First Local Authority in Wales Completes Digital Phone Switchover
The Bridgend County Borough Council (BCBC) today claims to have become the “first local authority in Wales” to complete a digital switchover of its telecare alarms. This has seen them move away from BT and Openreach’s old copper-based analogue line services (PSTN phones and WLR) to adopt internet-based solutions instead. Just to recap. The shift to digital landlines is an industry, not government, led programme that is partly driven by the looming retirement of copper lines in favour of full...
BT and EE Extend Gov’s 4G Emergency Services Network for 7 Years
The UK Government has signed a new £1.29bn deal with BT (EE) to extend their operation of the 4G based Emergency Services Network (ESN) for another 7-years. But after years of delays and disputes, only some of which is related to EE’s side of things, the Home Office still doesn’t expect the ESN to be fully operational until 2029. Just to recap. The emergency services (police, fire, ambulances etc.) were originally due to have moved away from the old Motorola-owned Airwave network several years...
The Cumbria UK Villages Still Fighting for Gigabit Broadband
A year and a half has now passed since the MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale, Tim Farron (Lib Dem), highlighted the connectivity limbo (here) that several villages in Cumbria – including Ormside, Warcop, Hilton, and Murton – had been left in by the Government’s Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) programme. But locals have just been asked to wait a little bit longer. Just to recap. Some or all of the aforementioned communities were originally in the process of being lined up to receive gigabit...
Potentially Fatal – UK Broadband Firm Erects Steel Mast Next to High Voltage Cables
Energy provider Electricity North West (ENW) has said its engineers were “left speechless” after discovering that a telecoms operator in the Lancashire (England) town of Burnley had erected a steel mast “just one metre away” from 132,000-volt overhead electricity lines. “One wrong move could have resulted in a death,” said ENW. The “potentially fatal” situation in Burnley is said to have been discovered on Wednesday by ENW’s “tree cutting teams“, who were carrying out maintenance in the area....
China Unicom and Huawei showcase 5G-Advanced with new Beijing deployment
Partner Article The deployment, which Huawei says is the world’s first ‘large-scale integrated 5G-Advanced intelligent network’, will provide services to over 10 million people in the Chinese capital China Unicom Beijing has deployed a far reaching 5G-Advanced network covering stadiums, schools, scenic areas, metro stations, commercial areas, residential areas, and other facilities in Beijing. The new three component carrier (3CC) network will provide 5G coverage for roughly 10 million...
New European Commissioners set sights on bloc’s international competitiveness
News The European parliament has approved Ursula von der Leyen’s selected commissioners for her second term as President of the European Commission Earlier this summer, Ursula von der Leyen was re-elected as President of the European Commission, granting her a second five-year term as head of the European Union’s most powerful institution. Now, this week has seen von der Leyen’s selection of European Commissioners ratified by parliament, setting the stage for a new European regulatory era to...
Namibia halts Starlink operations amid licensing dispute
News The news comes just days after fellow African nation Chad approved Starlink to begin operations in the country Namibia’s Communications Regulatory Authority (CRAN) has ordered Starlink, the satellite internet provider owned by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, to cease business for operating without license in the country. While Starlink has filed an application for an operating license, the CRAN has yet to grant it, and has cautioned consumers against purchasing or using Starlink equipment. “The...
ITU, ICPC launch advisory body on submarine cable resilience
News The group’s formation is timely, following the high-profile damage to subsea cables in the Baltic Sea earlier this month The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the International Cable Protection Committee (ICPC) have joined forces to create a new advisory group focused on protecting submarine cables. Submarine cables carry over 99% of international data, making them essential for everything from online shopping and financial transactions to digital health services and...
International Body Launched to Help Protect Submarine Telecoms Cables
The International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the United Nations Agency for Digital Technologies, and the International Cable Protection Committee (ICPC) have today formed a new ‘International Advisory Body for Submarine Cable Resilience‘, which comes hot on the heels of an ongoing dispute after two fibre optic cables were cut in the Baltic Sea last week. Just to recap. Two subsea fibre optic cables, one linking Finland and Germany, and the other connecting Sweden to Lithuania, were damaged...
Ads Watchdog Updates UK Guidance on Mid-Contract Broadband Price Hikes
The UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has today updated their guidance for how broadband ISPs, phone, pay TV and mobile operators should communicate mid-contract prices hikes to consumers. The change is primarily intended to align their policy with Ofcom’s imminent ban on mid-contract price hikes that are linked to inflation and percentage changes. Just to recap. The ASA introduced its original guidance (here), which was intended to help make sure that providers made their policies on...