|
Home >> Broadband
company news
Broadband Company & Provider
News
All broadband
press releases and news items are now served via our
Broadband
Blog.
A single broadband news feed is available as
follows:
Broadband
news RSS feed
Broadband
news atom feed
Current
broadband news
October
2005
BT takes another major step
towards next generation TV (26/10/05)
BT today set out its vision
for nationwide next generation TV as it announced that Europe’s largest
electronics company Philips has been selected to supply the set top box to
deliver a range of unique services. Every set top box will include a personal
video recorder (PVR) capable of storing up to 80 hours of programming and
capable of delivering High Definition content.
PIPEX acquires Freedom to Surf to
further strengthen broadband offerings (20/10/05)
PIPEX
Communications plc has announced the acquisition of Freedom to Surf plc, the
Internet Service Provider, and Freedom to Surf Consumer Services Ltd
(collectively "F2S"), further strengthening its broadband offering to new and
existing customers.
Force9 speeding towards 24Mb
broadband (14/10/05)
Force9, the UK’s best value ISP, has
today announced two trials to supply its customers with broadband speeds of up
to 24Mb. Force9 will run a trial with Easynet to deliver speeds of up to 24Mb
based on their Local Loop Unbundled network. Force9 customers in selected areas
are expected to be able to access the highest speeds available in the UK from
December.
Easynet announces PlusNet
LLUStream trial (14/10/05)
Easynet Group Plc, the pan-European
broadband networking company, announces today that it has partnered with major
U.K. ISP PlusNet to trial next generation broadband. PlusNet is the latest
partner to endorse LLUStream, Easynet’s wholesale LLU service.
Ntl / Telewest merger creates the
U.K.’s second largest communications company (03/10/05)
NTL
Incorporated (NASDAQ: NTLI) and Telewest Global, Inc. (NASDAQ: TLWT) announced
today a definitive merger agreement under which ntl will acquire Telewest,
creating the U.K.’s second largest communications company and leading
triple play service provider with a cable footprint covering more than 50 per
cent of U.K. households. The combined company will have nearly 5 million
residential customers. It will be the largest provider of residential broadband
services in the country with 2.5 million subscribers, the second largest pay TV
provider with 3.3 million subscribers and also the second largest fixed
telephony provider with 4.3 million subscribers.
September
2005
'Be' starts the 24 Meg broadband
revolution
Be, the breakthrough broadband provider, today launched
'Be home 24 meg' - the UK's fastest broadband service. For just £24 per
month, Be offers it's members speeds up to 24 megs and limitless 24 hour per
day access to the Internet, using the free, wireless Be Box modem.
Be sets 18.5Mb UK broadband speed
record (02/09/05)
Be, the UK’s newest broadband provider, broke
the speed record yesterday when their first customer, Stefan, connected to the
Internet in Clerkenwell with a download speed of 18.5 meg. [read more]
Telewest Broadband
launches green initiative (01/09/05)
Telewest Broadband is working
with Future Forests, in association with IM Forestry, to dedicate a tree in the
Balblair forest in Scotland for every new customer that signs up to its
electronic billing service. [read more]
August
2005
Mailbox Internet leads
with new Broadband diagnostics (30/08/05)
Taking the lead in ADSL
innovation with the introduction of two new DSL diagnostic tools, Mailbox
Internet is the first ISP in the country to allow customers and resellers to
diagnose problems with DSL circuits through a friendly, easy-to-use web
interface. [read
more]
Instant over-the-phone
broadband availability check (30/08/05)
A next-generation ADSL tool
has been announced by Mailbox Internet. The completely new ‘dial-in ADSL
availability checker’ allows anybody to pick up a telephone and receive
information about ADSL availability. [read more]
PIPEX & Airspan launch UK
WiMAX trial (23/08/05) PIPEX Communications (AIM:PXC.L) and Airspan
Networks (NASDAQ: AIRN) today announced the commencement of a six month WiMAX
trial in the UK. This will be used to evaluate the delivery of broadband
services using PIPEX’ WiMAX spectrum and Airspan’s WiMAX products.
