BT boasts 10 million broadband barrier breakthrough

BT claims it has doubled its target for broadband connections, expecting to break through the 10 million connection mark this week. Its original figure of 5 million by the end of 2006 was set in 2002, when there were fewer than 150,000 DSL connections and availability was limited to a third of the UK population. The latest figures comprise connections sold by BT Wholsale, which supplies Internet services to a range of ISPs, including BT Retail, and BT Openreach, which offer unbundled services. ...more

Symbian OS v7.0s unveiled as new smart phone platform

Symbian has updated its operating system for high-end mobile phones, Symbian OS v7.0s. The Symbian platform is found within mobiles such as the Sony Ericsson P800 Smartphone and the Nokia 7650 and 9210. ...more

Tiscali ups the anti-BT complaints ante

Tiscali and other communications companies are to drop a complaint against BT made under the Telecommunications Act and relodge it under the more powerful Competition Act. The complaint, from Tiscali, Energis and Your Communications, claims that BT is using its monopolistic weight to unfairly penalise those communications providers that took up its Datastream broadband service by 'multiple tactics', such as cutting the prices of its preferred broadband wholesale offerings. The trio will be hoping to follow in the footsteps of Freeserve, who successfully managed to force Oftel to reconsider a complaint of predatory pricing by taking the complaint to the Competition Commission Appeals Tribunal. ...more

Mandelson commits EU to copyright defence

The European music business has welcomed Peter Mandelson's announcement that the EU is committed to an uncompromising approach to copyright violation. Following a meeting with US Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez, where they agreed a joint approach to enforcement, the EU Trade Commissioner said: 'We are sending a message of zero tolerance to the rest of the world.' Gutierrez said that the defence of intellectual property rights would get the full resources of the US government. ...more

Swindon takes high-speed Net crown

Swindon is the UK's top conurbation, when it comes to broadband access, with more than half of all households plugged into a fast Internet connection. It is the only place where penetration has exceeded 50 per cent, although Wokingham, a short hop along the M4, comes close with 49.3 per cent. ...more