Ofcom criticises broadband providers for advertising misleading 'up-to' speeds

Broadband customers are being sold super-fast connections that their providers are unable to achieve, according to research that shows internet users are struggling with speeds of less than half the rate they signed up to. The media and telecoms watchdog, Ofcom, examined the most popular broadband product advertised as offering speeds of "up to" 8 megabits per second and used by 57% of homes. The report, published today, says, on average, users are getting speeds of just 3.9Mb. That means a DVD-quality film would take more than two hours to download - longer than it takes to watch it - compared to just over an hour at the faster speed. Fewer than one in 10 households on an up to 8Mb service get over 6Mb and no one can ever receive the full speed because of the way the internet service providers (ISPs) run their networks, the report said.

Guardian Article

EU expands wireless spectrum

The European Commission on Monday ruled to open the 900mhz section of the spectrum for development as a possible mobile broadband network. The move could open up the development of next-generation wireless broadband services. The new spectrum access comes as part of a revamped law on mobile phone radio spectrum. Officials are seeking to update and modernize the GSM Directive of 1987, which set the parameters for use of the wireless spectrum by mobile phone carriers. By updating the law, EU telecoms commissioner Viviane Reding said that the commission hopes to expand mobile broadband and spur new growth in the wireless sector.

V3.co.uk Article

ITV finds a buyer for Friends Reunited

ITV appears to have found a buyer for its dwindling social notworking site Friends Reunited, which has been up for sale since March. According to the Mail on Sunday, private equity firm Oakley Capital has offered £15 million for the website operation that ITV bought for £120 million in December 2005. Friends Reunited has some 19 million registered users but its growth has been flat for the last two years and the website has long since been eclipsed by the likes of Facebook, Myspace and Bebo.

Inquirer Article

Government advice urges tweeting

New government guidance has been published urging civil servants to use the micro-blogging site Twitter. Launched on the Cabinet Office website, the 20-page document is calling on departments to "tweet" on "issues of relevance or upcoming events". The website is already used by Downing Street, the Foreign Office and many individual MPs.

BBC Article

U.S. company hopes to make fuel from sunlight, CO2

U.S. start-up Joule Biotechnologies hopes to make commercial amounts of motor fuel by feeding engineered organisms high concentrations of carbon dioxide and sunlight, its top executive said. The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based company, which launched on Monday, hopes to make up to 20,000 gallons per acre of fuel a year by late 2011 or early 2012 at prices competitive with $50 oil. It concentrates sunlight in a solar converter, directing it and carbon dioxide to engineered organisms to make fuel similar to ethanol.

Reuters Article

iPhone app offers achievements for life, booyah!

What is the point of doing anything if you don't get achievements? Really, if you don't get points for it and proof on a public database, does it even count as having done something? We spent like an hour mowing the lawn yesterday in three-digit temperatures, for example, and nobody even knew about it until we told you - just now. A developer called Booyah, started by three ex-Blizzard employees, is bringing the all-important "cheevos" to daily life activities, with a free iPhone app called Booyah Society. The "game," set to launch today, allows players to create a custom avatar and log activities in 108 different categories (like "Food & Dining," "Fitness," and more -- with achievements based on writing short notes about what you've done in each category), earning credits for each achievement logged. The achievements can be private or public, shared with a friends list, and streamed to Facebook or Twitter.

Joystiq Article