A new study from consumer group Which? has claimed that people across 236 of the UK’s 650 constituency areas (around 36 per cent) have poor broadband and 4G mobile coverage.
A new study from broadband comparison website Broadband Choices has revealed that Hull is the best place to live in the UK for access to top download speeds. The average across the UK is estimated to be 54.2Mbps, with Hull achieving 87Mbps. This is almost four times as fast as the slowest city in the UK, which is Truro at just 23Mbps.
In addition to its Connected Nations report, the country’s telecommunications watchdog Ofcom has released its Summer 2019 update which reveals that full-fibre ‘FTTP’ broadband coverage has risen by 1 per cent to 8 per cent in the last four months. This means that the number of homes and business unable to access 10Mbps+ broadband connections has declined from 619,000 to 578,000.
A study conducted by Beaming, a broadband ISP, found that more than 15 million workers across the UK have reacted emotionally to internet failures which have lessened their productivity at work.
A survey conducted by Zen Internet found that broadband users in Southampton and Glasgow were the most disgruntled with the service provided by their ISPs across the UK.
The Government, specifically the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, has granted the North Lincolnshire Council £1 million in a bid to improve the broadband internet speeds for businesses across Scunthorpe and North Lincolnshire.
Council leaders have said Greater Manchester will have the “best digital infrastructure in the UK” by 2021 after announcing plans to introduce a £23 million superfast broadband network in the ten boroughs within the city.
A new study of 1,000 workers in the UK, who attend meetings as part of their roles, has found that on average a third of an hour is “wasted company time”, with 4.6 minutes put down solely to internet or connectivity issues.
Rural regions across the UK are largely disadvantaged by the digital divide - a result of the areas being too scantily populated to justify the costs of major internet service providers expanding their telecommunication networks to meet and support people living in those areas.
Last week, during a House of Commons debate, the Minister for Digital and Culture, Margot James MP, made the claim that superfast broadband networks were now accessible to 97 per cent of all UK premises.
A research report from the HomeOwners Alliance and WiredScore revealed that homeowners and renters in the UK spend roughly £2.2 billion per annum in 3G or 4G mobile data fees as a result of suffering from poor internet connections whilst at home.
MPs across the country have made recent claims that farmers and rural communities are severely hindered by their poor access to online services.
A recent survey conducted by uSwitch revealed that 77 per cent of households with online gamers had issues with their broadband ISP connections, particularly when it came to dropped connections, buffering and slowdowns.
A recent study conducted by online estate agents Housesimple revealed that houses with ultra-slow speeds (less than 1Mbps) were, on average, valued at 24 per cent less than with properties in areas with fast internet connections.
The government has announced plans to further push out connectivity to all NHS GP surgeries and hospitals. The plans are in addition to existing pledges to connect all of these sites with leased lines by August 2020.
Research conducted by telecommunications service provider PowWowNow has looked into which areas in the UK provide the best internet speeds and connections for the digitally reliant and has revealed that – unsurprisingly so – that London was the UK’s most connected city.
A new study, commissioned and conducted by broadband internet service provider Glide, revealed that 5 per cent of businesses across the UK succumb to numerous internet failures regularly, with 12 per cent admitting to losing their connection on a daily basis.
The Colchester Borough Council has unveiled a public investment boost from the UK Government’s Local Full Fibre Network (LFFN) fund of £3.45m to expand the existing ultrafast broadband network in the area.
The Department for the Economy (DfE) is undertaking a consultation to determine the slowest broadband connectivity areas in Northern Ireland. In October last year, the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation and Exercise of Functions) Bill was passed to provide civil servants greater flexibility in making decisions regarding network improvement works.
A fast and stable connection is critical to providing the best possible education for young people. A council-run initiative has provided schools in Dorset faster and more reliable broadband speeds with superfast broadband technology.
New research conducted by consumer group Which? has revealed that parts of Scotland are among Britain's worst regions for broadband speeds, along with key areas of Central London. Which? used their broadband speed test more than 277,000 times across 2018 to put together a interactive map of broadband speeds across the country.
Nearly 90 per cent of properties in Northern Ireland now have access to superfast broadband, according to the UK's telecommunications regulator Ofcom. However, about 40,000 properties are still unable to get the desired broadband speeds, mostly in rural areas.
A new study conducted by comparison website uSwitch.com has revealed the country’s fastest and slowest streets for broadband ISP download speeds.
More than 30,000 homes and businesses in Hamilton are about to experience much faster downloading speeds and easier content streaming. Part of Openreach’s upgrade across a number of locations in the UK, the population of Hamilton is set to benefit from speeds of up to 330 Mbps, one of the fastest speeds available at present.
Openreach has announced a further broadband boost for 150,000 homes and businesses across the North West.
A report commissioned by Three, soon-to-be 5G network provider, claims that 5G tech will replace current fixed-line broadband connections in Britain and double the average speeds on offer. Written by analyst firm Ovum, the report outlines the benefits of 5G technology and the positive impact it will bring to broadband speeds, due to arrive in 2019.
