Telecoms regulator, Ofcom, has today announced that it will remove regulatory barriers to speed up BT’s rollout of superfast broadband across the UK. The regulator said that it will not present any ‘regulatory barriers’ that might slow down the numerous projects designed to boost current broadband speeds by up to 10 times. This clears the way for BT’s planned £1.5bn investment in upgrading street cabinets with fibre optic cable that will enable surfing speeds of 40-60Mbps to around 20 million homes. Virgin Media already offers 50Mbps Net access to those using its cable service. In a statement, BT chief executive, Ian Livingston said: “Today’s announcement gives us the green light to push ahead with our £1.5 billion superfast broadband investment plans to reach at least 40% of UK households by 2012.” Speaking for Ofcom, chief executive Ed Richards explained: ‘Super-fast broadband represents one of the most important developments in modern communications for many decades. ‘It will deliver significant benefits to consumers and businesses with the prospect of new digital services delivered over the internet at high speed. ‘Our message today is clear: there are no regulatory barriers in the way of investment in super-fast broadband; we want to promote investment but also ensure that there is fair and effective competition for the future.’ Ofcom’s decision to be more hands-off, means that BT will be able to price its leasing of the new high-speed networks to other ISPs at ‘fair market prices’. Until now, this was a concern that stopped BT from committing to the expensive fibre upgrade. Let’s hope that ‘fair market prices’ doesn’t make superfast broadband too expensive for the rest of us.-Martin Lynch broadband internet

As pointed out by one on-the-ball contributor in our previous post, the latest case against torrent giants Pirate Bay has all but descended into a farce just two days in. 50% of the charges against the website have already been dropped due to shortcomings in prosecution evidence. Apparently much of the evidence being used cannot actually be traced back to The Pirate Bay’s tracker, with screenshots clearly stating that there is no connection between them. The prosecution has also been accused of misunderstanding the technology, resulting in Hakan Roswall being told to ditch all charges based on ‘assisting copyright infringement’. The charges were dropped in the morning on the second day, leaving defense lawyer Per E Samuelson to say “This is a sensation. It is very rare to win half the target in just one and a half days and it is clear that the prosecutor took strong note of what we said yesterday″ and one of The Pirate Bay’s operators to claim “It is clear that this is an advantage for the accused.” The prosecution, rather than being deterred by what appears to be a rather shocking oversight, seems more determined than ever though, releasing a statement that read: “It’s a largely technical issue that changes nothing in terms of our compensation claims and has no bearing whatsoever on the main case against The Pirate Bay. In fact it simplifies the prosecutor’s case by allowing him to focus on the main issue, which is the making available of copyrighted works.” The case continues this week as the prosecution attempts to regroup before the defense hits back. Here’s hoping for more comedy moments from the former. - Paul Lester [TorrentFreak] The Pirate Bay torrent copyright

The Pirate Bay is being hauled up on charges again, this time in Sweden, where a trial began today to attempt to shut down the infamous torrent sharing site on the basis that even linking to copyrighted materials is a crime. Of course this isn’t the first time someone has tried to shut it down and despite the fact that representatives of the entertainment industry are seeking 10.6 million euros in damages, co-owner Gottfrid Svartholm Warg seemed confident in stating “What are they going to do about it? They have already failed to take down the site once. Let them fail again.” Defence lawyer Per Samuelsson used the comparison of the manufacture of cars that can be driven faster than the speed limit to illustrate the point that it is perfectly legal to offer a service that can be used both legally and illegally. The demise of Pirate Bay would be a massive blow to those who regularly download and share the various content available, so we’ll keep an eye on the trial, which is supposed to last around two weeks, to let you know if anything interesting happens. - Paul Lester [BBC] Pirate Bay ̢P torrents

