Broadband News
UK Government To Outsource Internet Tracking
The UK government is planning to use a private company to run its proposed database of every phone call, text, email and web site visit. In a prop... More »
Phishers Outwit Twitter Users
A large number of Twitter users have been temporarily locked out of their accounts as a phishing scam continues to attack the social messaging site. Users are being sent a... More »
China Vows To Clean Up The Internet
The Chinese government has named 19 web sites, including Google, as failing to remove ‘vulgar’ material such as pornography which it says is harming its citizens. The ... More »
Madoff Victims Selling Memorabilia On eBay
Madoff, who was arrested last month after allegedly telling investigators he lost as much as $50 billion of investors' money in a giant Ponzi scheme, promoted his firm by put... More »
Recession To Steal Some Glitz From Gadget Show
The International Consumer Electronics Show, the largest trade show in the U.S., opens this week in Las Vegas with a full slate of giant TVs and inventive gadgets, despite the p... More »
Samsung to Unveil 7mm Thick TV At CES
Samsung Electronics plans to unveil a flat-panel TV that's as thin as just 6.5-millimeters at this week's International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, it said... More »
Nokia Unveils Latest Touchscreen Phone
Nokia's previous stance of 'No touchscreens for us, thank you sir' has now been well and truly blown away after the announcement of another touchscreen device, the 6208c, whi... More »
Wikimedia Foundation Raises $6.2 Million For Wikipedia
The Wikimedia Foundation announced Friday that it has reached its goal of raising over $6 million to sustain Wikipedia. With the help of over 125,000 donors from a... More »
Microsoft Windows, IE Usage Declined In 2008
Microsoft's browser and operating system market share suffered in 2008 while competitors' products thrived. According to statistics provided by Net Applicat... More »
iPhone 3G Gets Unlocking Software
A group of iPhone hackers has released software that makes it possible to use Apple's touch-screen smartphone on nearly any GSM carrier. As p... More »
Deutsche Telekom To Share Fibre With Vodafone
Deutsche Telekom (DT), Germany's incumbent telco, has agreed to cooperate with at least one rival on next generation broadband investment, following political pressure... More »
PageOne Launches MoodleMobile With 2-Way Functionality
PageOne, the UK's leading mobile messaging company announces that it will be launching its ‘MoodleMobile' plug-in module with 2-way messaging functionality. By exte... More »
British Housewives Are World's Biggest Surfers
A huge internet survey has discovered that British housewives are the world's biggest surfers - spending close to half of their leisure time online. A massive po... More »
India Postpones Auction of 3G Spectrum
India has postponed to Jan. 30, 2009, the auction of 3G spectrum to give potential bidders more time to study bid documents and rules for the auction, a government agency said Tue... More »
Online Holiday Sales Fall
Online sales for the holiday period up to Dec. 23 fell 3 percent from the same period last year, marking the first decline in online spending since comScore Inc sta... More »
China Approves 3G Licenses
China agreed to start issuing licenses for its 3G mobile data network support, but questions remain about which companies will get a slice of the estimated $... More »
The Internet's Cool, But TV Remains Ad King
The Internet is growing in importance in advertising, but old-fashioned television remains the most influential medium, a study shows. In a wide-ranging survey of more ... More »
Facebook Sets UK Christmas Traffic Record
Christmas Day was Facebook's busiest day ever in the UK, according to Hitwise, up 69% on Christmas 2007, presumably a result of family and friends using the tool to contact... More »
IT Firms May Court India's Satyam Computer Services
A host of private equity firms and global information technology majors are likely to vie for a stake in Satyam Computer Services, as angry in... More »
Asus Launching The AIR3 Internet Radio
If you are thinking of buying into the internet radio 'scene' yet also want to be able to play all your own 'choons' then Asus new AIR3 could well be the audio device you never kn... More »
London To Get World's Tallest Video Projection
What's worse than Boris Johnson as mayor of London? How about a 200-foot tall Boris Johnson as mayor of London? LG Electronics is sponsoring the capital's New Year's Eve fire... More »
