Articles about Broadband

Every home and business in the UK will have access to "fast broadband" by 2020. This is the latest pledge from Prime Minister David Cameron, who said that access to the internet "should be a right".

At the moment, 83 percent of people have access to superfast (24Mbps and faster) internet connections, and by 2017 this is expected to rise to 95 percent. The latest plan is directed at the "last 5 percent" -- such as people in remote areas -- and will oblige broadband providers to supply at least 10Mbps broadband to anyone who demands it.

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It may not be entirely surprising in the wake of recent high-profile attacks like that on TalkTalk, but a new survey of almost 3,500 users from UK broadband comparison site Broadband Genie reveals that we're losing trust in the internet.

Among the findings are that 75 percent of Brits believe companies aren't doing enough to secure their personal data, and 15 percent said they had their personal data exposed by a leak or a hack.

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While it seems odd to many people, the whole world isn't online -- though it may seem that way sometimes when you visit sites like Facebook. Not all countries have the infrastructure in place to support the deployment of broadband. Google is looking to help.

The company claims that one billion residents of India are without a connection. To remedy this the company is going to the heart of transportation in the nation, the railway stations.

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Lufthansa will offer high-speed internet to passengers flying on its planes in Europe as of next year.

Travelers will benefit from in-flight net access thanks to a partnership between Deutsche Telekom and Inmarsat, with the broadband delivered by a combination of the former’s ground-based cellular network and the latter’s satellite network.

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Broadband is a convoluted term, but market research firm Ovum wants to bring some restrictions, claiming 10Mbps should be the minimum download speed to use the term.

Market performance and surveys suggest that 10Mbps is the lowest speed customers will accept from their broadband provider. Anything lower, and it is unusable on today’s Internet, which needs broadband for high-quality video streaming and video gaming.

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Moving from one broadband provider to another has long been something of a chore. Starting this weekend (June 20), switchers in the UK will no longer have to go through the hassle of requesting a Migration Authorisation Code (MAC) from their current supplier, as their new ISP will be able to handle the entire process from start to finish.

This should not only help to speed up the process of switching provider, but also eliminate the pestering from ISPs to stay with them. The new rules do not cover all ISPs, just those that use the Openreach network -- this includes major players such as BT, Plusnet, TalkTalk, and Sky -- but it should still make life easier for a lot of people.

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Today the FCC voted in favor of updating its Lifeline program to include broadband. This would mean that households surviving on low incomes would be able to receive help paying for a broadband connection. It might not be as important as electricity or water, but having a broadband connection is seen as being all but essential these days.

From helping with education and job hunting, to allowing for home working, the ability to get online is seen as so vital by some that there have been calls for it to be classed as a utility. The Lifeline program has been running since the 80s, and originally provided financial help to those struggling to pay for a phone line. It was expanded in 2008 to include wireless providers, and it is hoped that this third expansion will help more people to get online.

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