Tag: OFCOM

Average UK broadband speed is 3.6Mbps – and you're probably only getting half the speed you're paying for

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Ofcom, the communications watchdog that’s in charge of making sure everyone’s phones work and no one’s getting ripped off too badly by the ring tone companies, has revealed the results of a massive survey it conducted into the UK broadband scene.

As you might expect, we’re not getting what we pay for – as anyone who spends most of their evenings conducting broadband speed tests and sighing at the results will already know…

Gary Cutlack Broadband, Computers, Internet

FCC votes to open up "white spaces" for better wireless broadband

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The Federal Communications Commission has voted 5-0 in favour of opening up the “white space” of unused airwaves between broadcast TV channels to be used for enhanced wireless broadband and communications.

This “Wi-Fi on steroids”, as Google describes it, could offer a much larger range than current Wi-Fi technology, thus allowing greater broadband penetration in remote areas, and might also be used to set up local ad hoc networks directly between devices…

Andy Merrett Broadband, Wi-Fi

Ofcom hands out terrestrial high definition licences to Channel 4 and ITV broadcasters

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Though we’ve been pretty sure that all the major terrestrial broadcasters would have a place on the new high definition Freeview, Ofcom today brought that a step closer to reality by awarding licences to Channel 4/S4C and the ITV channels across England, Scotland, Ulster, and the Channel Islands.

Channel 4 and S4C (the Welsh language version, with a wide selection of its own programming) put in a joint bid, promising a wide variety of films (over 150 hours worth on peak-time 4HD in the first year), a range of drama, comedy, science programmes and documentaries, plus popular US imports like Desperate Housewives, and specific sports and kids programmes on S4C…

Andy Merrett HDTV

Ofcom: 50MBit broadband in every home "possible" using only copper wires

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Ofcom, the telecoms regulator, has come out and said that it reckons nearly every home in the UK could hypothetically have 50MBit/s broadband in the future using copper wire, negating the need to put a fibre-optic line into every single home.

This sounds great – the only caveat is though that it sounds like it needs a hell of a lot of work to become a reality. Apparently it based this assertion on an “idealised situation” where all of the right kit is in place and everything works as planned. So it’s a bit like saying that in the future we’ll all be wearing silver and driving flying cars – probable, but requiring massive technological changes in every part of the industry…

James O'Malley Broadband

The internet is saved! Ofcom calling for investment in nationwide fibre optic network

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Telecoms regulator, Ofcom, is making a fresh push to secure the future of the UK’s broadband infrastructure. Chief Exec, Ed Richards, told the Intellect conference in London “Ofcom favours a regulatory environment for the next generation of networks and access that both allows and encourages operators to make risky investments, to innovate for the benefit of consumers and, if the risks pay off, for the benefit of their shareholders too.”

(Display Name not set) Broadband

Nothing to do with Apple – Ofcom to trade off UHF bandwidth

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With digital switchover beginning at the end of this year and due to be complete by 2012, UK communication industry regulator Ofcom will find themselves with a whole load of spare UHF bandwidth and no analogue TV service to use it.

Their plan is to auction off these vacant parts of the UK electromagentic spectrum as they become available, which could be licensed by, radio, TV, broadband companies, mobile networks or whatever new technologies come along…

Daniel Sung Broadband