This is the first 802.16-2004 compliant WiMAX trial in the UK. [read more]
Cable &
Wireless introduces first Next Generation Network for London
(19/08/05)
Cable & Wireless today becomes the first telecoms operator to
bring Next Generation Network (NGN) technology to the heart of London. The
first users of the new network will be thousands of customers of Bulldog
Broadband, who already have services of up to 8 megabit. The new network can
support higher volumes of traffic and new services, as well as increased
broadband speeds, allowing downloads of music tracks to be measured in seconds
rather than minutes and for viewing feature films. [read
more]
NTL Incorporated
appoints new Chief Operating Officer (16/08/05)
Formerly Managing
Director, Distribution, of Lloyds TSB Group Plc, Neil will be responsible for
running ntl’s day-to-day operations, helping the Company to become the
UK's premier provider of communications and entertainment services. Neil will
report to Simon Duffy, Chief Executive Officer of ntl, and will be based in the
Company's operational headquarters in Hook, Hampshire. Neil will join
ntl’s Group Operating Board. [read more]
Telewest Broadband to launch
10Mb broadband service (11/08/05)
Telewest Broadband has today
announced plans to shake-up its blueyonder internet services - with the most
significant speed boosts seen yet - and outlined its capability to go much
faster in the future. [read more]
Wireless Broadband for approx
2.5 million Cork Airport commuters (09/08/05)
BT today announced
that it has won a contract to provide wireless broadband (Wi-Fi) to commuters
at Cork International Airport. Available in all public areas throughout the
airport, BT Wi-Fi offers competitively priced wireless broadband to the
millions of business and leisure travellers that pass through the airport each
year. [read more]
Eclipse Internet to trial
national platform for digital TV (04/08/05)
Eclipse Internet
announces that it is starting trials today of a new national
‘triple-play’ service that incorporates digital television, telephony
and its award-winning broadband service. Working with Netgem, manufacturers of
the highly rated next generation iPlayer+ settop box, Eclipse Internet is
creating an all-inclusive service that will allow customers to use the range of
benefits possible through the iPlayer+ box as well as 2Mbps broadband
connection and Eclipse’s exclusive low-cost calls package. [read more]
Scottish football kicks
off on Telewest Broadband (02/08/05)
Telewest Broadband will be
launching three new channels this week as it gears up for the start of the Bank
of Scotland Premier League football season. Setanta Sports 2, Celtic TV and
Rangers TV will join Setanta Sports 1 on the cable company's digital TV
service, enabling football fans to watch all the live action from the comfort
of their armchair. [read more]
July
2005
AOL Broadband launches
online 'Summer of Fun' for Kids and Teens (30/07/05)
AOL has
launched two new online areas for its younger users, which will focus on
providing fun and alleviating boredom during the summer holidays. 'Zoo' and
'X', for kids and teenagers respectively, are primarily aimed at AOL Broadband
members, as they provide exclusive online video content not previously
available in the UK, such as the highly popular Princess Natasha cartoons,
which will only be available on Zoo. [read more]
Easynet partners with
Onetel to bring superfast broadband to Onetel customers
(29/07/05)
Easynet Group Plc, the pan-European broadband networking company,
has today signed a 3-year contract to provide wholesale broadband services to
Onetel, Centrica’s telecommunications arm. Onetel will utilise
Easynet’s local loop infrastructure to provide cost-effective next
generation broadband services to its customer base. [read more]
BT First quarter results show 5.6
Million broadband end users (28/07/05)
BT have today published First
quarter results to June 30, reporting a profit before taxation of £511
million (up 20%) and a doubling of wholsesale broadband connections (over the
previous 12 months) to 5.6 million. Broadband revenue was reported to have
grown by 55 per cent to £161 million and the growth of broadband
continues with 1,940,000 BT Retail connections at June 30, 2005, an increase of
11 per cent in the quarter. [read more]
ntl partners with Mitel
to deliver advanced IP solutions (27/07/05)
ntl business, a leading
provider of business communications services, is building on its IP heritage
through a partnership with leading IP solutions provider, Mitel. ntl will use
Mitel’s advanced IP PBX portfolio to deliver IP telephony solutions to
corporate and public sector customers. [read more]
THUS (Demon Broadband) - Annual
General Meeting Trading Update (27/07/05)
Since the start of the
current financial year, THUS has continued to grow across all three of its key
divisions of Managed solutions, Data and telecoms and Internet services. The
Company’s ability to sustain growth has been underpinned by its strength
in the delivery of converged services and by continued expansion in broadband.
[read
more]
Tiscali introduces the
most complete internet to its customers (26/07/05)
Today Tiscali has
signed an agreement with UNIDT (Unified Identity Technology), an international
top level domain administrator, giving all Tiscali subscribers access to a new
generation of internet "Top Level Domains (TLD's)". Top Level Domain names are
the letters or words following the dot in a website address. UNIDT allows
companies to register domains such as .Tiscali or .KPMG without needing to
enter the traditional internet domains (such as .com/.org/.net), or country
codes (such as .nl/.be/.de) and without needing to type “www.” [read more]
BT keeps a keener eye on
ISP customer experience (26/07/05)
BT Retail has committed to
gleaning new intelligence about its Internet customers’ experience and the
performance of BT’s key Internet Service Provider (ISP) competitors.
BT’s ADSL broadband and dial-up narrowband services will be monitored from
five geographic locations around the UK using ISP-I™ (pronounced “eye
spy”), the customer experience monitoring and competitor benchmarking
solution from Purple Sun. [read more]
Cable and Wireless AGM,
Chairman’s remarks confirm talks with Energis (25/07/05)
In
their recent AGM announcement, Cable & Wireless have confirmed via
Chairmans comments that they are approaching the stakeholders of Energis
concerning a possible acquisition, that a transaction is not yet certain and
that a further announcement can be expected. [read more]
ntl to launch On Demand digital TV
services to 100,000 customers (25/07/05)
ntl, the UK’s leading
digital cable TV company, today unveiled plans to launch Video on Demand –
its next generation digital TV service – to 100,000 customers over the
next seven days. As a result, the number of customers with its innovative ntl
On Demand service will reach 375,000, just six months after its UK launch. [read more]
BT chooses AMV for converged consumer
mega-campaign (22/07/05)
BT today announced that it has selected
Abbott Mead Vickers to launch a unified single mega-campaign across the whole
of its consumer business. The contract was awarded to AMV on the basis of their
creative vision for fulfilling BT’s brief for a single, integrated
campaign. This will mark a major change for BT. [read more]
ntl delivers IP telephony
to improve patient services for the Ipswich Hospital NHS Trust
(20/07/05)
ntl Business, a leading provider of communications services to
the public sector, has announced the completion of a robust converged voice and
data network, delivering a low-cost patient booking system to the Ipswich
Hospital NHS Trust. Building on its IP heritage, ntl has provided the Trust
with a contact centre solution to enable its Patient Appointment Centre to
offer greater, more reliable services to patients. [read more]
BT Selects Nortel Equipment for
Hosted Business Voice over IP (18/07/05)
BT has placed orders for
Nortel's Communication Server (CS) 2000 carrier-class voice over IP call server
solution, which will enable delivery of an IP-based business voice solution
hosted in BT's network and aimed at supporting the communications needs of
large public and private sector organizations. [read more]
Wanadoo's IWF Funding Council
Representative Elected to IWF FC Chair (18/07/05)
Simon Persoff,
Director of Regulatory Affairs at Wanadoo UK plc. has been elected Chair of the
IWF Funding Council which is made up of representatives from funding member
companies. At Wanadoo, Simon is responsible for legal and regulatory policy and
compliance, competition law, communications law, information law, economic
regulation, public policy and political affairs. [read more]
Teleport service extended with
instant access to whole TV series (14/07/05)
Teleport, Telewest
Broadband's TV-on-demand service, is today enhanced with the launch of Teleport
TV, a new section offering complete TV series at the touch of a button. The
cable company's Teleport service was launched to digital TV customers in
Cheltenham and Gloucester earlier this month, offering a huge selection of
current programmes and films via the existing set-top box and remote control.
