Sarkozy Bruni split and the sinking French Online Piracy Law
It has been reported that the French presidential marriage was on the rocks much like the credibility of the three strikes anti-online filesharers law of France, handpicked and pampered to the podium by the celebrity couple.
As a matter of fact, it is a point to ponder whether Nickolas Sarkozy had really a soft corner for this legislation, although his wife that had been a product of the copyright industry and was still living it, had been keen on it - if you can call that lobbying.
These days both presidantial marriage and the French three strikes anti-online piracy law have taken serious hits with a torrent of reports linking the president with Chantal Jouanno the French Ecology minister, and his wife with Benjamin Biolay an award winning musician, literally tarnishing the respectability of the marriage while the other thing, the much touted of law has been virtually reduced to a show-piece with downloaders adopting alternatives to bypass it.
It is fact that there is a law in France to prevent illegal downloaders from doing it persistently; nonetheless the big question is now that the first lady has showed her real colours to blow life to a fresh romance, which too with a mop-haired trademark cutie of the creative industry bound by copyright, would the president carry on with the same alacrity he had shown earlier when his love life with Bruni was at its whirlwind best.
It is also believed that with reports coming in saying online illegal downloading has only increased despite the adoption of the three strikes law in the country, at least some of the broadband providers here would start protesting. And whatmore needed for a perfect ignition when a fresh research has revealed that disconnecting the downloaders actually was hurting the revenues of the creative industry.
On the whole, it is tough times ahead for both the prestigeous presidential marriage and the controversial anti-online piracy law of the French. However, Bruni can afford a broad smile; she has not only at least for once tasted the altitudes that she had always dreamt of wildly but also has pushed it through shrewdly for her godfathers - and for herself - in the music industry.
300000 New Broadband Lines gained by the UK
The United Kingdom that had recieved some humiliating blows this week from the research agencies in terms of internet connection speeds, has salvaged some prestige by showing a sizeable increase in the available infrastructure. This has been revealed by a survey carried out recently.
The gain by the country refers to its adding more than three hundred thousand broadband lines in the United Kingdom in quarter four of the year 2009, says the research. The concerned research was carried out by popular telecommunications agency Point Topic.
According to the results published by Point Topic, the quarter saw the industry adding 308,000 broadband internet lines in total, which has led to a forecast that it could break 18,356,000 broadbad lines across the United Kingdom, overall.
However, the growth in the broadband infrastructure over the entire year was seldom as strong despite the adding of sixty-six thousand more broadband lines than anticipated.
The report claimed that as anticipated in mature broadband market, year on year growth got slowed down with ISPs adding only 963,000 broadband lines in 2009, as against the 1,664,000 lines added in 2008 and 2612,000 added in 2007.
Telegraph Poles will be used by Virgin Media Fibre Broadband
Virgin Media, the broadband provider that is currently contemplating on rolling out a 100Mbps broadband service in the United Kingdom is undoubtedly souring to newer heights.
The latest news says that the broadband bundle provider has surged from the depths of its fibre optic cable runnic sewers to the altitudes of telegraph poles. No another question it says all, Virgin Media will use the telegraph poles for rolling out at least a part of the rest of their fibre broadband network.
This is deemed by many broadband experts in the UK as a clever move to reach their fibre broadband service to the customers. As a matter of fact, the broadband provider is trialling its 50Mbps broadband service using telegraph poles in a Berkshire village.
If this trial that would span around six months, in Woolhampton proves to be success, the consumers would enjoy broadband download speeds five times faster than the speed offered by their current BT copper line connection that is approximately 4.1Mbps.
According to the calculations of Virgin Media, a million households in the United Kingdom could benefit from the telegraph pole broadband system.
Virgin Media's chief executive Neil Berkett stated that the unique broadband trial would help them understand the scopes of aerial fibre optic broadband deployment and may just deliver a remarkable new way to rollout next generation broadband.
UK Majority to get Superfast Broadband without Public Funding
It has been claimed that a next generation superfast fibre optic broadband roll out campaign in the United Kingdom led by the private sector could servve 70 per cent of the country's population with superfast broadband without the impetus given by a public funding.
This finding is much important as it justifies the stand taken by a political party in the UK regarding the nation-wide rollout of the next generation broadband services. It has been part of a freshly carried out government study conducted by the telecoms research firm Analysys Mason Group.
The researching group had emphasised the potential impact of intevention by the public sector in the countr's broadband market. Under the existing plans of the government, a next generation broadband monthly levy of 50p is to be introduced in the country with a view to fund super fast broadband coverage of 90 per cent in the country by 2017.
Nevertheless, the fresh report indicating that the 50p tax could only help in providing faster service to 20 per cent more homes across the country could just make the government do a rethinking on the matter.
It is also worth mentioning here that a committee engaged by the Business, Innovation and Skills department had only in the previous week claimed that the plans to participate directly in national broadband internet infrastructure development by the government should be abandoned for its smoother sailing.
ISPs to benefit from bundling Music Downloads with Broadband
BPI (British Phonographic Industry) has suggsted in a report released by them last day that the broadband providers operating in the United Kingdom could be richer by GBP 100 million by the end of the fourth year ahead, provided they chose to bundle premium music downloads with their broadband internet deals.
As a matter of fact, the report given by the BPI has been conducted by analyst company Ovum. The report arrived at a conclusion that by the end of the year 2013 the music market online could be worth above GBP 103 million with the potential to transcend to as much as GBP 203 million in the later years.
