Internet infrastructure

Reliable connectivity key to smooth business running for UK SMEs

Study from Sky Business shows that in today’s uncertain economic climate, UK SMEs are under pressure to cut costs while maintaining quality services, with the impact of energy prices cited as a major concern Continue Reading

UK full-fibre boost as Openreach expands, Gigaclear claims rural altnet leadership

Operators at both ends of the corporate scale make notable advances in their respective roll-outs of gigabit connectivity in the UK Continue Reading

The ethics of military AI

In this week’s Computer Weekly, as the defence sector looks into using artificial intelligence to create autonomous weapons, we examine the risks and ethics of military AI. Amazon Web Services is under fire for not providing vital emissions data to customers – we investigate the issues. And we find out what IT security teams can learn from a year of cyber warfare in Ukraine. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Researchers deal blow to Gootloader gang that supported REvil

Thousands of compromised WordPress blogs have been spreading the Gootloader malware for years, but eSentire’s security research team are turning the tables on the gang that played a key role in REvil ransomware attacks Continue Reading

Amazon Web Services selects 14 startups for space accelerator

The cohort of startups will use AWS and its resources to accelerate the research and development of their technologies and boost their growth Continue Reading

From Nokia to Merge Mansion: Helsinki’s tech expertise is sparking a new era for global gaming

Helsinki has a reputation as the go-to place for game development, and now the city’s tech community is taking gaming into new areas Continue Reading

Online Safety Bill could pose risk to encryption technology used by Ukraine

CEO of encrypted messaging service Element says Online Safety Bill could pose a risk to the encrypted comms systems used by Ukraine Continue Reading

Beyond Web 2.0: A Computer Weekly Downtime Upload podcast

Like others who have developed technology that powers the internet, David Holtzman, chief strategist at decentralised cyber security network Naoris Protocol, has an unusual background Continue Reading

Volvo gets into gear with Qualcomm to drive connectivity for EX90 Excellence

Mobile chip and platform provider’s Snapdragon Digital Chassis deployed by car giant to enable highly connected driving experiences in EX90 and EX90 Excellence vehicles Continue Reading

Fintechs get more certainty about open banking’s future direction

Fintechs have welcomed the UK open banking regulators recommendations for the future of the sector Continue Reading

Ciena makes Wave with purpose-built router for converged metro

Networking systems provider announces debut of what it calls industry-first platform architecture optimally designed for converged metro network Continue Reading

Nokia expands industrial edge applications to accelerate Industry 4.0 transition

Four digital enablers designed to expand operational technology edge applications to connect, collect and analyse data from disparate sources – including video cameras – unlocking value Continue Reading

UK emergency services overcharged by £200m a year for comms network

Tech provider to appeal withering criticism by UK competition watchdog of vast overcharging in emergency services communications network Continue Reading

Scottish police tech piloted despite major data protection issues

Scottish policing bodies are pressing ahead with a data sharing pilot despite data protection issues around the use of US cloud providers, placing sensitive personal data of tens of thousands of people at risk Continue Reading

The new shape of design in the age of Industry 4.0

The modern manufacturing process has evolved over the last decades to the point where there are many interconnected disciplines taking place, often at the same time. With the advent of advanced comms technologies, interconnections are taking on a whole new paradigm for engineering. Continue Reading

Revitalising UK digital government

In this week’s Computer Weekly, as the UK plummets down the international rankings for digital government, can its £400m identity system revitalise the UK’s digital strategy? We examine the container management platforms from the big six storage suppliers. And we look at the challenges of achieving IT sustainability while continuing to drive digital innovation. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Failure to enforce faster broadband switching deadline could see £1.85bn loss

Uswitch study highlights biggest barriers to switching broadband providers and warns delay in One Touch Switch deadline could mean UK broadband customers miss out of upwards of £1.85bn in savings Continue Reading

Cisco looks to ‘supercharge’ the internet for the future with improved networking economics

Looking to support the rise of IoT, AI and ML, 28.8T 800G line card is said to be up to six times more space-efficient compared with current offerings Continue Reading

How millions of consumers and businesses are using open banking

SMEs and consumers are increasingly turning to open banking services to help them manage their businesses and lives Continue Reading

Ogi sees capital full-fibre opportunity with Cardiff gigabit offer

In what could represent a multimillion-pound bandwidth boost to Cardiff’s business offering, Welsh altnet reveals plans to bring bespoke full-fibre gigabit network to the city Continue Reading

