Phone companies ‘must do more’ to stop fraud calls

Phone companies must do more to stop fraudsters who spoof phone numbers to trap victims. one of the UK’s top law enforcement officers has said. Graeme Biggar, director general of the National Crime Agency’s National Economic Crime Centre, says the UK needs “a step change in our response” to fraud. It costs the economy up […]

OneWeb sends up 36 broadband internet satellites

OneWeb has put up another 36 satellites, taking its in-orbit constellation to 146 spacecraft. The new platforms were lofted by a Soyuz rocket from Russia’s far east. The additions will enable engineers to further test the company’s promised system for delivering broadband internet connections from space. OneWeb is now owned principally by the Indian conglomerate […]

Child abuse: Warning of siblings being groomed online

Criminals and paedophiles are trying to groom and exploit young siblings as part of an emerging trend of online sexual abuse, experts have warned. The Internet Watch Foundation said victims ranged from 3-16 years, with some groomed to copy adult pornography. It found 511 examples involving siblings between September and December – roughly one in […]

Covid: Supermarket limits lifted as lockdown in Wales eases

Supermarkets can sell non-essential items and garden centres can open in Wales from Monday in a further slight easing of Covid lockdown rules. Shops that have already been open, but had non-essential aisles cordoned off, can now sell anything, but shops that only sell non-essential items will remain closed until 12 April. Garden centres will […]

BT’s Openreach to build full-fibre internet ‘like fury’ after Ofcom move

BT has said it will “build like fury” to roll out full-fibre internet connections after new rules announced by the UK’s telecoms regulator. Ofcom has decided not to impose price caps on full-fibre connections provided by the firm’s Openreach subsidiary. This gives the company the certainty it had been looking for ahead of a planned […]

US ratchets up pressure on Chinese telecom firms

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is looking to strip three Chinese telecom firms of their US operating licenses. China Unicom Americas, Pacific Networks and ComNet had failed to explain their links to Beijing, the FCC said. The US communications watchdog has long argued those links could pose a national security risk. The move signals that […]

Space projects scrubbed in UK overseas aid cut

Space projects are the latest international scientific collaborations to lose funding because of the cut in UK overseas aid. Ten initiatives that would have used space data to tackle developing-world problems, such as human trafficking and flood vulnerability, have had their support cancelled. Ministers are dropping the commitment to spend 0.7% of GNI on foreign […]

Web inventor Sir Tim Berners-Lee warns of widening digital divide

The creator of the web says coronavirus has highlighted the importance of internet connectivity as a basic right. Sir Tim Berners-Lee says too many young people do not have internet access and the digital divide has widened during the pandemic. He called on governments to invest to provide universal broadband by 2030. “We can’t afford […]