The service enables viewers to watch what they want, when they want and is
being launched on a region-by-region basis. [read more]
THUS Provides Voice And
Data Convergence To The Funding Corporation (13/07/05)
THUS plc
today announced that it has migrated The Funding Corporation onto an MPLS
(Multi-Protocol Label Switching) IPVPN across its Wide Area Network (WAN). As
one of the largest independent finance companies in the UK, the upgrade will
provide The Funding Corporation with geographic convergence of all its voice
and data services across a single infrastructure, drastically reducing
networking costs and allowing for greater control, quality and bandwidth in
supplying services to its branches across the UK. [read more]
Claranet purchases Amen Group
and VIA operations in the Netherlands, Portugal and the USA
(12/07/05)
Claranet and VIA NET.WORKS (Nasdaq: VNWI), today announced the
sale of the Amen Group and VIA operations in the Netherlands, Portugal and the
USA to Claranet for $9.3 million, in cash. [read more]
Demon to host
content for Sky’s new interactive television portal
(11/07/05)
Demon today announced it has been chosen by Sky Interactive as
the first hosting provider for its new interactive TV portal. The new service
will enable Sky customers to access a range of Internet services that have been
adapted specifically for television. [read more]
IZR announces VoIP
services (08/07/05)
IZR Solutions Ltd. a business specific ISP and
provider of secure national and international VPN services today announced the
launch of it's Voice over IP (VoIP) service. [read more]
BT South East region is first in the
UK to clock up one million BT wholesale broadband connections
(06/07/05)
BT today revealed that more than one million homes and businesses
in the South East have connected to its broadband services. The region is the
first in the UK, including London, to reach this trail-blazing target. Just
three months ago BT announced that it had hit five million broadband users in
the UK and 880,000 were in the South East. [read more]
All 83
Leicestershire and Rutland BT exchanges now upgraded to broadband
(06/07/05)
BT today announced that all of its 83 local telephone exchanges
serving more than 420,000 homes and businesses, in Leicestershire and Rutland
have been upgraded to broadband. The company completed its enablement programme
across both counties when broadband was switched on at Somerby exchange today
as part of its £1.5 billion national broadband investment programme. [read
more]
Easynet signs
significant education broadband contract with E2BN (04/07/05)
Pupils
in the East of England will be given an enhanced learning experience as
pan-European broadband provider Easynet deploys broadband infrastructure to the
E2BN network which includes 11 Local Authorities and covers nearly 3000 schools
in a £4 million, 5-year contract. [read more]
Cardiff chosen as first city to
benefit from BT's 21st Century Network (04/07/05)
The people of
Cardiff and the surrounding area will be the first in the UK to enjoy phone
calls, broadband and Ethernet services over BT’s 21st Century Network
(21CN) when it is rolled out to a regional concentration of customers for the
first time. The migration of customer lines to the new infrastructure is
expected to begin during the second half of 2006. BT will migrate around
350,000 customer lines in the area, including many served by other telephone
and internet service providers and mobile operators. The experience and
customer feedback from the first mass customer migration project will help BT
finalise plans to roll out 21CN to customers across the UK by the end of the
decade. [read more]
June
2005
‘Be’ to launch 24 meg
broadband in the UK – BeThere.co.uk (30/06/05)
Brand new
internet service provider Be is on the verge of launching 24 meg download
speeds – the fastest in the UK and triple the speed of the current leading
competitor. Using ADSL2+ technology that doubles the download bandwidth,
together with LLU (Local Loop Unbundling), Be’s new service is a
revolutionary overhaul of the UK broadband market. The rollout will start in
London, quickly expanding to the rest of the UK. [read more]
Telewest Broadband launches
Teleport (30/06/05)
The days of traditional TV are numbered, with
the unveiling of a new service that allows viewers to create their own TV
schedule and watch what they want, when they want. Telewest Broadband is making
Teleport, its new TV-on-demand service, available to over 26,000 customers in
Cheltenham and Gloucester today – the first stage of national roll-out
plans which will revolutionise digital TV for more than a million customers by
early next year. [read
more]
Star Internet further
strengthens its managed technology services business with key executive
appointment (28/06/05)
Star, today announced the appointment of
Marcel Horst as Vice President of Service Delivery, further strengthening its
executive leadership team and commitment to customer service. Horst will be
responsible for leading a service delivery organisation that provides customers
with one common service interface with Star. He will join Star's executive team
and play an integral part in continually improving the company's service
delivery. [read
more]
New management at Bulldog
strengthen leadership position (27/06/05)
Bulldog Communications,
the UK market innovator in broadband and telephony services and pioneer of LLU
(Local Loop Unbundling), announced today four senior appointments to its
management team. Led by chief executive, Emanuele Angelidis, the new executives
consolidate the existing management team at Bulldog at a time of rapid growth
and ensure the company continues to build on its position as a market leader
and innovator. [read
more]
Onetel offers cheaper
line rental for small businesses (27/06/05)
Onetel, one of the UK's
leading communications companies, has today launched a new telephone line
rental service for businesses. The service will be offered for £11.99 a
month, 12 % cheaper than BT's business line rental. Customers will benefit from
a dedicated account team, access to their account online 24/7 and online
billing via Onetel's virtual customer service centre. A full range of line
