Telecom news

• Ofcom sticks up for neglected phone boxes

  08-06-2022 21:07
  
  UK comms regulator Ofcom has said certain public phone boxes will be safeguarded against removal if they are still needed by a local community.
  As must be blatantly obvious to all, the need for public phone boxes declined in line with the ubiquity of mobile phone ownership. Ofcom reckons usage has dropped from around 800 million minutes in 2002 to 4 million 2021/22, but says that there is still need for them in some areas, such as places where there isn’t any mobile signal.
  There are still
  
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• 5G and Wi-Fi development: debunking five common industry myths

  08-06-2022 17:05
  
  Telecoms.com periodically invites expert third parties to share their views on the industry’s most pressing issues. In this piece Markus Nispel, VP of International Markets, Office of the CTO at Extreme Networks, examines some common misconceptions about 5G and Wi-Fi.
  In many ways 5G and Wi-Fi are two sides of the same coin. They’re both wireless network protocols based on agreed standards, they use similar technologies, and they both address our need for connectivity.
  However,
  
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• Gold glitters at this British Library exhibition

  08-06-2022 16:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  
  There can be few people who have ever seen a medieval Bible and not looked in awe at the rich decorations inside, but also noticed how liberally decorated they are with gold and pondered the extravagance.A new exhibition at the British Library looks at how gold was used to embellish important documents, not just in olde Christianity, but across the whole planet. Every culture valued gold and used it in important documents.
  But not always how we expect.
  The library has managed to pull together a
  
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• Huawei extends IP olive branch to the West

  08-06-2022 14:33
  
  Chinese tech giant Huawei held a conference with the underlying theme that it is open to working with the rest of the world on IP, just as the US made fresh accusations of Chinese state-sponsored hacks.
  Huawei put on an event this morning comprising of a series of keynotes, a showcase of some new awards it had given out for new tech, and a panel session. The overall aim of the event appeared to be to talk about the importance of intellectual property and innovation both within the firm and in th
  
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• First release of Heritage Open Days venues that need prebooking

  08-06-2022 13:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  
  Heritage Open Days is happening again, the chance to visit normally closed buildings across the UK, and some venues are already taking bookings. My tip with Heritage Open Days is to find a building you’re particularly keen to visit, and then look to see what else is in the area – lots of churches usually — and make a day trip of it. The search function is here.
  Most of the venues are turn up on the day, but some want to control visitor numbers.
  More venues will be added over th
  
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• TIM job cuts could ultimately save a fortune

  08-06-2022 12:54
  
  TIM has reportedly reached agreement with workers unions that will enable it to shed as many as 1,200 jobs, a move that will help it to shave a significant sum from its domestic staffing costs.
  The cuts will be made through a voluntary early retirement scheme, according to Reuters. They will form the first tranche of a broader job-reduction effort from the Italian incumbent, which is looking to make some sizeable cost-savings over the next few years, the newswire noting, adding that it had been
  
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• US claims China-backed hackers target vulnerable telco gear

  08-06-2022 12:45
  
  The US government has warned that Chinese state-sponsored hackers are finding their way into major telco and IT networks.
  A joint advisory (PDF) from the National Security Agency (NSA), Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the FBI explains how attackers are using a variety of techniques to exploit publicly-known vulnerabilities in equipment, allowing them to establish a broad network of compromised infrastructure. This has left a wide range of public and private sector org
  
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• New laws are slowing UK 5G rollout – IEA

  08-06-2022 12:37
  
  A recent study by the Institute of Economic Affairs found changes in the laws around compensation for landowners has created ill-will between them and operators.
  The study is titled ‘Communication breakdown’ because is focuses on how 2017 tweaks to the Electronic Communications Code significantly lowered the amount of compensation landowners get for allowing operators to place masts and equipment on their land. Rather than just take this lying down, it seems those landowners have ins
  
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• Elizabeth Line trains to call at Heathrow’s T4 from next week

