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High Court forces UK ISPs to block websites selling fake luxury goods
Her Majesty's High Court of Justice has served as the stage for several high-profile cases in recent years that've resulted in UK ISPs being forced to block certain nefarious websites. Typically, these have involved entertainment giants that want to make it harder for illegal file-sharing sites like the infamous Pirate Bay to connect with their audiences. But now, ISPs have been given a new target: websites selling counterfeit goods. Said to be the first ruling of its kind in Europe, the High Court has today ordered that Sky, BT, Virgin, EE and TalkTalk -- which collectively provide 95 percent of all UK broadband -- must block a handful of websites that sell fake versions of products made by the likes of luxury brands Cartier and Mont Blanc.
The majority of Brits are disabling government-backed porn filters
Don't be too shocked, but the UK government's porn filter isn't proving very popular. A new report from communications regulator Ofcom reveals that just one in every seven customers are letting the big four UK ISPs guard them from porn and other online nasties. While tiny minorities of users at Virgin Media (four percent), BT (five percent) and Sky (eight percent) opted to keep the filter, TalkTalk ranked as a significant outlier: it reports that 36 percent of customers enabled the government-mandated filters on their home router. TalkTalk puts it down to the fact it pre-ticks the selection box, meaning more customers are likely to keep the option enabled on their account.
Ofcom makes switching fibre broadband suppliers cheaper and easier
From July 1st, it could become a whole lot easier for you to switch between superfast broadband suppliers. After setting out its original guidance back in May, communications regulator Ofcom has gained approval from the European Commission to set new targets for BT. Currently, if you switch from one fibre-optic provider to another, Openreach (the company that controls BT's phone and broadband infrastructure) will enforce a £50 connection fee against your new ISP, which can be passed down to you. Ofcom's new rules will cut that wholesale fee down to just £11, shielding you from that value-added cost and allowing new companies to launch their own superfast services for less. Ofcom has also slashed the minimum-term contract between BT and ISPs from one year to just one month, and will force BT to fix line errors within two working days of you notifying them, if weather permits. Those small changes could make a big difference, especially if you're looking for a cheaper short-term broadband supplier.
Sky goes it alone for its latest fibre broadband trial
Currently at the mercy of BT, Sky has indicated that it wants to build its own fibre-optic broadband network for some time. Having partnered with providers to deliver TV broadcasts over cables and teamed up with TalkTalk to supply gigabit (1000 Mbps) broadband to select customers in York, the company has decided to go it alone for its latest fibre trial. In Basingstoke, Sky's building its own fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) network that's capable of delivering speeds of up to 950 Mbps over an ethernet connection (150 Mbps over WiFi), far outstripping those offered by rivals BT and Virgin Media (which currently top out at 300 Mbps).
You can now add another YouView box to your BT TV subscription
You used to need special hardware to replicate the set-top box experience in another room. Now, complicated setups and IR repeaters are almost unnecessary when you can just add another box to your TV subscription. This has been available to Sky and Virgin Media customers for some time, and today BT is catching up by launching the imaginatively named "Extra Box" subscription. Assuming you're already signed up with BT TV, a £99 one-off payment and £5 per month will buy you another YouView+ box for a different room.
Ofcom considers slashing fees for fibre broadband switchers
Under new rules put forward by UK communications regulator Ofcom, switching between superfast broadband suppliers could soon become a whole lot cheaper. Currently, if you switch from one fibre-optic provider to another, Openreach (the company that controls BT's phone and broadband infrastructure) will levy a £50 connection fee against your new ISP, which is sometimes passed down to you. Ofcom's new guidance will cut that wholesale fee down to just £11, possibly saving you money and promoting competition by making it easier for new companies to launch their own superfast services. That's just one of many new regulations being put forward to the European Commission. The watchdog also intends to reduce the minimum-term contract for ISPs from one year to just one month (passing subscription benefits to consumers) and wants to force BT to fix phone and broadband issues within two days, but only when weather permits. All of today's regulations will now be sent to the European Commission for review, and we should see the final decision arrive sometime in June.
ISPs will send warning letters to illegal downloaders from next year
If you're suspected of naughtily downloading copyrighted content, then expect the most savage of punishments: a letter asking you to stop. BT, Sky, Virgin Media and TalkTalk have signed a deal with the music and movie industries whereby the ISPs will send out "educational" missives to pirates from next year. The deal is the culmination of four years of negotiation between the big four and the lobby groups, the latter of which wanted much stronger action and access to a database of serial torrenters. Thankfully, the internet companies won out, so the odd letter asking you to re-think your ways is the only thing you've got to deal with... for now.
