time since 2003.
It would seem, however, that this bill is something of a formality, with formal work to increase collaboration between the two governing bodies already underway.
The FCC and NTIA held their first meeting last week as part of a joint Spectrum Coordination Initiative they launched they back in February…
Energy Assets Fibre Networks to Expand FTTP Broadband Builds
Utility infrastructure firm Energy Assets, specifically its ‘Fibre Networks‘ (EAFN) division, looks set to expand their existing deployments by becoming a bigger wholesale provider of gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) based broadband infrastructure to UK ISPs. At present the group builds gas, electricity and water networks for new build home developments, while their ‘Energy Assets Fibre Networks‘ […]
Full Fibre Builder CityFibre Wins UK RoSPA Health and Safety Award
Network builder CityFibre, which is currently deploying a new gigabit speed Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband ISP network across the UK, has won a ‘Gold Health and Safety Award‘ from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) for ensuring its staff and build partners “operate in a safe environment.” The operator is currently investing £4bn […]
The Greater Manchester Authority talks digital investment at Connected North 2022
Digital skills?
What steps must be taken to ensure that communities and enterprises have the digital skills they need to make the most of improved connectivity in 2022???
Having a good level of digital skills is increasingly important. Greater Manchester’s digital economy is growing very rapidly with a 165% increase in jobs advertised in the last 12 months and the pandemic has accelerated the shift online for many businesses and public services.
Strengthening our digital talent pipeline is therefore a real focus for the delivery of Greater Manchester’s Digital Blueprint, which outlines our three-year approach to meeting our ambitions for Greater Manchester to become a world leading digital-city region.
We want to create a critical mass of digital talent, positioning Greater Manchester as the key place for businesses seeking a digitally skilled workforce to invest in outside of London.
We know that we must inspire our young people to think about a career in digital and give them the skills and confidence to do it. We need to future-proof the tech talent pipeline – connecting education and industry by harnessing real role models and industry mentors and ensure that the system of post…
First Milestone of 4G Rollout on London Underground Completes
Infrastructure firm BAI Communications (BAI) has announced the completion of the first milestone of its rollout of 4G and 5G-ready mobile (mobile broadband) coverage across the London Underground, which introduces uninterrupted coverage on the eastern section of the Jubilee Line. But only EE (BT) and Three UK can currently benefit. Just to recap. Transport for […]
Arson Attack Cuts Openreach Broadband for 7400 Premises in Kent
The details remain unclear, but a “suspected” arson attack against Openreach’s (BT) network infrastructure in Staplehurst (Kent, England), which we believe occurred around mid-morning yesterday, has resulted in a loss of broadband and phone connectivity for 7,400 homes and businesses in the area. At this stage it’s not known why the critical telecoms infrastructure was […]
BeFibre Reveal UK FTTP Broadband Rollout Plan for Whole of 2022
ISP BeFibre and its network building sister brand Digital Infrastructure have today revealed the next set of locations to benefit from their UK rollout of a new gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband ISP network, which will see the operator deliver 200,000 Ready for Service premises (RFS) by the end of 2022. The provider’s first deployment began […]