 Christmas tree lights, full exchanges, power outages and slow government action just a few items on the list of the UK's broadband problems:
>> Plusnet is warning its customers that the use of Christmas tree lights could affect broadband connectivity over the festive period. The lights, particularly those that flash, can cause intermittent faults by creating interference. The suggestion is to keep lights away from telephone cables and if problems occur, to switch off the lights before calling their helplines.
>> The residents of Abbey St Bathans are taking their fight for faster broadband to the Scottish parliament and have gathered the signatures of most residents on a petition. The main complaint is that the closest exchange is full and there appears to be no alternative on the horizon. Some residents managed to get an internet connection before the exchange reached capacity but many, including business owners, have now been left without any internet connection at all. The MSP for the area John Lamont has visited the area and has helped by submitting the petition. BT have said that many exchanges in the areas are due for an upgrade as part of a new Government scheme to be announced in the next few days.
>> The much anticipated broadband tax has finally been announced in the pre-budget report and will cost each UK householder £6 a year. The Government also announced proposals to bring the internet to 90% of households by 2017 using the extra taxation as a means of funding it. The scheme has been met with some criticism particularly from ISP providers who say it will discourage private investment. BT have said that the amount raised will not be enough to achieve the target.
>> Figures from Eurostat, the statistical office of the European communities, has shown that access to broadband in the UK is 7% up on the figures from 2008. 77% of UK homes have access to some form of internet, although not always broadband. The statistics also showed that 66% of 16-74 year olds in the UK had used the internet in the last year to buy goods or order services, while only 37% of the wider European community had done so.
>> Major UK internet providers Virgin Media, BT and Orange have joined forces to design a new system to improve the delivery of online video. BT is planning a new network known as Content Connect which will store video rather than storing them on the internet. It is hoped this would cut levels of internet congestion. Broadcasters such as BBC, Channel 4 and Five would pay the internet providers to supply the video broadcasting at peak times. This would benefit the ISP's and prevent them from having to increase network capabilities. There is also suggestion that Google may use the service to share its content. Some customers are already trialling the service.
>> The Government has launched a new initiative designed to keep young people safe while they surf the internet. The UK Council for Child Internet Safety has used the tag line "Zip it, Block it, Flag it" as part of the strategy. This encourages young people to avoid revealing personal information, to block suspicious messages and to report anything suspicious to someone they trust. Government figures show that 99% of 8-17 year olds have access to the web and 18% say they have seen inappropriate material.
>> A new scheme offered by the Government and known as the Janet Network is to offer connections speeds of up to 1Gbps in libraries around the country. The scheme is already available to schools and universities. The Museums, Libraries and Archives Council have said that the people using public libraries around the country will benefit from the faster speeds and more digital capacity.
>> Virgin Media has apologised to customers in East London who were affected by an outage which affected internet services last week. Some customers have been without an internet connection since November 28 due to a commercial power outage. Due to the location of the problem and high traffic levels, it has been difficult to restore services.
>> A study from Talk talk has suggested that faster internet speeds could lead to people becoming more impatient in other areas of their lives. Nearly 75% of those questioned by the ISP provider said that they lost their temper if a page took longer than 1 minute to load. Younger people proved to be less patient that the older generation. They also discovered that people will become impatient with business telephone lines if they are kept waiting for longer than 5 minutes and will start to complain if they wait longer than 8 minutes in a restaurant.
>> It has been suggested by industry experts that fibre optics may not be the answer to the UK rural internet problem and that satellites may be a more logical solution. New satellites are being produced which can offer download speeds of up to 10Mbps according to David McCourt, the Chief Executive of Skyware Global. He also said that the satellite industry is growing worldwide and has expectations of 10-15 million customers as demand grows. Countries like Australia with a large rural and urban divide have made good use of satellite technology. †
    
|
