Broadband News

March 2008 - August 2008

(27-08-08) - UK broadband continues to grow - This year 16.4 million households had internet access, representing 56 per cent of homes - an increase of 1.2 million on 2007.

(22-08-08) - Customer service quality - an Ofcom review - Ofcom has announced a review of its existing, but little known, scheme to assess the quality of telecoms providers’ customer service.

(21-08-08) - Orange broadband TV trials go national - Orange has reportedly taken trials of its much-delayed broadband TV service national, and a launch date is expected soon.

(20-08-08) - O2 wins fastest broadband award - O2, a relative newcomer to the broadband market, has won two awards for the Fastest Broadband and highest Customer Satisfaction.

(19-08-08) - Mobile broadband threatens landline internet - One in eight mobile broadband users have replaced their fixed-line connection with a dongle, or chosen mobile broadband from the start, according to new research.

(18-08-08) - Free laptop with Orange mobile broadband - Orange has become the latest ISP to offer a free laptop to new mobile broadband customers.

(14-08-08) - Communications costs fall - We spent, on average, seven hours and nine minutes watching TV, on the phone, using the internet or other services, every day last year according to Ofcom’s annual report.

(13-08-08) - Bundles still cheaper than standalone broadband - Bundling your broadband with other services is still cheaper than taking broadband on its own according to new, global figures.

(12-08-08) - 3 to double speeds this summer - In a bid to increase its slice of the mobile broadband market, 3 has revealed that it will be increasing network speeds by the end of the summer.

(11-08-08) - T-Mobile launches free laptop offer - Mobile phone giant T-Mobile is giving away free laptops to customers signing up to its mobile broadband service.

(08-08-08) - Promo deals keep consumers on expensive tariffs - Promotional deals and introductory offers can play a major role for consumers when choosing a new broadband package, according to a recent survey.

(07-08-08) - Verbal agreements ‘not enough’ to protect children online - Research from BroadbandChoices.co.uk has shown that 84 per cent of parents rely on a verbal agreement to ensure their children stay safe online.

(06-08-08) - Brits sticking with broadband to beat credit crunch - More than 9 out of 10 internet users see their broadband connection as an essential rather than a luxury, with very few considering ditching their broadband in order to cut back on bills.

(05-08-08) - Be Broadband launches its 888 promotion - Be Broadband has announced that customers will now be able to get its Be Value package at a reduced price for the remainder of 2008.

(04-08-08) - Three ISPs responsible for 65 per cent of illegal downloads - Just three of the UK’s biggest broadband providers are responsible for 65 per cent of illegal peer-to-peer downloads, according to new research.

(01-08-08) - Free home broadband from O2 - O2 today became the first provider to offer a combined home and mobile broadband package; the Complete Broadband Experience.

(31-07-08)- BT stays on top with 4.5 million customers - BT added 103,000 new broadband connections in the three months to June 30 2008, holding onto its spot as the UK’s biggest broadband provider.

(30-07-08) - City-wide wireless to bridge digital divide - Manchester City council has announced plans to extend its Eastserve wireless broadband service across the whole city - the largest IT project of its kind in Europe.

(29-07-08)- Internet use is up but fraud fears double - More than half of people say that the internet has improved their quality of life according to new research.

(28-07-08)- Virgin Media - 200Mb by 2012 - Cable provider Virgin Media has revealed that it plans to offer shockingly fast broadband speeds of up to 200Mb by 2012.

(25-07-08)- ‘Big six’ sign internet piracy deal - The UK’s six biggest broadband providers have signed a deal with the music industry to combat online piracy.

(24-07-08) - Karoo keeps the top spot in June speed tests - Once again, Karoo beat the big names to the top spot in the 8Mb speed category - the UK’s most popular broadband packages.

(23-07-08) - BBC iPlayer tops 10 million views with Virgin Media - Cable giant Virgin Media has revealed that its customers have watched 10.5 million shows on the BBC iPlayer through its television service.