Gorillaz Top MySpace 2008 Chart
If you want to know what 'ver kids' are listening to these days then you need to stay abreast of the MySpace chart. MySpace has revealed the top eight most watched, most list... More »
UK Government Looking To Censor Internet
Websites might one day be regulated by government and given movie-style ratings, if an interview given by the Culture Secretary is anything to go by. Among other issues, Andy Bur... More »
Recovery From Slowdown May Take 3-4 Years
The impact of the global economic slowdown may extend even beyond 2009 and a complete recovery may take at least three to four years, predicted ... More »
Twitter And CNN Crawls
If you watch CNN, you may have noticed some of the shows now include comments by viewers in the crawl section at the bottom of the screen. People send those messages via&nb... More »
Elpida And Taiwanese DRAM Makers In Tie-Up Talks
Hit by an industry-wide downturn that means they lose money on every chip they make, three Asian DRAM (dynamic RAM) makers have begun talks on bringing their companies together ... More »
Vietnam Tightens Rules On Blogs
Vietnam has tightened restrictions on internet blogs, banning bloggers from raising subjects the government deems inappropriate. Blogs should follow Vietnamese la... More »
Warner Music Pulls Videos From YouTube
Warner Music Group ordered YouTube on Saturday to remove all music videos by its artists from the popular online video-sharing site after contract&nb... More »
Montenegro Bans Facebook, YouTube In Public Offices
The former Yugoslav republic of Montenegro has banned public sector staff from accessing the popular Internet websites Facebook and YouTube&nbs... More »
Is London The Capital City Of Twitter?
London is the capital of the Twittersphere according to a report on the state of the microblogging world. London comes top of a list of the top Twitter 'cities' assembled o... More »
RIM 'Sues' Motorola Over Hiring Blocks
According to Bloomberg, Research in Motion is suing Motorola, claiming that the latter phone-maker is blocking RIM from hiring recently dismissed Moto employees. RIM, ac... More »
North Korea Reportedly Calls For Cell Service
North Korea reportedly has made arrangements to launch its own 3G cellular network, but details on how it works, how it will be accessed and, in particular, who can... More »
Orange Loses Exclusive Apple iPhone Deal In France
A French government authority has temporarily halted France Telecom's exclusive distribution rights for Apple iPhone in the French market. Other telecommunications vendo... More »
Track Santa Online This Christmas
You don't have to look far to find Mr. Claus this Christmas. Thanks to the folks at Google and NORAD, you can track Santa online right from your computer or cell phone. ... More »
World Of Warcraft Adds Another 0.5m Subscribers
Entertainment has announced that World of Warcraft's subscriber base has reached 11.5 million players worldwide, continuing its reign as the world's most popular multipl... More »
Nokia Gives Mail On Ovi An Official Launch
Traditionally, an email account is created on a PC or Mac, with the messages then pushed to your phone. But times they are a-changing and Nokia hopes to capitalise on thi... More »
Google And Facebook Jostle For Mobile Supremacy
Opera has unveiled its Mobile Web report for 2008k based in data pulled from its Opera Mini browser. And the results are pretty obvious. Opera users have been all over G... More »
3 Offers First Sub-10 Mobile Phone Contract
The credit crunch isn't doing any of us any favours, but if there's one upside, it's the battle for our cash that will undoubtedly lead to some serious good mobile deals in 2009... More »
FIFA 09 Is UK Christmas Number One
EA Sports will be toasting a fine bottle of champers as they pick at their turkey dinners after barging aside cinematic war epic Call of Duty: World at War at the last minute to c... More »
Google Staff Given G1 Android, Not Bonus
Google's staff have been given Android phones rather than a Christmas bonus, it has been revealed. People working for the world's largest internet brand have been t... More »
Wipro Buys Citi Indian IT Unit
Wipro Technologies has agreed to acquire Citi Technology Services (CTS), the India-based information technology services and solutions provider owned by financial s... More »
Opera Sees Mobile Traffic Grow 463%
While Opera Software may only hold a small percentage of the desktop browsing market, the company is dominant in the mobile browsing market, and its Opera Mini users vie... More »
Sprint And Cogent Settle Internet Traffic Fight
