Blogs - Cable

Friday, October 9th 2009

Virgin Media's decision to trial the use of copper lines for delivering its digital TV and high-speed broadband is a relative departure for the company.

However, while the move will see the firm expand its services away from its own cable network, such pilots could be increasingly common as we move towards a Digital Britain.

According to The Register, the trial in collaboration with Vtesse Networks could be an example of the regional initiatives that will receive funding from the government's new fixed line tax.

Tuesday, June 30th 2009

It has appeared recently that if any sector is ripe for knocking at the moment, it is the broadband market. Fresh from criticism for not meeting consumer demands in surveys by ISPreview.co.uk and uSwitch, another poll has put the foot into the UK's internet providers.

This time it is a study by OnePoll.com that is raising concerns, as its survey of 5,000 people concluded that BT offers the worst customer service in Britain and twice as bad as second-placed British Gas.

According to the Daily Mail, the top five was dominated by web service providers, with Sky, Virgin Media and Vodafone all earning a place.

Monday, June 22nd 2009

Rising demand for broadband access appears to have been music to the ears of the pop singles charts in the recent times, as the decision to count downloads as part of the countdown has seen sales of tracks rise.

However, it seems that the youth of today will no longer need to actually download their favourite N-Dubz and Tinchy Stryder tracks in order to have their say on the music ranked as the most popular in the UK.

Martin Talbot, the managing director of the Official Charts Company, has claimed that the Top 40 will soon have to take the popularity of tracks on streaming services like Spotify or We7 into account if the rankings are to be a true reflection of songs people are listening to.

Tuesday, June 16th 2009

Could music fans who choose to download music illegally soon face the chop from their internet service provider?

Hidden away in Virgin Media's recent announcement on its new unlimited music download subscription deal with record label Universal Music was the revelation that the company is also planning to take a stand on online piracy.

Part of the agreement between the pair will see them put their heads together on strategies designed to protect the "intellectual property" of the music giant - which is home to a number of successful acts such as Girls Aloud, The Feeling and Amy Winehouse - and cut the illegal distribution of its tracks.