OFCOM has issued guidance to communications providers on how it thinks the law applies to the extra charges consumers may have to pay on top of their usual bill. A Youtube video aimed at consumers is also provided on the web site.
This seeks to clarify OFCOM’s view of how the law applies to things like charges [...]

The BBC is bringing the download version of the iPlayer (as opposed to the streaming video version) to Mac and Linux users by using Adobe’s AIR cross platform technology. AIR allows flash type content delivery in a standalone executable outside the web browser and will also provide the Digital Rights Management (DRM) required to time-limit [...]

The boardroom comings and goings at Phorm continue as the UK Chief Executive, Hugo Drayton, left today ‘by mutual consent’.
A new role of UK managing director has been handed to Nick Barnett, who was Phorm’s commercial director. At the same time former Turner Broadcast Systems (Europe) president, Nan Richards, joins at Deputy Chief Executive Officer [...]

No sooner had the ink dried on the multiple column inches devoted to Virgin Media’s 50Mbps service launch, then Be announced results of a 48Mbps trial near Paddington, London.
Although the full results of the trial are not to be released until the start of next year, a statement from Be pointed out that managing director, [...]

The EU Council last week agreed the Economic Recovery Plan, which includes an element referring to broadband infrastructure :-
on the basis of a list of specific projects which will be presented by the Commission, taking into account a suitable geographical balance, the mobilisation of the possibilities, in the context of the Community budget, for strengthening [...]

Virgin Media have launched their 50 Mbits/s downstream cable service, which will will be rolled out country-wide over the next six months. About half of the UK population live in areas served by Virgin’s hybrid fibre/coax cable network. Price for the standalone service is £51/month compared to £36/month for the XL 20 Mbits/s service (currently [...]

BT’s trial of the controversial targeted advertising platform, Phorm, has ended with both parties reporting success and a commitment to ‘move towards deployment’.
The trial began two and a half months ago to establish if the technology could be used on real life which, Phorm claims, it has shown it can.
“The trial achieved its primary objective [...]

The European Commission’s recently announced Recovery Plan includes a €5 billion injection of unspent EU funds “to improve energy interconnections and broadband infrastructure”.
A little more detail is available in the FAQ where it is stated that “The strategy will be supported by public funds in order to provide broadband access to under-served and high cost [...]

Phorm is refuting suggestions that strategic differences have caused four senior board directors to quit and is also denying the departures show it is giving up on the America market.
Despite the departing American-based chairman and chief operating officer being replaced by non executives directors based in London, a spokesman for the company is adamant that [...]

Openreach look likely to receive permission to increase some wholesale prices, subject to the outcome of an OFCOM consultation launched today.
The objective of the increases is to allow Openreach to achieve an economic return on its local loop telephone lines when sold either as a wholesale telephone service or as an unbundled loop. Previously it [...]

A new Ofcom code of conduct comes in to effect today, requiring participating ISPs to provide potential customers with an accurate estimate of the speed they will achieve, rather than give a general, vague promise of ‘up to’ the maximum speed possible.
The ISPs which have signed up to the code (representing 95% of the market) [...]

Project Kangaroo was dealt a potentially fatal blow today when the Competition Commission unveiled preliminary findings which agreed with critics that it could curtail competition in the video on demand (VOD) industry.
The proposed online television service has been set up by BBC Worldwide, Channel 4 and ITV, allowing the country’s largest broadcasters and commissioners to [...]