(22-07-08) - EC calls for transparency on data roaming charges - Mobile phone companies providing broadband access need to be clearer about their data charges abroad, the European Commission has said.

(21-07-08) - Tiscali versus BT: It’s War - BT and Tiscali have taken their very public spat to a new level.

(18-07-08) - Channel Five launches broadband TV service - Channel Five has launched a new broadband catch up service called “Demand Five”, as the last of the major terrestrial channels to offer free, online television.

- EU issues Phorm warning to UK Government - The European Commission has warned that if the UK Government doesn’t deal with the issue of the controversial Phorm advertising system, it will be forced to take the matter to the European Court of Justice.

(16-07-08) - 59 per cent of broadband users have wireless - More than half of all UK broadband consumers now have a home wireless network, according to new research.

(15-07-08) - BT to Pioneer New Super-Fast Broadband Movement - BT announced today an ambitious plan to rollout super-fast fibre networks to 10 million homes by 2012.

(14-07-08) - Bygone Broadband Britain Bottom of the League - Despite consumers spending a record £2.7 billion a year on broadband services, the UK is lagging behind the rest of the world in the broadband speed race.

(11-07-08) - Ofcom Propose to Reshape Complaints Procedures - Each ISP has its own complaints code of practice, but Ofcom wants these replaced by a single complaints procedure.

(10-07-08) - Tiscali Furious at Moneysupermarket Misrepresentation - A report on rural broadband pricing by troubled price comparison site Moneysupermarket has engendered a scathing response from Tiscali.

(09-07-08) - Half of Brits want internet outside - Almost half of the UK would like to be able to use the internet wherever they are according to new research from T-Mobile.

(08-07-08) - Millions paying extra in ‘broadband blackspots’ - Millions of consumers living in rural areas are being denied access to the best deals, according to new research.

(07-07-08) - Call for fibre broadband investment - Calling for more investment in next generation broadband, Ofcom has unveiled a new determination to ensure competition and return on investments in fibre optic broadband.

(04-07-08) - Less than three million use mobile internet - Despite a boom in recent months, less than three million people in the UK use internet on the go, according to new research.

(03-07-08) - Ofcom awards kitemarks to selected price comparison sites - BroadbandChoices.co.uk today became one of only two price comparison sites to be awarded Ofcom’s new Price Accreditation Scheme kitemark.

(02-07-08) - Virgin Media in Advertising Rap - Virgin Media’s ‘Hate to Wait’ campaign has been heavily criticised by the ASA for misleading customers on expected speeds.

(01-07-08) - Free laptops for poorest families - The Government is considering giving free laptops to England’s million poorest families in a bid to end the digital divide.

(30-06-08) - BT threatens illegal downloaders - The UK’s biggest broadband provider has begun threatening customers that illegally download music via peer-to-peer networks with disconnection.

(27-06-08) - UK broadband a ‘success story’ - With more than 500 different providers to choose from and 99 per cent of the UK able to access a broadband line, UK broadband has been branded a “success story” by Ofcom.

(26-06-08) - Ofcom’s first chairman to step down - Lord David Currie, the first chairman of Ofcom, will step down next year after almost seven years in the role.

(25-06-08) - Mobile broadband discount for students - Natwest is offering students £50 off a 3 mobile broadband connection when they open a new student account.

(24-06-08) - Broadband summer sale - Award winning broadband provider PlusNet is offering half price broadband this summer.

(23-06-08) - Mobile broadband roaming rates dropped - Following the EU’s reiterated deadline of 1 July for all operators to cut roaming costs in the EU, both O2 and T-Mobile have reduced their rates.

(20-06-08) - O2 speeds ahead - Karoo has topped the 8Mb speed category, while O2 and Virgin Media have taken the top spots in the “superfast” and 2Mb categories respectively.

(19-06-08) - Carphone Warehouse laptop offer details - Zen High street retailer Carphone Warehouse has released the details of the free laptops available to support its recent move into the wireless broadband market.

