SamKnows - Broadband News, Analysis and Profiles

Don't exclude disconnecting pirates, Sky tells Government

30 Sep 2009 | 15.27 Europe/London

Sky has broken ranks with leading rival ISPs BT and TalkTalk by revealing it thinks disconnection should not be excluded as a possible answer to piracy.

BPI slams "shameful" BT

29 Sep 2009 | 09.27 Europe/London

After BT made the claim that getting tough on Internet piracy would cost around £1 million per day, the body representing the music industry has launched a counter-offensive.

Is Allen key to file-sharing debate?

28 Sep 2009 | 08.00 Europe/London

Various musicians campaigned against peer-to-peer file-sharing in the States - but one band in particular gained an international notoriety that refuses to go away.

BT doubling its "next generation" broadband reach

24 Sep 2009 | 23.18 Europe/London

BT has officially announced it's doubling its so-called "next generation" capabilities - so that it could reach up to seventy-five per cent of UK homes and businesses.

Policing pirates could cost us £24 each

23 Sep 2009 | 21.44 Europe/London

BT says that clamping down on Internet piracy could cost as much as £1 million per day - and that the consumer is going to have to pick up the bill.

Timms: "Full steam ahead" for 50p levy

23 Sep 2009 | 14.30 Europe/London

Rumours of the death of the 50p per month tax on copper phone lines appear to have been exaggerated.

Stephen Timms, the minister responsible for Digital Britain announced this morning that it will be a key part of a finance bill that will be presented to the commons when parliament reconvenes after the party conference season.

Premier League's goal to close down net pirates

22 Sep 2009 | 07.09 Europe/London

Football is big business, with domestic rights alone to broadcasting Premier League matches worth around £1 billion per year.

Profile: Matt Hatton, Analsys Mason analyst predicts merger mobile delays

21 Sep 2009 | 17.31 Europe/London

The merger of Orange and T-Mobile is almost certain to cast further doubt over the speed of mobile broadband roll-out plans and further delays are possible if 3 were also bought.

Phorm's 'burn rate' gives it a year to succeed

21 Sep 2009 | 10.46 Europe/London

By its own figures, released today, Phorm would appear to have a year left to either convince a major ISP to roll out its controversial personalised advertising service or re-invent itself as a content recommendation service for publishers.

Digital Europe?

21 Sep 2009 | 07.11 Europe/London

It's not just the British Government that's been considering how to use broadband to bridge the "digital divide" - Europe's been at it too.

O2 and BT getting Joined Up

17 Sep 2009 | 17.24 Europe/London

O2 has announced it's going into partnership with BT to set up its first fixed-line service for businesses.

Digital divide plan appears lost in Bradshaw vs BBC spat

17 Sep 2009 | 09.12 Europe/London

Culture Sectretary Ben Bradshaw, launched a broadside attack on the BBC last night in a speech about the licence fee which could have huge ramifications for broadband.

1MB on a 12km line? BT says you can BET on it

16 Sep 2009 | 08.42 Europe/London

BT is trialling technology it claims can deliver a stable 1Mb service over a 12km line. This, it claims, more than doubles the capabilities of copper which normally cannot support broadband on a line more than 5km from an exchange.

Ofcom's VOD squads?

15 Sep 2009 | 08.55 Europe/London

Ofcom's just announced its proposals for regulating the UK's infamously "nascent" video-on-demand marketplace.

Consumer panel holding out hope for Digital Britain

11 Sep 2009 | 09.00 Europe/London

Officially, we are in the "implementation" phase of Digital Britain, though recent rumblings from the Government suggest that "disintegration" would be a more appropriate term.

Press cuttings: the numbers game

10 Sep 2009 | 07.01 Europe/London

Four hundred and forty-five million people in the world have broadband subscriptions. More than two million people have fibre to their home in Europe.

Anyone for Orange-T?

09 Sep 2009 | 07.00 Europe/London

The UK's third and fourth biggest mobile phone companies are merging, creating a British telco juggernaut that would become the country's biggest network.

New carrots and sticks in UK piracy battle

08 Sep 2009 | 07.11 Europe/London

A new advertising campaign's being launched to try and deal with what's being called "Generation Y-pay," using soft sell tactics and avoiding the sensationalism of previous attempts.

UK ISP Aquiss announces new unbundles of joy

07 Sep 2009 | 19.36 Europe/London

ISP Aquiss has announced an increase in its Local Loop Unbundling exchange capacity in eighteen locations around the UK.

8.1 million people don't know their limits

07 Sep 2009 | 09.11 Europe/London

Millions of broadband users don't know their download limits and, according to new research, the number is increasing.

Profile: BBC columnist Bill Thompson fears Digital Britain impetus lost

07 Sep 2009 | 07.45 Europe/London

Broadband writer Bill Thompson’s excitement over where Digital Britain is headed has swung from anxiety to mild optimism back to anxiety, all within a year.

UK Government wants your views on Ofcom's future

04 Sep 2009 | 15.31 Europe/London

While several policies advocated in the supposedly finalised Digital Britain report may be back up in the air, some things are still moving forward.

Lammy not silent on online piracy

04 Sep 2009 | 11.23 Europe/London

You'd be forgiven for thinking that there'd been a changing of the guard at the post of intellectual property minister - or that the role had been scrapped altogether.

Musicians unite against disconnection plans, back on YouTube

03 Sep 2009 | 21.37 Europe/London

While the mainstream media were getting themselves worked up about YouTube and PRS finally coming to a financial settlement, it has emerged a band of bodies representing major musicians is mounting a protest against the Government's recent u-turn on the road towards Digital Britain.

Mandelson's disconnection plans blasted by BT, TalkTalk and Orange

03 Sep 2009 | 10.28 Europe/London

BT, TalkTalk and Orange have taken the unprecedented step of joining forces with consumer groups to urge the government to ditch Lord Mandelson’s plans to cut off suspected illegal downloaders.

BT unveils next step in 21st Century plans

02 Sep 2009 | 20.14 Europe/London

BT's announced it's finally rolling out its Wholesale Broadband Managed Connect (WBMC) over IPstream Connect and - while the name alone may a technophobe's worst nightmare - the move promises to be good news for mainstream broadband users.

Sports boom: Sky’s mobile manager, David Gibbs, claims tech avoids 3G woes

02 Sep 2009 | 16.53 Europe/London

The Ashes approaching and then reaching a dramatic climax at the same time as the Premier League season got underway has given Sky a record number of new customers for its Sky Sports and News mobile television package as well as its 24-7 football goals and highlights service.

BBC website in the firing line

01 Sep 2009 | 20.47 Europe/London

Now that the Edinburgh Festival proper's over, it's the city's Television Festival that's hitting the headlines - and, for the BBC at least, it's no laughing matter.

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