Broadband News

The government has announced that it is to review the infrastructure of broadband in the UK. Special attention will be paid to the future of broadband and how developments can help to support “next generation broadband networks” and Francesco Caio, former chief executive of telecoms firm Cable & Wireless, will carry out the review.

The review comes after web analysts reported that the current communication network in the UK was reaching full capacity for coping with increased demand in downloads of films, video and music.

According to Web User, The Broadband Stakeholder Group, a government advisory body previously warned the government that it had two years to install the next generation of broadband networks. Business and Competitiveness Minister Shriti Vadera has responded: “We need to prepare the way for the UK to adopt groundbreaking new technologies to ensure that we do not get left behind – competitively or technologically.”

It will be cutting it fine as results of the report will not be revealed to ministers and Chancellor Alistair Darling until the autumn.

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A report in The Times has revealed that weather balloons hovering at the outer limits of the Earth’s atmosphere could be the answered needed to improve broadband services in relatively cut-off parts of rural Britain.

After trials in America by Space Data showed that it was possible to attach small phone masts to balloons, improving service in remote and rural areas with wireless internet access the research group is now preparing to offer the new technology to broadband companies in 41 countries where a patent exists. Over $70 million (£36 million) has been put into the research scheme through private funding.

The receiver can be attached to a balloon and risen to an altitude of around 100,00ft. Once in flight, one balloon can potentially beam a signal to an area equivalent to the coverage provided by 80 mobile phone towers, and a mere 70 balloons would provide cover to the whole of the United States.

It has been suggested that local farmers could be paid to release the balloons needed for this new service on their land, potential giving new broadband life to rural areas who risk losing their services after the digital switchover.

One major problem with the new tactic is that released balloons only last for 24 hours before bursting. A whole team would then be required to release new balloons and retrieve the fallen expensive radio equipment. Concerns have been aired on the potential damage to the environment caused by the use of weather balloons and there is also the risk that local animals may be injured if they eat the latex balloons.

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TalkTalk, the home phone and broadband company owned by The Carphone Warehouse is kicking of a new campaign intended to draw in more subscribers. Fronted by media agency Trinity Communications, the new advertising project is intended to open up new channels to pool in potential customers.

Carphone Warehouse launched the free broadband service, TalkTalk back in April 2006 and although response from customers was good, the company struggled to cope with subscription demands. During its early days Carphone Warehouse had to apologise for the troubled service, admitting that setting up free broadband was harder than originally thought.

Speaking on the proposed campaign Phil Nunn, partner at media planning agency Trinity Communications said: “It’s exciting to work with a client who is proactive about opening out their media channels and who is so focused on results. This campaign is right at the heart of what Trinity does, living with the data to grow a clients business.”

After reports earlier in the week that revealed how much money ISPs had pumped into their advertising campaigns, it has been announced that BT, TalkTalk and Virgin Media have all recently signed up to use a new system created by digital technology company Phorm which connects up advertisers, websites and ISPs to give them a better idea of advertising potential.

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Police in The Wirral are investigating a mysterious case of sabotage after phone lines across the borough were hacked down. Around 30 telegraph poles were seemingly destroyed wiping out voice landline and broadband connections for hundreds of residents.

Although the motive behind the vandalism is unknown it has been suggested that the hacking was the work of sophisticated criminals planning a large-scale theft. The breakdown of communication lines would stop security systems from calling the emergency services as the protective circuits would be destroyed.

Many homes and businesses were left without broadband connection for up to three days and BT were forced to carry out emergency maintenance on the poles in Hoylake, Wallasey, Bebington, Rock Ferry and Arrowebrook in Greasby.

Resident of Bebington, Steve Humphreys spoke of the ordeal to Wirral Globe: “We lost our telephone and broadband service late on the Thursday evening, and reported it on Friday morning. Later in the day I noticed on the nearby telegraph pole that the main cable, running from the ground to the top of the pole, had not only been cut, but a short section removed.”

It was reported by BT that around 400 of their customers were affected by the line sabotage.

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Following its ongoing battle against rival Virgin Media, BSkyB’s foray into the telephone and broadband industry has seen its advertising spending increase by more than 30% year on year to a total of up to £160m. In contrast, Virgin Media has reported a spending of £50.5m, less than half the funds of BSkyB.

In terms of online spending both companies spent more than £20m annually online, with tens of millions more on direct marketing. However, Sky spent significantly less on cinema advertising with a reduction in spending by 79% from £8.4m to £1.74m year on year.

However, if subscription levels are anything to go by, BSkyB’s spending seems worthwhile with a broadband customer base rising from 193,000 to 1.2 million last year.

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