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

Consumers receive about 60 percent of average advertised broadband speeds.

The pre-Budget report is out and the “broadband tax” is in – meaning the Chancellor has given the green light to a measure that’ll cost British households with fixed lines a minimum of 50 pence each month. This comes as another Commonwealth country is talking about putting a levy on its telecommunications firms instead of its consumers. And it wasn’t the only announcement that concerns Digital Britain in what’s being seen as Alistair Darling’s first real Budget.

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 [...]

BT is to supply an up to 10Gb network to the MediaCity UK development at Salford Quays which will host the BBC’s new offices, as well as the University of Salford and Northwest Vision and Media.
BT claims this will make the new media cluster as well connected as similar media hubs in Dubai and Singapore. [...]

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’ [...]

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.”

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.

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.

First Finland, now Spain, will make broadband access at 1 Mbps a legal right.

Free wireless Internet access is being offered everyone living in the Wiltshire town of Swindon. It’s a million pound scheme, with the money coming from a mixture of public funds and private enterprise. However, it’s emerged there’ll be limits on what’s available without charge.

BT Group and O2’s parent company Telefónica have both just released their results for the past quarter. With O2 UK now having breached the half-million mark in terms of its broadband subscribers, BT Retail has revealed it now has almost ten times as many people on its books.

The Government’s signed up a UK satellite operator in a bid to help reach the Universal Service Commitment (USC) that was laid out in the Digital Britain report. Avanti Communications is being called on to plug gaps in Britain’s broadband network as Blighty strives for 2Mbit/s access across the board by 2012. Meanwhile, another satellite broadband firm’s just announced its post-tax profits are up by over a third.