  08-06-2022 11:54 via ianvisits.co.uk
  
  Just three weeks after it opened, the Elizabeth line is already gaining a new station to call at, as it adds Heathrow Terminal 4 to the line. Elizabeth line trains already call at Heathrow Terminals 2/3 and Terminal 5, but Heathrow Airport closed Terminal 4 at the start of the pandemic and it is only now reopening.
  At the moment, the Elizabeth line runs four trains an hour from Paddington station to Heathrow, with two terminating at Terminals 2/3, and two going on to Terminal 5.
  When Terminal 4
  
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• InCoax Networks and PCs for People ensure digital inclusion in Texas affordable housing complex

  08-06-2022 11:42
  
  Stoneridge Apartments now has access to cost-effective multi-gigabit connectivity through the reuse of existing coax cable infrastructure LUND, Sweden; KANSAS CITY, MO; AUSTIN, TX; SAN RAMON, CA, June 8 2022 – PCs for People and InCoax Networks have collaborated and successfully delivered high-speed, multi-gigabit connectivity to an affordable housing complex in Pflugerville, a suburb of Austin, Texas. Stoneridge Apartments is a 256-apartment complex spanning across 13 buildings and to rem
  
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• Bouygues Telecom selects Etiya to become digital-ready

  08-06-2022 09:00
  
  Amsterdam, 8th Jun, 2022 — Etiya, a leading Independent Software Provider, today announced it has been selected by one of the largest French telecommunication operators, Bouygues Telecom, to deploy Etiya’s Cloud Ready End to End Digital Business Platform. This digital business platform will allow Bouygues Telecom to offer a seamless customer experience with greater commercial, digital and technical agility and effortless integration of new services, partnerships, brands, and features
  
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• Improved links between HS1 and HS2 railways could reduce air travel

  08-06-2022 08:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  
  A report by a high-speed rail lobby group is calling for improved links between HS1 and HS2 in London to encourage more people to switch from planes to trains.
  The High Speed Rail Group (HSRG) looked at rail travel in the UK as a whole and into the European mainland to see what routes could encourage fewer flights and more train trips.
  The rationale put forward is the environmental impact of rail vs planes, which has been fairly clear for some time. Data from the European Environmental Agency (E
  
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• TIM’s voluntary retirement scheme set to cut 1,200 jobs

  08-06-2022 02:00
  Around the end of 2021, Italian incumbent operator TIM was under enormous pressure from stakeholders to make major changes to the organisation, having failed to achieve notable improvements to its financial performance for numerous years. Couple this with a divisive €10.8 billion takeover offer from US private equity firm KKR and it was clear that the company was at a significant crossroads…read more on TotalTele.com »
  
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• Ofcom outlines the future of UK phone boxes

  08-06-2022 02:00
  It goes without saying that in the UK – and indeed most developed countries – that mobile connectivity is largely taken for granted. The UK’s 4G networks cover more than 99% of the country, with mobile internet used daily by over 90% of the population.  Nonetheless, thousands, perhaps millions, of UK citizens remain reliant on older technologies like landlines and payphones for their connectivity needs, making retiring these legacy services very difficult for operato
  
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• Ofcom outlines the future of UK payphones

  08-06-2022 02:00
  It goes without saying that in the UK – and indeed most developed countries – that mobile connectivity is largely taken for granted. The UK’s 4G networks cover more than 99% of the country, with mobile internet used daily by over 90% of the population.  Nonetheless, thousands, perhaps millions, of UK citizens remain reliant on older technologies like landlines and payphones for their connectivity needs, making retiring these legacy services very difficult for operato
  
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• NGOs oppose European telcos’ calls for tech giants to share infrastructure costs

  08-06-2022 02:00
  Telecoms companies have long complained about the perceived imbalance of their relationship with major tech companies like Meta, Google, and Netflix, viewing these so-called ‘over-the-top’ (OTT) companies as reaping the financial rewards of their expensive connectivity infrastructure rollouts. Since at least 2012, European operators have been periodically calling on regulators to step in and force these tech giants to contribute financially to the networks they so rely on, but
  
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