Schools to search mobile phones under new English laws
Under new proposals that make up part of a larger revamp of Education laws in England, school teachers will be given the authority to search mobile phones without the pupil’s consent.
Currently, teachers in schools and colleges have the ability to confiscate mobile phones where necessary, but cannot look at the content they contain.
The new law, to be debated next week by Parliament will give school headmasters the ability to search, and also delete content from the phones.
The laws have been proposed as a way of discovering evidence of cyber bullying where people harass others via means of text messages. It is also hoped that the move may clamp down on sharing videos of attacks – so-called happy slapping – that take place outside school.
The changes mirror those recently passed in parts of the USA, where laws allowing police to look inside items found on a person were extended to include the contents of mobile phones, when found on a suspect.
However, the civil-rights group, Liberty condemned the move as being proportionate for terrorism investigations, not breaches of school rules.
According to spokesman for the Department for Education, this is a power not a duty – it will be down teachers to use their professional judgment when to act. Pupils have the right to go to school without being bullied and parents have the right to expect their children to be safe. The laws apply to England only – Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland set their own laws.
Ofcom wants BT to reduce wholesale broadband product prices (UK)
BT has suffered a setback as the telecoms regulator Ofcom proposed cuts in the price of its wholesale products. Ofcom wants BT to reduce the price of its wholesale broadband products in order to improve internet access in rural areas.
The regulator also drew a lower-than-expected estimate of BT’s cost of capital the assumption of what it costs BT to fund its business. According to analysts, it could cut BT’s earnings by up to 8%.
Ofcom is aiming to ensure that broadband prices fall for consumers in rural areas and, potentially, to increase download speeds available to them. To achieve this, it is proposing that BT should cut the price of wholesale broadband products in parts of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, together with certain English rural areas.
These areas where BT is the sole provider of wholesale broadband services: mainly places not covered by infrastructure owned by Virgin Media, TalkTalk or British Sky Broadcasting. In those areas, Ofcom is proposing annual cuts in the price of BT’s wholesale broadband products of between 11% and 15% over the next three years, after inflation.
Ofcom’s calculations of its price controls for BT are partly based on its estimate of the company’s cost of capital.
It proposed a lower cost of capital for BT Openreach, the subsidiary that provides the company’s rivals with access to its fixed-line connections running to homes and offices.
According to BT, Ofcom’s proposed cost of capital for BT Openreach could reduce annual wholesale revenue by low tens of millions of pounds. It added that the regulator’s price controls for its wholesale broadband products should strike the right balance between control and incentives to invest in rural areas.
UK and Ireland welcome roaming cuts
Minister for Communications Noel Dempsey has praised Irish mobile operators for introducing new tariffs designed at reducing roaming costs in Ireland and the UK.
Following a meeting held on Thursday between the minister and his Northern Ireland counterpart, Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Investment, Marie Eagle, MP, it was confirmed that all of the UK and Ireland’s mobile phone operators are now offering reduced tariffs for customers roaming between the two territories.
The announcement follows the decision by Meteor to introduce cheaper roaming rates between the UK and Ireland two weeks ago. Other Irish mobile operators, 02, Vodafone and Three had previously brought in cheaper tariffs in March 2006.
Speaking on Thursday, Minister Dempsey said he was aware of the initiatives undertaken by mobile phone operators in going further than just addressing inadvertent roaming.
“I am particularly pleased that all the Irish mobile phone operators have introduced roaming initiatives that benefit both bill paying and pay-as-you go users,” Dempsey said.
Eagle, meanwhile, claimed that the introduction of new tariffs by UK mobile phone operators could lead to savings of up to £3m for mobile phone users in Northern Ireland.
“The introduction of new tariffs by all the operators is good news for all mobile users within Ireland and the UK but particularly for those citizens and businesses in border counties,” said Minister Eagle.
Both ministers said that the roaming issue has now moved to EU level, where the European Commission is planning legislation to slash mobile phone charges within the EU25.
Under the proposed legislation, wholesale costs – the fees mobile operators pay one another for processing roaming calls – will be capped. The EU will annually review an average of this cost in order to set the cap. Then, the mark-up at retail will be limited to 30 per cent. The caps will apply to calls both made and received while abroad.
The proposal has come under attack from mobile operators who could reportedly lose up to €4bn in revenues should the legislation be approved.
However, while most operators can only see fault with the proposed legislation, most admit that something needs to be done to reduce roaming costs in the EU.
In a statement released on Thursday, Three Ireland said it agrees with the commission’s argument that international roaming prices are exorbitant.
“The Three group believes retail rates for international roaming are high as the direct result of the unjustifiably high level of wholesale international roaming rates. Three believes the industry must now collectively address consumer and EU concerns by dramatically lowering wholesale roaming charges across the Europe.”
Source- http://www.theregister.co.uk
