The BBC’s Controller of Digital Transition, Helen Burrows, has confirmed that the corporation is “exploring the idea” of building its own UK set-top-box device to support the new broadband-based live TV streaming service, Freely, which until recently lacked any support among existing streaming boxes and sticks.

Article in ISPRewiew

Is the Beeb fed up with the slow progress of Freely, like its viewers?

Microsoft is to stop support for Windows 10 late in 2025. If you are running Windows 10, you may wish to consider your options.

The big issue is that Win 11 needs newer hardware in order to be installed and cannot be installed on some older PCs running Win 10 satisfactorily. Win 11 compatibility can be tested by running the PC Health Check program supplied by Microsoft.

Options

If you can install Win 11 on your PC, my advice is to upgrade – unless you have a good reason not to upgrade to Win 11.

If the PC Health Check program says you cannot install Win 11, then you have several options:

1. Stay on Win 10 – it won’t stop working and won’t be a security liability, just yet
2. Change the operating system to Linux or ChromeOS – seek help if needed
3. Install Win 11, bypassing the hardware checks – seek help if needed
4. Buy a computer with Win 11 installed – it does not need to be a new computer

The last option is the only one to cost anything.

A faster computer

It is worth noting that older computers can be slower and a computer purchase (whether a new computer or a used computer) may well be faster and provide you a better user experience. Take care to ensure the computer you buy is going to give you the performance you expect.

Buying new or refurbished

Buying a used (renewed, refurbished) computer from eBay or similar, with Win 11 installed, is a viable option. It is recommended that your next computer has enough RAM and an SSD (solid-state drive) large enough for your needs – say 16GB RAM and 512GB SSD.
The speed of the CPU can be checked on the PassMark site. The larger the PassMark score, the faster the CPU – a PassMark of 5000 should be sufficient for most home computer users. You may find the CPU in your old computer has a PassMark score well below 2000, and therefore well worth updating to a faster computer. A suitable refurbished laptop can be found on eBay for about £300 – well under half the price of a new laptop.

What is the Digital Switchover?

It is the switching over of the ‘old’ analogue phone system, to a new digital system, using the internet – called Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP).

Why is this happening?

It is a ‘Whole Industry’ change (not just BT) completing by January 2027.

Parts of the current system are over 100 years old and running out of spare parts – essentially, the old system is no longer sustainable.

What is involved?

Most people will just be able to unplug their landline from the old socket and plug it into their broadband router.

BT will give 4 weeks’ notice so that you can advise them of any issues you may have.

BT and Virgin Media advise that most handsets will still work. If you have a very old handset, contact them to check.

Potential issues/solutions

• Your phone will no longer work if there is a power cut or if your broadband connection goes down. 
• Most people will have a mobile phone that they can use as a backup.
• If you do not have broadband then BT will fit it for you at no cost.
• If you do not have a mobile phone, BT offer a hybrid phone – it has a battery and uses a mobile signal, in the case of a power cut.
• If you do not have a mobile phone signal in your home, BT offers a ‘battery backup’ unit to keep your broadband and phone working.
• Virgin Media offer an ‘emergency backup’ line (which includes a battery) if you are in an area with a mobile phone signal. If not, contact them.

People with Additional Needs

This category will include (but not be limited to):

• Where people don’t have a mobile phone signal
• Where people don’t have a mobile phone
• Vulnerable people e.g. over 75’s or those with disabilities
• Where people have a ‘telecare’ pendant alarm

Advise BT or Virgin Media and they will put back your switch date to allow time to sort out any issues*

BT Process

• You will be contacted at least 4 weeks before the proposed switch. 
• Let BT know if you have any additional needs or questions. 
• Your switch date can be put back and a BT engineer will help get you set up. 
• You will not be left without a phone connection.

The target end date is January 2027.

Virgin Media Process

• Virgin Media will also contact you in advance by mail and email, but they do not give a timescale. 
• Virgin Media will also delay people with additional needs and send an engineer to help them, as required.

Two office productivity suites reign supreme: Google Workspace (Google Docs) and Microsoft Office. But which one is the best tool for you?

Microsoft Office and Google Workspace/Docs have the same three core applications.

• For word processing and text documents, you get Microsoft Word and Google Docs—the Docs name is often used when talking about all of Google’s office apps.
• For presentations, you get Microsoft PowerPoint and Google Slides.
• For spreadsheets, you get Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets.

You can access the web Office apps from onedrive.live.com, and Google’s apps can be used from drive.google.com. The mobile Office apps are bundled in one Microsoft 365 app for iPhone and Android. Google’s mobile apps for Docs, Sheets, Slides, and other tools are individual downloads on iPhone and Android.

The core functionality and interface between the office suites are mostly the same, especially since Microsoft has updated its Office apps over time to behave more like Google’s apps. For example, Word and Docs have a similar design, many of the same keyboard shortcuts, similar spell-check and grammar correction tools, and similar collaborative editing features.