features, including call barring, call divert and voicemail, backs up the
service. [read
more]
BT to launch broadband
blitz in Cornwall and Devon (24/06/05)
Fifty-six Cornwall and Devon
exchanges to be upgraded with broadband in just 31 days BT will launch a
broadband blitz on Cornwall and Devon later this month. Fifty-six BT exchanges
- representing a fifth of all exchanges in the two counties - will 'go live'
with broadband during a 31 day period beginning on Wednesday June 29. No other
counties in England or Wales have seen so many exchanges upgraded in such a
short timescale. The 56 exchanges, including some of the smallest in Cornwall
and Devon, serve more than 50,000 homes and businesses. Their enablement will
mean that broadband is almost universally available throughout the two
counties. [read
more]
Onetel responds to Ofcom's
publication of a new regulatory approach for fixed line
telecommunications (23/06/05)
Ian El-Mokadem, Managing Director,
Onetel comments: "We are pleased with the significant progress evident from
Ofcom's announcement this morning. We think the proposed new regulatory
approach involving legally binding undertakings provides greater certainty than
the alternative of an Enterprise Act referral. We particularly welcome the
undertakings related to the Access Services Division and its separation from
the rest of BT, not least in terms of branding. We also welcome the fact WLR is
included within the scope of the ASD, something that BT had previously
resisted. [read more]
BT commits to support new era of
regulation (23/06/05)
BT has today announced measures to help
support a proposed new regulatory settlement. This settlement, to be based on
guaranteed equality of access to BT’s local network, will deliver
regulatory clarity and certainty. This certainty is essential if companies are
to invest and innovate with confidence. BT has agreed in principle to offer
undertakings to Ofcom. The detail of the proposed undertakings will be
published on 30 June 2005. These include a timetable for key elements of the
settlement’s implementation. The undertakings, which are due to be
finalised over the next few days - prior to formal consultation by Ofcom - will
ensure every player has confidence in the settlement and so help usher in a new
era of clearly defined regulation. This will see regulation focused on key
areas and rolled back elsewhere. [read more]
Nortel, BB Mobile Show
Seamless Wireless Mobility Between 3G, Wireless Local Area Networks
(22/06/05)
TOKYO – Nortel* [NYSE/TSX: NT] and BB Mobile, a SOFTBANK
Group company, have achieved a second wireless industry milestone with what is
believed to be the world's first seamless handoff of voice and data services
between a third generation (3G) cellular network operating on the 1.7 GHz radio
frequency band and a wireless local area network (LAN). The test calls,
completed on a live Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) 3G
cellular network and an 802.11 wireless LAN, signal a new level of freedom,
access and mobility for mobile phone users. [read more]
Telewest Broadband trials web TV
service (21/06/05)
Telewest Broadband is developing a web-based TV
service on its blueyonder.co.uk website, using technology from Narrowstep. The
cable company's trial service provides broadband internet users with free,
high-quality TV content, via four channels which play out like traditional TV
channels. [read more]
Warwickshire is first West
Midlands county to have 100% broadband coverage (20/06/05)
BT
upgrades all 52 telephone exchanges to deliver high speed internet BT reaches
another significant milestone in its broadband rollout programme next week when
the final two telephone exchanges in Warwickshire are upgraded with the new
technology. The county will become the first in the West Midlands to have
broadband available at all of its exchanges when BT completes the upgrade of
Long Compton, in south Warwickshire and Pailton, near Rugby, on Wednesday, June
29. [read more]
Affiniti
launches business quality VoIP service for channel partners
(15/06/05)
Affiniti, the communications integrator created from the coming
together of Kingston Communications Business Services, Omnetica and Technica,
announced today that it is launching a Voice over IP service for its channel
partners to resell. The business class service is one of the most comprehensive
and advanced available in the UK. Voice over IP, also commonly known as Voice
over Broadband or Internet Telephony, enables people to make calls via a
broadband connection instead of using a separate phone line. [read
more]
ntl On Demand continues to expand
(15/06/05)
ntl, the UK’s leading cable TV company, continues to change
the way its customers watch television by expanding access to its new on demand
TV service. ntl On Demand adds control, choice and convenience to TV viewing in
a way other digital TV services simply can’t manage. Today the
company’s pioneering Video on Demand service is launched in Belfast,
following its recent successful launch across Nottingham, Mansfield, Newark,
Melton, Chesterfield and Lincoln. ntl On Demand is available now to over
250,000 customers, making it the largest on demand service available outside of
the US. At the same time, the range of content available continues to grow with
more children’s programming, more films and more music videos added. [read more]
Online security software from BT
Wholesale to allow ISPs to ease fears around Internet safety and
content (14/06/05)
BT Wholesale today announced the launch of its
Netintelligence internet security software, which allows internet service
providers (ISPs) to meet the online security needs of children and small
businesses. BT Wholesale also announced its first commercial contract for
Netintelligence with the UK 'family' ISP, V21. V21 is one of the first ISPs in
the UK to complement its broadband service with Netintelligence, to deliver a
highly secure broadband package to parents who are concerned about the safety
of their children while surfing the internet. [read more]
Vispa Internet
Launches the world's first Parental Control & Security software
(08/06/05)
The Internet is a world-wide network that provides electronic
connection between computers enabling them to communicate with each other.
