Today, BT extends its support for families worst hit by the cost-of-living crisis by partnering with family support charity Home-Start UK to offer 2,500 financially vulnerable households’ free devices and free connectivity to Home Essentials. The industry leading social tariff will also be available to families in need nationwide through the ‘Connected Families’ scheme available through Buttle UK and Barnardo’s following a pilot scheme in partnership with the Department of Education.
Home-Start supports families with young children across the UK who are facing a range of challenges. Now, local Home-Start branches are also being gifted 500 Samsung tablets to help their volunteers reach more families and develop new ways to support families who need it.
The move is set to provide those in need with a connection that helps unlock access to educational resources and job opportunities online and help people make the most of life in the digital world and learn new digital skills…
Europe’s new Connectivity Infrastructure Act could make big tech pay
Back in 2020, the European Commission launched a set of guidelines called the 2020 Connectivity Toolbox, aiming to give European Union (EU) countries the framework they needed to rollout fibre and 5G technologies rapidly and effectively.
Now, according to sources, the European Commission is preparing to codify some of these guidelines into European law as part of a revision of the 2014 Broadband Cost Reduction Directive…
Q1 2022 Progress Update on BT FTTP Broadband Rollout in Wales
The Welsh Government has just shared a Q1 2022 progress update on their £52.5m Phase 2 Superfast Cymru contract with BT (Openreach), which confirms that 29,959 extra premises (up from 25,855 in Q4 2021) have now gained access to their gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband ISP network. The original contract consisted of two stages, the first […]
Broadband ISPs and Mobile Operators Agree UK Cost-of-Living Plan
The UK Government has today announced that the country’s biggest broadband and mobile operators have agreed to a raft of “new commitments“, which are designed to help people who may be struggling with the rising cost of living. But many of the changes sound like those we’ve seen providers take before, during the pandemic. Last […]
China welcomes fourth mobile operator to the world of 5G
Back in 2019, a group of Chinese cable broadcast and television operators, then known as China Broadcasting Network (CBN), won spectrum in the country’s national 5G spectrum auction, signalling their ambition to become the nation’s fourth fully-fledged nationwide mobile operator.
The government-backed company won 80 MHz of 700 MHz spectrum and 100 MHz of 4.9 GHz spectrum, both of which can be used to provide 5G services.
Catching up with the likes of China Unicom…
Government Moves Forward with UK ISP Internet Snooping System
The UK Home Office and the National Crime Agency (NCA) appear to be making progress on the development of a new internet snooping system and database (Request Filter), which could soon require broadband ISPs and mobile operators to provide various agencies with access to view a log of your online activity. In case anybody has […]
Airband Drop Northleigh from FTTP Build so Vouchers Can Deliver
The village of Northleigh in East Devon (England) now stands a good chance of being completely covered by a gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband network after UK ISP Airband, which held a state aid supported contract to build in the area, de-scoped the community from its wider plans. At present around 30 premises in the village […]
Virgin Media UK Gift LG 4K TV or £200 Credit with Broadband Bundle
New customers looking to take one of Virgin Media‘s (VMO2) top broadband and Pay TV bundles, specifically their’ Bigger + Sports’, ‘Bigger + Movies’ or ‘Ultimate Volt’ bundles, may like to know that – for three days only – they’ll come with a 43″ LG 4K Ultra HD Smart TV (worth £479.99) at no extra […]
19% in Rural North West England Struggle with Internet Affordability
A recent study by researchers at Lancaster University has found that 28% of the population in rural North West England are not confident in completing key tasks online (e.g. applying for jobs) and 19% found either their PC, broadband, smartphone or mobile data unaffordable – rising to 36% among households with an income of under […]
Top Fastest UK Mobile and Home Broadband ISPs for H1 2022
We’ve today taken our biannual (H1 2022) look back to see how the UK’s average broadband download and upload speeds have changed across the fastest nationally available fixed line ISPs and mobile operators. Suffice to say, the growing availability of gigabit-capable fixed and 5G networks is having a real impact. The results tend to be […]