Date set for 4G airwaves auction

17 November 2010 Last updated at 12:21 ET

Ofcom's chief exeuctive Ed Richards has laid out the timetable which will pave the way for next-generation mobile services in the UK.

The airwaves that will enable 4G networks will be auctioned off in the first half of 2012, Mr Richards said.

It means the spectrum will become available from 2013.

The auction was originally earmarked for 2009 but was delayed because of legal action by mobile firms.

Mr Richards announced the timetable at the FT World Telecoms Conference.

Level playing field

He warned that "further litigation against the government or regulator will jeopardise this timetable".

Mobile operators have been arguing over the distribution of existing spectrum.

Ofcom had originally planned to redistribute spectrum allocated to O2 and Vodafone, prompting the two operators to launch legal action against the regulator.

Historically the 900MHz slice of spectrum has belonged exclusively to O2 and Vodafone because they were the only two mobile operators on the market when it was handed out.

Ofcom dropped its plans to share out its spectrum, following the merger between T-Mobile and Orange.

"In the light of the merger, there was not such an unlevel playing field," said Ovum analyst Matthew Howett.

It prompted Vodafone and O2 to drop their legal action, paving the way for the auctions to go ahead.

"There is still the threat of legal action but operators are more interested in getting this over and done with," said Mr Howett.

More capacity

The auction will see two chunks of the spectrum - the 800MHz and 2.6GHz bands - sold off.

Both have great value to operators.

The 800MHz slice - which has been freed up by the switchover to digital TV - allows mobile signals to travel over greater distances, making it invaluable in the search to find ways of bringing broadband to rural areas.

The higher capacity 2.6GHz band will be more useful in towns and cities where lots of users require services.

The delay in the sale of spectrum means that the UK will be behind other countries in offering services. Germany has already auctioned off its digital dividend spectrum and others are planning to do so soon.

For consumers 4G or LTE (Long Term Evolution) services will mean more capacity on the networks.

"They will have a more enjoyable experince using mobile broadband," said Mr Howett.

The popularity of smartphones has meant an explosion in demand for mobile data.

It could mean even next-generation networks run out of capAcity, thinks Stephen Rayment, chief technology officer of BelAir Networks.

"Mobile data traffic is already on track to exceed the capacity that will be available in forthcoming LTE and 4G networks. Consequently, buying new spectrum is no longer a speculative move for mobile operators, it's an absolute necessity," he said.

Despite the demand for new networks, Mr Howett predicts the spectrum will sell for a lot less than its 3G equivalent which raised �22bn for the Treasury when it was sold in 2000.

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Minister backs 'two-speed' net

17 November 2010 Last updated at 09:51 ET

Culture minister Ed Vaizey has backed a "two-speed" internet, letting service providers charge content makers and customers for "fast lane" access.

It paves the way for an end to "net neutrality" - with heavy bandwidth users like Google and the BBC likely to face a bill for the pipes they use.

Mr Vaizey said ISPs must be free to experiment with new charges to help pay for the expansion in internet services.

But critics warn the move could harm free speech and stifle innovation.

'Fast lane'

Internet Service Providers (ISPs) are supposed to treat all web traffic equally - serving only as a one-size-fits-all pipe for whatever data is passing from content providers to end users.

But a debate has been raging around the world over how much they should be allowed to control the size of their pipes, and thus the internet speed that users get from the site.

In the US, President Barack Obama has backed net neutrality - treating all traffic equally - and regulators have threatened possible legal action against ISPs that block or restrict access to sites.

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

In order for the internet to continue as the open, innovative force for good that it has been over the past 20 years it is essential that all elements continue to prosper"

End Quote Ed Vaizey Culture minister

But some traffic management, where traffic from one source is favoured over another, is likely to be allowed, with a ruling due next year, Mr Vaizey suggests.

The EU has also backed traffic management but with greater transparency to ensure the internet remains "open" - something that will soon be enshrined in UK law.

Mr Vaizey argues that most ISPs already carried out traffic management "to ensure the smooth running of their networks" without any impact on competition or consumer rights.

In his speech, he argues that the continued quality of internet services in the UK is under threat due to the rapid expansion of mobile and wireless networks and the "massive investment" it needed.

As a result, ISPs had to be free to experiment with new ways of raising revenue - provided customers were clear about what they were buying.

He says: "We have got to continue to encourage the market to innovate and experiment with different business models and ways of providing consumers with what they want.

"This could include the evolution of a two-sided market where consumers and content providers could choose to pay for differing levels of quality of service."

He also suggests that content makers could be charged for the first time for the use of the ISP's networks - provided they too were clear about what they were getting.

"Content and application providers should be able to know exactly what level of service they are getting especially if they are paying for it," he says.

'Appalling'

He added that the government did not want to introduce new laws on top of those already being adopted from the EU to guarantee an "open" internet, arguing that light touch regulation was better.

He also argued that, that unlike in the US where some areas only had the choice of one service provider, there was enough rivalry between providers to ensure consumers' rights were protected.

"The essential competition we enjoy in Europe and especially in the UK, will be an essential safeguard against unfair discrimination," he argues.

He said ISPs must also guarantee that net users can continue to access any legal website or content.

"In order for the internet to continue as the open, innovative force for good that it has been over the past 20 years it is essential that all elements continue to prosper.

"This means ensuring that content providers and applications have open access to consumers and vice versa.

"But it also means allowing ISPs and networks to innovate and experiment with new ways of delivering what consumers want so we can ensure continued investment in the infrastructure that delivers the content and applications we all use."

But Jim Killock, of net freedom campaigners the Open Rights Group, said the proposals could have "appalling" consequences for free speech and commercial innovation.