Broadband services to drive Australia and India fixed communications

Research finds vast geographies no limitation to seeing growth in fixed broadband markets, with particular strength in fibre-to-the-home and business roll-outs Continue Reading

Barclays makes further cut to branch network

Barclays cuts another 14 branches from its network as it continues to see a migration to digital banking channels Continue Reading

Anheuser-Busch InBev brews digital infrastructure with Orange

Global brewing giant partners with business services division of global telco company to help with digital transformation Continue Reading

Openreach hits 10 million mark for full-fibre deployment

Village in England’s smallest county sees largest network provider hit milestone as 10 millionth location for full-fibre broadband to homes, businesses and public services Continue Reading

Neos Networks to enable Oxfordshire gigabit smart county ambitions

Leading fibre connectivity supplier reveals role in project designed to deliver gigabit broadband upgrades for more than 175 public sector sites across Oxfordshire by the end of 2023 Continue Reading

CityFibre lands latest Project Gigabit contract

Latest part of UK government’s project to drive gigabit connectivity to non-urban locations sees broadband provider engaged to roll out full-fibre to 45,000 hard-to-reach homes and business across rural Cambridgeshire Continue Reading

OVHcloud opens India datacentre

The French cloud service provider has opened its first datacentre in India that will provide Indian businesses with access to local compute and storage capabilities Continue Reading

Riedel Networks, Kalaam collaborate to connect motorsports

Digital services firm teams with international customised network provider to support real-time data transfer and broadcasting for one of the most active and data-driven sports in the world Continue Reading

UK altnets advance pace of full-fibre deployment

One of the fastest-growing altnets in the UK raises £230m in committed debt financing, while country’s leading independent network provider becomes object of takeover as it maintains build-out momentum Continue Reading

Ofcom extends time on BT wholesale broadband tariff probe

UK comms regulator to take a further two months to assess whether a regulatory green light for new wholesale pricing from ultrafast broadband market leader threatens competitiveness of UK gigabit sector Continue Reading

UK lags in broadband affordability

Study on broadband pricing from leading price comparison site finds Western Europe as a region expensive more generally, with no country in the region making it into the top 50 cheapest places in the world to get fast connectivity Continue Reading

Central bank digital currency use set to soar over next seven years

The use of central bank-backed digital currencies is set to explode over the next seven years as governments drive adoption to increase financial inclusion Continue Reading

Millions in the Arab world use VPNs to overcome restrictions and bandwidth throttling

Citizens in the Arab world are using VPNs to help them bypass internet restrictions and increase available bandwidth Continue Reading

White House unveils National Cybersecurity Strategy

The strategy will focus on ensuring closer collaboration on cyber security between government and industry, while giving software and other tech companies a bigger role in combatting threats due to their resources and expertise Continue Reading

MWC 2023: Netflix pushes back against telcos in net neutrality row

Net neutrality seems to be an itch the European comms industry cannot scratch, and hot on the heels of an intention to get content firms to contribute to the build-out of networks for tomorrow’s services, Netflix takes aim at telcos’ demands Continue Reading

MWC 2023: Huawei chooses not to choose on network energy efficiency

Comms tech firm rebuts assumed binary choice in comms arena and assures simultaneous green ICT and ICT development is possible if the right balance is struck between energy efficiency, renewable energy utilisation and user experience Continue Reading

MWC 2023: ICT infrastructure investment to drive Industry 4.0

Study reveals how digital economy will account for more than half of global GDP by end of 2023 and how growth of 5G and intergenerational evolution of connectivity technology will increase global economic benefits by approximately 15% Continue Reading

Ciena claims industry first with 1.6 Tbps coherent optic service

WaveLogic 6 Extreme and WaveLogic 6 Nano products designed to meet critical network provider capacity and power efficiency needs Continue Reading

Full-fibre internet to reach half of UK homes by March 2023

Ofcom data shows full-fibre deployment in the UK has maintained pace over the past 12 months and is set to reach a major tipping point in the next few weeks Continue Reading

App-based Zopa bank buys BNPL fintech

App-based Zopa bank is adding a buy now, pay layer platform to its technology stack through its first acquisition Continue Reading