There is a vast amount of data available on virtually every subject imaginable.
A substantial amount of content available provides the family with an
interesting, positive and educational experience. However, the freedom offered
by the internet, combined with this lack of governance means that there is
always the potential for misuse. [read more]
BB Mobile, Nortel
First to Demonstrate HSDPA Wireless Broadband in Japan
(06/06/05)
Supercharged Wireless Broadband Tests Provide Path to Real-Time
DVD-Quality Film, Gaming Applications. TOKYO – BB Mobile, a SOFTBANK Group
company, and Nortel * [NYSE/TSX: NT] have completed what is believed to be
Japan's first 'supercharged' wireless data transmission of 14.4 million bits
per second (Mbps) – 30 times faster than today's commercially deployed
wireless networks – using Universal Mobile Telecommunications System
(UMTS) technology. Live field tests were conducted with mobile handsets on BB
Mobile's wireless network built by Nortel. [read more]
Mistral joins BT’s high
speed ADSL trial (03/06/05)
Mistral Internet, the premier ISP for
businesses in the UK, has been invited to participate in a BT Wholesale market
trial of new higher-speed broadband access products. The scheme will test the
delivery of faster ADSL IPStream and BT DataStream products of up to 8Mb/sec.
[read more]
UK Online debuts first television
campaign (02/06/05)
Consumer ISP UK Online is cementing its position
as a leading British broadband provider with its first-ever television
advertising campaign. The ads, which air from 6th June on Channel 4 (London and
South East regions), and Film Four (nationally), are intended to boost consumer
awareness of the ISP’s pioneering broadband services. [read more]
Telecom plus
PLC is the fastest growing company in Europe (01/06/05)
European
Business magazine has recently announced that Telecom plus PLC is the fastest
growing company in Europe. This is a prestigious accolade and one that
represents the successes of the company over the last few years, and is
indicative of where the company is headed. [read
more]
The future’s bright the future’s
MPLS (01/06/05)
THUS plc continues to experience strong demand for
its MPLS IP VPN services, bringing new solutions to market over the coming year
THUS plc today announced future plans for its Multi-Protocol Label Switching
(MPLS) based IP VPN services that provide UK organisations with a flexible,
secure and cost-effective platform for wide area voice and data communications.
As one of the first UK telecoms operators to use state-of-the-art MPLS to
converge its customers’ voice and data traffic over a single network, THUS
is taking a number steps to cement its reputation for innovation in the
industry and will be rolling out a number of new solutions over the next year.
(read more)
May
2005
GlowPoint Expands
IP-based Video with Easynet to over 250 European locations
(26/05/05)
Easynet is enabling the European expansion of GlowPoint’s
IP-based video to more than 250 locations across Europe with its pan-European
IP network. Glowpoint, Inc. is the world’s leading broadcast-quality
IP-based video communications service provider. The relationship will
significantly reduce cost for GlowPoint. [read more]
Tunbridge Wells gets ready
for next-generation TV (23/05/05)
Telewest Broadband has upgraded
the last remaining analogue part of its network in the South East this week,
enabling a further 36,000 households in Tunbridge Wells, Tonbridge and
Edenbridge to receive digital TV and broadband internet services. The upgrade
comes just months before the launch of new, next-generation TV services from
the cable company including TV-on-demand and a personal video recorder (PVR).
