Broadband should be marketed far more for its benefits, rather than an end in itself, and ISPs should be more creative at coming up with affordable packages which include computers.
That is the summary of Jill Pitt, researcher at Consumer Focus, a body part-funded by government which researches consumer issues. Presenting research at the House of [...]

TalkTalk is calling on Ofcom to ban BT, and any other provider, from using ‘rolling contracts’ to hook customers in to long-term contracts.
BT came under heavy criticism yesterday in a Which? report for using contracts which tie consumers in to the service for 18 months and are then renewed at the end of the 18 [...]

The Government’s plan to introduce a 50p levy on all telephone land lines has run in to heavy criticism from an all-party group of MPs.
The Business Innovation and Skills Committee has labelled the tax as “ill-directed” because it takes money from everyone to deliver a gain that not all will see. As the committee concluded:
“We [...]

A laptop that ‘even your granny’ is supposed to be able to use and which comes with broadband and support for just under £35 per month became available today in a bid to get more silver surfers online.
Andrew Holmes, co-founder of The Broadband Computer Company claims its Alex laptop (named after Alexander Graham Bell, inventor [...]

European Commission seems happy but rival firms could yet put a spanner in the works.

BT’s decision this week to open its fibre ducts to competitors has been given a cautious welcome by rivals.
However, the overriding concern is that there are no firm details from BT about how access will be given and under what terms. With the growing politicisation of fibre, for its ability to bring ‘next generation’ broadband [...]

BT is to open its fibre ducts to allow third parties to roll out their own fibre networks.
In a move its Chief Executive described as ‘unlikely to be the silver bullet that will get fibre in to every home’, the broadband giant has arguable pre-empted future legislation that would have forced it to open its [...]

People who spend a lot of time on the Internet are more likely to be depressed – or at least show depressive symptoms.

The Tories have been unveiling their digital ambitions.

The Independent Spectrum Broker admits moves toward Digital Britain came at “wrong point in the electoral cycle.”

How the anti-piracy measures included in its Digital Economy Bill could work in practice.

The industry body’s commissioned its own research into the costs of the Digital Economy Bill’s copyright clauses.

Less than 10% of IPv4 addresses remain and it could have “grave consequences” for the future of the net.

The defendant in Britain’s first prosecution over illegal file-sharing has been found not guilty.

Residents and businesses in part of Manchester are a step closer to having a “true open access network which will revolutionise ways of working and using digital communications.” That’s according to the Manchester Digital Development Agency (MDDA), which has announced the appointment of a firm to deliver its next-generation fibre-optic broadband project.

Government says one in four of its Digital Britain recommendations have been achieved.

The Digital Economy Bill has been having its first “line by line examination” in Parliament this week.

The Department for Business Innovation and Skills has opened up a three month consultation period to gather views on how the Next Generation Fund could best be used to bring Next Generation Access to 90% of the population by 2017. Estimates suggest the fund could reach as much as a billion pounds within that period.
The [...]

You won’t be seeing any more of the Tiscali logo as the brand is officially decommissioned.

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.