Microsoft and Google both have desktop and mobile versions of all their office apps, so you can get work done from a desktop, tablet, laptop, phone, or anything else with a web browser. However, Microsoft also has native desktop applications for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, available on Windows and Mac computers. The desktop applications predate the online Office apps, and they have more features than the web versions.

Microsoft’s Office apps are generally more feature-packed than Google’s apps, mostly because Microsoft had a massive head start and has continued to improve and add more functionality since then— Word’s first release was in 1983, and Google Docs first arrived in 2006. For example, some people prefer using Excel over Sheets because the latter is missing some math functions and the ability to install plugins that run locally on the computer. Google Workspace and Microsoft Office have the same core feature set, but Microsoft’s apps are undeniably more versatile.

There are a few other tools that are part of the core Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace packages. You get Google Drive and Microsoft OneDrive for cloud storage. Both services also have a feature for creating online forms that dump results into a spreadsheet.

There are some differences, though. Google doesn’t have an alternative to Microsoft OneNote, the desktop and mobile note-taking software—Google Keep is close, but it isn’t nearly as feature-packed as OneNote. The Google Drawings application for creating diagrams and charts doesn’t have a direct alternative in Microsoft’s app suite. The Outlook email client is usually considered part of Microsoft 365, but Google only has the web-based Gmail, which isn’t quite the same thing.

Microsoft and Google also have all the typical cloud productivity services, including email hosting, calendars, and contacts. If we were comparing the entire cloud ecosystems of Google and Microsoft, we’d be here all day, so we’re just sticking to the office suites.

What You Get for Free

The free version of Microsoft 365 gives you access to the web and mobile apps for Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneDrive, and Outlook. There’s also 5GB of included cloud storage. You just need a free Microsoft account, and you’re ready.

The main catch is that you can’t create or edit documents on phones and small tablets (“devices with a screen size smaller than 25.5 cms,” according to Microsoft) unless you pay for a subscription. If you don’t pay up, you’re stuck with just viewing documents on mobile. Google’s apps don’t have this limitation.

Free Google accounts get access to all the Workspace apps and 15GB of cloud storage, shared across Drive, Photos, and Gmail. There are no limits on opening, editing, or creating documents on any device.

The Premium Pricing

There are two ways to buy the Microsoft Office apps. The best option for most people is a Microsoft 365 subscription, which starts at $69.99/year or $6.99/month (as of August 2024). The individual plan unlocks access to native desktop applications for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, and unlocks premium features in Outlook, Editor, and a few other apps. You also get 1TB of cloud storage. A family plan is available for up to six people with more storage.

The other option is buying Microsoft Office 2021 (or Office 2024, when that arrives). It’s a one-time purchase that costs £150 (or less) and only includes the native desktop applications for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. The apps do not receive feature updates like the subscription version, and the one-time purchase doesn’t unlock editing abilities in the mobile apps.

Google has a few different paid plans, which are mostly for adding more cloud storage, rather than unlocking features in the Workspace apps. The base plan bumps your cloud storage to 100GB for £2/month (as of August 2024), and additional plans are available for 2TB storage and access to Gemini AI features in Workspace apps.

You Can Use Both

Microsoft’s Office apps are packed with features, and desktop applications are more reliable in certain circumstances than any web app (especially when handling large files). However, the collaborative editing features aren’t as robust as Google Workspace, and you have to pay to unlock editing on mobile devices. The native desktop apps are also only available for Windows and Mac—sorry, Linux fans.

Google’s Workspace applications don’t offer native desktop applications, but the web apps work on all desktop platforms, and there are no viewing or editing restrictions in the mobile apps. The ability for multiple people to edit and collaborate on Docs, Sheets, and Slides is also still unmatched—Microsoft’s apps come close but still aren’t as good with live editing.

The good news is that it’s not too difficult to switch between office suites or use both for different projects. You can import Microsoft Office documents into Sheets, Docs, or Slides, and Google’s apps can export to Microsoft Office format. If you’re working on a group project, you can do the live collaborative editing in Google’s apps, then (if you want) move it to a Microsoft app for final edits. You can lose some formatting when converting formats, though.

There’s also a third option: LibreOffice.
The free and open-source office suite is cross-platform, with native apps available for Windows, Mac, Linux, and other operating systems. It can process Microsoft Office documents—either files created by Office apps or files exported from Google Workspace apps and other apps.

Both Google Workspace and Microsoft Office have free versions available, so you can try them out and see which tools work the best for you.

https://www.howtogeek.com/microsoft-office-vs-google-docs-sheets-slides

The internet network provider Openreach announced in May 2024 that the area served by the Camberley telephone exchange will be upgraded to support fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) by the end of 2026.  FTTP uses fibre-optic cables to link to the exchange. FTTP will provide Gigabit internet service to both domestic and business users and provide users an alternative to toob and VirginMedia.