[read more]
NetServices Plc acquire
Telefónica UK Limited (23/05/05)
Leading networking company,
NetServices Plc, has today announced the acquisition of Telefónica UK
Ltd. This acquisition adds significantly to the client base of NetServices in
areas of broadband and IP VPN network services for the SME, corporate and ISP
markets. The deal will add an estimated £20 million to NetServices Plc
annual turnover in the next fifteen months. [read more]
Telewest Broadband sets out
its telly vision (12/05/05)
Telewest Global, Inc. today announced
plans to transform its TV service, giving consumers greater access to, and
control over additional digital programmes. The cable company outlined the
expansion of its television-on-demand (TVOD) service, following its initial
launch in January, confirming that it intends to complete the national rollout
of TVOD to over one million digital TV customers by early 2006. [read more]
THUS deploys MPLS VoIP enabled
network for ScottishPower’s converged call centre connectivity
connectivity (05/05/05)
THUS plc today announced that it is
connecting ScottishPower to its advanced IP-based MPLS core network. The
network will provide the backbone for ScottishPower’s voice and data
services carrying VoIP traffic between five ScottishPower locations at
Cathcart, Falkirk, Warrington, Wrexham and Caernafon, and IP data connectivity
between all sites and Kirkintilloch in Scotland. As a leading international
energy business, ScottishPower required an integrated, resilient and
transparent network infrastructure that would support continued evolution of
the business, and allow ScottishPower to reduce risk and ensure maximum return
on investment. ScottishPower’s IT Business Services (ITBS) had a
requirement to provide voice links between its new call centre switches and
chose to facilitate this requirement by making a strategic decision to move
onto THUS’s MPLS network providing them with VoIP capability. The solution
is currently being deployed and will carry voice and data traffic on an
any-to-any basis across a secure and dedicated IP VPN. Each connected call
centre site will be directly connected to the MPLS network using resilient
Ethernet links. [read
more]
April
2005
PIPEX acquires hosting business to
enhance hosting offering and boost reseller footprint
(28/04/05)
PIPEX Communications has acquired award-winning Donhost, the
dedicated and shared hosting and domain name business, to further enhance its
hosting capabilities and provide a reseller-based hosting solution. Donhost is
a web hosting business providing shared and dedicated servers, reseller
solutions, domain name registration and Internet access to business and
residential customers in the UK. Donhost has 92,000 end customers for hosting
services and 120,000 domain names, which takes the total number of domain name
registrations for the PIPEX group to over 1 million. [read more]
Kim and Aggie help UK
Internet users scrub up their online safety and security
(25/04/05)
Kim and Aggie, the nation's queens of clean, today launched AOL's
'Clean Out Your Computer Week' to encourage Internet users to remove stubborn
spyware, spring clean the spam and vanish virulent viruses. A recent survey by
AOL* revealed that 83 per cent of respondents fear their personal details
falling into the wrong hands online and over three quarters of home Internet
users are worried about the number of junk emails they receive. [read more]
THUS to trial 8MBPS ADSL
broadband (21/04/05)
THUS tests next wave of super-fast broadband
with aims for national roll-out in autumn 2005 THUS plc today confirmed that it
will be working alongside BT Wholesale to trial an 8Mbps ADSL broadband service
in the UK. As one of the leading national telcos, THUS is playing a major part
in shaping the future of ADSL by undertaking pilot tests with selected Demon
business and consumer subscribers in Greater London and Strathclyde. THUS will
commence testing in April 2005 with an aim to deliver a full range of 8Mbps
broadband products to residential, home workers and business users by the end
of the year. [read
more]
BT broadband news: Swansea gets
SDSL broadband (20/04/05)
Swansea makes the next move along the
broadband highway when the city’s exchange is switched on to symmetrical
broadband services (SDSL) on April 24. Swansea follows Bridgend, Cardiff
Central, Newport, Roath and most recently Wrexham, as the next Welsh exchanges
to get the technology which, unlike asymmetric broadband (ADSL), allows users
to send as well as receive data at high speeds. [read more]
BT broadband news: Wrexham gets
SDSL broadband (12/04/05)
Wrexham becomes only the fifth place in
Wales to be switched on to symmetrical broadband services (SDSL) when the
town’s exchange is upgraded on April 17. Wrexham follows Bridgend, Cardiff
Central, Newport and Roath as the first in another 15 Welsh exchanges to get
the technology which, unlike asymmetric broadband (ADSL), allows users to send
as well as receive data at high speeds. [read more]
THUS Launches SDSL As
Backbone To New Demon Premier Broadband Range (11/04/05)
Symmetric
broadband provides cost effective, high performance addition to expanding Demon
Broadband product portfolio THUS plc today announced an extension to its Demon
broadband product portfolio by offering its customers Symmetric Digital
Subscriber Line (SDSL) services. SDSL broadband packages will be introduced as
part of THUS’s new Demon Premier Broadband range, a business-class product
suite which also includes ADSL services and introduces, for the first time, an
optional managed service level agreement for business critical applications
reliant on broadband availability. [read more]
BT YAHOO! BROADBAND REVAMPED TO MAKE MOST
OF THE WEB (09/04/05)
BT today announces significant enhancements to
its BT Yahoo! Broadband portal - providing a richer and more relevant gateway
to the internet for broadband and narrowband customers. Core to the revamped
portal is a new and updated browser, which now includes tabbed browsing –
allowing customers to surf numerous sites with the same browser. The new
anonymous browsing feature means you can surf the web without having to sign
in, and a redesigned sidebar provides simple access to your most frequently
used services. The new browser is also faster than the previous version and
incorporates a number of other usability and accessibility improvements. [read more]
Cable & Wireless
appoints Emanuele Angelidis Chief Executive of Bulldog Communications
(06/04/05)
Cable and Wireless plc (“Cable & Wireless”),
announced today the appointment of Emanuele Angelidis (40) to succeed Richard
Greco as Chief Executive of Bulldog Communications, the LLU (Local Loop
Unbundling) broadband and phone company . Bulldog was founded by Richard Greco
in May 2000 and was purchased by Cable & Wireless in May 2004. Under the
terms of the purchase Mr. Greco agreed to lead the business for its first year
with Cable & Wireless. [read more]
BT eclipses 5 million broadband target
and sets out vision for the future (04/04/05)
This week BT will
connect its five millionth wholesale broadband customer, beating a target set
by the company a year ahead of schedule. Broadband is now one of the fastest
