http://www.thinkbroadband.com en It would appear that in the six months since Ofcom last published coverage data for the UK, the availability of a 2 Mbps headline speed has dramatically improved from 89.9% to 95.3%. This is a big surprise seen as the BDUK projects have not delivered significant improvements yet. http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/5848-coverage-of-2-mbps-broadband-increases-to-over-95.html http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/i/5848.html Thu, 16 May 2013 12:33:10 +0100 The latest TalkTalk results round off the figures from the major broadband providers and show that YouView sales are outpacing sales of their Fibre products. http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/5847-talktalk-results-show-tv-is-growing-rapidly-as-broadband-driver.html http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/i/5847.html Thu, 16 May 2013 10:17:56 +0100 The Government would like us all to know that the broadband transformation roll-out in the UK has passed the halfway mark. That might be a surprise to the millions outside the commercial deployment areas thought. http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/5846-uk-halfway-through-its-broadband-makover.html http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/i/5846.html Thu, 16 May 2013 09:37:32 +0100 It appears that a few weeks after the change actually happened customers of LittleBigOne are finding that their contracts have been transferred to a new operator - Chess Telecom. http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/5845-littlebigone-customers-in-south-yorks-now-part-of-chess-telecom.html http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/i/5845.html Wed, 15 May 2013 16:55:32 +0100 West Sussex with the signing of the contract to improve broadband across the county looks set to bring fixed line broadband to some areas of the county for the first time. http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/5844-west-sussex-county-council-signs-deal-with-bt.html http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/i/5844.html Wed, 15 May 2013 15:20:43 +0100 The competition for our broadband and telephone customer continues and Tesco are the latest to launch a mind bending offer, where mobile customers can get 12 months broadband for free (voice line rental still to pay of course). http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/5843-a-dozen-eggs-broadband-and-tesco-clubcard-points-too.html http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/i/5843.html Wed, 15 May 2013 10:40:08 +0100 Our polls sometimes through out interesting results, and with Ofcom now looking at the TalkTalk complaint over fibre pricing it is with interest we see that 51.7% of those taking part in the poll think Ofcom should regulate the retail price of BT Infinity. http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/5841-more-than-50-think-ofcom-should-regulate-bt-infinity-pricing.html http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/i/5841.html Wed, 15 May 2013 09:55:00 +0100 Point Topic who spend their days number crunching has for the first time made its UK broadband availability database available to non paying subscribers. http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/5842-point-topic-release-massive-uk-broadband-dataset.html http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/i/5842.html Tue, 14 May 2013 15:55:56 +0100 While the dates for the BDUK project in Essex have slipped significantly, the project is still progressing and may still result in a universal speed of 8 Mbps across the county by 2018. http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/5840-essex-creeps-forward-with-its-bduk-project.html http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/i/5840.html Tue, 14 May 2013 13:21:50 +0100 With under two months to go, nominations have opened for the 2013 Internet Hero and Internet Villain award that will be handed out by ISPA at the awards ceremony on 11th July. http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/5839-time-to-nominate-the-internet-hero-and-villain-for-2013.html http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/i/5839.html Tue, 14 May 2013 12:53:44 +0100 There have been problems with Yahoo! email hacks for some time, including a cross site scripting vulnerability back in 2012. http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/5838-yahoo-email-and-the-spam-problem.html http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/i/5838.html Tue, 14 May 2013 10:04:07 +0100 The last week has seen users of our forums complaining about Plusnet hiding their broadband only packages making it harder to recommend services to friends, but it appears the visibility issue has been down to testing of different versions of the website. http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/5837-plusnet-customers-confused-over-visibility-of-broadband-only-packages.html http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/i/5837.html Mon, 13 May 2013 20:41:10 +0100 After the many pages of complaints about BT winning the BDUK money, Arqiva has quietly hoovered up the £150m from the Mobile Infrastructure Project