Broadband Bulletin Issue 5 - March 2006
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Fibre Speed to Business Parks
Welsh Broadband Research
BT Free Broadband?
UK to lead 3G
Broadband Intiatives
Cable Merger and Results
Fibre Speed to Business Parks
The European Commission has approved plans by the Welsh Assembly
Government to provide broadband connectivity to14 business
parks.
The business parks are too remote to attract commercial
investment by broadband infrastructure providers so will benefit
from a carrier-neutral fibre-optic connection which will remain in
public ownership.
The management and construction of the network will be
tendered to a wholesale operator who will then offer
telecommunications providers to sell access to broadband to the
business parks' resident businesses.
Wales to Achieve Blanket Broadband Coverage
The Welsh Assembly Government has announced that a contract
has been awarded to BT to enable commercially unviable exchange
areas and other 'broadband not-spots' in Wales.
Work will begin immediately; with the aim of upgrading the
majority of exchanges by the end of September 2006.
Welsh Broadband Research
Research undertaken by the Welsh Assembly Government's
Broadband Wales Programme has shown that broadband uptake in Wales
has reached 39 percent of all households. This represents an
increase of 14 percent points on last year.
Andrew Davies, Minister for Economic Development and Transport
and eMinister for the Welsh Assembly Government said: "This
research provides an accurate outlook on the Welsh broadband
arena."
Research published by the Welsh Consumer Council has shown
that 55 percent of home internet connections in Wales in March 2005
were broadband, compared to 26 percent in March 2004.
This compares favourably to the ONS figure for internet
connections across the UK which showed just 48.1% of lines were
broadband in March 2005 (see p7).
NTL 100 Mbps Trials
Cable provider NTL is due to start field trials of a 100 Mbps
broadband service from March 2006. According to technology
partner Arris, lab trials have been successful.
NTL provides cable services in South Wales and elsewhere in
the UK. No information has yet been provided about the
planned location of the field trials.
Pipex Wireless Trials
Speculation in the media has linked BT to a possible purchase
of broadband and hosting provider Pipex, partly due to their
ownership of a 3.6 to 4.2 Ghz wireless licence.
However, a recent Interim statement by Pipex indicated that
they may actually be the company doing the buying: "The Board feels
that there is now a window to increase shareholder value further
through selective acquisitions."
The report also clarifies the situation on their wireless
licence: "We continue to review strategic opportunities for this
and, to this end, have launched a trial with a leading equipment
vendor which will be completed in the second half of this year. At
this time we believe the wireless licence could hold significant
value for the Group."
Reports in The Times speculate that a service may be available
to consumers as soon as next year.
BT Free Broadband?
A report in the Daily Mail suggested that, once its
21st Century Network is up and running, BT would offer
free broadband.
In November 2005 we reported that BT would begin its 21CN
rollout in Cardiff and the surrounding areas during the second half
of 2006.
However, a spokesperson for BT has denied that broadband would
be free in a report by The Register.
IPTV Service Ditched
As BT prepare to roll out a national IPTV service, Hull-based
Kingston Communications have announced that they will be axing
theirs.
The service offered television through a set top box and ADSL
connection, but only had 4,000 customers. The company cited
competition in digital television and lack of benefits of scale as
reasons for ending the service.
Prioritising and Charging Content
Technology is now available to ISPs to slow down peer-to-peer
traffic to benefit other users. This could affect services
such as Skype.
Meanwhile, Deutsche Telekom have added to the debate about
charging content providers by claiming that the likes of Google
should pay towards network costs. We reported in February
2006 that several US broadband providers have voiced similar
opinions.
Aramiska Service Returns
Ouranus Networks have announced that they have taken over the
activities of satellite ISP Aramiska.
We reported last month that, according to IT website Ping
Wales, few had been affected in Wales by the sudden termination of
services due to the availability of ADSL. However, any users
who have experienced outages should now be able to return their
service simply by restarting their equipment.
UK to Lead 3G
60 percent of Europeans will have 3G phones by the end of 2010
according to reports by Forrester Research.
The UK and Italy are likely to lead the way due to
"above-average consumer interest in advanced mobile phones and
services, and fierce competition among operators and service
providers."
BSkyB Online Services
BSkyB's results for the six months ending 31 December 2005
announced the completion of their acquisition of Easynet claiming
it: "enhances growth potential and positions the Group to deliver
further value for customers and shareholders."
The number of Sky television subscribers has grown to 8.1
millions (up 215,000 in the latest quarter) and in the first three
weeks of offering movies by broadband over 70,000 were
downloaded.
Technium Swansea Leads UK
Technium Swansea was the highest placed UK centre in an
international competition designed to find the best science based
incubator.
Andrew Davies, Minister for Economic Development and
Transport, said: "By collaborating with our world class academic
institutions, these new companies are already providing high
quality employment opportunities and contributing to the dynamic
transformation of Wales into an internationally acclaimed knowledge
economy.'
Broadband Support Scheme Ends on a High
The WDA's Broadband Support Scheme has achieved its target -
with over a thousand businesses and voluntary sector organisations
securing support towards getting connected to the internet over
broadband.
Millennium Stadium Wireless
BT Openzone has installed Wifi hotspots in the Millenium
Stadium and Murrayfield.