growing consumer products of all time with a higher take up rate than
televisions, CD players, video recorders or mobile phones Ben Verwaayen,
BT’s CEO said: "Three years ago when we set a target of five million by
2006 it seemed a daunting task. To have reached this milestone so early into
2005 is a massive achievement for the whole industry. The momentum of broadband
is continuing to build. The latest million connections have come in just four
months, and BT is connecting a customer every ten seconds. But now the focus
needs to move from broadband availability towards the ways in which broadband
can improve people’s lives. At work through greater productivity, and at
home by delivering a whole range of new services. [read more]
Wales clocks up 208,000 of
UK’s 5 million BT wholesale broadband connections (04/04/05)
BT
today revealed that 208,000 homes and businesses in Wales had connected up to
its broadband services. News came on the day that BT announced it would achieve
five million wholesale broadband connections during this week, eclipsing a
target set three years ago by chief executive Ben Verwaayen by more than a
year. Broadband is now one of the fastest growing consumer products of all time
with a higher take-up rate than TV, CD players, video- recorders and mobile
phones. (Please see graph attached.) The latest million connections came in
just four months and BT is connecting a customer every 10 seconds, around the
clock. [read more]
North East region clocks up
524,000 of UK’s five million BT wholesale broadband connections
(04/04/05)
BT today revealed that 524,000 homes and businesses in the North
West region had connected up to its broadband services. News came as BT
announced it would achieve five million wholesale broadband connections during
this week - eclipsing a target set three years ago by chief executive Ben
Verwaayen by more than a year. [read more]
Geeky jargon leaves UK
Internet users more vulnerable to online scams and viruses
(04/04/05)
Internet users in the UK are being left confused and more
vulnerable to online risks because of the incomprehensible jargon in use,
according to a new Populus survey for AOL UK. AOL's 'Do you speak geek?' study
revealed that jargon such as 'phishing', 'rogue dialler', 'Trojan' and
'spyware' are a mystery to most Internet users, despite being commonly used in
connection to serious online security threats. For example, while a recent wave
of financial scams via email has tricked some UK consumers into handing over
their bank account details and even cash, the AOL survey revealed that 84 per
cent of home Internet users do not understand the term 'phishing', commonly
used to describe such scam emails. [read more]
New Research Identifies
50% Cost Savings For Businesses Migrating To Broadband Networks
(01/04/05)
New research published today by Analysys Research offers the
first comprehensive evaluation of the business case for switching from leased
line to broadband access for IP VPNs. The report, commissioned by Easynet, is
an important step forward in establishing the case for broadband as the access
technology of choice for corporate data networks. Analysys's research puts
forward strong evidence of the substantial gains to be achieved by migrating to
broadband technology. The report demonstrates how over a typical three-year
contract, a broadband solution can deliver savings of more than 50%. On a
medium-sized network of 70 sites this represents a cost saving of over
GBP677,000. What is more, the payback time – even taking into account
installation and project management costs in migrating to the new contract
– for the switch to a broadband network is less than a year. [read more]
March
2005
PDSA reaps rewards
of high-speed broadband through affordable managed technology from Star
(29/03/05)
Britain's leading veterinary charity PDSA benefits from secure,
high-speed Internet connectivity, following the successful implementation of
Star's managed broadband. Since the completion of the 40 installations in sites
across the UK in late 2004, the PDSA has been able to provide more responsive
online services to its staff, has dramatically improved internal communications
and IT support and, most importantly, enhanced customer service. [read more]
Mistral partners with Maxim to
offer voice and video package (21/03/05)
Mistral Internet, the
premier ISP for businesses in the UK, has teamed up with voice and data systems
specialist Maxim Solutions. Maxim will be using Mistral’s high-speed
national data network to offer a complete voice and data networking solution
tailored for individual businesses. [read more]
PlusNet plc CNET
Technology CEO of the year winner (16/03/05)
PlusNet's Chief
Executive Officer, Lee Strafford, has been named "Technology CEO of the Year
(small cap public firm)" in this years UK Technology Innovation & Growth
Awards from the European Technology Forum and Intellect. After scrutinizing the
financial performance, management, strategy and long term prospects of over 200
other firms, the panel of industry respected judges chose PlusNet's CEO Lee
Strafford as the winner. Strafford demonstrated exceptional leadership and
success in transforming Internet Service Provider, PlusNet plc. [read more]
UKFast celebrates massive Broadband
take up (09/03/05)
UKFast is firing on all cylinders as having
recently received the accolade of Best Hosting Provider at the ISPA Awards,
they now seem set to prove that they are just as committed to their Broadband
solutions. The companies ADSL broadband connections for the period Jan 1st to
Feb 28th have increased by over 350% compared to the same period in 2004. Head
of Sales, George Frewer is pleased, but not surprised by the broadband boom.
[read more]
BT retail to launch 8Mbps trial
(07/03/05)
BT Retail has announced that it will start trialling a mega-fast
8Mbps broadband service from April, with the aim of rolling it out to both
consumer and business customers by the end of the year. The announcement
follows BT’s super-fast 2Mbps service launch last month. The trial will
last approximately 10 - 12 weeks. A larger trial is expected in the summer
following a successful technical pilot. [read more]
LG
Electronics, Nortel Demonstrate ‘Supercharged’ Experience for
Streaming Video, Music Downloads to Consumers
(03/03/05)
CHATEAUFORT, France – Nortel* [NYSE/TSX: NT] and LG
Electronics [06657.KS] have completed the industry's first live test calls
using a commercial handset solution for the emerging broadband wireless
technology, High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA). [read
more]
£10 million
broadband project for the North East (01/03/05)
AN innovative
£10 million project to bring broadband to thousands more businesses and
homes across the North East has been successfully delivered to the rural
community of Eastgate in County Durham. [read more]
February
2005
Wanadoo crowned UK’s Best National
Consumer ISP (25/02/05)
Wanadoo crowned UK’s Best National
Consumer ISP for second year running – and also named the UK’s Best
Portal and Best ISP for Heavy Consumer Broadband! Wanadoo is celebrating today
after scooping not one, not two, but an incredible THREE industry Oscars.
