Ofcom’s 5G auction to go ahead after Three’s challenge slapped down February 13, 2018 Telecoms companies are one step closer to bringing 5G to the UK after a legal challenge was slapped down today. Three had attempted to challenge the rules of a spectrum auction which will divvy up airwaves to the big players, but its appeal was rejected. Ofcom is now expected to hold the auction in April, [...]
The Treasury has held secret meetings with the US Department of Justice to speed up a hefty RBS fine February 10, 2018 The UK Treasury has held a secret meeting with US officials to chivvy along a several-billion pound fine for Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), Sky News has reported. The fine, which has been estimated by some analysts to be worth more than £5m, would draw a line under the bank’s pre-bailout misconduct relating to the [...]
Jeremy Hunt thinks social media’s as bad for kids as smoking and obesity February 8, 2018 The health secretary Jeremy Hunt has claimed that social media can be as damaging to children as smoking or obesity in one of the starkest warning yet from the government that it is eyeing curbs on tech companies He likened the effects on young people’s mental health as “every bit as big a threat” as [...]
Digital Innovators: Q&A with Klaus Henke, managing director of Billmonitor February 6, 2018 Billmonitor is the first ever Ofcom-accredited tariff price comparison tool for consumers. Last year Billmonitor was identified as one of 50 of the freshest and most inspiring digital companies using technology and innovation to shake up their sectors in our Digital Innovators Power List. Following a public vote and after careful consideration by supporting partners [...]
The beauty parade for the next Bank of England Governor has begun January 11, 2018 Not that long ago this column mentioned the fact that speculation over who would succeed Mark Carney as Governor of the Bank of England would begin in earnest this year. Just a few short weeks later and it has already begun. On Tuesday Reuters speculated as to who the possible successors to Mr Carney might [...]
Infrastructure chief Lord Adonis quits post over Theresa May’s handling of Brexit December 30, 2017 Influential peer Lord Adonis has quit his post as an infrastructure adviser, saying that the government has become too aligned with Ukip over Brexit. Adonis was head of the government’s National Infrastructure Commission (NIC), but has told Theresa May that Brexit is preoccupying Whitehall, and that she is not focused on other political issues. Read [...]
Lord Adonis writes to Ofcom boss urging action plan to tackle mobile service disparity across the country December 18, 2017 The chair of the National Infrastructure Commission has written to the head of Ofcom for “urgent and radical action” to tackle the disparity in mobile services across the country. Lord Adonis said legal and regulatory changes should be considered, after figures revealed large parts of the country may not be getting the most basic services [...]
Donald Trump spends up to eight hours a day watching TV, according to NYT profile of President December 10, 2017 Donald Trump spends as much as eight hours a day watching television, according to a profile of the US President published in the New York Times revealing more about the way he consumes media. Sources told the newspaper that they estimate he watches at least four hours of television a day “and sometimes as much [...]
Tory rural broadband promise under threat: BT Openreach talks close to collapse November 19, 2017 A Tory pledge to deliver better broadband to 1.4m rural homes is under threat of being delayed by years. Talks between Openreach and the government to agree on a £600m investment by the BT infrastructure arm are close to collapse, according to reports by the Sunday Telegraph. If an agreement with Openreach over its voluntary [...]
SSE teams up with Thames Water to lay fibre broadband in London’s Victorian sewer network November 14, 2017 A leading broadband provider believes it has hit the ideas jackpot in the battle to boost Britain’s broadband internet: it wants to lay fibre optic cables in London’s vast sewer network. Energy giant SSE, which has an established broadband infrastructure offering, has teamed up with Thames Water. It plans to tuck fibre cabling 10 metres [...]