The UK's biggest Wifi network has been launched in
London, with 12km of seamless coverage along the
River Thames.
The Corporation of London has selected The Cloud to install a
Wifi network covering the financial centre known as The
Square Mile.
Broadband
Initiatives
In Scotland, ADSL broadband is now accessible
through every telephone exchange apart from one, following a £24
million project led by the Scottish Executive.
Macedonia has deployed what is believed to be
the world's first national wireless broadband network. Using
Motorola technology, the network uses wi-fi repeaters at schools,
universities and local government offices to cover the countries
25,333 square kilometres.
During 2006 Deutshe Telekom will connect the first 10 cities
in Germany to a new high-speed fibre network based
on VDSL technology, if they get the required regulatory
go-ahead.
Broadband over Powerline Specs
The Open PLC European Research Alliance (OPERA) announced the
approval of the first open global specification for Powerline
Communications (PLC) access, also known as Broadband over Powerline
(BPL).
Ofcom Notices
Ofcom has published guidance on fibre access for new build
premises and community broadband access networks
Following consultation, Ofcom has announced the establishment
of a new industry body called NGN UK, along with other measures to
promote the establishment of Next Generation Networks.
Consultations
The European Commission (EC) has called for input on the White
Paper on a European Communication Policy. The consultation
calls for comments on five areas for which the White Paper proposes
joint action to be taken:
· defining common
principles guiding the communication activities on European
issues
· empowering
citizens
· working with the
media and new technologies
· understanding
European public opinion
· doing the job
together
Closes – 31 July 2006
Ofcom has launched a consultation in to regulation of VOIP
Services.
Closes – 3 May 2006
Ofcom seeks comments on proposals for the establishment of
common principles on migrations, switching and mis-selling across
transferable products including broadband.
Closes – 28 April 2006
Ofcom has launched a consultation in to its Consumer
Policy.
Closes – 19 April 2006
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has launched a
consultation on proposals to introduce fixed penalty fines for
certain offences committed under the Wireless Telegraphy Act
1949.
Closes – 31 March 2006
Ofcom's Welsh Language Scheme.
Closes – 22 March 2006
Cable Merger and Results
Merged cable providers Telewest and
NTL both announced their year end results on 28
February 2006. The merger was completed on 3 March
2006. NTL announced losses for the quarter of £56m and
Telewest announced losses for the quarter of £14m.
NTL, whose network covers parts of South Wales, has 1,625,200
broadband subscribers. Telewest has 1,005,100 broadband
subscribers.
Their combined cable broadband customer base currently stands
at 2,630,300 and has increased by 192,900 in the last
quarter. The maximum number of homes which can receive
broadband through their combined networks is 11,613,600.
NTL, who acquired Virgin.net in November
2004, also have 32,300 broadband customers who connect through
ADSL. NTL are still looking to purchase Virgin Mobile.
BT Results
BT's third quarter results announced on 9 February 2006
claimed that BT Retail had a 31% share of the UK
DSL broadband market with 2,328,000 DSL broadband lines at the end
of 2005.
BT Wholesale had 6.9 million DSL broadband
connections at the end of 2005, an increase of 2.8 million compared
to the previous year.
Other company data sources:
Broadband Company Data
Tiscali's full year results claim a UK
broadband market share of 10% with 934,400 broadband lines at the
end of 2005. They have unbundled 26 exchanges, but plan to
increase this programme in 2006.
Pipex issued a trading update on 13 January
stating that the ISP had 283,000 broadband subscribers – an
increase of 47% in the last year. Its target number of
unbundled exchanges for 2006 is now 100, up from a previous target
of 60.
Cable and Wireless announced in a UK Business Update on 28
February 2006 that it would focus on a smaller number of larger
clients. However, it will keep its broadband subsidiary
Bulldog which has grown to 101,000 residential and
6,000 business broadband customers. Its target number of
unbundled exchanges for September 2006 is 800.
Internet Connectivity Report December 2005
The Office of National Statistics (ONS) revealed that
broadband connections formed 64.2% of all Internet connections in
the UK, up from 60.5% in December 2005. This was the last monthly
report, and future reports will be published quarterly. The
next report is due to cover the first quarter of 2006 and will be
published on 23 May 2006.
http://www.statistics.gov.uk/
OTA Update for January 2006
The Office of the Telecommunications Adjudicator announced on
3 February 2006 that the number of unbundled lines was about to
exceed 250,000. This is up from 210,000 in December
2005.
The OTA now predicts that the number will grow to between two
and three million by the end of 2006. This is double previous
estimates.
Ofcom Communications Market Report – Quarterly Update
By December 2005 there were almost 9.8 million broadband
connections across the UK according to the latest report from
Ofcom.
Ofcom's own survey shows that 58% of homes had internet access
in November 2005 and 57% of all internet connections in the UK in
the third quarter of 2005 were broadband.
There has been a downward trend in voice call volumes and BT's
share of total market share of fixed line voice volumes has fallen
to 51.3% due in part to growth in competition from carrier
pre-select and wholesale line rental. Cable operators saw no
change.
Ofcom also reported that over 2.7 million DAB digital radios
have now been sold in the UK and that 66% of homes now have digital
television. Mobile phone subscriptions have grown over the
year to September 2005 by 9% to 62.5 million.
All figures were published by Ofcom in their interim report
dated February 2006.