Sprint Nextel Corp. and Cogent Communications Group Inc. have reached a deal ending their dispute on exchanging Internettraffic, the companies said Monday. The compan... More »
RIM Rides The Downturn With Record Third Quarter
BlackBerry maker Research In Motion (RIM) posted its third-quarter results on Friday, showing revenues of $2.78bn (£1.85bn), up 66.3 per cent on the same quarter last year... More »
NatWest Offers Mobile International Money Transfer Service
NatWest has announced a partnership with Polish bank PKO BP for a commission-free mobile money transfer service for UK account holders. Customers ca... More »
Bullet Trains Fitted With Wireless Broadband
As if being ferried up and down the country at almost 300kph weren't enough for the technology-obsessed Japanese, they can now add in-train Wi-Fi access to the mix. From March ne... More »
NSA Patents A Way To Spot Network Snoops
The U.S. National Security Agency has patented a technique for figuring out whether someone is tampering with networkcommunication. The NSA's software ... More »
25% Of Google Searches Are Through YouTube
A startling statistic has come out about camp Google this week, and it's that searches made on YouTube account for a quarter of all Google search queries. The percentage, taken... More »
Polaroid Files For Bankruptcy Protection
Polaroid has announced that it is to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. This is the second time the company has filed for bankruptcy protection in seven years. The beleaguered&nbs... More »
O2 Launches Low-Cost Broadband Service
O2 has announced a new low-cost broadband package which it claims offers great value for money. The new package promises to save money without compromisin... More »
UK Consumers Would Swap Fruit For Fibre
UK consumers are making a number of sacrifices in order to survive the tough economic climate, according to a survey from BT, but they will not give up the internet. The t... More »
Apple iPhone Driving Up Wi-Fi Use
Smartphone users are driving up the use of Wi-Fi hotspots, according to a new survey, with Apple's iPhone accounting for nearly 10 per cent of access requests in the US. The&nb... More »
Toshiba Unveils 512GB Solid State Drive
Toshiba has unveiled the world's first 2.5in 512GB solid state drive (SSD), designed to provide a high level of performance and endurance for use in notebook computers, and g... More »
Forrester: Downturn Isn't Harming Green IT
A pragmatic money-saving approach to green IT is insulating the trend from chilly economic winds, a new report has said. Over one third of IT support&nb... More »
Web Sites Must Focus On Seamless Experience
Web site owners have been urged to enhance transparency and usability if they want to cash in on the estimated £13.16bn spent by UK online shoppers in the run up to Christ... More »
Phorm Chief Executive Steps Down
Controversial targeted advertising firm Phorm has announced several changes to its executive management team, including the resignation of UK chief executive Hugo Dray... More »
National Express To Cut 750 UK Jobs
Transport group National Express will shed around 750 back-office and IT support jobs to cope with the effects of the recession. The company is understood to be suf... More »
Businesses Are Delaying IT Upgrades
Companies are postponing plans for IT support infrastructure upgrades due to the challenging economic conditions, according to a study by the National Computing Centre (NCC). T... More »
PGP Encryption Certified For UK Government
Data protection firm PGP's Whole Disk Encryption technology has been certified for use by the UK government and other associated organisations. The formal approval by the ... More »
Partnership Creates eCommerce Opportunities
Businesses could benefit from a new partnership between Enterprise 2.0 firm WorkLight and widget platform provider Netvibes announced today. The partnership i... More »
Yahoo Cuts Data Retention Times
In an attempt to bolster trust with its users, Yahoo has revamped its global data retention policy, promising to anonymise user log data within 90 days, half the perio... More »
IBM Ranks As Most Trusted Tech Provider
IBM, HP and Apple have done the most in the technology sector to secure people's confidence in their privacy policies, according to a new list of companies c... More »
Gartner Predicts Rise In Enterprise Social Software
Over a third of large enterprises will have deployed social software suites to all of their employees by 2012, according to new research from Gartner. The analyst fir... More »
