With one day until Intellect’s 4G Mobile Broadband Conference in London, O2 have begun 4G trials in London.

These trials represent a significant ramping up of 4G development and signify O2′s serious intent to provide the first 4G service in the UK. Trials are usually performed in areas with low populations and medium radio traffic, allowing data to be captured easily without fear of interfernce. Trials within London represent a serious undertaking both technically and financially by O2. Their customers can expect data reception to devices at around 50 MBits per second or less for the duration of the trial – the current average being 1.5 MBits per second. (more…)

Technorati Tags: 2012 Spectrum release, 4G networks, 4G trials, 50 Mbps, commercial 4G services, Everything Everywhere 4G, Germany 4G network, Long term evolution, LTE, mobile broadband, O2 brings superfast 4G to London, Ofcom, research and development, Sweden 4G network, Telefonica O2, Vodafone 4G

This weekend sees the opening of a global gathering of ICT executives, government officials and policy makers, who are meeting to share ideas on how ICT can drive economic growth, create jobs, overcome social exclusion and improve quality of life. (more…)

Now an established entity on the UK tech meet-up scene, Intellect’s Convergence Conversation’s have grown from strength to strength. The events aim to bring previously disparate industries together once a month to debate a whole bunch of issues under the convergence umbrella. Just some of the topics covered of late include; augmented reality, consumer data, social TV, location-based services, the internet of things, and publishing 2.0 (more…)

Technorati Tags: advertising agencies, augmented reality, ce manufacturers, consumer data, converged trade association, Convergence Conversations, county councils, film producers, government departments, hundreds of tech start-ups, infrastructure providers, intermediaries, internet service providers, journalists, location-based services, mobile network operators, network security providers, publishers, publishing 2.0, record labels, retailers, rights collection agencies, Social networks, Social TV, tech providers, the internet of things, trade associations, trade commissions, TV presenters

A group of MPs has announced the formation of a Parliamentary Inquiry into online child protection which will be taking evidence over the next few months from parents, ISPs and child protection expert.

We recognise that the convergence of device manufacturers and content creators is opening up new challenges around online issues and Intellect is therefore considering providing evidence to the inquiry. We have therefore invited member’s to give their views and will be holding a meeting to discuss this issue.

(more…)

Technorati Tags: online child protection, online pornography, Parliamentary inquiry, social media

If you have any doubts about how important mobile phones are to us all then a story on the BBC web site will make you think again. This morning  the BBC released the results of a crowd-sourcing survey they had carried out into the 3G coverage across the UK.

(more…)

Technorati Tags: 3G, 4G spectrum, BBC, mobile coverage, mobile phones, mobile services

Yesterday’s post-riots debate in Parliament thrust the role of communications and social media into the spotlight, with suggestions that networks such as BBM should be closed down to prevent rioters communicating. Labour MP Tom Watson called the move “Luddite” and the users of social networking sites erupted in disbelief according to the FT. I was at an Arab IT conference in Damascus earlier this year just after the Egyptian’s closed down their networks. The “hands-off our network.” chatter here does bear a striking resemblance to the chatter there and across the Arab region at the time. But the reality is that things are different here. There is a wider understanding across much, if not most of society of the benefits we enjoy from fast, secure and private communications, and extensive use of social media; from getting a good picture of what’s going on in the street to organising clean-up parties. The Metropolitan Police is using its flickr pages to display images from the disturbances of people they want to identify and Sussex police has 30,000 twitter followers, up from 19,000 a month ago.

Intellect and the tech industry we represent have been working closely with the government since 7/7 to improve intelligence gathering in our connected world, always of course within the legal framework that society has decided it wants. I’d be surprised if, with years of experience of dealing with tech-savvy international criminal gangs and terrorists, the UK authorities need more powers and know-how to deal with communications between rioters. As for turning off the networks – well that really would be Luddite.

Technorati Tags: copycat criminal activity, London riots, Looting and violence, parliament, riot management, rioting, tottenham

 Earlier this month Warwick University was invaded by more than 1200 people with a healthy obsession in outer space, including an MP, Astronaut and two Mars rovers. This wasn’t a Star Wars or Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy convention, but the UK Space Conference 2011 Organised by the Intellect events team, and commissioned by the UK Space Agency (more…)

Technorati Tags: Access to space, Arthur C Clarke awards, Esero UK, intellect, NASA, Policy, Space, Space business, Space industry, Space tech 2011, UK Space

Recently I’ve been at the EU’s first Digital Agenda Assembly held in the Brussels’ Autoworld, surrounded by a superlative collection of cars and planes from the past century. Issues discussed included fixed/mobile superfast broadband, green IT, creative content, smart grids, cyber and many other ICT related themes. Rather than discussing about specific policies, I’d like to share some general thoughts on Europe’s ambitions and Britain’s role in technology-driven innovation.

Continental Europeans still chuckle when I say “the UK and Europe” but I’m serious. As a Southern European who has spent enough time in this country, I’ve changed from being a EU enthusiast to being pragmatically critical about this noble but thorny project. Neither cynicism nor tribalism would help here. Political realism should be the answer: too many “Europeans” still don’t grasp how hard is to keep a Union together but – fortunately or unfortunately – the UK knows better… (more…)

Technorati Tags: Digital Agenda, EU, ICT, single market

Next year sees the release by Ofcom of two blocks of spectrum, 800 MHz and 2600 MHz, a move which will have a major impact on the mobile broadband market. The House of Commons Culture and Media Select Committee has been hearing evidence from interested parties, including Intellect.

(more…)

Technorati Tags: Arqiva, DCMS, Everything Everywhere, Inmarsat, intellect, Ofcom, Parliament House of Commons, Satellite, Select committee, Spectrum, Telefonica O2, Vodafone

The future of the music industry is rarely far from the headlines as the digital revolution has swept through the sector. CD sales are dwindling and the downloading of single track rather than whole albums seems to be the future. Free file-sharing sites continue to cause headaches to record labels and artists complain that they’re not getting enough money through sales. The main revenue streams are now live performances, which has seen a dramatic rise in ticket prices and an increase in touring and festival dates for many acts. (more…)