FCC rejects Starlink’s bid for RDOF cash

The FCC has rejected Starlink’s bid for a share of the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF).

“After careful legal, technical, and policy review, we are rejecting these applications.  Consumers deserve reliable and affordable high-speed broadband,” said Chairwoman Rosenworcel.

“We must put scarce universal service dollars to their best possible use as we move into a digital future that demands ever more powerful and faster networks.  We cannot afford to...

11 August 2022 | Broadband

CMA launches probe into Viasat-Inmarsat merger

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has launched a probe into the merger of Viasat and Inmarsat.

Viasat first announced its intention to acquire Inmarsat for $7.3 billion in November 2021. To no surprise, the proposal attracted plenty of attention.

The combined entities would operate a fleet of 19 satellites that are currently in service. An additional 10 spacecraft are under construction and planned for launch within the next three years.

The...

9 August 2022 | IoT

Martin Lewis wants roaming charges to be regulated

MoneySavingExpert’s Martin Lewis wants roaming charges to be regulated amid rocketing living costs.

UK RPI inflation has reached 11.7 percent, the highest in the G7, and is set to increase further later in the year. People up and down the country are increasingly struggling to make ends meet and the UK Government is widely seen as ignoring the crisis.

Energy bills are the biggest contributor to soaring inflation and it’s where Lewis has rightly focused the majority...

8 August 2022 | Legislation & Government

Akamai halts a record-breaking DDoS in Europe

Akamai says that it halted what would have been a record-breaking distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack in Europe.

Another month comes another report of a would-be record DDoS. Last month, Cloudflare detailed a record-breaking DDoS attack that it thwarted in June. This time, it’s the turn of Akamai.

According to Akamai, an undisclosed company was hit by sustained traffic over a 30-day period. That traffic peaked on 21st July when the company was hit with 659.6...

1 August 2022 | Networks

BT staff begin strike action over below-inflation pay rises

BT staff have begun strike action across the country in a row over below-inflation pay rises.

UK RPI inflation has reached 11.7 percent and is set to increase further later in the year. Many employers have offered pay rises to help ensure their staff aren’t left substantially worse off at the end of each month.

BT, for its part, offered its staff a £1,500 pay increase to help with the cost of living crisis. However, it’s been called a “weak, insulting” pay deal...

29 July 2022 | Broadband

RootMetrics names EE the best UK network for ninth year

Mobile network performance measurement firm RootMetrics has named EE the UK’s leader for the ninth year running.

Overall, EE came out on top for all UK-wide RootScore categories ('Reliability', 'Accessibility', 'Speed', 'Data', 'Call', and 'Text').

Marc Allera, CEO of the consumer division at EE-owner BT, said:

“We are proud to be named the UK's best network for the ninth year running. Reliability is of huge importance to our customers, and we pride...

27 July 2022 | 5G

UK announces plans to ‘unleash’ 5G and 6G innovation

The UK Government has announced plans to “unleash” 5G and 6G innovation, including through a partnership with South Korea.

Up to £25 million has been set aside for the ‘Future Open Networks Research Challenge’. Academics and industry players can apply for funding to support their early-stage research into open and interoperable telecom solutions, such as Open Radio Access Network (Open RAN).

The Future Open Networks Research Challenge is part of the UK...

26 July 2022 | 5G

Eutelsat confirms OneWeb merge plan

French satellite firm Eutelsat has confirmed plans to merge with British low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite innovator OneWeb.

Eutelsat operates 36 geostationary (GEO) satellites, of which the first launched in 2000. The high altitudes of GEO satellites cover large geographic areas but have slow speeds and high latency.

LEO satellites – like those operated by OneWeb, SpaceX, and Telesat – require larger constellations to provide adequate coverage but support more...

25 July 2022 | Networks

Ericsson completes $6.2B acquisition of Vonage after clearing hurdles

Ericsson has finally completed its $6.2 billion acquisition of cloud communications provider Vonage after clearing some major hurdles.

The Swedish vendor first announced its biggest-ever acquisition in November last year.

Börje Ekholm, President and CEO of Ericsson, said: “The core of our strategy is to build leading mobile networks through technology leadership. This provides the foundation to build an enterprise business. The acquisition of Vonage is the next step...

22 July 2022 | 5G

Virgin Media O2 increases data-free services list to help with the cost-of-living crisis

Virgin Media O2 has boosted its list of services that customers can access for free as part of its efforts to support people during the cost-of-living crisis.

Virgin Media O2 customers will now be able to access the National Debtline, Business Debtline, Turn2us, Debt Advice Foundation, and National Energy Action without using any of their mobile data.

National Energy Action Chief Executive Adam Scorer says: “The energy crisis is already making life difficult for...

21 July 2022 | Operators