to construct mobile masts in the more rural parts of the UK. http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/5836-arqiva-celebrates-winning-150m-mobile-project-tender.html http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/i/5836.html Mon, 13 May 2013 16:34:39 +0100 With the super-connected scheme stalling, it seems that the Labour is looking to capitilise on the confusion and suggest an alternate strategy that they will implement if they win the 2015 General Election. http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/5835-labour-suggests-switching-city-funding-to-digital-inclusion-scheme.html http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/i/5835.html Mon, 13 May 2013 14:18:16 +0100 The £164m that was to be spent across 22 cities in the UK in an attempt to create enclaves of hyper-fast broadband and photo opportunities for politicians appears to be floundering. http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/5834-another-british-farce-worthy-of-a-comedy-award.html http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/i/5834.html Mon, 13 May 2013 11:22:05 +0100 As part of the launch of its broadband, phone and TV services BT Retail has adjusted a number of things for new customers, in addition to the addition of free BT Sport channel access. http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/5831-new-low-price-for-bt-infinity-as-bt-sport-added-to-packages.html http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/i/5831.html Fri, 10 May 2013 13:15:54 +0100 BT Retail has confirmed that its consumers customers with a BT Broadband service will be able to access BT Sport for free, and a variety of access methods are available, from over the broadband connection, satellite connection, IPTV or Digital Terrestrial. http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/5830-bt-sport.html http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/i/5830.html Fri, 10 May 2013 12:05:08 +0100 The latest set of figures from the BT Group have now been published, and show that their FTTC/FTTP product range is running at around 10% takeup at the wholesale level. http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/5833-bt-group-publich-results-showing-fibre-sales-at-1-5-million-so-far.html http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/i/5833.html Fri, 10 May 2013 09:56:15 +0100 Zen Internet has highlighted that a side effect of its increased number of Ethernet nodes on the BT exchange network means they will soon be offering new fibre based products to those wanting something better than the average service. http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/5832-zen-internet-to-lever-cost-savings-with-increased-exchange-presence.html http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/i/5832.html Fri, 10 May 2013 01:45:18 +0100 Ofcom originally announced a sharp rise in Q4 2012 for broadband subscriptions. This rise of 659,000 has subsequently been corrected to a more normal figure of 356,000. http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/5821-broadband-numbers-show-growth-spurt-according-to-ofcom.html http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/i/5821.html Thu, 09 May 2013 14:00:11 +0100 We first ran a poll looking at USC speeds four years ago, and as yet none of the policy makers appear to have paid heed, with the 2 Mbps USC still being the only broadband speed improvement planned for up to 10% of the country. http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/5823-poll-results-universal-service-commitment-what-the-public-want.html http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/i/5823.html Thu, 09 May 2013 10:31:26 +0100 While the headlines always push the notion that BT is winning all the public subsidy money, another fixed wireless provider is benefiting from a contract to supply wireless services in rural Lincolnshire. http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/5829-quickline-wins-tender-to-provide-more-wireless-broadband-in-lincolnshire.html http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/i/5829.html Wed, 08 May 2013 15:51:47 +0100 Okay so checking your email while on a rollercoaster may not be the most sensible thing to do, conjuring up visions of expensive phones being dropped just before you press send on an ever so urgent Facebook update. http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/5828-free-wifi-while-at-thorpe-park.html http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/i/5828.html Wed, 08 May 2013 12:17:03 +0100 This may be the last quarter with figures on O2/Be customer numbers from Telefonica, and the trend for the number of fixed broadband customers continues in the downward direction. http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/5827-o2-dsl-customer-base-continues-to-shrink.html http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/i/5827.html Wed, 08 May 2013 12:04:26 +0100 Ofcom on 1st April started a pilot in 30 areas of the UK, where every telephone number would cost 10p per year, whereas previously a telco owning a number was free. This small price adds up considerably if a VoIP provider wants to be able to give out a number in any