(18-06-08) - Zen Internet wins Which? Best Broadband Provider award - Zen Internet has taken the top award at this year’s Which? Awards Ceremony, overtaking Waitrose - which won the award last year - as the UK’s Best Broadband Provider.

(17-06-08) - AOL launches new summer prices - AOL has reduced the cost of its bundled phone and broadband packages in a bid to boost summer sales.

(16-06-08) - Vodafone tops mobile broadband speeds - Vodafone is the fastest, most reliable mobile broadband network according to a recent study.

(13-06-08) - BT’s fibre trial questioned by experts - The speeds to be offered by BT’s “super-fast” fibre trial have been criticised by industry experts for being too slow.

(12-06-08) - ‘Successful’ year for Carphone Warehouse - Carphone Warehouse has hailed a “successful” year with strong annual profits, but remains “cautious” about the year ahead, said the company in its annual results released today.

(11-06-08) - BT ups its download allowances - The monthly download allowances on BT’s Total Options 1 and 2 will be increased from next month the UK’s biggest ISP has announced.

(10-06-08) - Fibre broadband could create a ‘new digital divide’ - Concerns were raised yesterday that the UK’s digital divide will be “deepened” rather than “demolished” if the roll-out of next generation broadband is based on economic benefits only.

(09-06-08) - Calls to extend Ofcom code of practice - Senior figures have been calling for Ofcom’s new voluntary broadband code of practice to be extended to mobile broadband providers.

(06-06-08) - Virgin Media launches illegal download ‘education campaign’ - The UK’s cable operator has teamed up with the British Phonographic Industry to launch an “education campaign” to stop customers illegally downloading music, it was announced today.

(05-06-08) - Voluntary code on broadband speeds - The way that broadband providers advertise their download speeds is to be regulated under a new voluntary code of practice, published by Ofcom today.

(04-06-08) - Towns top broadband speeds - Broadband speeds in London are, on average, nearly twice as fast as those in Wales and Northern Ireland new data has shown.

(03-06-08) - Carphone Warehouse steps up laptop offer - The communications retailer has upped its game in the broadband and mobile market with an extended free laptop offer, launched today.

(02-06-08) - Broadband prices could rise after Ofcom review - Broadband bills look set to rise after Ofcom announced a review of the amount that BT can charge operators to use its services.

(30-05-08) - Daytime slow-down for heaviest Virgin Media downloaders - Virgin Media has doubled the amount of time that heavy downloaders will have their broadband connection throttled as part of its new traffic management policy.

(30-05-08) - Rural broadband claims ‘beggar belief’ - Ofcom’s claim that the divide between rural and urban broadband has disappeared is “simply not true” according to Country Land and Business Association (CLA).

(29-05-08) - High-cost call companies shamed - A list of companies that use high-cost helplines to make money at their customers’ expense has been published by a leading consumer group.

(28-05-08) - Millions of BT customers ‘open to hackers’ - Millions of BT Broadband customers using the provider’s Home Hub router are vulnerable to hackers it has been reported.

(27-05-08) - BBC iPlayer tops 75m requests - The BBC has revealed that its ever popular iPlayer has received more than 75 million requests to stream or download programmes.

(23-05-08) - Rural broadband overtakes cities for the first time - For the first time broadband uptake in rural areas has overtaken urban areas according to new statistics released by Ofcom yesterday.

(22-05-08) - Nine out of ten connections are now broadband - In March 2008, 91.6 per cent of all UK internet connections were via a broadband line - up from 83.6 per cent the year before - according to the latest data from the office of National Statistics.

(21-05-08) - VHS still ahead of internet TV for catch-ups - In a world of high-tech digital recorders and internet television, old fashioned video recorders are still the most popular way of catching up on missed TV according to new research.

(20-05-08) - UK broadband connections top 15.6m - Ofcom’s latest quarterly results for Q4 2007 of the telecoms market shows that UK broadband connections have now passed 15.6 million.

