Research firm point topic has predicted that over four million homes and businesses will be using a fibre-based broadband connection by 2013.

Fibre-based broadband provided by cable networks is expected to account for 23% of the UK's domestic broadband market by 2013, whereas basic DSL copper lines are expected to see a drop in market share from 78% to 57% over the period.

Point Topic anticipates that most of the fibre connections will be fibre-to-the-cabinet (FTTC), with the final few hundred yards from the cabinet to the home connected via copper DSL lines. This would give the majority of users download speeds of 20 Mbps or more.

“This is probably the first moment when it has been possible to make a plausible forecast for fibre in the UK, based on some real plans and activity,” said Tim Johnson, chief analyst at Point Topic.

In the latest move to win the small business vote, The Tories have urged ministers to give SMEs a share of the £125 billion Government procurement project.

Tory leader David Cameron and shadow chancellor George Osborne called on Labour to allow SMEs access to the scheme, which currently they are locked out of.

The proposal follows the Daily Mail’s “fair deal for small firms” campaign last week, during which the Tory leader proposed a six month deferral on VAT tax for SME’s, as well as a 1p cut on payroll tax and a reduction of the small company corporation tax.

Mr Osborne stressed that as Whitehall is the biggest purchaser of supplies in the UK economy, SME’s should be able to benefit from the deal.

£125 billion worth of government contracts are available, but work is primarily dished out to large companies who can afford the officious tender process.

Home broadband is now more than twice as fast as mobile broadband, according to new research.

Research by broadband comparison site Broadband Expert shows that the gap between home and mobile broadband speeds is widening. 

The research follows a ban by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), on an advert that claimed mobile broadband offered “all the benefits of home broadband on the move.”

Based on over 308,548 fixed line broadband speed tests, Broadband expert found an average fixed line broadband speed of 3.16 Mbs, whereas in 5,345 tests, mobile broadband clocked an average speed of just 1.57 Mbs.

Topcomm have published their latest review of telecoms quality of service, and once again, XLN Telecom has come out ahead of both Talk Talk and BT. Topcomm, the independant regulators of telecoms quality of service, have published statistics illustrating how major providers performed in various areas of customer service over the last 6 months.

Every year in the UK, over 1.5 billion people experience some sort of nuisance or malicious calls - whether they come from telemarketers, phone scammers, identity thieves, or people intending to cause distress. If you have a landline, the chances are you will be one of these people, and will know how unpleasant they can be.

The good news is that no matter what types of unwanted calls you may be receiving; there is no reason why you should put up with them. Below we have listed the most common types of nuisance or malicious calls, together with advice on how to stop them from happening in future.