"Ed Vaizey is wrong to assume that there is no problem if BT or Virgin restrict people's internet access for their commercial advantage. Removing 'net neutrality' will reduce innovation and reduce people's ability to exercise their freedom of speech.

"This is why ORG will campaign against any market abuse, should Ed Vaizey allow it to happen."

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Gran Turismo 5 gets release date

By Dan Whitworth
Newsbeat technology reporter <!-- Empty - Wide embedded hyper -->

After years in development and millions of pounds spent on it, Gran Turismo 5 has finally been given a release date.

Developers Polyphony Digital, a subsidiary of Sony Computer Entertainment, says the game will hit shelves in the UK and around the world on Wednesday 24 November.

Fans will be able to choose from dozens of circuits, including the Top Gear test track.

More than 1,000 cars also feature in the game for the PlayStation 3.

Among them are the Lamborghini Murciélago LP 670-4 SuperVeloce, the Lexus LFA and the McLaren MP4-12C.

Gran Turismo is the world's most popular video racing game series.

So far it's sold more than 56 million units but this latest edition has suffered serious delays.

'Technological leap'

It was originally scheduled for release last year but that got put back to 2010.

Continue reading the main story

I can only apologize to everyone for making you wait so long, and I hope that when you try out the wealth of driving experiences available in Gran Turismo 5, you will not be disappointed

Kazunori Yamauchi President of Polyphony Digital

Since then it's been delayed again twice.

Kazunori Yamauchi, president of Polyphony Digital said: "With the technological leap on to PlayStation 3, our objective with Gran Turismo 5 was to create another great revolution which would not only satisfy our own high expectations, but would meet or even exceed the anticipation of the fans.

"Satisfying the loyal Gran Turismo followers is at the heart of all of our efforts, which is why it was such a difficult decision to delay the release of the game, and one which we did not take lightly.

"I can only apologize to everyone for making you wait so long, and I hope that when you try out the wealth of driving experiences available in Gran Turismo 5, you will not be disappointed."

As with increasing numbers of video games GT5 will also be released in 3D.

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China in US web traffic hijacking

17 November 2010 Last updated at 08:53 ET

The traffic to some highly sensitive US websites was briefly rerouted via China, according to Reuters.

The incident, which happened for 18 minutes last April, is published in a report by the US-China Economic and Security review commission.

It found that China Telecom sent incorrect routing information, but it is not clear whether it was intentional.

It comes amid continuing discussions in the US and the UK about cyber-security.

Among traffic rerouted via China was that destined for the US Senate website, the Office of the Secretary of Defence, Nasa and the Commerce Department, the report said.

"Evidence related to this incident does not clearly indicate whether it was perpetrated intentionally and, if so, to what ends," according to the draft report obtained by Reuters.

"However, computer security researchers have noted that the capability could enable severe malicious activities," it added.

The danger of cyber-attacks has been high on global agendas recently.

This week, US Defence Secretary Robert Gates warned that cyber-attacks posed a huge future threat and urged more joined-up efforts between the US military and civilian agencies.

MPs in the UK have also been hearing about the risks of cyber-attacks.

In evidence given to the Science and Technology Committee, experts said that a concerted cyber-attack capable of damaging key infrastructure could currently only be launched by an enemy state.

Stuxnet fears

"The risk of a concerted attack which has fundamental effect on infrastructure would have to be at state level and therefore politically unlikely," said Dr Hayes, a senior fellow at the Microsoft Institute for Advanced Technology in Governments.

But he said the tools were there for either politically-motivated hackers or organised criminals to launch an attack.

"If I see a nuclear weapon, I need plutonium, but cyber-weapons are just a sequence of ones and zeros. We have concerns that Stuxnet could be copied," he said.

"The risk of that is high and could have localised effect on critical infrastructure," he told MPs.

The recent Stuxnet malware, which appeared to be targeted at Iran's nuclear power plant, has caused alarm in governments around the world about a new wave of state-sponsored cyber-attacks.

Dalai Lama

Dr Ross Anderson, from the University of Cambridge, told MPs that Stuxnet was a sophisticated piece of malware.

"We can surmise it was from someone who didn't like the Iranians refining uranium. It took six people five months to write. It appears whoever commissioned it had access to people whose business was writing malware, as well as people clearly expert in industrial control systems.

It was an effort funded to the order of �1m or thereabouts," he said.

Experts have surmised that its complexity means it could only have been written by a nation state.

Mr Anderson told MPs that he had personal involvement into state-sponsored malware attacks.

"A couple of years ago, a student of mine helped the Dalai Lama's office clear up malware clearly from the Chinese government," he said.

Currently, though, the biggest risk to UK computer systems was still the prospect of internal system failures as upgrades to the net addressing system began, he said.

"The most likely cause of disruption to the internet comes from software failure associated with transition to IPV6," he said.

But he warned that the threat of external attacks was likely to get worse over time, as more and more systems became computerised.

Experts needed

Mr Anderson said that government needed to become more "IT-aware".

"Regulators such as Ofgem and Ofcom should have people on their staff who understand IT and the risk we could be sleepwalking into," he said.

He warned that the government needed to do more.

"We have never put enough into combating cyber-crime. The Metropolitan police have difficulty sustaining e-crime units, because they are forever being closed down or merged," he said.

He aid that the situation was not helped because the culture of the UK's security body GCHQ was non-collaborative, unlike that of the US's National Security Agency.

"Currently there are two separate communities, the civil community and the defence community. Outside of the defence community there is no source of expertise," he said.

"Bodies like the Information Commissioner's Office and the Metropolitan police don't have their own engineering staff, so are beholden to Cheltenham [the base for GCHQ] for advice."

He was not convinced that GCHQ was the right body for the job.

"It may take a cyber-attack to convince the prime minister that GCHQ is incompetent and things need to be changed," he said.

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