Sky and TalkTalk join forces against BT for faster fibre-optic broadband
If you're a broadband provider like Sky or TalkTalk, one of the only ways you can get around using BT's infrastructure is to build your own. That's exactly what the two companies are intent on doing, after it was announced today that they'll be teaming up to provide faster fibre-optic connections in a number of UK cities. With a little help from network provider CityFibre, they'll begin piping gigabit (1000 Mbps) broadband direct to homes and businesses in York, eliminating the need to rely on BT's Openreach, which serves 300 Mbps connections and means BT gets a cut of Sky and TalkTalk's cash. It's the latest in a number of smaller deals for Sky, after it signalled it would take on Virgin Media by delivering TV, broadband and landline services over fibre connections to some areas of the UK. But what does it mean for you? Well, if you live in a supported area of York, you'll be able to choose Sky or TalkTalk as your fibre-optic broadband supplier from 2015. If you don't reside in the historic city, there are plans to expand the fibre networks to two more cities across the UK. BT will continue to operate its own service regardless. Although Sky and TalkTalk will be partners in the new venture, they'll be competing for customers in those chosen markets, likely driving down the the cost of gigabit broadband in the process.
You can now stream BT Sport on Google Chromecast
The US may have beaten the UK to the punch on Chromecast hardware, but us Brits now have access to another thing the Americans don't: live premiership football. Following news that it was expanding its apps to support the £30 streaming accessory, BT today switched live the necessary features to allow Sport subscribers to beam content from their iOS or Android device directly to their TV. Of course, you will need a BT Broadband package or be BT Sport subscriber to gain access to the live streams. If you've already met that requirement, then it's a simple case of hitting the "Cast" button in either of BT's official apps to enjoy football, rugby, Moto GP, tennis or UFC coverage on your nice big flatscreen.
BT Sport channels are coming to Chromecast in the UK
Fans across the Atlantic are about to get an option for streaming UK-based sporting events on Google's dongle. BT is set to make its sports offerings available on Chromecast, joining the BBC iPlayer app in beaming home-grown content to the diminutive living room gadget. Of course, only those who use BT broadband will be able to view action from the pitch. Details are sparse for now, and there's no official word on a launch date for the sports coverage to arrive on Chromecast yet either. The £30 add-on has only been available in Europe for two weeks, so there's sure to be more viewing options on the way. [Image Credit: Carl Court/AFP/Getty Images]
BT's breakneck broadband test hits unimaginable speeds over plain ol' fiber
BT still has a long way to go until it connects all of Britain's homes to its fiber-optic network, but that hasn't stopped the company from exploring new ways to squeeze some extra speed out of it while it does. With a little help from friends at Alcatel-Lucent, BT boffins have created what they believe is the fastest-ever "real-world" internet connection, clocking speeds of 1.4 terabits per second using readily available hardware. If you're wondering how fast that is, the telecom giant says the network can transmit 44 uncompressed HD movies in a single second. While the project currently exists purely as a speed test, BT and Alcatel-Lucent are already talking up the possibilities of improving existing services like Infinity without having to dig up roads, potentially delivering broadband that can handle an influx of Ultra HD content on Netflix with less chance of suffering connection issues.
Sky and Vodafone could team up to take on BT
When Sky and BT started attacking each other, we had imagined that the conflict would soon fizzle out. After all, the last time we saw a media heavyweight go up against the Haus of Murdoch, the only survivor was a stuffed monkey. This time, however, BT's billion-pound gambles on sport, mobile and broadband seem to have made the folks over at Osterley more than a little edgy. According to The Sunday Times, executives at Sky have been holding secret meetings with Vodafone to discuss ways the pair can team up. The proposals run from minor deals concerning Sky Movies on Vodafone handsets, all the way through to the duo building a nationwide broadband network that'll rival the country's number one. It's all just gossip for now, however, and in the meantime, while these lot go at each other, Netflix can mop up behind their backs.
UK adult content filters inadvertently block online education and medical resources
We've all fallen victim to the pedantic e-mail filter that denies the existence of Scunthorpe and refuses to let you order Shiitake Mushrooms, but the situation just got a whole lot worse in the UK. The country's new nationwide adult content filter has been found to restrict access not just to smut, but also to online educational, medical and emergency resources. The list of "offending" sites runs from BishUK, a site to teach young people about relationships, all the way through to several women's crisis centers being blocked. In response to questions from the BBC, networks like BT and TalkTalk have pledged to make the necessary changes -- although some have questioned if it's right that ISPs have this much say in what parts of the internet are safe or not.
New BT net subscribers will choose whether to block adult content during setup
The UK government's been pushing ISPs to make a bigger deal of adult content filters for quite some time, and today BT has fulfilled its commitments, joining other major providers like TalkTalk and Sky. A new tool from the telecoms outfit, cleverly named "BT Parental Controls," blocks unwelcome traffic at the router level -- BT has provided similar services before now, but this improved effort will be more conspicuous, especially for new broadband subscribers. When setting up their HomeHub, customers will have the option to turn off filters or run with one of the default presets, almost like David Cameron wanted. Existing customers will be notified of the new controls next year, and if they're on board, will have three levels to choose from. Other features include a user-defined blacklist and timed filter periods, but as yet there's no "ignore Miley Cyrus" setting. Please BT, for the children.