Virgin Media O2 makes deal for small business broadband customers

Leading UK operator announces faster upload speeds for its small business broadband services, with customers now able to access 10:1 download to upload speed ratio across all Voom packages Continue Reading

UK saw fintech investment collapse in 2022, but is still a world leader

Fintech investment in the UK sees steep drop, but the country was still a top destination for capital Continue Reading

UAE central bank programme to accelerate digital transformation

The United Arab Emirates government launches programme to accelerate the digital transformation of the country’s finance sector Continue Reading

CW EMEA: Kyiv is ready for anything

CIOs must be ready for the unexpected, but not many CIOs and IT teams face keeping a city’s vital IT running while fighting for their lives. In this issue of CW EMEA, Oleg Polovynko, CIO at Kyiv City Council, explains how the IT team in the Ukrainian capital has kept services running for its residents amid relentless bombing by Russian forces. We also look at how the Netherlands is planning to regulate AI to reduce bias, how highly accurate time protocols ensure fair trading in finance, and the use of technology in agriculture in Denmark. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Twitter CEO Elon Musk pauses datacentre downsizing push in wake of outage

Twitter CEO Elon Musk has called a temporary halt to the company’s push to cut costs by downsizing its infrastructure expenditure after an outage left users around the world unable to post tweets Continue Reading

Cisco looks to Full-Stack Observability Platform to address demands of experience economy

Experience is everything in the new world of work, as organisations disrupt their own business to get a full view on how networks ensure operations will be more important Continue Reading

Cisco unveils toolkit for greater network visibility and control

Tech giant introduces cloud services in Operations Dashboard to increase industrial asset visibility and provide industrial IoT customers with path to cloud automation for Operational Technology Continue Reading

Finance regulator finding more misleading promotions quicker through improved digital tools

UK finance regulator able to find and block misleading promotions faster through improved digital tools Continue Reading

Record fibre growth fails to halt mixed Q3 for BT

Strategy of focus on fibre and 5G vindicated in financial results showing leading UK telco buffeted by inflationary headwinds – but also seeing benefit of growing investment in fixed network infrastructure Continue Reading

Digital banking changing the high street forever as banks close branches and open alternatives

Banks are reshaping their channels as customers move to digital services, with physical innovation complementing digital strategies Continue Reading

BT tests out high-altitude flying antenna

The trial with Stratospheric Platforms may lead to hydrogen-powered drones being used to provide 4G and 5G rural coverage Continue Reading

UK Treasury recruiting digital currency leader

The UK government’s investigation into the merits of a central bank digital currency gathers pace at it looks for a team leader Continue Reading

Neos Networks completes full-fibre access promise for key UK cities

Just over a year after UK business connectivity provider opened its first metro access network to offer last-mile services direct to nearly 10,000 regional businesses, such services are now live in four key UK cities as part of an ongoing expansion programme Continue Reading

Virgin Media O2 taps Juniper to upgrade core IP backbone for 800G readiness

Need for increased data capacity and flexible scalability highlighted by 32% traffic growth on its mobile network,16% growth in broadband data downloads and a peak traffic load of 22TB over the past year Continue Reading

Vodacom lands 2Africa subsea cable in the Eastern Cape, South Africa

What is described as ‘transformative’ subsea cable lands at the Vodacom facility in Gqeberha at South Africa’s Eastern Cape to provide a gateway to direct international connectivity for faster, more reliable internet services in the country and drive digital inclusion Continue Reading

Zayo expands 400G fibre to connect Paris and Marseilles

Leading global communications platform boosts European fibre infrastructure with a new fibre route to link up two major French cities, supporting traffic growth and making it easier and more secure for enterprises to send traffic to the rest of Europe and the US Continue Reading

UK government reveals Cornwall as next port of call for Project Gigabit

Latest contract in UK government’s Project Gigabit programme given to Wildanet to deliver ultra-fast broadband in south-west and mid-Cornwall connecting nearly 20,000 hard-to-reach homes and businesses Continue Reading

UK seeks to ban sharing ‘positive’ Channel crossing videos online

Under UK government amendments to the Online Safety Bill, video footage that shows people crossing the Channel in a ‘positive light’ could be added to a list of illegal content that all tech platforms must proactively prevent from reaching users, while senior managers could face further criminal sanctions Continue Reading

David Anderson KC to review UK surveillance laws

Home Office commissions independent review of the Investigatory Powers Act, known as the snoopers’ charter. It will include a review of bulk datasets and government access to internet connection records held by phone and internet companies Continue Reading