The principal analyst of Ovum, Adrian Drury commented while summarising the findings of the report that provided the ideal service platform, merchandising strategy and consumer experience, the broadband providers were pressing for, and in a highly mature and crowded broadband internet market, providers could differentiate the innovative music services from their value added offerings.
Drury opined that broadband providers that also offered leagal music services could have an adge over their rival providers that did not offer such services.
It is also worth noting here that the UK ISPs have enjoyed a robust relationship in the past with the BPI, which is evident in the statement given by TalkTalk that it was also offering a legal music download service in emusic, as did other ISPs.
Satellite Broadband Installation Costs cut by Tariam
One of the leading satellite broadband provider operating in the United Kingdom Tariam has slashed the price for setting up its domestic satellite broadband internet system. This is viewed as a move to spruce up service adoption.
According to reports the leading satellite broadband provider of Europe was attempting to boost the accessibility of its retail wing Homenet Solution by allowing the customers to organise the intallation of their owns system.
Meanwhile, the consumers would be now able to save money by deciding on their own set up engineer, as on the other hand the airtime and hardware packages are maintained the same.
According to the managing director of Tariam Andrew Walwyn, as the company has announced up to 40 per cent slash in the installation costs currently, the businesses in the United Kingdom could view satellite broadband as an even more attractive proposition for them.
Walwyn added that their service not only refrained from discriminating by location but also were considerably reliable than the ADSL versions. He also guaranteed connection speeds of 3.6Mbps anywhere in the continent, which was something that could never be offered by the traditionsl UK ISPs.
HD Film4 Channel to be made available by Virgin Media
It has been announced last day that the leading cable and fibre optic broadband provider operating in the United Kingdom, Virgin Media was all set to make available to its customers, the new Film4 high definition channel, and exclusively for their customers.
It is understood that a deal has been struck between Virgin Media and Channel 4 that would see the HD Film4 channel make its debut on the digital TV service extended by the broadband bundle provider.
Additionally, Virgin Media's broadband and TV bundle subscribers would also be presented with the new HD E4 channel from 2010 April.
Virgin Media's executive director for digital entertainment, Cindy Rose said that in the field of delivering compelling and innovative content, Channel 4 has remarkable track record and they were thrilled to bring a few of their best films as well as most popular programmes to their customers in high definition.
A confirmation was given recently by Virgin Media on its intention to introduce a fresh super fast 100Mbps broadband internet service in the United Kingdom before the end of 2010.
The freshly mulled technology by the broadband provider has been with an aim to offer broadband internet connections that are greater than twenty four times the average broadband connection speeds delivered currently by its rival ISPs.
TalkTalk outlines plans for cutting Network Congestion
The leading broadband and home phone bundle provider operating in the United Kingdom, TalkTalk has outlined fresh plans to cut the congestion on its broadband internet network.
As a matter of fact, recent reports say that the popular home broadband provider has been investing seriously in the context.
The broadband provider revealed that its engineers were toiling on upgrades worth up to GBP 20 million currently with a view to enhance the provider's backhaul network, while it has in the past, already spent GBP 500 million on its broadband network.
The product management director at TalkTalk, Alex Hollingdale wrote in the company blog that they were maintaining high expectations over the fresh move that it would enable the customers to surf the internet at the fastest available connection speeds.
Hollingdale added that they, in effect had developed the equivalent of the M1 Motorway using their current thousand eight hundred exchanges across Britain, all the way to internet.
Hollingdale concluded claiming that the largest broadband internet network in the UK alternative to the one deployed by BT was getting better.
Lack of Broadband force Youngsters leave Rural Areas
It has always remained a major concern for whole nation that the lack of broadband service in the rural areas of the United Kingdom was always threatening of a mass exodus of youngsters from these areas to the urban areas in search of better opportunities.
It seems the fears are getting true these days, with younger people from the rural areas of the country are greatly turning up to the urban areas in search of better jobs in the IT sector, which is currently happening in the country.
Over the last couple of years, a lot of debates had been conducted over the way in which lack of broadband internet services was affecting the rural areas across the United Kingdom. A good number of issues were unearthed in these deabates such as the problems faced by the businesses in the rural areas that in its turn affected the economy of these areas and the lack of opportunities brught by the internet for the consumers of the areas to access an array of money saving online resources.
Accordin to another report published recently that the officials were greatly concerned that this number of youngsters were leaving businesses in the rural areas, leaving the economy of these areas to suffer seriously.
Stuart Burgess, the chair of the Rural Communities Commission stated that he heard deep concerns wherever he went that challenges regarding social exclusion, transport, training, work and housing were preventing the youngsters from staying at the rural areas.
Digital Economy Bill might be passed before May
It has been anticipated by a number of senior members of the media industry of the United Kingdom that the Digital Economy Bill proposed by the government, which had attracted a considerable amount of controversy, could be pushed through parliament in the beginning of April this year.
The notable point here is that the passing of the digital economy bill, if passed by the time set by the government, would be ahead of the UK general election that has been fixed to take place in May.
For some history, the Digital Economy Bill was first announced in the Queen's Speech of 2009 before the parliament of the United Kingdom. When passed, the Digital Economy Bill would allow the first secretary of state of the UK, Lord Peter Mandelson to push through with the copyright laws on persistant illegal online downloaders without the parliament's consent.
The bill is also understood to provide the broadband providers operating in the country with the authority to pass important information about those customers that persistently violates the law, to the holders of the copyrights so that they could move legally against them.
An anonymous insider of the media industry praised the bill while talking to the Guardian that credit wet to the government for pushing through a legislation proposal that is hardly a vote winner.