UK area code. http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/5826-ofcom-number-charging-scheme-may-hurt-small-voip-providers.html http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/i/5826.html Wed, 08 May 2013 09:43:53 +0100 The weekly ASA round-up this week has Sky complaining about a TalkTalk advert where TalkTalk claimed to have the best value triple play package. http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/5825-talktalk-told-to-qualify-best-value-claims-by-asa.html http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/i/5825.html Wed, 08 May 2013 09:13:01 +0100 With the rise of OTT TV services many of us are consuming more and more bandwidth each month, and it appears Entanet has recognised this need with new BT based packages that offer unlimited usage allowances. http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/5824-entanet-adds-bt-based-unlimited-usage-packages-to-its-portfolio.html http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/i/5824.html Tue, 07 May 2013 16:52:21 +0100 It seems at least one community in the area ravaged by Hurrican Sandy in 2012, has the storm to thank for removing its copper telephone network. http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/5822-verizon-goes-copper-free-after-hurricane-sandy.html http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/i/5822.html Tue, 07 May 2013 15:29:44 +0100 After spotting some people talking about issues with what looked like Carrier Grade NAT we have chased BT Retail, and discovered that the provider is engaged in a pilot prior to a roll-out of IPv6. http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/5818-bt-retail-in-carrier-grade-nat-pilot.html http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/i/5818.html Tue, 07 May 2013 14:21:53 +0100 Many questioned BT Retail buying rights for Premier League football, but with the increasing size of Sky it is looking like the sport may become the same driver for broadband customer numbers as it was for satellite TV. http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/5820-forget-free-broadband-start-the-free-football-battle.html http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/i/5820.html Tue, 07 May 2013 11:30:23 +0100 Following on from a consultation that looked into relaxing the rules for street cabinets in relation to broadband roll-outs, a similar consultation is now underway for the rules around mobile masts. http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/5819-government-consults-on-changes-to-planning-rules-for-mobile-masts.html http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/i/5819.html Sat, 04 May 2013 13:00:34 +0100 The need to be prepared not just at the physical building level with stadiums but at the Internet connectivity level is very important and it appears Brazil may have a solution. http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/5817-brazil-world-cup-stadiums-to-offer-50-gbps-fibre-networks.html http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/i/5817.html Fri, 03 May 2013 09:13:29 +0100 For the million or so people who have had broadband for over a decade in the UK they will remember the days when Freeserve complained about the advantages BT Retail had in being able to squeeze down prices, now we see the same complaints again but from the TalkTalk group. http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/5816-ofcom-opens-complaint-about-bt-group-and-alleged-margin-squeeze.html http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/i/5816.html Thu, 02 May 2013 10:24:04 +0100 The Sky broadband customer base continues to grow at a rapid pace outpacing all the other major providers, ensuring their position as the second largest broadband provider in the UK has been cemented even if the O2/Be customers are not counted. http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/5815-sky-adds-152-000-broadband-users-in-just-one-quarter.html http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/i/5815.html Thu, 02 May 2013 09:50:42 +0100 The transition of O2 Home Broadband has taken a significant leap, as the old O2 Home broadband products are no longer available for ordering, with potential customers being directed to Sky. http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/5814-goodbye-o2-home-broadband.html http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/i/5814.html Wed, 01 May 2013 14:37:21 +0100 Plusnet has gone from just a few posters to full blown TV adverts complete with a brass band, and this increased exposure means complaints to ASA are inevitable. http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/5813-plusnet-sent-to-the-headmaster-that-is-the-asa.html http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/i/5813.html Wed, 01 May 2013 13:03:41 +0100 The initial list of locations where Fibre on Demand will be available for those wanting to upgrade from a FTTC service to the more reliable and faster full fibre service has now been published. http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/5811-fibre-on-demand-early-market-deployment-areas-now-known.html http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/i/5811.html Mon, 29 