Nokia, Telefónica successfully test 25G PON technology in Spain

Noting ever-increasing consumer bandwidth demands and the need to support applications such as the metaverse, operator announces demo of new FTTH technology to offer new business services on same network as home connectivity Continue Reading

Orange juices JDE expansion with SD-WAN

Telco’s Business Services division selected by global coffee company to secure end-to-end connectivity offerings for more than 120 locations worldwide Continue Reading

Southern Cross switches on third 400GbE transpacific link

Specialist international capacity provider and optical network technology provider announce commercial availability of ultra-high throughput along 15,840km network Continue Reading

Cloudflare urged to clamp down on pirates, counterfeiters

A whitepaper produced by brand protection specialist Corsearch calls on Cloudflare to do more to stop online content piracy and sales of counterfeit goods Continue Reading

Unionised contract workers who train Google’s AI win pay rise

Google contract workers employed at artificial intelligence training supplier RaterLabs have secured their first-ever pay rise, following collective demands that Google fulfil its own commitment to pay its extended workforce a minimum of $15 an hour Continue Reading

AWS opens first Australian Local Zone in Perth

AWS’s first Local Zone in Australia will bring low-latency performance to companies such as Woodside Energy and Nearmaps Continue Reading

CityFibre continues gigabit roll-out to non-metro south of England

UK’s largest independent full-fibre platform begins work on £50m digital transformation project in Kent Continue Reading

Chrome vulnerability could have led to widespread data theft

A dangerous vulnerability in Google Chrome and Chromium-based browsers could have put billions of users’ files at risk of being stolen Continue Reading

UK net neutrality regulation failing all stakeholders

Leading analyst releases study showing net neutrality regulation is failing consumers, innovators and investors, calling for evidence-based broadband policy Continue Reading

Cloudflare completes SASE offer with Magic WAN Connector

Software-defined wide-area network functionality released by online application acceleration and infrastructure provider Cloudflare to complete single-supplier secure access service edge offering Continue Reading

Internet shutdowns cost global economy $24bn in 2022

Deliberate disruption of people’s access to the internet by governments is having a substantial economic impact and contributing to a range of human rights abuses, primarily against protestors Continue Reading

What’s happening with quantum-safe cryptography?

Chinese researchers claim quantum technology is reaching a point where a quantum device will soon be able to crack RSA 2048 public key encryption Continue Reading

‘Anomaly’ sees first UK space mission fail to reach orbit

Despite optimism surrounding historic first attempt to launch satellites from UK, mission reaches space but falls short of reaching target orbit Continue Reading

Launch window opens for UK’s first orbital mission

All systems go for first space mission in UK as project partners announce the official opening of the Start Me Up launch window Continue Reading

New UK laws to see homeowners, tenants get better access to fast broadband

UK government mandates that almost all new homes in England must be built with gigabit broadband connections during construction, making it easier for homebuyers, renters and some leaseholders to upgrade to ultrafast services Continue Reading

Cashless Denmark has no bank robberies in a year for first time

Denmark saw no bank robberies in a single year for the first time ever, but online fraud continues to increase Continue Reading

Top trends in tech, and retail’s early adopters

Computer Weekly identifies the retail industry’s early adopters of what McKinsey & Co deems the top tech trends Continue Reading

CityFibre and Vodafone complete first UK 2Gbps residential trial

Leading UK independent full-fibre broadband provider teams with comms operator and leading anchor tenant for trial of 2Gbps services, with scope to scale for introduction of services up to 10Gbps, made possible by recent upgrade to XGS-PON Continue Reading

Building culture within collaboration to make hybrid work pay

As hybrid working evolves, some firms are struggling to support non-office-based workers and management is unclear of its new responsibilities. What is being done to address this evolution? Continue Reading

Remote workers shun return to work

Study from UK gigabit broadband service provider reveals that despite received wisdom of home workers wanting to make at least partial return to pre-Covid working practices, stark contrast exists between employers and employees in their desire for staff to hit the office once more Continue Reading

Top 10 networking stories of 2022

Here are Computer Weekly’s top 10 networking stories of 2022 Continue Reading

Developed for Big Science in Europe, highly accurate time protocols ensure fair trading in finance

Protocols developed for use at the European Organisation for Nuclear Research are now being used for many other applications, including financial services Continue Reading