Generic Top-Level Domains Could Cause Havoc
The introduction of generic top-level domains (TLDs) could wreak havoc across the internet if not implemented carefully and with suitable regulations in plac... More »
Pret A Manger To Offer Free Wi-Fi
Coffee and sandwich chain Pret A Manger is to roll out a wireless internet service across its entire store network in a bid to increase sales. Wireless... More »
Virgin Media Launches 50Mbit Broadband
Virgin Media is officially launching its 50Mbit/s broadband service today, claiming the fastest internet connection in the UK for those who can receive it... More »
Sideways Smileys Trademarked In Russia
We've seen some odd legal decisions over the years, but few as peculiar as the news that emerged from Russia today that an advertising company has trademarked the well-known winkin... More »
Estonia Gets Right To Vote By Text Message
As part of an effort to make sure its citizens have the maximum opportunity to exercise their democratic rights, Estonia has become the first country in the world to allowing vo... More »
eBay Lists Obama's Old Car
Supporters of the next U.S. president can bid on his old car on eBay. So can anyone else, but with a minimum bid of $100,000, it's unlikely anyone will buy the car just for t... More »
Motorola Sees All LANs Wireless In Future
Wireless technology has reached a tipping point where corporate networks will increasingly be deployed using wireless rather than cabled Ethernet, according to Motorola'... More »
YouTube Lets You Turn Videos Into Greeting Cards
For the second year, YouTube on Friday unveiled a holiday feature that lets users create hosted IT services video cards to send to friends and family. Users ca... More »
Skyfire Mobile Web Browser Launches In The UK
Skyfire has been kicking around for a while, but this week has made the leap out of beta status and into the UK market. If you happen to have a Windows Mobile or Symb... More »
Santander To Shed 1900 UK Jobs
The integration of Alliance & Leicester (A&L) and Bradford & Bingley's (B&B's) savings unit with Abbey will result in the loss of some 1,900 jobs across the three ... More »
Washington Post Chief Joins Facebook Board
Donald Graham, chairman and chief executive of the Washington Post Co, has agreed to join the board of directors of Facebook, the world's most popular social network&n... More »
Verizon Expects 4G Wireless In A Year
Verizon Wireless expects to begin a launch of its 4G LTE technology by the end of next year, a company executive said Wednesday in an indication that the pieces o... More »
Alcatel-Lucent To Cut Jobs, Reorganize Around Web 2.0
Alcatel-Lucent will get a "major strategic transformation" based in large part on taking advantage of open network environments including Web 2.0, Web 3.0 univ... More »
UK Can Take Global Lead On Biometrics
The UK could take a global lead in the biometrics industry, but is currently too fragmented in its approach and lacks an independent focal point, according to new research from... More »
Forrester Sees Big Slowdown In U.S. IT Spending
Forrester Research on Tuesday said IT services spending growth in the United States would fall by more than 60% next year, as the nation's recession takes its toll on bus... More »
Gmail Unveils Texting In Chat: Take Two
Google has decided that chatting in Gmail is too finite, as it allows the person on the other end to leave the conversation. So now you can continue the chat via the wonder of text... More »
Web Site-Based Crimeware Hits All-Time High
The use of malware on Web sites to steal passwords and other sensitive information is skyrocketing, according to a new report from the Anti-Phishing Working Group. The number of U... More »
Yahoo Pink Slips Issued, Recruiters Circling Above
Yahoo began issuing pink slips Wednesday to the majority of the employees affected by its previously announced 10 percent job cut, the company confirmed. Most of the 1,520 layoffs... More »
Google Previews Native Client Code Set
Google is working on a new technology that it claims will give developers the ability to create cross-platform web applications that run securely within the operating system. Brad... More »
Sony To Slash 8,000 Jobs
Sony has announced plans to cut 8,000 jobs and 10 per cent of its manufacturing sites by March 2010 as the recession takes its toll. The Japanese company made the announcement fol... More »
Online Traders Accused Of Tax Evasion
Spending watchdog the Public Accounts Committee has singled out traders on the internet as contributing to the £2bn lost each year in undeclared taxes. A new ... More »
