Study – UK Falls to Rank 96th Cheapest in the World for Broadband
The latest annual study from Cable.co.uk has tested fixed line broadband ISP packages from 223 countries (up from 219 last year) to create a global price comparison, which finds that the UK ranks 96th cheapest (down sharply from 76th), with an average monthly cost of $38.79 (£30.65) and that’s up from $34.19. The research, which used data from 3,405 fixed broadband deals gathered between 7th September 2023 and 10th November 2023, also reported that the average package cost across the world as...
Survey Reveals the Extra Cost of Being Loyal to Broadband and Mobile Providers
A new Opinium survey of 2,004 UK adults, which was commissioned by Uswitch.com and conducted between 16th April 2024 to 22nd April 2024, has claimed that broadband ISP customers who haven’t switched for 7-8 years are the worst off, paying on average £22.10 extra a month. The situation is almost as bad for mobile users’ too. Most of the major broadband and mobile providers tend to entice new customers with big first-term discounts, which promptly evaporate at the end of that term as prices...
Which? Names Zen Internet and SMARTY as 2024 Brands of the Year
Consumer magazine Which? have announced that UK broadband ISP Zen Internet has been crowned the winner of their new ‘Customer Service Brand of the Year Award’ for 2024, while mobile network operator SMARTY picked up the award for ‘Utilities Brand of the Year’. Broadband provider Zen Internet is already Which?’s only Recommended Provider for broadband and is said to have impressed the judging panel with its high scores for customer service, technical support and value for money. The winners...
Unlocking the invisible world of the brain: Rezon’s wearable neuroimaging tech
Interview At this year’s Connected North conference, the inaugural Start-up Competition saw ten shortlisted start-ups take to the stage to present their business to a panel of expert judges. We caught up with Judith McMinn, founder of winning start-up Rezon, to learn more about the company’s concussion-reducing headband and how they are integrating wearable brain electroencephalogram (EEG) technology. Judith McMinn, founder of Rezon, celebrates winning the Connected North startup competition...
Sparkle completes international VPN trial with quantum encryption
News The company described the trial as a “pivotal moment in network security” Sparkle, Telecom Italia (TIM) ’s international services arm, has completed the first test of an international Virtual Private Network (VPN) protected with quantum encryption in partnership with Arqit Quantum, a UK company that specialises in quantum-safe encryption. The Proof of Concept (PoC) on the first Internet Protocol secure tunnel ran between Italy and Germany using Arqit’s Symmetric Key Agreement...
Giganet’s UK Broadband ISP Customers Start Migrating to Cuckoo
Investment group Fern Trading (Octopus Investments) has today begun the next phase of customer migrations on their alternative UK full fibre broadband ISP networks, which are shifting to a central retail provider under Cuckoo. Customers of Jurassic Fibre and Swish Fibre have already been through this process, and today it’s the turn of Giganet. Cuckoo originally started life around four years ago as an independent ISP, which changed in 2022 after they were acquired by Fern-backed Giganet...
BT scraps 2025 landline switchover deadline
News A new deadline of January 2027 has been set, allowing more time for vulnerable customers to prepare for the switch-off BT has confirmed today that it will delay the switch-off of all copper-based phone lines across the UK until 2027, two years later than originally planned. The news was hidden deep in the company’s full year financial results for 2023, but has been confirmed again in a separate press release this morning. The delay will apply to all customers, both business and...
Three UK Seeks to Harness 3.9GHz for Faster 5G Wireless Broadband
Mobile operator Three UK (Hutchinson 3G) has asked Ofcom to make a useful technical change to its existing licence for the 3.9GHz (3925 – 4009MHz) spectrum band, which is held by sibling UK Broadband Ltd. The change, if approved, would enable them to use this with 5G technology to boost their Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) packages. Just to recap. Three UK currently operates both a traditional mobile network – primarily using 4G and 5G technologies – and a range of FWA style home broadband...
Artificial Intelligence reshapes data centres, bandwidth, and subsea cables
Contributed Article Analysis by Xtera’s Chief Operating & Sales Officer, Leigh Frame (human) Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become a major disruptor, sparking stock market excitement, corporate collaborations, and infrastructure advancement. The growing enthusiasm for AI, exemplified by models like ChatGPT, has driven companies such as Nvidia to frothy valuations (bigger than Alphabet or Amazon?) and spurred partnerships between tech giants and AI startups. However, amidst this fizzing...
California could cut billions of dollars from broadband funding
News California Gov. Gavin Newsom has proposed billions of dollars in cuts to broadband expansion programs across the state in an effort to address a budget shortfall By: Brad Randall, Broadband Communities The California Alliance for Digital Equity is calling on policymakers in California to reconsider proposed cuts that the organization has claimed would jeopardize the future local broadband projects. The organization, which describes itself as a community-based coalition that advances...