Until now, Openreach has only offered VDSL broadband to homes in the Camberley area (except for the town centre). VDSL is capable of delivering speeds of up to 80 Mbps, though many homes get rather less. VDSL uses the phone lines to connect the last section of the link to the exchange.

Openreach’s announcement comes late in the roll-out of Gigabit, whose goal is to provide Gigabit internet services to 85% of homes and businesses in the UK. FTTP offers higher reliability and much faster access to new digital services such as cloud file storage, TV streaming to multiple 4K screens and online gaming.

Openreach sells its internet services via ISPs such as BT, EE, Sky, TalkTalk, Vodafone, Zen, etc.  In the future, you’ll be able to order gigabit-capable internet services from your choice of ISP and pricing is likely to be more competitive.  The change to FTTP is not an automatic upgrade, although some ISPs are doing free automatic upgrades as older copper-based services and lines are slowly withdrawn.

Typical prices are £35 pm for 500 Mbps.

Ispreview.co.uk

Openreach

• TV Broadcasters are pushing towards an online-only (IPTV) future
• Satellites used to carry Sky and Freesat service reach end of life at the end of the decade (by 2030)
• Sky and Freesat gear up to migrate viewers to IPTV platforms

Could Sky really migrate all of its subscribers away from satellite in just five years?

It’s been done before. Sky previously moved viewers from its analogue to digital satellite service in just a three year period between 1998 and 2001. That required new equipment and new dishes for each of its subscribers.

Sky Q users can expect their TV service to continue in its current form for a few more years. However, Sky is introducing new features to its latest receivers only, although Sky Q remains well supported for existing customers. Already, a lot of Sky Q’s extra functionality relies on an internet connection.

Sky does not sell SkyQ to new customers but offers Sky Glass or Sky Stream. However, Sky has signed a satellite deal lasting to the end of the twenties. This would indicate Sky will support Sky Q customers until then.

Sky offers the Sky Stream puck which will connect to a household’s existing internet connection. It can be used in conjunction with any Internet Service Provider. Viewers also have the option of getting a Sky Glass TV, with Sky’s internet based TV service built in.

Could Freesat really migrate all of its users before satellite TV switch-off?

Later in 2024, Freely will begin to replace Freesat. All new receivers will be a hybrid that can receive traditional broadcast services and IP-delivered online services. The receiver can be programmed to automatically default to an IP-stream of a channel in place of the satellite signal. Therefore, once satellite services expire, Freely receivers will seamlessly continue receiving services online.

Unlike Sky Glass and Sky Stream, Freely receivers won’t have the initial problem of viewers missing channels they could receive on satellite. Freely receivers with satellite capability will continue to receive satellite-only services as well as IP-streaming channels.

Existing Freesat receivers will gradually receive fewer and fewer services until the final services eventually leave satellite. But this won’t happen until at least the end of the decade.

https://rxtvinfo.com/2024/how-soon-is-satellite-tv-switch-off/

March 2024

Back in September 2023, the UK’s biggest free-to-air Public Service Broadcasters (PSBs) – the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, and Channel 5 – announced a new smart TV streaming service that will allow users to watch live TV via the internet (IPTV) for free. The platform, called Freely, is expected to arrive soon in Q2 2024. More news here.

Freely is designed to bridge the gap between conventional terrestrial television and online entertainment by offering live free-to-air TV without the need for an aerial.

Freely will complement iPlayer, itvX, More4 and My5 and will allow users to watch live IPTV from these PSBs through a single application, without having to swap between apps when they switch from channel to channel. Freely will initially be available only on some new smart TV sets.

The implication is that it will be necessary to buy a new smart TV to get the Freely service. This is a big expense for most households and may not attract many Freely users.

In August 2025, Freely announced a partnership with Netgem to produce a simple and affordable plug-in puck to run Freely. There are very few details yet, but the device will have only internet input (no aerial input) and no recording capability.

In November 2025, the Netgem PLEIO puck was previewed. The Netgem Pleio (pronounced Play-Oh) is available now on Amazon for ~£100.

The streaming-only approach represents a clear statement about the direction the industry is heading. With the government pushing for an IP switchover in the 2030s and research suggesting 70% of UK homes will ditch aerials by 2040, the Freely box represents a glimpse of that future.

What users want is for Freely to become available on other devices, like Fire TV and Roku sticks. Ideally, Freely would be available on all devices that run Freeview.

Review in Mirror

Future of TV distribution

There is a lot of chatter about WiFi-5, WiFi-6 and the new WiFi-7

I found this simple chart to outline the technology standards

https://www.truecable.com/blogs/cable-academy/wifi-7-vs-wifi-6-whats-the-difference

The peak speed and the actual speed obtained are very different measures. WiFi-6 should deliver gigabit speeds for faster applications. The higher frequency bands (5 and 6 GHz) don’t pass through brick walls easily.

For an explanation of some of the terms used – click here