Latest news with #ruralconnectivity
BBC News
2 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Shropshire MP questions improvements to rural mobile phone coverage
An upgrade to mobile phone coverage on the Shropshire Hills has been welcomed although concerns remain about just how good the improvements are, an MP has Shropshire's Liberal Democrat MP Helen Morgan, who has campaigned for better rural mobile coverage, said she had not noticed "any discernible improvement" from the recent Shared Rural Network (SRN) masts in England have been upgraded to provide 4G coverage on all networks, including in parts of Shropshire."Obviously any improvement is really welcome, but I think the Shared Rural Network of which this rollout is a part hasn't really delivered what it was promised to deliver," Morgan said. The rollout has been led by the government and phone networks with masts that initially only used to connect EE customers and those calling 999 being upgraded to provide coverage for all mobile network said the industry had spent £500m improving signals in places where people could get a signal from one provider but not from others."But I have to say my experience in North Shropshire is that we can't notice any discernible improvement at all and I'm really concerned that the targets that have been set for that rollout weren't stretching enough and haven't really delivered the improvements that we need to see," she said."Certainly in north Shropshire and I would imagine and, although I spend less time there, it's the same in south Shropshire as well."She said she accepted there were planning issues around more masts being installed in the countryside but also criticised the coverage maps that were used to set targets for being inaccurate."So, I think there's a bigger risk that they think everything is rosy," she added."The capacity on those masts isn't good enough for people to connect when they're out and about."As chair of an all-party group on digital connectivity, she said the group would be reporting to the government the issues that they were still finding."The government have listened, I think, to the point about coverage maps, and we're expecting to see coverage maps out soon," she said, adding that she was, however, not hopeful about how much better they would be. Follow BBC Shropshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
CNET
4 days ago
- Business
- CNET
Amazon Just Kicked Off Project Kuiper: Here's What We Know About Starlink's Latest Competitor
Bringing broadband to remote, rural and underserved areas is no easy or cheap feat. Fiber networks are expensive to build out, and cable internet coverage is actually decreasing. Although 5G home internet is growing in availability and popularity, its speeds and reliability are at the mercy of tower proximity and network congestion. Satellite internet has poised itself as a viable solution to rural broadband woes but not the single-satellite, geostationary services from Hughesnet and Viasat, which have been around for years with minimal improvements. Instead: an entire constellation of high-tech, low-orbiting satellites. Starlink has shown that, in numbers -- specifically, over 7,000 -- low Earth orbit, or LEO, satellites can deliver widespread broadband availability while lowering latency, increasing speed potential and eliminating restrictive data caps of traditional satellite internet. The challenge of getting such an ambitious project off the ground requires endless approvals and expert teams working together. In July 2020, Amazon received approval from the Federal Communications Commission to deploy and operate Project Kuiper (pronounced ki -- as in kite -- per) satellites. On April 28, after a delay because of the weather, Amazon finally kicked off Project Kuiper by launching 27 low-Earth orbit satellites. There's still a way to go before the satellite internet service is ready for home use, but this is a promising step forward for the tech and e-commerce giant as it enters the ultra-competitive satellite industry space. Here's everything to know about Project Kuiper as of May 2025. Locating local internet providers Amazon's Project Kuiper Internet Satellites Take Flight on ULA Rocket Amazon's Project Kuiper Internet Satellites Take Flight on ULA Rocket Click to unmute Video Player is loading. Play Video Pause Skip Backward Skip Forward Next playlist item Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration 4:17 Loaded : 2.31% 0:00 Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 4:17 Share Fullscreen This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Opaque Semi-Transparent Text Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Caption Area Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Drop shadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Close Modal Dialog This is a modal window. This modal can be closed by pressing the Escape key or activating the close button. Close Modal Dialog This is a modal window. This modal can be closed by pressing the Escape key or activating the close button. Amazon's Project Kuiper Internet Satellites Take Flight on ULA Rocket What is Project Kuiper? Project Kuiper is Amazon's initiative to increase broadband availability worldwide by deploying thousands of low-orbiting satellites that send and receive internet signals worldwide. The service is designed for residential and commercial applications, offering a high-speed connection for use in homes, businesses, government agencies, and other institutions, particularly those in underserved areas. Amazon has made an effort to emphasize Project Kuiper as "affordable broadband." Though we're not sure what the monthly or up-front costs will be, expect it to be competitively priced compared to Starlink. Amazon made a point of emphasizing that the equipment will be accessible, design-wise and cost-wise. In addition to thousands of advanced LEO satellites, approximately 7,000 orbiting somewhere between 367 to 391 miles high, Project Kuiper will leverage a network of ground-based antennas, fiber connections and customer terminals to deliver service. Amazon Amazon claims that the standard customer terminal, which you would use to receive fixed home internet service, has the potential to deliver speeds up to 400 megabits per second. That's a good deal faster than current speed expectations from Starlink (25 to 100Mbps with standard service). Commercial terminals boast an even faster speed potential, up to 1 gigabit per second. Sounds great. So, when can I sign up? Not for another year or so, at least. When