After facing immense losses due to the highly prevalent practice of illegal file-downloading and sharing, the representatives of the film, music and television world have formed a committee to push forward the demand for more stringent measures against internet pirates in the European Union (EU).

A committee called the European Audiovisual Social Dialogue Committee is trying to capitalise on legislation like the Digital Economy Bill of the UK to bring the seriousness of the issue to the notice of the member-states of the EU and convince them to make better laws against internet piracy and all those indulging in such unlawful activities.

In a joint statement, the Committee has asked the EU members to take cognisance of the danger posed to the entertainment industry by illegal file-sharers. The Committee has requested the Internal Markets Commissioner to see that all member nations of the EU are well equipped to deal with the problem of illegal peer-to-peer file-sharing and have proper laws to punish the offenders. The body has also underscored the need for internet service providers (ISPs) to limit intellectual property (IP) infringements on their networks.

The demands come on the heels of the UK’s Digital Economy Bill, which was published late last year. The Bill seeks to reduce illegal file-sharing by 70%. The first option suggested by the Bill is to compel the ISPs to dispatch warning letters to users sharing files. Under the plan, copyright holders would have to pay a fixed fee to cover the cost of these letters. But if this has no effect, then Secretary of State, Lord Mandelson, can ask Parliament for more powers including the authority to force ISPs to disconnect the lines of users repeatedly sharing files unlawfully.

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Broadband operators in the UK are eagerly looking forward to the completion of BT’s ambitious upgrade plan that promises to provide superfast internet service ten times faster than that available at present. In the meantime, TalkTalk and Sky have shown concerns regarding BT’s network. Both these broadband operators are future customers of BT and have already suggested improvements to the £1.5bn broadband network.

Although the launch of this network is planned next year, BT has not yet finalised its wholesale deals that are a key to its success. Dougal Scott, Sky’s deputy head of strategy, has expressed optimism while commenting about the recent developments to the Financial Times. According to him, Sky plans to provide vital inputs to BT regarding the trial products. These inputs will help BT to decide on a deal with its wholesale customers and improve its future profitability.

Presently, TalkTalk (Carphone Warehouse) and Sky Express are customers of BT Openreach and have already declared their unacceptability of the BT Openreach products in their current form. On the other hand, a BT spokesperson has expressed hope that after the initial trial period, BT will be able to provide high-speed service in accordance with the commercial needs of the bulk users.

Along with this, there is encouraging news that BT has brought the completion date of its broadband project forward from March 2013 to 2012, so that the launch coincides with the London Olympics

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The Virgin super-speed mobile will require the use of the new 7.2 Mb dongle. Users can get the dongle on a one-month rolling contract or an 18-month contract. The data limits set are 1GB or 3GB per month (click to compare dongle broadband offers).

Sources from the provider claim that now Virgin users can watch their favourite movies and programmes using this dongle. iPlayer and YouTube streaming can be accessed easily owing to the high speed enabled by this offering.

However, it remains to be seen whether the advertised speeds are actually available to users. Internet speeds depend on a lot of external factors. While the 7.2 Mb advert means that the Virgin networks can handle this speed, it is not guaranteed that every time a user will be able to log on at 7.2 Mb speed.

However, the move is still being touted as a huge step ahead by Virgin top honchos. ED of mobile at Virgin Media Graeme Oxby expressed the company’s happiness at bringing this top-of-the-line offering to the market and reiterated the critical role that mobile broadband plays in today’s world.

The map clearly shows that areas surrounding London and densely populated towns and cities have been given prominence in the programme. Experts had been expecting these regions to be given priority.

The figures revealed by Point Topic show that almost 7.5 percent of the UK’s population i.e. nearly four and a half million people, will have access to super-fast broadband enabled through fibre optic cables by the end of 2010. This figure is expected to more than double by 2011 end, making high-speed service available to 16.3 percent of the British population, or ten million users.

By the end of the project in 2012, the number of users is estimated to reach twenty one million, making up nearly 35 percent of the British population.

However, these developments will still leave more than half of the high demand areas uncovered, according to Tim Johnson, Chief Analyst at the research firm. The Point Topic research has warned that discrimination in giving high-speed broadband internet to select areas and homes may cause rifts among the residents.

The idea was not brought into force, as the government feared backlash from the users in the upcoming elections, considering the fact that people were not very happy with the idea. Though the government had said that the growing competition between the service providers because of enhancement of infrastructure would help in reducing the cost of broadband (click to compare broadband prices), it never succeeded in consoling the public.

However, a recent statement by the Digital Britain minister Stephen Timms has made it clear that the government is looking forward to introducing the tax before the election.

Considering the mood of the public towards the idea, the Conservative party has taken it up as an election issue by stating that if the broadband tax is imposed by the government, it will remove it as soon as it comes into power after the election. However, the party did not say how they intend to finance broadband in the UK without the tax.

The General Manager of BT Openzone further clarified that business executives and holidaymakers always want to be connected while waiting for their flights and are always carrying wireless devices. He also said that BT is endeavouring to provide such travellers broadband wireless access in the UK as well as overseas.

These services are planned in such a way that all O2 iPhone and mobile broadband users along with all BT Openzone subscribers, customers using BT broadband and those who have inclusive BT FON WiFi minutes, can avail it free of cost. However, this does not limit the applicability of the scheme as even non-BT customers can use it by buying the BT Openzone voucher available on the internet.

The best part of the deal is that the charges imposed on customers for accessing the internet would be lower than the new EU roaming rates. The present rates of BT Openzone start from 0.5p per minute and if using the international vouchers, customers can make access the internet abroad at a rate of 12p per MB.

Tesco, which ambitiously wishes to extend its hold over all possible retail sectors, has revealed its intention to boost its number of mobile outlets to 100 from the current 41. This move by the grocery giant has got many wondering about the effect it would have on mobile retailer Carphone Warehouse.

Shaun Collins, who serves as an analyst at CCS Insight, which is a telecoms consultancy, rubbished claims that Tesco would rival Carphone by saying that notwithstanding Tesco’s reputation, the fact remains that a mere 100 outlets are no match for Carphone’s 900.

This strategic move by Tesco is aimed at achieving the £1 billion profit mark from sectors that are not at the core of its business. Two sectors, which figure prominently in Tesco’s plans, are banking and telecoms.

Collins said that though Tesco’s reach and brand presence cannot be downplayed it should be understood that the mobile retailing market would not undergo a major change following the introduction of just 59 new stores. He emphasised that the increase is quite small, though tactically noteworthy.