(19-05-08) - New look speed test results - The BroadbandChoices.co.uk monthly speed test results have changed. Providers will now be rated by speed category, ranging from those offering speeds of up to 2Mb to the heavy weight packages offering speeds of more than 16Mb.

(16-05-08) - BT holds 30 per cent of the broadband market - Remaining “Britain’s favourite broadband provider”, BT has topped 4.4 million retail broadband customers, representing 30 per cent of the market for the sixth consecutive quarter.

(15-05-08) - Consumers 'in the dark' over usage limits - Nearly eight out of ten broadband users don’t know how much of their download allowance they use each month according to new research.

(14-05-08) - Tiscali tops 1.8m broadband users - The Italian telecoms giant, which is currently up for sale in the UK, now has 1,875,000 broadband users in the UK according to its latest quarterly results released this week.

(13-05-08) - Vodafone to extend super fast mobile broadband network - Plans to extend its market-leading mobile broadband network to a further three million people have been unveiled by Vodafone.

(12-05-08) - New packages from Eclipse - Three new packages have been launched by Eclipse broadband, replacing its old Home and Evolution broadband packages.

(09-05-08) - Freesat to link TV and broadband - The BBC has outlined ambitious plans for Freesat, its digital TV venture with ITV, such as offering access to broadband TV services such as the iPlayer and Kangaroo.

(08-05-08) - Virgin Media adds 88,000 broadband customers - The UK’s cable operator added 88,400 broadband customers in the first quarter of 2008 to top 3.781 million subscribers.

(07-05-08) - BT launches new Broadband Anywhere package - A new broadband package incorporating an internet phone that connects wirelessly to the internet for cheaper calls has been launched by BT.

(06-05-08) - Mobile broadband discount for Three customers - The UK’s cheapest mobile broadband providers has just slashed its prices for existing customers, bringing its lowest-priced package to just £5 a month.

(02-05-08) - Free TalkTalk connections this bank holiday - TalkTalk is offering free broadband connections to anyone signing up to its broadband service this bank holiday weekend.

(02-05-08) - Digital inclusion strategy to get the UK connected - A plan to get the remaining third of unconnected Brits online is being drawn up by the Government.

(01-05-08) - BBC iPlayer now available on Virgin Media - Cable provider Virgin Media and the BBC have partnered up to bring the popular iPlayer service to the TV for the first time.

(30-04-08) - Sky Broadband tops 1.428 million - Digital TV giant Sky added 229,000 broadband customers in the first three months of the year, bringing its total to 1,428,000 according to its third quarter results released today.

(29-04-08) - Eclipse launches ‘expert advice’ service - Broadband provider Eclipse has launched an online business advice service allowing businesses to choose the best broadband and web hosting services for their needs.

(28-04-08) - Skype launches home phone call packages - Internet telephony provider Skype has gone into direct competition with home phone providers with the launch of a new series of monthly call packages.

(25-04-08) - Orange sales drop as connection fee is introduced - Orange store staff have reported a massive drop in broadband sales after a £30 connection fee was introduced two weeks ago.

(24-04-08) - Crunch time for broadband speed ads - Ofcom has warned broadband providers that they only have a few weeks to sign up to a voluntary code on the way broadband speeds are sold or face mandatory regulation.

(23-04-08) - The BBC should not pay for the iPlayer - The BBC shouldn’t be forced to pay for the development of next generation broadband networks Ofcom’s chief executive has told MPs.

(22-04-08) - Only eight per cent feel safe online - Only eight per cent of internet users in the UK feel completely safe using their computer at home, according to new research.

(21-04-08) - European broadband boom - The European Commission has revealed that 250 million of the EU’s half a billion citizens are now regular internet users, with 80 per cent going online with a broadband connection.

(18-04-08) - O2 launches mobile broadband package - O2 has become the latest provider to offer mobile broadband, launching a new tariff today.

(17-04-08) - Next generation broadband in new build developments - Ofcom yesterday published proposals on how best to deal with the deployment of next generation broadband in new build housing and office developments.