BT to broadcast and stream live NBA games in the UK
BT has landed quite a few major sports broadcasting deals as of late, including its buyout of ESPN's British and Irish channels back in February. Today, it's extending its athletic empire with an exclusive arrangement to air NBA games in Ireland and the UK. The agreement will see BT Sport 1, BT Sport 2 and ESPN broadcast as many as seven live games per week, with some of them streaming through BT Sport's website and mobile apps. While there isn't a huge market for basketball in the country, the pact will make life much easier for diehard UK fans and American ex-pats -- they won't have to buy online passes or otherwise bend over backwards to keep up with their favorite NBA teams. [Image credit: Getty]
Sky Movies comes to BT TV, hell braces itself for cold snap
With Sky and BT muscling in on each others business, the animosity between them makes Miley v. Sinead look like playground hijinks. Despite this, both recognize the growing threat of Virgin Media's Netflix offering, which is why the pair have teamed up to offer Sky Movies via BT's subscription TV packages. From October 26th, customers can subscribe to 11 Sky Movies channels in SD as well as on-demand content for an additional fee. It'll all be done via existing Vision+ and YouView hardware, so there's no need to buy any more gear, although HD-enthusiasts might just have to bite the bullet and sign up with Rupert directly.
BT taps EE for own-brand 4G network
More than ten years after it sold its shares to O2 and exited the consumer mobile market, BT may soon make a comeback as a UK carrier. The company announced today that it has signed an multi-year agreement with EE to use its 4G services to support both its customers and employees. While the company remains quiet on whether it plans to add mobile services to its existing media packages, BT CEO Ian Livingston remarked earlier in the year that it was "highly possible" that we'd see BT-branded 4G SIM cards bundled alongside its TV, broadband, fixed-line telephone and public Wi-Fi services. Let's not forget the fact that the telecoms giant also spent £186.5 million securing its own 4G spectrum. BT says it will focus on moving its existing clients over to EE's networks while expanding its "strong Wi-Fi presence" in the UK, but we believe it won't be too long until EE, O2, Vodafone and Three have some competition.
Breakfast Topic: Quality of life
Recently I haven't been playing much WoW. It's not because of any disinterest in the game, in fact, I'd love to be playing much more of it. Unfortunately for me though, with patch 5.4, WoW's system requirements finally became too much for my system. I can still putter around leveling toons -- as long as I stick to deserted areas and don't run in groups -- but I can no longer raid, even in small 10-mans, and things like Battlegrounds or the crowded Timeless Isle are completely out of the question. As my system was sliding toward digital geezer-dom, I didn't necessarily realize what was happening, because that kind of decline occurs slowly over time. I did begin to notice that WoW was becoming more frustrating for to play, but it was a little while before I put my finger on exactly why. For a long time, I thought I was finally just getting to the point where I no longer had interest in the game, and I contemplated quitting. This made me sad, because I have a lot of good friends in WoW, and I didn't want to want to quit, if you know what I mean. Nonetheless, I figured that was where I was headed. So when I realized that it was poor performance making me unhappy playing the game, and not the game itself, it came as somewhat as a relief. I ordered some necessary new parts that should speed up my machine, and I expect them to arrive this week. For the first time in a long time, I am once again eagerly looking forward to playing WoW for the sake of the game itself. Have you ever had a moment like this, readers of WoW Insider? A time when you thought you were unhappy in WoW for one reason, but it turned out to be something else entirely? Was this a good realization? What did it take to breathe life into your playing experience again?
British highway to become internet-connected 'network of sensors' over 50-mile stretch
In a team-up between the UK's Department of Transport, BT and Cambridge start-up Neul, the A14 (which connects Felixstowe to Birmingham) will be transformed into the country's first internet-connected road, with the aim of preparing the country for future tech from wireless toll chargers to automated cars. The smart road will include a network of sensors across a 50-mile segment, with data transmission delivered over white space. Ofcom approved the project yesterday, alongside its plans for the rest of the spectrum space. According to the regulator, "sensors in cars and on the roads monitor the build-up of congestions and wirelessly send this information to a central traffic control system, which automatically imposes variable speed limits that smooth the flow of traffic," Ofcom said. "This system could also communicate directly with cars, directing them along diverted routes to avoid the congestion and even managing their speed." Initial plans for the A14 aren't focused on these borderline zealous goals just yet. Instead, the project aims to gather information on the cars that use the A14, before focusing on heavy goods vehicles, feeding back to a database that the government's Department for Transport will be able to access. As The Guardian notes, the project would offer a cheaper method for data connectivity and gathering traffic information compared to the mobile network techniques used by companies like TomTom. Instead of connecting to pricey mobile masts, the project will tap into small base stations attached to street lamps or BT exchanges, many of which already exist along the hectic A-road. (Image credit: Martin Pettitt, Flickr)
UK regulator names Microsoft, Google and others for white space wireless trials
Though rural dwellers are often broadband-poor, there seems to be plenty of companies lining up to serve them in the UK. Regulator Ofcom just announced participants for its "white space" or unused spectrum trials, including Microsoft, Google, Click4Internet and British Telecom. Redmond's going to test WiFi-like services to underserved Glasgow, while Click4internet will assess rural broadband in remote or tricky locations. Google has signed on as a potential database provider, and other use cases like traffic management will be tested by BT and others. Ofcom wants to launch such services by next year and released a blueprint detailing how existing mobile and digital terrestrial TV spectrums could be divvied up. To see all the companies and what each plans to do, check the source.
