The community initiative behind the biggest single Wi-Fi network in the UK is proposing extending its reach even further across South West England – and boosting broadband speeds to boot. But because that’ll put it in competition with BT, which has its own ideas for super-fast broadband in the area, the plans could spell trouble for local businesses.

The new presidency’s agenda includes a proposal to make broadband provision compulsory in Europe.

The BT Group is waging a war on two fronts: versus the Government on one side, battling TalkTalk and Sky on the other.

Not only has BT Retail declared itself the first UK Internet Service Provider to reach the five million customer milestone, it’s also revealed it’s ahead of schedule when it comes to installing its next-generation broadband network

Like just about every other country in the world France has a digital master plan – to bring broadband to the entire country by 2010 – but there wasn’t any money to make it happen, until this week.
President Nicolas Sarkozy has confirmed that a €35 million scheme to inject more public money into the economy [...]

TeliaSonera today launches what it claims to be the world’s first commercial 4G mobile broadband service, in Stockholm and Oslo.
Although there have been many trials of the 4G or Long Term Evolution (LTE) services across the world, today’s service is, the network operator claims, the first time a full commercial service has been on offer.
The [...]

After BT admitted the only person it’s connected to broadband in a village on the Oxfordshire-Buckinghamshire border is the firm’s own chairman, it’s emerged neighbouring homes could be online as early as next year. However, that won’t be down to the telecoms giant but instead thanks to a local initiative.

Back in 2006, Northern Ireland proudly claimed to be the first region in Europe to benefit from 100% broadband coverage. This was achieved by equipping all telephone exchanges with DSL, and providing satellite broadband to anyone too far from the exchange to get speeds of at least 512 kpbs. The cost to the [...]

Will wireless broadband help to bridge the digital divide in America?

Mobile operator 3 says that, due to poor 3G coverage in some areas, some of its customers are unable to even carry out basic web surfing – and it’s revealed how its going to do something about it. Meanwhile, rival firm Virgin Media has unveiled its new “super fast” modem for mobile broadband, featuring a potential top speed that’s double that of its existing offering.

Businesses are driving fibre deployment across Europe at a far greater rate than governments. In fact, corporations and public institutions could even hold the key to widening the UK’s next generation footprint.
That is the conclusion of Lee Myall, UK Regional Director for Interoute, a telecommunications company which claims to have more than 57,000km of ‘lit’ [...]

A change of government, the economy in recession, and a national deficit that’s twice as large as originally thought – it’s hard to imagine a set of circumstances less conducive to spending public money on capital-intensive fibre infrastructure. And yet the Greek government’s ambitious plan to build a €2.1 billion fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) network is [...]

More than 50 free Wi-Fi hotspots are due to be switched on in not-spot areas by a company based around the premise there is more to the technology than fleecing businessmen in airport lounges.
The locations, which include remote Scottish Islands, will be named next week. They won a competition run earlier this year by Freerunner, [...]

Leaked Government documents appear to reveal that the 50p levy on fixed lines intended to fund Britain’s access to super-fast broadband could cost consumers more than previously thought. Accordingly, not only will Value Added Tax (VAT) come in the equation, but we also now appear to have confirmation that households with more than one phone line will be charged separately for each one.

After Swindon unveiled its “Digital City” initiative last week, even Wiltshire residents may be now wistfully looking over to South Yorkshire as the heart of its new Digital Region project goes live. While it may not boast free Internet access, it is promising a “guaranteed” 25Mbit/s service and that its users will “get what they pay for.”

Even though the Spanish government has reportedly already dismissed this option.

The people of a remote village that they describe as “England’s last wilderness” have started digging the trenches that’ll grant them Next Generation Access (NGA) to broadband, meaning it’ll be far from being the country’s last NGA not-spot. Meanwhile, it’s emerged broadband is increasingly becoming a deal-breaker when it comes to selling homes in rural areas.

WiMax will not be the wireless broadband saviour for the digital have-nots, according to CI-Net Managing Director Graham McLean.
The ISP has recently expanded its RedKite WiMax service but at £3000 per year, it is targeted at businesses which require a stable back up option to fixed line connections. It has been operational for four years [...]

How to achieve universal broadband in a country of over 300 million people occupying around 10 million square km?

The Queen’s been giving Her annual address to Parliament, formally unveiling what will be the current Government’s final legislative programme. In doing so, she announced that a new Digital Economy bill would be published on Friday and what the key elements will be – and there’s no mention of the infamous 50p levy on landlines being implemented.