Recognising the importance of a high-speed broadband connection in rural areas, mobile operator O2 has announced plans to extend its 4G footprint to 339 rural locations across the UK. 4G mobile broadband has been known to offer faster and more reliable speeds in rural areas when compared to fixed-line alternatives, so this announcement from O2 has been received with open arms.
Openreach’s November 2018 update has revealed that a further 81 new locations will benefit from the roll out of 330Mbps capable hybrid fibre G.fast internet connectivity. Termed “ultrafast broadband”, the connection is expected to reach 5.7 million homes and businesses across the UK by March 2021 – the end of the financial year.
A new campaign launched in Leeds, Yorkshire, has vowed to provide school children living below the poverty line with free internet access.
An agreement signed yesterday by major British landowners and Openreach (BT) has paved the way for superfast internet networks to reach rural parts of the country to boost connectivity speeds and reliability.
There have been a number of significant broadband developments within the Openreach network, covering Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP), G-fast, SOGEA, 21CN migrations and other new installation options.
VXFIBER, Swedish fibre optic Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband network builder has announced plans to expand operations in the UK with the appointment of former manager of the South Yorkshire Broadband Programme, Natalie Ward, as their Regional Account Manager for the Midlands and North of England.
The plans for the £4.3 million investment granted earlier this year to the 5G “RuralFirst” project have been revealed.
The first villages in the Test and Dun Valleys have reached broadband speeds of up to 362Mbps, with approximately 640 homes and businesses across Chilbolton and Goodworth Clatford now being able to benefit from the rollout of fast internet thanks to Virgin Media and village campaigners.
With key areas in agrarian, livestock and dairy production, the South-West of England contains a booming rural business economy. But it seems that the internet services are failing to keep up.
Thanks to the Digital Scotland broadband rollout, valued at £428 million, thousands of more homes and businesses across West Lothian can now upgrade to superfast internet connectivity. The rollout will ensure that more than 900,000 premises in the region, including areas in Whitburn, will have access to speeds averaging 24Mbps or more through fibre optic lines.
A study by Censuswide has revealed that two-thirds of Scotland's business chiefs first check broadband capability before even viewing commercial premises for rent. In fact, the research found more than nine in ten decision-makers for legal, finance and IT firms would not enter into a lease without checking connectivity first.
The government has estimated that the Broadband Delivery UK project, with an investment of more than £1.6 billion, extended its Superfast Broadband to over 95% of UK premises and has delivered a £9 billion surge in turnover for businesses.
Theresa May announced, on her recent visit to Edinburgh, that the government would invest £1.2 billion in the south-east of Scotland – a significant proportion of which would go towards “data-driven innovation [through] exceptional research and development activities”, as claimed by City of Edinburgh Council leader, Adam McVey.
An additional £11.15 million of funding was recently secured from the Government’s £75 million Rural Broadband Infrastructure Scheme (RBIS) for the Superfast North Yorkshire (SFNY) project. The funding is expected to boost current superfast broadband coverage of 24Mbps+ from 95 per cent to 97 per cent.
Communications regulator, Ofcom has launched a proposition wherein internet providers will be forced to inform clients when their minimum term contracts are coming to an end. The proposal comes after millions of customers throughout the country were overcharged for their broadband usage.
Figures from independent broadband guide Think Broadband show that Brighton and Hove have one of the highest rates of superfast broadband coverage in the UK, with the speed well above the Government target of 95 per cent and access has been provided to more than 99 per cent of homes and businesses. The Government defines superfast broadband as a speed of more than 24Mbps.
With speeds of 100 times greater than existing broadband, Cambridgeshire looks like it may be one of the first areas in the UK to trial 5G services.
Research conducted by property consultancy Cluttons has suggested that London lags behind other UK and global cities in terms of good broadband connectivity to houses and businesses alike.
According to research conducted by Citizens Advice Scotland (CAS), nearly 50 per cent of small businesses in the rural parts of Scotland are negatively affected by poor broadband connectivity.
The government is providing thousands of businesses across Kent voucher schemes to assist with the cost of connecting to full fibre broadband. The scheme also includes an option for businesses to group together to further boost the subsidiary of installation costs.
A report published by the National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) has called for the UK’s government to create a National Broadband Plan by Spring 2019. The aim is to achieve nationwide coverage of full fibre (FTTP/H) broadband by 2033.
After a four-year campaign, one of UK’s most rural parts, West Dorset’s Marshwood Vale, has finally gained access to UK’s fastest internet speeds. Almost 400 homes and businesses were part of the rollout. Initially, Marshwood Vale was not included in the local authority's rollout plans as the focus was on more populated areas.
A massive investment to bring digital connectivity across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough will be announced on Monday (9 July).
The UK government is likely to allow telecoms firms to decommission all copper phone lines. The shut off will see the elimination of ADSL and FTTC, which are currently used by the most of vast majority of Britain's broadband connections.
