Telecom news

• TikTok attempts to sooth EU over privacy and security concerns

  08-03-2023 18:40
  Social media app TikTok has launched Project Clover, which seems to be designed to alleviate fears that vast quantities of user data could be accessed by the Chinese state.
  Project Clover was introduced via a blog post by TikTok’s Vice President, Government Relations and Public Policy – Europe Theo Bertram, in which he described it as ‘a program focused on creating a secure enclave for European TikTok user data’, and is designed to ‘strengthen existing protections a
  
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• New Elizabeth line timetable for May released

  08-03-2023 17:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  
  The final major customer upgrade for the Elizabeth line will take place on Sunday 21st May 2023, and the timetable has been published on the TfL website.
  Since 6th November 2022, the service has been operating 22 trains per hour (tph) in the Central Operating Section (COS) at peak times. With the May 2023 upgrade, it will increase the number of trains in the peak hours through the core tunnels to 24 per hour.
  Elizabeth line timetable May 2023 (c) TfL
  The new timetable also adds through trains fr
  
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• Vodafone and Altice confirm investment for German fibre ops

  08-03-2023 16:55
  Vodafone on Wednesday announced that it has completed the sale of half of its German fibre venture to Altice.
  That in itself is not hugely newsworthy. The operators secured the approval of the European Commission for what is in effect a fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) joint venture in Germany a couple of weeks ago, so closing the deal was only a matter of time.
  However, there is an interesting point in what is a largely perfunctory announcement from Vodafone.
  The telco reminded us that the JV, still kn
  
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• There’s a small Spitting Image exhibition in central London

  08-03-2023 16:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  
  It can be a bit of a shock to be walking along posh Jermyn Street and suddenly see the latex image of Margaret Thatcher staring back at you from a shop window. For people of a certain age, Spitting Image is one of those shows that defined political satire, and is often much missed.Now there’s a small exhibition about the puppets used in the show.
  It’s not a reverential exhibition, which is suitable as reverence was an anathema to the show, but looks at the puppets with their guts han
  
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• Next G Alliance’s 6G XR report is actually a massive to-do list

  08-03-2023 13:55
  Immersive, multi-sensory extended reality (XR) is what we’re all crying out for, apparently, but there’s a lot of work to get through first.
  According to a new report from the Next G Alliance (NGA), 1 billion XR glasses and sensory devices will be in use by 2030, with growth being driven by advances in lightweight, high-performance form factors, wearables, and even brain-computer interfaces. Supporting these products and enabling their myriad use cases needs to be factored into the d
  
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• US fails to appoint FCC Commissioner after 16 months of trying

  08-03-2023 13:23
  Gigi Sohn has withdrawn from consideration as the fifth Federal Communications Commissioner, citing attacks from lobbyists as the main reason.
  For some reason Sohn chose to make her announcement exclusively through the Washington Post. “Last night after discussions with my family and careful consideration, I made the decision to ask President Biden to withdraw my nomination to the Federal Communications Commission,” she wrote.
  “When I accepted his nomination over sixteen months
  
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• UK tech superpower plan derailed by QR code

  08-03-2023 13:16
  The UK is going to be a science and technology superpower by 2030, but none of us knew about it until Prime Minister Rishi Sunak created a social media furore by sharing a QR code on Twitter.
  The government on Monday shared its plan, dubbed the Science and Technology Framework, backed by around £370 million in new funding. It is designed to boost infrastructure, investment and skills in areas such as quantum technologies, supercomputing and AI.
  It comes with a 10-point plan, most of which
  
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• Ofcom wants to clear up confusion over fibre marketing

  08-03-2023 13:00
  UK comms regulator Ofcom says the term fibre is applied inconsistently by the industry, and is considering new guidance as to how broadband firms market their products.
  Under the proposed new rules, ISPs would only be able to use the terms ‘fibre’ and ‘full-fibre’ if their network uses fibre-optic cables all the way from the exchange to the home. Ofcom also wants customers to be provided with ‘a short, easy-to-understand description’ of the type of broadband t
  
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• Ofcom wants to clear up confusion over fibre contracts

  08-03-2023 13:00
  UK comms regulator Ofcom says the term fibre is applied inconsistently by the industry, and is considering new guidance as to how broadband firms phrase contracts.
  Under the proposed new rules, ISPs would only be able to use the terms ‘fibre’ and ‘full-fibre’ if their network uses fibre-optic cables all the way from the exchange to the home. Ofcom also wants customers to be provided with ‘a short, easy-to-understand description’ of the type of broadband they a
  
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• Motspur Park station step-free access works start next month

  08-03-2023 13:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  
  Motspur Park station, in southwest London, is the latest to get an upgrade to provide lifts and step-free access, with construction works due to start next month.
  The station is currently an island platform between the railway tracks, with a footbridge linking the station with roads on either side of the railway. A ticket office is on the platform, along with a closed waiting room.
  Aerial view of Motspur station (c) Network Rail
  The footbridge is awkwardly designed, with steps up to the footbrid
  
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• A chance to climb up an Islington church tower

  08-03-2023 08:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  
  If you have a good head for heights, there’s now a chance to climb up to the top of a church steeple and walk around the narrow space at the top. This is the church of St Mary the Virgin in the centre of Islington, and the local tour guides have now started offering steeple tours.So expect a long narrow winding staircase, a need to wear a headlamp because there are few lights on the stairs, sign an injury waiver, and stand on a narrow walkway a hundred feet in the air. Excepting for a few
  
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• Museum of London starts packing after its closure

  08-03-2023 01:01 via ianvisits.co.uk
  
  Since it closed a few months ago, the Museum of London has been preparing to pack its huge collection for the move to its new home, and the first item has now gone into the packing case.
  A prehistoric flint tranchet adze is the first item to be removed from display, and marks the beginning of a two-year process to remove 10,000 objects from its galleries as the museum prepares to move to a new home in West Smithfield.
  Museum of London team remove prehistoric flint tranchet adze from display (c)
  
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