BT speeds up ADSL services

BT has announced a package to triple the speed of its rollout of broadband services yesterday, after weeks of complaints about delays and missed appointments. The company admitted that the rollout has not been smooth and has hired US specialist staff and consultants with experience of delivering broadband services in order to increase the installation rate by a factor of three - to 15,000 a month by March. To date it has connected just 14,000 users through ISPs such as BT Openworld and Freeserve since the service was made available in August. ...more

Ericsson launches largest GPRS network in China

Ericsson has begun the long march of rolling out GPRS networks across China. China's largest GPRS "pre-commercial" network has been launched by Ericsson in conjunction with GMCC (Guangdong Mobile Communication Company). High-speed wireless data communications services will initially be offered to customers in the cities of Guangzhou and Shenzhen. ...more

Samsung buys into Symbian phone OS

Symbian has acquired a 5 per cent share holding in the Symbian consortium for ?17m. This is the British-based company that produces the sophisticated OS found within phones from the likes of Nokia, Siemens and Motorola. That's smartphones without the trademark symbol (a la the Smartphone OS from Microsoft). ...more

IBM makes play with chip stacks

IBM claims it will be able to make microchips faster and more energy efficient by stacking components on top of each other, a breakthrough that shortens the distance an electrical signal needs to travel. The technique works by drilling tiny holes through a wafer of silicon and filling them with metal. Components such as memory can then be stacked on top of the main part of the chip, eliminating the need for wires stretching out to the sides. ...more

Dan finds potential buyer

Dan Technology, the UK computer vendor that went into administration last month, is negotiating a sale of the company as an ongoing concern. The accountancy firm BDO Stoy Howard dealing with Dan's affairs would not disclose any further information on the interested buyer, but expected that there would be a concrete agreement on the table next week. A spokesperson for BDO Stoy Howard said that, as Dan Technology is being sold as a going concern, it would keep the same name and the new owner would hopefully honour any existing responsibilities of the company to its customers. ...more