In a move that is frankly long overdue, YouTube has announced that it will be trialling an upgrade to its service that allows users to download videos directly from the site and watch them when offline. Video creators will be offered a Creative Commons license to allow permission to reuse downloaded content, with the possibility of a fee being involved where relevant that would be paid for through Google Checkout. Product manager Thai Tran updated users on progress through Google’s official YouTube blog, saying “Many video creators on YouTube want their work to be seen far and wide. They don’t mind sharing their work, provided that they get the proper credit. Using Creative Commons licenses, we’re giving our partners and community more choices to make that happen. Creative Commons licenses permit people to reuse downloaded content under certain conditions”. Most of you at this point are probably running through a few of at least a dozen ways (such as iDesktopTV) that you can grab video from YouTube quickly and easily through less… ahem… scrupulous methods, so any official upgrade will probably have limited appeal. Still, better late than never eh? - Paul Lester [YouTube] YouTube video download

Mobile phone operators have been using the popularity of netbooks to push mobile data packages and O2 is about to join the fray by announcing that it will be offering a series of ‘free’ Samsung netbooks and laptops from Feb 27th. There are 3 laptops on offer, kicking off with the Samsung Nᨶ netbook, which will be renamed the O2 Mini Laptop. The Samsung 𔉎 laptop will be released in two editions and renamed the O2 Performance Laptop and O2 Multi-Media Laptop. The Mini Laptop and Performance laptop will be offered as standard for ‘free’ as long as you subscribe to one of 2 packages on offer. The first package cost £29.38 for a 3GB ‘unlimited’ data package that includes 300 texts to other O2 numbers. The second package is for 10GB and costs £39.15. Users have the option to upgrade to the O2 Multi-Media Laptop, which sports a faster chip, more memory and a bigger hard disk drive, for an extra £78. Along with the devices, customers will get a laptop support service, O2 Assistant software, McAfee security software and a 30-day Happiness Guarantee alongside a 2-year laptop warranty. -Martin Lynch [O2] netbook mobile

Staunch evidence that online viewing could well form the basis of future home entertainment comes from America today, after an announcement that December was the best ever month for web-based video. 80% of the entire US internet audience, which is 150 million Americans, watched over 14 billion videos online in just a month, 13% higher than November. That’s over three videos per person per day, with YouTube accounting for over 40% of these figures. Unsurprisingly the video giant is way ahead of the chasing pack with a video-viewing average of 59 per visitor, with next closest rival Fox Interactive Media accounting for just 3.1% of activity. There’s no doubt that people are more than happy to watch video online then, but with the average clip length on YouTube at just 3.2 minutes, there’s little evidence here to suggest that these comfort levels translate to full-length programming. Over in the UK, Apple has announced that iTunes′ will be offering HD encoded TV shows from the BBC. Exactly when, and whether it’ll get these before the iPlayer though (doubtful) is yet to be confirmed. - Paul Lester [NetworkWorld] [TechWatch] Youtube video iTunes

Forget Little Britain because we’re all meant to be gearing up for Digital Britain. The long awaited ‘Digital Britain’ government interim report from Lord Carter has been published and the upshot is this: a successful Britain must be a Digital Britain. So how does Lord Carter propose we get there? The weighty 88-page document lays out plans to ensure that every home in the UK has broadband and faster download speeds by 2012. As we already reported, Carter wants there to be a “Universal Service Commitment” like BT’s existing obligation to provide fixed-line telephone services to everyone. Unfortunately, the report does not say how this will be funded and it’s highly unlikely that BT will agree to picking up the tab alone. Presenting the report, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said: “Our digital networks will be the backbone of our economy in the decades ahead. It is as essential to our prosperity in the 21st century as roads, bridges, trains and electricity were in the 20th.” Broadband news UKThere are also proposals designed to force mobile phone companies to open up the radio spectrum for 4th generation services by the time of the Olympics in 2012. For surfers, the government is hoping to crack down on illegal Internet downloading by insisting that ISPs warn people when they are spotted illegally downloading content. The report proposes that the details of repeat offenders should be handed over to music and movie companies so they can take legal action. The idea of ISPs actively monitoring where you go and what you do online is sure to spark some heated debate. On the TV front, Carter’s report suggests a tie-up between Channel 4 and BBC Worldwide, saying the C4’s future lay in becoming a “second public service organisation”. As for radio, the report pushes hard for digital radio and claimed that FM radio could be switched off within 10 years. Carter says he plans to shut off FM radio once 50% of radio listening is digital - it’s under 20% right now. Check out the full report here. It’s been attacked, as expected, by rival political parties as being too general and not going far enough to boost Britain’s digital future. What do you think?-Martin Lynch

