UK Lords call for the Internet to be considered a Utility
These days you wouldn’t be too impressed to move into a new property only to find that the appropriate infrastructure for Internet access has not been installed; however this happens more often than most people think. Regular use of the Internet has become commonplace in most people’s day-to-day lives, so much so that not being able to get online can...
The Battle between BT and TalkTalk
Improving Internet speeds across the UK is proving to be a longwinded process as certain companies are currently monopolising the market and failing to provide their customers with adequate services. BT in particular has been criticised for providing sub-standard Internet speeds, which is why the regulatory body Ofcom has recently launched an investigation into the ISP.
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Internet Censorship around the World
When it comes to Internet censorship there are generally two contrasting opinions: some believe that it is necessary in order to protect nations and stop individuals posting harmful material online, while others believe that the Internet should be open and that there should be little or no restrictions.
Governments in particular often have the first opinion when it...
The Great Digital Divide
Years ago politicians were concerned with the rich/poor divide in their countries as well as globally, however as technology advanced they became more concerned with what has now been termed the ‘digital divide’. The digital divide is nothing new – in fact scholars have been writing about it ever since the Internet became accessible to a large proportion of the...
The Internet of Things is now a reality
Since its creation back in the 1960’s, the Internet has always been about enabling rapid communication between people. Yes, it was technology that enabled that communication, but people were the driving force behind it. Kevin Ashton, the first person to use the phrase ‘Internet of Things’ (back in 1999), coined the term to define the shift from human-dependent information, to information...
Google’s ‘Project Loon’. A publicity stunt or the solution?
“Balloon powered internet for everyone” is the tag line being touted by Google at the moment promoting Project Loon, it’s the new way for people to connect to the Internet. Emphasis has been heavily placed on the word ‘everyone’ with two-thirds of the world’s population currently unable to access the internet.
Project Loon is essentially a network of balloons that ‘float’...
Dial up finally unplugged
Earlier this week BT brought the curtain down on dial up internet; marking the end of the connectivity technology that many of us enjoyed our nascent furrows on the internet with.
The narrow band technology long since ceased being the preferred choice of internet access, and according to BT only a ‘tiny’ number of people (thought to be around 100,000) still...
‘Twitter Crimes’ and freedom of speech on the internet
One of the many ways in which the internet has altered society is the platform it has provided us all upon which we can have ‘our say’. From consumers using twitter to complain about the poor customer service of their mobile phone provider, to the way in which citizens harnessed social media to topple repressive regimes during the Arab Spring,...
Policing the Internet
The Internet has become such a vital part of our lives it only seems right to have a system in place that monitors and controls crime in the same way we would offline.
Certain images may pop into one’s head when thinking of how the internet is policed. Pondering ‘cyber-crime fighters’; guarding against Trojan horses, spyware or any other sinister sounding...
The challenges of hardware procurement for an ISP