BT offers to pump £600 million into rural broadband
While the UK enjoys a fairly decent level of broadband coverage, there are still plenty of people struggling with relatively slow connections. It's a problem that's particularly common in rural areas, and BT has offered to stump up £600 million to ensure that more rural homes have decent connections by 2020.
The UK government had already indicated that it wants every home in the country to have access to an internet connection of at least 10Mbps and plans to introduce rules that will permit customers to "demand" such speeds. BT's investment -- through its Openreach subsidiary -- would bring 10Mbps+ connections to a further 1.4 million rural homes, and would eliminate the need for new rules from the government.
Phishers cash in on WannaCry attack
The UK's ActionFraud cyber crime reporting center is warning customers of BT’s internet services of a phishing scam claiming to protect against WannaCry-style attacks.
The emails claim that BT has launched preventative measures to protect data on an international scale and try to get recipients to click on a link to a 'security upgrade'.
BT is number one -- for broadband complaints
British Telecom, more commonly known as BT, is the top UK supplier for broadband. However, "top" doesn't always mean best, and in this case the point is proven. The London headquartered company is the subject of a new report.
Regulator Ofcom is announcing its findings for the third quarter of 2016 and BT is number one for customer complaints, averaging a whopping 36 per-100,000 customers, a number that is almost double the industry average.
Ofcom to force Openreach to separate from BT
BT has been under pressure from industry regulator Ofcom to separate Openreach, its broadband telecoms network, from its retail business. Having failed to voluntarily cooperate, the company will now be forced to separate in order to address concerns about competition.
There have long been worries that BT's position of controlling the UK broadband network while simultaneously operating a retail business was a conflict of interest, and Ofcom recently informed BT that Openreach must be transformed into a "legally separate company" to BT. Ofcom believes that creating a separate Openreach will help in its goal of "better service quality and encouraging greater investment in networks".
BT to offer customers Microsoft Azure services
British telecommunications company BT has announced a new offering, expanding the cloud choice for its customers. BT Computer for Microsoft Azure allows BT’s customers to order Microsoft Azure together with BT’s cloud.
With the new offering, according to BT, customers will be able to create hybrid cloud infrastructure with a single service wrap, on a single bill.
Widespread BT outage caused by a faulty UPS
This morning, thousands of BT and Plusnet customers complained about dodgy internet connections. The problem has now been fixed, and the cause identified as a failed UPS owned by Equinix, leading to massive disruption.
Equinix, owned by Telecity, said there had been a problem "with one of our UPS system at 8/9 Harbour Exchange (LD8)" in London. The exact cause is not yet known, but further investigations are underway.
BT Broadband customers hit by connection problems due to DNS issues
BT broadband customers across the UK are reporting problems accessing websites today. The ISP is aware of the issue and is currently working to implement a fix, but in the meantime, thousands of users up and down the country are experiencing DNS problems.
The problem is also affecting customers of Plusnet, a separate branch of BT. The company says that "Engineers are working to fix things as fast as possible", but this will come as little comfort to those who find they are unable to go about their daily business.
BT's merger with EE gains official clearance -- and industry objections
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has given BT the go-ahead for a takeover of EE. The merger of the largest mobile provider in the UK with the country's largest landline provider creates a giant that rivals are concerned about.
The newly conceived communications behemoth has fingers in not only mobile and landline pies, but also TV and broadband. While the CMA's decision is not a surprise, rivals such as Vodafone, TalkTalk and Sky have voiced their disapproval, saying that the merger will have a negative impact on competition.
BT will start testing 500Mbps broadband service
It’s a big week for BT. After rolling out the first ultra high-definition entertainment bundle, the UK telecommunications company now getting ready to start testing 500Mbps broadband next month.
The broadband technology is called G.fast, and around 2,000 participants are expected to be involved.
BT in talks to acquire EE for £12.5 billion
There’s been plenty of speculation over the past few weeks as to which mobile provider British Telecom was sweetest on -- EE or O2 (its ex) -- but today we learn the object of BT’s affection is definitely the Deutsche Telekom and Orange S.A joint-venture, as the telecoms giant confirms that it has entered into "exclusive negotiations" to buy EE for £12.5 billion.
There’s a long, long way to go before the companies tie the knot, but if things go ahead, part of the purchase price will be paid in BT shares. Upon successful completion of the proposed transaction Deutsche Telekom stands to own a 12 percent stake in the company, and Orange would gain 4 percent.
Pre-order an Xperia Z2, get a Sony Bravia TV for free
Smartphone penetration continues to rise in markets across the globe, as vendors compete to get more attractive devices, at increasingly lower price points, in consumers' hands. Meanwhile, the premium market is becoming a niche, as indicated by the ongoing drop in average selling price. The consumerization of smartphones also means sellers have to get creative, or at least attempt to, to get buyers to shell out a hefty sum.
Mobile operators have bundled smartphones with accessories and other smart devices in order to attract buyers. For instance, my Nokia Lumia 920 came with a free pair of Nokia Purity HD headphones. Now, Vodafone's UK arm is using a similar strategy, giving those who pre-order a Sony Xperia Z2 a free Sony Bravia TV.
BT unveils Android smartphone -- but it's not a mobile
BT has introduced a 3.5-inch touchscreen smartphone that runs on the Android 4.2 Jelly Bean operating system, but it's designed to be used in the home.
The Home SmartPhone S comes with 2GB expandable memory for storing music and photos, a front-facing camera and Wi-Fi connectivity. Facebook and Twitter are pre-installed and you can download further apps via Google Play and Opera mobile store.
BT parts company with Yahoo
After ten years with Yahoo as its mail and news provider, UK internet company BT is switching to a different service. Starting in June it will begin migrating its customers to a new service named BT Mail which will be run by California-based Critical Path.
Nick Wong, director of online for BT's consumer division says, "We will be switching customers' email over to BT Mail, which will include the features and functions they expect from a modern email service. We will be keeping our customers fully informed about what changes to expect and when they will be able to enjoy the new services."
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