In some interesting broadband news today it seems as though a surprising proportion of Americans aren′t interested in updating their dial-up connection, or indeed having access to the World Wide Web at all. A survey by research firm Pew Internet & American Life Project polled 4,245 people who don′t currently have a broadband connection, and found that a third of those with no way to get online have no interest in doing so at all. 9% of people claimed it’s ‘too difficult’, 7% reckon it’s a waste of time and 7% are too busy, while only 13% don′t have access because it’s not available in their area. For those still using dial-up, 35% cite the price of broadband as the reason for not upgrading and 19% say that nothing would make them do so. This doesn′t exactly sit well with the new President’s plans for $6bn worth of funding to provide under-served areas with connections and contrasts somewhat with other global news regarding the current internet population. Stat-tracker Comscore announced that world internet usage topped one billion in December last year, or around 15% of the global population, and these figures don′t include access from public computers. Over in Blighty it has been confirmed that a new Digital UK report, which isn′t due to be finalised until late Spring, will include a recommendation that every British citizen has a legal right to access broadband internet, thereby upgrading the current rule that ISPs must offer a minimum of 28.8kb/s. - Paul Lester [TheRegister] & [TechDigest] & [TechRadar] internet broadband online

If you don′t have home broadband then fear not, because there are lofty plans afoot to guarantee all UK households access to broadband. A draft report by Lord Carter on the future of UK telecoms and the media sector proposes a “universal service commitment” to broadband along the lines of what’s in place for postal and telephone services. According to the FT the report, due out in a few weeks, calls for a minimum of 2Mb broadband to be made available to every home in the UK by 2012 - no matter what cloud-scraping mountaintop or out of the way hamlet you’re stuck in.The government has earmarked the communications sector as a recession-boosting growth sector and right now, around 40% of homes [according to Ofcom] have no broadband access. That said, many of you that do may have noticed that you’re not really getting what you paid for. Carter told a Westminster meeting on Wednesday that broadband is no longer for the ‘technologically keen′: “It is an enabling and transformatory service and therefore we have to look at how we universalise it.” Unsurprisingly, BT has some concerns, claiming a universal broadband commitment will cost much more than its existing universal service obligations for fixed line phones and narrowband Net access, which cost it up to £76m in 2006. It’s a nice idea but the government will have to simultaneously pull some clever stunts, smooth some ruffled feathers and wield a big scary stick to raise the public and private money needed to put this in place.-Martin Lynch [FT] Broadband Ofcom UK

Few would dispute that it’s important to do your bit for the environment, but green groups seem to be getting their stick out with increasing regularity at the moment, now targeting a company that has a significant impact on most people’s daily lives. Google has been accused of contributing to CO2 production by Harvard University physicist Alex Wissner-Gross, who reckons a single search produces around 7g, or around half the amount produced when boiling a kettle. Why? Because of a combination of the energy used by your computer, the network and the power consumed by Google’s data centres while it trawls the world wide web to answer your query. Wissner-Gross admits that Google isn’t any worse than other data centres, the problem is that it’s contributing more because it so popular. Google however disputes the claim, saying that these figures are ‘many times too high’. In a statement issued to address these concerns it says that a typical search only results in the equivalent of 0.2g of CO2, and highlights the fact that it is making strides to reduce energy consumption through its Climate Savers Computing Initiative. We’re all for saving the environment but a life without Google? That’s one sacrifice too many. - Paul Lester [BBC] Google CO2 environment