will Project Kuiper internet be available? Once a few hundred satellites are in orbit, the ability to broadcast broadband doesn't take long, though Amazon has not yet announced an official start date for service. "We plan to begin rolling out Project Kuiper commercial service next year [2025], starting with service demonstrations for our earliest enterprise customers, then consumer beta testing and then general availability later in the year," a spokesperson from Amazon said. So, Project Kuiper's home internet service could arrive sometime in late 2025. Don't plan to cancel your current internet service just yet. Not everyone across the US will be eligible to sign up right away. Regional availability will vary Project Kuiper's satellite fleet will operate within 56 degrees north and south of the equator. That covers most of North America (but excludes much of Alaska), and nearly all of South America, plus a great deal of Africa, Australia, Asia and Europe. Not all projected coverage areas will be immediately eligible for service at launch. Amazon hasn't yet revealed which locations will be the first to receive eligibility, but did state that "regions will come online quickly as we add satellites to the constellation." So far, so good for Project Kuiper Amazon has successfully launched the first test satellites for its Project Kuiper broadband satellite network. Amazon Project Kuiper launched two prototype satellites in October 2023 and, within 30 days of launch, reportedly achieved a 100% success rate. The satellites were later intentionally removed from orbit in May 2024 as part of Project Kuiper's commitment to space safety and sustainability. In December 2023, Project Kuiper secured 80 rockets from four launch providers: Arianespace, SpaceX (yes, the parent company of Starlink), ULA and, of course, the Jeff Bezos-founded Blue Origin. Amazon launched its first 27 rockets into orbit on April 28. The rocket acquisition, launch and FCC approvals set Project Kuiper up to begin offering broadband for commercial and residential use sometime in 2025. CNET will keep you updated on significant developments, including when and where Amazon's Project Kuiper internet will be available for residential use in the US, what speeds you can expect and how much it will cost.
Wall Street Journal
4 days ago
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
Rural Internet Is Still So Bad, Some States Are Turning to Outer Space
A growing number of states are rolling out subsidies for satellite connectivity in rural areas, a change that could be a boon to Elon Musk's Starlink and another nascent service from Amazon. From Maine to Nevada, states are starting to help some of the 24 million Americans who lack reliable broadband pay for satellite internet, rather than focusing such aid primarily on fiber connectivity as they have in the past.
CBC
4 days ago
- CBC
Copper wire thefts leaving rural N.S. residents without phone, internet service
Some residents in the rural Nova Scotia communities of Joggins and Lower Cove spent the past weekend without landline and internet services after copper lines belonging to Bell Canada were cut and stolen. Locals say there have been at least five similar thefts of copper wire in the last year. Laurie Glenn Norris said her 93-year-old dad lives in Lower Cove and has lost access to his landline phone — sometimes for days at a time. "I am very concerned about him and other senior citizens in the area who … can't call 911 if the line is down or call for help to a neighbour if something happens," said Norris, who lives in River Hebert, N.S. Norris said the copper lines tend to be cut during weekends and it takes several days for Bell technicians to repair them. Residents angry, says councillor Carrie Lee, the Cumberland County councillor for the district, said she has heard from residents frustrated with the continued copper thefts that is stripping the area of an outside connection. "Morale is really down. People are scared, they're angry, they're frustrated. And I mean, I think people need to realize it's not the same as other areas. When they lose access to that, they lose access to everything that connects them to the outside," said Lee. Lee said residents have recommended Bell Canada install trail cameras on their poles to capture and potentially deter thieves. In P.E.I., Maritime Electric said last month it is working with Charlottetown Police Services to install surveillance cameras at electrical substations to hopefully curb copper wire thefts. Lee said she's unsure if that's the answer in Cumberland County, but no other solutions have been offered from Bell or the RCMP. "I don't know if they're necessary or what the solution is, but there doesn't seem to be any talks of one," said Lee. Bell apologizes to customers In a statement Monday, Bell told CBC News that it expected to have the repairs completed by end of day. It noted that copper theft is on the rise. "Our teams have been working as quickly as possible to repair the damage," said the statement. "We apologize for the inconvenience." Allie Duguay, a nursing student who lives in Joggins, doesn't use a landline, but she depends on the internet to supplement the poor cellphone service in the area. "It's the internet portion of it that's a big factor for me," she said. "Typically I rely on my Wi-Fi for calling in any event that someone needs to contact me." 'A very vulnerable spot' She said the recurring loss of internet service has interfered with her online nursing program. Duguay said she missed an exam and has had to drive to find good cellphone service to do online schoolwork in her vehicle using her mobile hotspot. She is calling on Bell Canada to do more to secure their lines to prevent this from happening again. As of Monday afternoon, she and other residents of Joggins and Lower Cove were still waiting for Bell technicians to conduct repairs, leaving residents "in a very vulnerable spot," she said. "It's only a matter of time until something happens and somebody's life is put on the line because of this," said Duguay.
Washington Post
6 days ago
- Washington Post
The Digital Equity Act tried to close the digital divide. Trump calls it racist and acts to end it
PORTLAND, Ore. — One program distributes laptops in rural Iowa. Another helped people get back online after Hurricane Helene washed away computers and phones in western North Carolina. Programs in Oregon and rural Alabama teach older people, including some who have never touched a computer, how to navigate in an increasingly digital world.
