Nintendo is continuing to crack down on Nintendo Switch piracy, this time going after specific ROM sites providing links to Switch game downloads. This time around, Nintendo has obtained a High Court injunction here in the UK, forcing ISPs to actively block access to certain ROM sites. Previously, the UK …
Read More »Netflix to reduce streaming quality in Europe to reduce strain on ISPs
The coronavirus outbreak has disrupted the daily lives of pretty much everyone, with a lot of people now self-isolating and spending more time inside at home. As a result, online services have seen big spikes in users, causing additional strain on ISPs. As a result, the EU is calling on …
Read More »UK High Court orders ISPs to block several Nintendo Switch piracy sites
Nintendo is often fighting against piracy. In the past we have seen the company shut down various ROM sites directly but here in the UK, Nintendo is now trying a new tactic, with the High Court of Justice ordering ISPs to block access to Switch piracy sites. Over the last …
Read More »Virgin Media now offers 500Mbps broadband, outpacing BT & others once again
Virgin Media is well known for its high-speed broadband offerings throughout a good chunk of the UK. Up until now, the top speed available has been 350Mbps down, which already outpaces other ISPs tied to the Open Reach infrastructure. Now, Virgin Media will be raising the bar once again, with …
Read More »Internet Trouble? Here’s How to Find the Source of the Problem
In most places in the world, ISPs are the gatekeepers to the wider internet. If their systems are having issues, users suffer. If they choose to restrict or block access to certain sites and services, there's little choice but to accept it without a VPN. When they have disagreements over …
Read More »Survey Reveals Misery in UK Broadband Market – But Help is Coming
When it comes to internet service providers (ISPs), most users aren't exactly in love with their available choices. In the UK, that sentiment is even stronger than it is in most other places. According to a biannual survey by consumer ratings publication Which?, it appears that most of the most …
Read More »New broadband advertisement rules take effect in the UK
Up until today, internet service providers have advertised their top speeds, so long as at least 10 percent of its user base could achieve the displayed “up to” peak download speed. Enforcing strict new rules that were announced last year, ISPs will now have to shake up their advertisement practices, …
Read More »Ofcom’s new rules will force ISPs to guarantee minimum speeds for customers
In recent months, Ofcom has been taking UK internet providers to task in order to force them into providing a better service. That won't be slowing down this year, with Ofcom announcing its new code of practice this week, which will require UK ISPs to give customers a minimum speed …
Read More »UK ISPs will no longer mislead customers by advertising top speeds
Have you ever questioned why the advertisement stated you’ll get significantly more download speed than you actually do? Well, for a lot of users in the UK, that is about to change as broadband providers will now be restricted to showing off its average speed rather than its top speed. …
Read More »UK ISPs will automatically pay customers back when connections go down under new rules
Back in March, Ofcom proposed some new ideas to hold UK-based internet providers accountable for poor service. Under its proposal, ISPs would be required to give customers automatic compensation for loss of connection, slow repairs and missed engineering appointments. Now, it several major ISPs, including BT, Sky, Virgin Media and …
Read More »Ofcom wants UK ISPs to automatically pay customers back whenever connections go down
It looks like Ofcom has some new ideas in mind for UK-based internet providers as this week, the regulator put forward a new proposal under which ISPs would be required to give customers compensation for loss of connection, slow repairs and missed engineering appointments. The proposal, which is bound to upset …
Read More »Swedish ISP calls latest Pirate Bay block the death of copyright industry
Blocking torrent sites has become a drab, somewhat frequent occurrence in countries throughout the EU over the past decade, though it rarely seems to have much of an effect. After a court in Sweden once again demanded that ISP Banhoef block iconic torrent search site, The Pirate Bay, the company's CEO …
Read More »Big ISPs to start sending out piracy warning letters
The big four internet service providers (ISP) in the UK have agreed to voluntarily begin sending out warning letters to customers that are suspected of piracy. That means customers of Sky, BT, Virgin Media and TalkTalk may now receive a warning if their IP address is thought to be involved …
Read More »Amazon may bundle internet access with Prime in Europe
Over the last couple of years, Amazon has been finding new ways to draw people over to its Prime subscription service. Right now, Amazon Prime packs in faster delivery, video streaming, Twitch benefits and eventually, Amazon may also offer its own Prime Internet service. According to reports this week, Amazon …
Read More »Swedish ISP is fighting back against copyright extortion letters
It's rare to find internet service providers that will take the side of their customers when it comes to cases of copyright trolling and extortion letters, but one Swedish ISP is doing just that. Bahnhof has begun deleting customer logs as soon as it legally can and has restricted access to …
