Tag: OFCOM
Tech Digest daily round up: AI wins its first crossword competition
Matt Ginsberg is good at a lot of things - he is an AI scientist, author, playwright, magician and stunt plane pilot. But he isn't very good at crosswords. In fact, despite writing them for the New York Times, he says that when they are published, he often cannot solve his own. So when he…
Digital divide narrowed during pandemic, Ofcom suggests
The UK’s digital divide has narrowed during the coronavirus pandemic, as people go online to escape the lockdown, Ofcom research suggests. The proportion of homes without internet access appears to have fallen from 11% in March 2020, when the UK entered lockdown, to 6% of homes in March this year. Adults with previously limited digital…
Ofcom to build new digital tech hub in Manchester
Ofcom has today announced plans to open a major new digital and technology hub in Manchester, with the creation of up to 150 new jobs by 2025. Ofcom regulates communications in the UK – from broadcasting to telecoms and the postal service. However, it is now preparing for new duties to help make the internet…
Tech Digest daily round up: Apple patents ‘smart mattress’
Like something out of Wallace and Gromit, Apple has applied to patent a futuristic mattress sensor that can monitor people’s sleep and then wake them up by gently moving them in the morning. The iPhone maker has been working on an “in-bed haptic device,” according to a filing, which would be inserted into a person’s…
One in three video-sharing users find hate speech
A third of people who use online video-sharing platforms (VSPs) have come across hate speech in the past three months, according to new Ofcom research. The communications regulator found that 32% of VSP users had witnessed or experienced hateful content, of which most (59%) was directed at a racial group. Hateful content was also seen…
Tech Digest daily round up: Burberry designs clothes for Honor of Kings
Luxury fashion brand Burberry has designed outfits for one of China’s biggest video games. Players can buy the clothes - known as skins – to adorn in-game characters. Tencent-owned developer TiMi Studios collaborated with the designer for its multiplayer online battle game Honor of Kings. The new skins - which feature Burberry's signature trench coat…
Vodafone pays £176 million for next-gen 5G spectrum
Vodafone has purchased 40 MHz of spectrum in the 3.6 GHz band for next-generation 5G mobile services in Ofcom’s latest 5G auction. Paying £176.4 million for the frequencies, Vodafone now holds 90 MHz of 3.4 - 3.6 GHz spectrum. The new spectrum acquired will enable Vodafone UK to significantly expand 5G network capacity to meet…
Ofcom proposes ‘one touch’ broadband switching
Residential broadband and home phone customers would benefit from quicker, simpler and more reliable switching, under Ofcom's plans to introduce a new ‘one touch’ process. Following an Ofcom rule change in 2015, customers switching between providers such as BT, Sky and TalkTalk on Openreach’s copper network can already follow a process where their new provider…
1 in 6 struggling to afford broadband, claims Citizens Advice
More than one in six people are struggling to afford their broadband during the third lockdown, Citizens Advice has found. This comes at a time when people are more reliant on broadband to work, teach their children and order essentials. Citizens Advice found that during the first lockdown, certain groups, including people with children, disabled…
BT faces lawsuit for ‘landline overcharging’
BT is facing a class-action lawsuit over claims it failed to compensate elderly customers who were overcharged for landlines for years, reports The BBC. The £600 million case has been brought by Justin Le Patourel, a founder of consumer group Collective Action on Landlines (CALL) who was also a telecoms consultant working for Ofcom for 13…