Vodafone Offers 20m For Wayfinder
Vodafone has made an offer of 239 million Swedish kronas (£20m) to buy Wayfinder, a Stockholm-based company that supplies location and navigation services for mobile pho... More »
Broadcom Unveils Combo 802.11n Chip
Broadcom has unveiled a new wireless combination chip that supports 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and FM radio on a single silicon die. The company claims that the BCM4329 ch... More »
BlackBerry Curve 8900 Hits The UK
Research In Motion (RIM) has officially launched the BlackBerry Curve 8900, with availability expected from several UK carriers by 20 December. The Curve 8900, codenamed Jave... More »
Microsoft Launches Own Clothing Line
Microsoft, faced with the economic crisis and poor Windows Vista perception, has decided the best way round the problem is to bring out a clothing line. Dubbed 'Softwear by Micros... More »
Level 3 Cutting Jobs As Recession Deepens
Telecommunications company Level 3 Communications Inc said on Monday it would cut around 450 jobs, or 8 percent of its workforce, joining a parade of technology companies... More »
Lack Of IT Students Puts Future At Risk
Yet again, the number of UK school children studying IT or for computing exams fell this year, even though we have undoubtedly the most technology-friendly teenage generation ... More »
Intel Claims Opto-Electronic Breakthrough
A breakthrough in opto-electronics detectors by Intel promises to address the shortage of network bandwidth which some believe could lead to the collapse of the internet. The... More »
Google Unveils SIM-free Android Phone
Google has released an unlocked Android-based handset designed to help developers build applications for the mobile platform. The Android Dev Phone 1 is a SIM-unlocked a... More »
Huawei Unveils HSPA+ Mobile Broadband System
Huawei Technologies has unveiled an end-to-end HSPA+ system, touted as the next upgrade to High Speed Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA) mobile broadband. As demand for m... More »
Cisco Announces Video-Sharing Platform
Network titan Cisco has announced the launch of a media processing platform designed to simplify media sharing across device types, such as digital screens, mobile device... More »
BBC Admits Mistakes Using Twitter Sources
The slightly unsettling trend that has pillars of the British media establishment tapping new internet sources for news is on shaky ground this weekend after criticism of the BBC ... More »
US Broadband Internet Satellite Scheduled For Launch In 2011
A California satellite technology provider has signed a deal to put a planned broadband Internet satellite into orbit above the U.S. in the first half of 2011. The ViaSat-1 satell... More »
Obama Outlines Plan To Put Every Child Online
U.S. President-elect Barack Obama has outlined an ambitious plan to give every child in the U.S. acces to the internet and to connect the nation's hospitals with "cutting edge... More »
Sky Player Goes Online As BBC iPlayer Hits PS3
The satellite giant has just launched its Windows-only Sky Player TV service, which is available to all, regardless of whether you've got a dish on the side of your house. Bu... More »
Broadband Speed Regulations Hit UK
According to Ofcom, around a quarter of homes are not getting their expected broadband speeds. Which means it's time for some regulation, albeit watered-down self-regulation. The ... More »
Microsoft Offers Free Xbox Live Games In December
Microsoft is celebrating the holidays with more than just its new "Deal of the Week" program. The company is also doing its best to lure gamers into subscribing to Xbo... More »
Flickr Adds Video Playback To Mobile Site
Yahoo-owned Flickr on Friday rolled out a revamped mobile Web site that now allows users to play Flickr videos on their phones. Flickr added video capability to m.flickr.com in Ap... More »
TomTom To Offer Online Route Planner
Satnav device maker TomTom is to offer a free online route planner accessed via a web browser. Currently available as a closed beta preview, the TomTom online Route Planner will b... More »
Online Shopping Boom Expected Next Week
The IMRG is predicting that web users will spend some £320m in an online Christmas shopping spree next Monday. The IMRG, a membership community for the internet retail indus... More »
Smartphone Sales Slowest On Record
Global smartphone sales are growing at the slowest rate since records began according to Gartner. Sales grew 11.5 per cent in the third quarter of 2008 the analyst house reports, a... More »
Alltel Readying Mobile Wallets