Freeing the hybrid workforce from quiet constraint

The rapid shift to hybrid working may be contributing to the trend of 'quiet constraint'. We look at how technology can be applied to really work for a distributed workforce Continue Reading

Microsoft, Viasat team to deliver internet access to global underserved communities

New collaboration through IT giant’s Airband Initiative designed to increase satellite broadband availability for people across Africa and the rest of the world by the end of 2025 Continue Reading

UK gigabit access breaks barrier but take-up remains slow

Ofcom’s latest investigation of connectivity across the country finds full-fibre broadband now available to more than 12 million homes and 5G reaching seven in ten properties, while the number of households without access to decent broadband has fallen by a third Continue Reading

BT boosts network monitoring to improve customer experience

Comms tech provider’s analytics software selected by leading UK network provider in five-year deal to improve operators’ fixed access customer experience Continue Reading

Truespeed targets in-building connectivity with new router, Mesh Wi-Fi

Gigabit broadband provider Truespeed switches focus from delivering high-speed connectivity to building and to around them, striking partnership with provider of wireless connectivity devices for homes and businesses Continue Reading

Telstra tunes up with orchestration to enhance automation, customer experience

Leading Australian operator taps global comms tech provider to support network-as-a-service (NaaS) strategies, enabling an enhanced experience for business customers through reusable and shared platform for improved network management and operational efficiency Continue Reading

Almost two-thirds of businesses fear IT estate incapable of supporting hybrid workforce

Research from managed workplace services provider finds current IT setup is preventing effective collaboration, putting remote workers at a disadvantage and driving up cyber risks Continue Reading

Medusa Submarine Cable to land on Orange infrastructure in Marseille

Orange will give users of Mediterranean submarine cable system the ability to access datacentres in French city and interconnect through fully redundant infrastructure Continue Reading

Onwards to 6G - the UK government's 'bold plan' for a connected Britain

The UK telecoms minister outlines the government's thinking on developing a digital infrastructure for the connected age Continue Reading

Openreach announces 12 new full-fibre build locations

London calling for BT-owned broadband provision division as it makes next step in plan to reach 25 million homes with full fibre by December 2026 and launches simplified online map showing when and where full-fibre network is being built Continue Reading

CityFibre extends reach across southern England as it files Openreach competition complaint

Just as it carries build-out momentum of 2022 to key towns in Suffolk and Berkshire, UK’s largest independent full-fibre provider protests to UK regulatory authorities about behaviour of arch-rival in gigabit broadband Continue Reading

Société du Grand Paris books in Nokia IP, private wireless for metro rail network

Nokia forms secure mission-critical communications system behind four Grand Paris Express lines that will transport two million passengers per day, delivering enhanced capacity, reliability and performance, and contributing to efforts to boost operations, safety and rider experience Continue Reading

CW Europe: Finland prepares for drone technology take-off

Finland is preparing for a future where it could rely on flying drone technology. Read about its plans in this issue. Also find out how a PhD student in the Netherlands is helping to detect hidden messages on the internet by using steganography. Continue Reading

Peeking into the metaverse

Extended reality is capturing the imagination of media and investors. Continue Reading

UK government accelerates satellite, fibre gigabit broadband access to remote regions

Mountain rescue base and 12th century abbey set to gain from government test of satellites to connect remote locations, while work also begins to connect 60,000 rural premises in North West England Continue Reading

Wi-Fi ‘essential’ to bridge the digital divide in rural areas

Report from trade association for wireless communications sets out strategies for mobile operators, fibre providers and cable companies to serve the estimated billion people unconnected to Wi-Fi Continue Reading

Microsoft 365 banned in German schools over privacy concerns

German schools cannot legally use Microsoft Office 365 over lack of clarity about how data is collected, shared and used, as well as the potential for unlawful transfer of European citizens’ personal data to the US Continue Reading

‘Legal but harmful’ clause dropped from Online Safety Bill

Online Safety Bill’s ‘legal but harmful’ provision will be dropped by the UK government in favour of public risk assessments, tools to help users control the content they consume, and new criminal offences around self-harm Continue Reading

Extended reality can be empathic reality

In the metaverse, eliciting empathy might become an important feature for many applications, including gaming and industrial uses, and there is even the potential that applications that focus on emphatic results will create their own market niche Continue Reading