(16-04-08) - 21 Century Network speed doubts - Claims that half of the country would be able to receive actual speeds of 12Mb under BT’s 21 Century Network have been dispelled by the company today.

(15-04-08) - Carphone Warehouse reports slowing growth - Carphone Warehouse reported 109,000 new broadband additions in its latest quarterly results.

(14-04-08) - EU against 'three strikes' piracy policy - European politicians have voted against government plans to disconnect internet users who repeatedly download illegal files from the internet.

(11-04-08) -‘Broadband tax’ could fund public broadcasting - Internet service providers could face a new tax to help resolve funding problems in public service broadcasts, which could result in higher broadband costs for consumers.

(10-04-08) -Higher advertised speeds less likely to be achieved - The higher the top advertised speed of a broadband package, the less likely customers are to achieve it, according to new data released today.

(09-04-08) -Massive mobile broadband growth - Super fast mobile broadband has seen an annual growth of 150 per cent according to data from the Global mobile Suppliers Association.

(08-04-08) -New migration code expected this month - The latest report from the Telecoms Adjudicator has said that a new “Migrations Code of Practice” will be released this month.

(07-04-08) -Super fast broadband only as common as dial-up - Broadband connections over 8Mb are only as common as the old dial-up speeds of less than 128Kb - both being used by only three per cent of broadband subscribers, according to new research.

(04-04-08) -Virgin Media continues at the top - Cable provider Virgin Media has held onto the top spot in BroadbandChoices.co.uk speed test results for March.

(03-04-08) - Carphone Warehouse may bid for Tiscali - Carphone Warehouse could be a potential bidder for Tiscali, one of the UK’s biggest broadband providers, which went up for sale this week, according to reports.

(02-04-08) - Almost half of the UK are ‘computer illiterate’ - Despite the ever-increasing dominance of technology in our lives, 42 per cent of the UK still considers themselves computer illiterate according to a new report by BT Home IT Support.

(01-04-08) - Ofcom takes action on mis-selling - All communications providers will be forced to sign up to a dispute resolution scheme to deal with customer complaints under new rules being introduced by the telecoms regulator Ofcom.

(31-03-08) - Virgin Media to tackle illegal downloads - Virgin Media looks set to become the first UK broadband provider to publicly share responsibility for illegal content downloaded over its network, it has been reported.

(28-03-08) - Online privacy a concern for consumers - UK consumers are worried about the way that their personal data could be accessed over the internet according to the Ofcom Consumer Panel, which advises the telecoms regulator, Ofcom.

(27-03-08) - The real cost of internet television - Downloading movies and TV programmes from the internet could cost consumers as much as £20 a month extra, experts have warned.

(26-03-08) - Young people being ‘raised online’ - Spending more than 20 hours a week on the internet, many young people are effectively being “raised online”, warned the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR).

(25-03-08) - Eight EU countries ahead of the US in broadband - Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands and Sweden were all reported as world broadband leaders with more than 30 per cent broadband penetration, according to a new report.

(20-03-08) - Almost half of consumers don’t know their broadband speed - Forty-four per cent of broadband users are unable to identify their actual download speed, according to new research.

(19-03-08) - Half of broadband users unhappy with their provider - New research has shown that although broadband is now at its fastest and cheapest, 50 per cent of users are still not happy with the customer service that they receive.

(18-03-08) - ISPA Award Winners Named - The 2008 ISPA awards took place at the weekend, with Plusnet emerging victorious in the race for the best consumer ISP gong.

(14-03-08) - BT in call for Broadband Advertising Regulation - BT, the UK’s largest broadband provider, has called for the industry to be transparent in its broadband speed advertising.

(12-03-08) - We Tested, You Reacted - Monday’s publishing of the BroadbandChoices.co.uk monthly speed test league table prompted a deluge of responses from broadband users up and down the country.

(10-03-08) - Virgin Media regains the top spot - Cable provider Virgin Media has taken back the top spot on the BroadbandChoices.co.uk monthly speed test league table, after falling to second place in January.

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