Apr 2013 20:58:15 +0100 Cheshire is the latest set of councils to sign a contract with BT to increase the penetration of fibre based broadband services to levels well beyond the current commercial footprint. http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/5812-connecting-cheshire-to-push-fibre-to-96-of-premises-in-county.html http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/i/5812.html Mon, 29 Apr 2013 17:03:59 +0100 So Ofcom has announced a pilot to look at who varying TV White Space kit can work together as part of a possible roll-out commercial in 2014. http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/5810-white-space-to-reduce-the-bleak-broadband-future-for-rural-area.html http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/i/5810.html Mon, 29 Apr 2013 13:40:33 +0100 O2 appears to be gearing up for the explosion in data usage that 4G may result in, to date in the UK the data bundles via EE are such that you cannot truly embrace watching good quality video every day on your mobile - without winning the lottery that is. http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/5809-telefonica-uk-in-ten-year-deal-with-bt-wholesale.html http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/i/5809.html Mon, 29 Apr 2013 10:33:46 +0100 A 220 Mbps fibre broadband option is now on its way to those parts of the UK where Openreach has rolled out its FTTP service with orders being accepted from 1st June 2013. http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/5807-june-confirmed-for-launch-of-220-mbps-gea-fttp-product.html http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/i/5807.html Fri, 26 Apr 2013 13:20:51 +0100 A combination of eight local authorities across the North East have now signed a single contract with BT to extend coverage of super fast broadband to a wider area. http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/5808-the-bt-contract-signing-pen-is-busy-again-this-time-in-durham.html http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/i/5808.html Fri, 26 Apr 2013 12:20:36 +0100 The plans to record about who and where we are going online have proved unpopular amongst the public, and it appears that just maybe the current plans have hit a dead end and will not be implemented. http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/5806-is-uk-web-snooping-bill-dead-in-the-water.html http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/i/5806.html Fri, 26 Apr 2013 10:20:25 +0100 Virgin Media is continuing to grow its cable broadband user base even in the face of increasing competition from BT, Sky and TalkTalk and some vocal complaints over issues like traffic management. http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/5804-virgin-media-now-has-over-58-of-customers-on-30-mbps-or-faster.html http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/i/5804.html Wed, 24 Apr 2013 16:08:29 +0100 Has the epidemic of porn got so bad that people and in particular children are using Wi-Fi to view it in coffee shops? http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/5805-prime-minister-wants-good-clean-wi-fi-for-the-uk.html http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/i/5805.html Wed, 24 Apr 2013 14:14:04 +0100 Our latest poll results are in and show that people are split on what is the single most important factor when it comes to broadband changes in the UK. http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/5802-poll-results-what-is-the-most-important-for-broadband-in-the-uk.html http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/i/5802.html Wed, 24 Apr 2013 11:19:16 +0100 The vectoring trials expected from Openreach are to cover a very small area, with just two exchange areas involved. http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/5803-barnet-and-braintree-set-for-vectoring-trial.html http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/i/5803.html Wed, 24 Apr 2013 09:28:47 +0100 In the give months that 4G has available it has gained a customer base of 318,000 with EE that will very quickly over take the number of fixed line broadband customers the operator has. http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/5801-ee-holds-steady-on-fixed-line-broadband-but-good-4g-growth.html http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/i/5801.html Tue, 23 Apr 2013 18:51:47 +0100 The spat between BT and BSkyB over who can and cannot advertise on the Sky Sports channels is masking a much bigger game, which may be that YouView maybe set to offer many more live TV channels. http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/5800-bt-tv-connect-service-to-carry-live-tv-channels-over-wbc-network.html http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/i/5800.html Tue, 23 Apr 2013 12:28:40 +0100 Our elected representatives have been asking questions of The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, in particular what is the level of progress on the BDUK projects. http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/5798-questions-asked-about-broadband-in-the-house-of-commons.html http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/i/5798.html Mon, 22 Apr 2013 10:40:17 +0100