Wireless provider Alltel wants to enable its customers to use their handsets as a wallet, and the company has partnered with mFoundry to make it happen. The partnership announce... More »
Vlingo Mobile Search App Available For iPhone
Vlingo, a voice-powered search application that's been available for Research In Motion's BlackBerry phone since June, has made its way to Apple's iPhone. On Wednesday, Vlingo pl... More »
Canada's Big Telecoms Grapple With Uncertainty, Change
Canada's major telecommunications companies are facing separate moments of truth next week as Bell Canada's future rides on accounting minutia and Rogers Communications must begin ... More »
YouTube Contest Aims Classics at Carnegie Hall
The video-sharing Web site YouTube will take classical music out of pricey concert halls and bring it to the masses by holding an online competition where the public chooses musici... More »
Google's Chrome Browser Will Add Extensions
One of the chief attacks lobbed against Google's upstart browser, Chrome, has been that it doesn't support the wealth of customizing extensions beloved by users of Mozilla's open-s... More »
Ex-AOL CEO Said to Want to Buy Yahoo
Former AOL chief executive Jonathan Miller is trying to raise money to buy part or all of Yahoo, The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday. Miller is a partner at Velocity Inte... More »
IT Leaders Confident Of Achieving Goals In 2009
IT departments at UK companies are confident of meeting their objectives despite the current economic circumstances, according to new research from Cisco. The networking giant sur... More »
Centrica Signs 79m Deal For New UK Network
Centrica has signed a £79m, five-year contract with Cable & Wireless (C &W) to implement and support a next-generation telecoms infrastructure. The network will conn... More »
Tesco Keeps Online Focus
Tesco has said it will focus on its online retail operations to attract more customers after announcing slow overall sales growth today. The retailer said its internet grocery bus... More »
Nokia Updates Messaging And Maps On Ovi
Nokia has used its annual Nokia World conference in Barcelona to reveal a host of improvements to some of its Ovi services, including maps and messaging. A beta of the latest vers... More »
Yale Bringing Electronic Locks To UK
Yale are introducing electronic door locks to the UK market, but are keen to find out if Britons will fall in love with the dream of central locking their houses. The lock maker p... More »
Microsoft Pledges Cash To NSPCC Child's Voice Appeal
Microsoft has pledged to donate 15 per cent of Windows Vista and Office 2007 sales purchased through the Microsoft Store to the NSPCC's Child's Voice Appeal from today until the Ne... More »
Security Vendors Warn of Christmas e-Crime Spike
The IT security vendor community came out in force today to warn consumers and corporate web surfers that internet criminals are likely to double their efforts over the Christmas s... More »
O2 Offers Pay-As-You-Go Mobile Broadband
O2 has introduced a 3G broadband USB modem for just £29.99 on a pay-as-you-go tariff, branding it as the best value mobile offering for laptop users. Available immediately, ... More »
CIOs Failing To Safeguard Valuable IT Skills
Chief information officers (CIOs) are failing to invest in staff with specialist knowledge of IT services and business alignment, despite recognising the importance of such skills,... More »
IT Firms Shunning Web-Based Technologies
Organisations in the IT sector are failing to exploit the business benefits of internet technologies in the workplace, with only a small proportion using Web 2.0 tools such as onli... More »
Mercedes myCOMAND Next-Gen In-Car Media Kit
Mercedes has just raised the bar for in-car entertainment with its myCOMAND media unit. When you park up, the myCOMAND turns your car into a mobile office, without the dull b... More »
Acer Planning A New Aspire One Netbook
Eee PC rival Acer is planning a new Aspire One netbook, according to the company’s president. A 10” version is expected to go on sale sometime early next year, although... More »
Motorola Launches The D10 And D11 Home Phones
Admittedly they're not made of bamboo or old tyres, but the Motorola D10 and D11 home phones still tick a few of the eco boxes. For a start, 20 per cent of each phone is made from... More »
UK Trade & Investment Giving CES Stand To UK Companies
UK Trade & Investment (UKTI), the government organisation dedicated to helping companies achieve global success, is giving young tech companies the chance to win a space