Read More »Indian ISPs partner with torrent site for better download speeds
Internet service providers (ISP) are usually not big fans of torrent sites. Downloaders on their network can mean a lot of traffic and can negatively effect the experience of other users, especially in areas of low speed or restricted bandwidth. To try and fix this in some places in India, …
Read More »Rightscorp revenue slip shows threatening pirates isn’t working
Rightscorp is one of the world's most prolific letter senders when it comes to chasing after pirates. Over the past few years it's sent out thousands of demands for money to alleged illegal downloaders, but that model may no longer be viable, as the organisation has reported a quarterly loss …
Read More »UK’s ad watchdog is making ISPs simplify broadband pricing
The UK's Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) has confirmed that it is introducing new guidelines that would put ISPs in a position where they would need to make broadband pricing more transparent and simplify packages. This comes just a day after TalkTalk confirmed that it would be taking the first steps …
Read More »Virgin Media to expand FTTP to one million UK homes and businesses
While BT is looking to offer better speeds on its entry-level fibre optic broadband package, Virgin Media is looking to raise the bar on its higher-tier packages, with plans to expand its fibre to the premises (FTTP) offerings to one million UK homes and businesses, paving the way for future …
Read More »Majority of quizzed internet users can’t get around ISP filters
One of the more common put downs by those unconcerned by encroaching filtering systems on British internet, is that they are easy to get around. Using a proxy, VPN or DNS tweaks to circumvent government or other filters might be easy for the tech-savvy, but for the majority of internet …
Read More »BT is facing a broadband outage across the UK
If you happen to have BT as your ISP here in the UK, then you may find yourself having connection troubles today as the provider is currently facing outages across the country, which are currently affecting both business and home broadband customers. According to the Down Detector chart, more than …
Read More »UK ISPs to block 85 more pirate sites
The UK High Court has once again ordered internet service providers to expand its list of blocked sites, with a new wave of 85 sites set to be blocked this week on the likes of Sky, Virgin Media, BT and TalkTalk. This will be one of the larger ban waves …
Read More »Fourth arrest made in TalkTalk hacking case
The police have been really cracking down on the people behind the TalkTalk hack a couple of weeks back, with four people now arrested in total. Yesterday, police made their way to Norwich to arrest and search the home of a 16 year old connected to the crime, which saw …
Read More »Second person arrested in TalkTalk hack investigation
The UK police have managed to track down and arrest a second suspect in the TalkTalk hacking case, which saw the personal information of the ISP's customers stolen. The second suspect was arrested in London on suspicion of Computer Misuse Act offences after detectives searched his home. The first arrest …
Read More »TalkTalk hack was apparently ‘not as bad’ as first thought
Last week it emerged that TalkTalk was hacked, causing a significant amount of personal and financial user data to be stolen. Now though, the ISP is looking to calm its four million customers by claiming that the cyber attack was ‘not as bad' as previously thought. In an update on …
Read More »Andrews and Arnold is one ISP that stands up for customer privacy
AAISP – the unfiltered network Most internet service providers are quite typical. They offer phone and broadband products and have lacklustre callcentre support systems that are so ubiquitous, they've been the punchline of every comedian's closing bit for a decade; but that's not the case with every ISP. Recently we sat …
Read More »T-Mobile Austria refuses request to block Pirate Bay
In a continuing trend that shows ISPs on the continent have more backbone than all of the big ones in the UK, T-Mobile Austria has refused a request from a copyright lobby group to voluntarily block The Pirate Bay and a number of other sites, after a rival ISP was …
Read More »BT: US telecom companies stifle competition
Breaking America is difficult, whether you're a pop star or a giant telecoms company, apparently. UK based BT has called on U.S. regulators to change the current laws on the sale of network usage, making it possible for different companies to access each other's network at a regulated price. As …
Read More »AT&T fined $100 million over throttling on unlimited data plans
The FTC (Federal Trade Commission) has gone ahead and served US mobile carrier, AT&T with a $100 million fine for misleading its customers with unlimited data plans. It turns out that the company was heavily throttling user speeds on the unlimited data service without informing any of them. AT&T was …
Read More »EU mandate may block Cameron’s anti-porn filtering
David Cameron has been trying to make pornography harder to access for some time now. At various points throughout the past couple of years, he's discussed how he thinks it's too easy for children to see and that he wants to see companies and the government do more to prevent that. …
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