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21
March 2011 |
Competition within the international fibre optic segment is set to intensify in coming months as new players enter the market and existing projects move to consolidate on their regional presence.
Kenyan firms will soon enjoy increased access to the Internet through an expanded number of fibre optic cable providers within the next six months, a factor that analysts say could push pricing for data products down in the next year.
The privately owned Seacom project is one of three international fibre cabl... |
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21
March 2011 |
Frustration felt by consumers has reached its highest level in past four years
One-third of British broadband customers are unhappy with their broadband connection speed, according to a new customer satisfaction survey of over 10,000 British broadband users conducted at the beginning of 2011 by Broadbandchoices.co.uk.
The survey by the UK's Ofcom-accredited broadband comparison site revealed that the increasing frustration felt by consumers has reached its highest level in four years and doubled since... |
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18
March 2011 |
O2 opened up a new 3G network over London today, claiming it would help improve both coverage and download speeds.
The communications giant took advantage of a ruling by Ofcom which allowed O2 to reuse the 900MHz spectrum for 3G services instead of just 2G.
O2 said the London network would provide a 50 per cent increase in capacity and 30 per cent faster downloads, compared to before the new spectrum was allocated for 3G use.
The firm cited figures from network specialists SIRODA, which showed betw... |
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16
March 2011 |
Communications in Japan are at a near standstill as it emerged undersea fibre cables were damaged in last weeks megaquake.
Millions of telephone lines and internet connections are unavailable across the country, causing severe distress for separated loved ones.
Telecoms have also been affected in neighbouring countries, China and Taiwan, and have caused operators to question the extent of the damage to the fibre cables beneath the Pacific Ocean.
Mobile phone services further remain unsettled by the... |
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16
March 2011 |
The European Commission today announced its intention to take Spain and France to the European Union Court of Justice over their decision to finance state television channels with special taxes imposed on telecommunications firms.
In 2009, both countries decided to stop advertising on state-run TV channels. The subsequent loss of revenue was filled by imposing a 0.9% tax on gross revenue earned by telecoms firms.
However, according to the European Commission, EU rules only allow taxes on telecoms comp... |
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16
March 2011 |
SOME 500 public telephone booths in downtown Shanghai now feature wireless broadband, allowing nearby people access to the Internet, China Telecom's Shanghai branch said yesterday.
This is part of a strategy to establish a wireless city plan, giving residents widespread Internet access through Wi-Fi or 3G communications.
The public phone booths, in central areas such as Yuyuan Garden, Yanzhong Park and People's Square, were previously seldom used as most people now have mobile phones.
But pedestria... |
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15
March 2011 |
Ofcom has confirmed its plan to cut mobile termination rates, though not as quickly as some would like.
The final statement from Ofcom will see termination rates - the amount paid by the caller's network to the recipient's network - rapidly cut in half, and then steadily reduced until 2014 when it hits a shade more than half a penny a minute.
That's welcome news to many, with predicted savings of 800m annually and better conditions for smaller players - particularly Three, which has long insisted that... |
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14
March 2011 |
A number of high profile internet service providers (ISPs) have agreed to reveal how they restrict broadband speeds through traffic management.
BT, Virgin Media and Sky are amongst the companies who have signed up to a new code of practice, drafted by the Broadband Stakeholders Group, in the hope it will show its users why restrictions need to be placed on speeds to ensure their networks remain in good health.
The ISP argument is the slowing of connections during busy periods allows them to maintain a... |
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14
March 2011 |
European Union authorities have sent out a clear message that they will not accept delays to the plan to give all European consumers access to broadband by 2013.
The European Commission has ordered Hungary and Spain to ensure that the 900MHz radio frequency band is available for services such as mobile Internet. If the countries do not comply with the Commission's request within two months, they could be referred to the European Court of Justice, which has the power to impose fines for non-compliance.
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10
March 2011 |
BT plans to remove usage limits on four of its broadband packages, which it has been advertising as 'unlimited' even though they are capped.
The move on Wednesday comes as advertising watchdogs examine the use of the word 'unlimited' in broadband advertising. Almost all providers put 'fair use' caps on such packages, but do not explicitly advertise the limits.
This has been the case with the 300GB monthly cap on BT's Total Broadband Option 3 and Infinity Option 2 domestic packages, and its Office Unli... |
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10
March 2011 |
When one looks at the speed and cost of broadband service in the United States, the companies providing it offer many excuses for the high subscription costs. By comparison, Hong Kong residents have astoundingly fast connections today at a very low cost.
The contrast is significant: Hong Kong Broadband Network last year introduced a new option for its fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) service that offers speeds of 1Gb/s for less than $26 a month.
The United States has nothing close to that. But, as The New Yor... |
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10
March 2011 |
For the third consecutive Congressional session, a bipartisan bill is aiming to limit new taxes on your cell phone bill. Introduced today in the House of Representatives by Reps. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) and Trent Franks (R-Ariz.) and in the Senate by Senators Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Olympia Snow (R-Maine), the Wireless Tax Fairness Act of 2011 would prohibit state and local governments from imposing discriminatory or redundant taxes on mobile services, providers, or mobile technology for a period of five year... |
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2
March 2011 |
China Telecom plans to triple the number of users for its fiber optic broadband service this year to reach 30 million.
The company further aims to grow the user base to 100 million by the end of China's 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015).
China Telecom plans to cover every city in China with the fiber broadband service in three years and convert all copper lines to fiber, China Daily reported. Under the Five-Year Plan, the Chinese government will focus on developing the telecommunications infrastructure,... |
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28
Feb 2011 |
The epidemic, fuelled by the soaring cost of copper, is only expected to get worse, affecting gas supplies, electricity companies and telecoms cables.
The cost to the UK has doubled to around GBP770 million a year and another rise in thefts is anticipated.
Organised gangs risk their lives by clambering on to the tracks and using power tools to cut through live train signalling, electricity and data cables.
They then cart the cabling off in anything from wheelbarrows to quad bikes.
During the las... |
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21
Feb 2011 |
Uganda's largest mobile telecommunications company by subscribers, MTN Uganda Ltd., has agreed to check, and if necessary block, cellphone messages sent via its network during the country's ongoing presidential and parliamentary election, the company said Friday.
The Uganda Communications Commission, or UCC, directed all telecom and bulk SMS service providers this week to start scrutinizing and blocking messages with words that are likely to incite violence during the country's tightly contested presiden... |
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