Europe’s No.1 broadand provider beat off stiff competition from the likes
of BT Yahoo, MSN, Yahoo and Telewest to win the coveted titles of ‘Best
National Consumer ISP’, ‘Best Portal’ and 'Best Heavy Consumer
Broadband ISP’ [read more]
Northern Ireland
hits broadband milestone (24/02/05)
Northern Ireland today became
the first UK region, outside of London, to have every one of its exchanges
enabled for broadband. The announcement was made by BT Northern Ireland in
association with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment (DETI) and
the Building Sustainable Prosperity programme. [read more]
Nortel
to Showcase Broadband Wireless, Optimized Data Networking at 3GSM World
Congress 2005 (14/02/05)
CANNES, France – Nortel* [NYSE/TSX:
NT] will be showcasing broadband wireless data services over live GPRS, EDGE,
UMTS and HSDPA networks at 3GSM World Congress 2005, February 14-17 in Cannes.
Nortel activities will focus on solutions for optimizing networks, supporting
future demand for wireless broadband, and enabling services and applications to
help increase operator revenue potential and drive customer loyalty. [read
more]
BT Wholesale unveils further
broadband price and product developments (03/02/05)
BT Wholesale
today announced plans to deliver higher speed broadband services throughout the
UK together with a range of wholesale broadband pricing initiatives. The
changes include more competitive wholesale broadband pricing in response to
service provider requests to support the continued explosion of end user take
up of broadband connections. These customer focussed plans help develop the
competitive environment for the industry envisaged in today’s BT response
to the Ofcom Telecommunications Strategic Review (see News Release DC05 - 057).
[read more]
Costcutter and Virgin.net sign
ISP distribution deal (02/02/05)
Virgin.net, the UK's fifth largest
ISP, has signed an exclusive distribution deal with independent retail
operation Costcutter, that will see Virgin.net's ISP registration CDs available
in 500 Costcutter convenience stores. The CDs will be 'free-to-take' and will
provide Costcutter's customers with access to the Internet via one of
Virgin.net's four Internet access options - Broadband Plan One, Broadband Plan
Two, 24seven or Pay as You Go. [read more]
Easynet transforms
businesses across Europe with new contracts (02/02/05)
Easynet
demonstrates continuing strength in its European markets with significant new
business wins across Europe. The pan-European networking company has signed
contracts with customers in its countries in the UK, Belgium, France, Spain,
Germany, Italy and the Netherlands, which will use Easynet’s advanced IP
infrastructure to transform their businesses. [read more]
Mistral Internet acquires
Netkonect plc (01/02/05)
Mistral Internet today completed its third
acquisition during the month of January with the purchase of Basingstoke based
business ISP, Netkonect Communications plc. Mistral continues to grow both
organically and by acquisition in line with its goals to be the largest
independent business focused Internet Service Provider in the UK. Like Mistral,
Netkonect was started in 1994 and is therefore one of oldest and most
established ISP’s. The acquisition is Mistral’s 9th takeover in the
last two years and the largest to date. [read more]
January
2005
BT delivers on commitment to
broaden availability of symmetrical broadband services (31/01/05)
BT
today announced the next 500 exchanges that are to be upgraded to symmetrical
broadband services (SDSL) as part of its 12 month SDSL expansion programme
revealed at the end of last year. This programme forms part of a firm
commitment from BT to answer the needs of the growing number of UK towns and
cities that require higher speed, business-class broadband services. SDSL
offers a different type of broadband experience than asymmetrical broadband
services (ADSL). Whereas ADSL delivers higher speeds to users that want to
download large files, SDSL allows users to both send and receive data at high
speeds. This makes SDSL a more suitable form of broadband connectivity for
small to medium sized businesses, remote office workers and teleworkers. [read more]
HomeChoice service
reaches 15,000 subscribers (26/01/05)
VNL has today announced plans
to double the size of its Phase 1 footprint from 1.2 million to 2.4 million
homes. The first new homes will come online in March 2005, with the remainder
being passed by June 2005. VNL initially made inroads into launching its phase
2 footprint in December 2004 when it enabled five new exchanges –
including Stevenage its first exchange outside of the M25. [read more]
Easynet broadband services
set to transform the learning experience at Reading schools
(14/01/05)
Pan-European broadband networking company Easynet today announces
that it has been selected by Reading Borough Council to provide its broadband
services to 55 schools as part of the South East Grid for Learning. The
three-year contract is worth £1.4m and provides schools in the region
with high-speed broadband connectivity, content filtering and security.
Easynet’s technology will play a fundamental role in helping pupils and
teachers to realise the full potential of broadband in the teaching and
learning process and ensure that South East Grid for Learning meets the
Government’s strategic targets for broadband implementation ahead of 2006.
[read more]
2004
Virgin.net is Number One
for speed (10/12/04)
Virgin.net, the UK's fifth largest consumer
ISP, is now also the UK's fastest broadband provider, according to the latest
independent speed tests. According to ADSLguide.org.uk - one of the UK's most
recognised and authoritative broadband information and comparison sites -
Virgin.net Broadband outperformed all other providers in its class in the Top
10 for November 2004, both in terms of download and upload speeds. [read more] |
