Tech
UK government calls for review into mobile market | Computer Weekly
The UK government is launching a call for evidence on how technology, changing market dynamics and regulation are shaping investment in mobile networks.
The call for evidence was introduced as an important step in securing a “comprehensive” view of how the UK mobile market was changing, and identifying what more can be done to support investment, innovation and competition for the benefit of consumers and business. It will look to assess the impact of factors affecting investment in high-quality connectivity by 2030, identify actions to support the sector to achieve government objectives over the next decade, and assess how the regulatory framework can be improved to support investment, innovation and competition.
As part of this, the government is announcing an action plan based on four key principles: drive investment in comprehensive, high-quality connectivity by 2030; deliver for consumers; support innovation and growth across the economy; and provide secure and resilient connectivity.
Introducing the call, Liz Lloyd, parliamentary under-secretary of state at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and minister for digital economy, said that in an era of rapid technological transformation, new technologies and wireless services were critical to day-to-day lives, the economy and society in general.
Lloyd added that digital infrastructure is the core enabler of this transformation, and that it was crucial the UK’s telecommunications networks were ready for the future. She stressed that mobile and other digital networks, such as fibre networks, will drive growth and innovation across the country, deliver modern public services, increasingly underpin critical national infrastructure, and be essential for ensuring people everywhere were digitally included.
To that end, she said, its ambition remains for all populated areas to have access to higher-quality standalone 5G by 2030, and the immediate challenge was to secure investment to deliver this ambition by 2030, driving digital inclusion and ensuring business could depend on the connectivity that underpins modern life.
“Our coverage ambition goes hand in hand with affordability of access so that everyone can carry out essential online activities and, aligned with the government’s tech adoption agenda, supports take-up of premium 5G-enabled services across the economy,” said Lloyd.
Looking forward, Lloyd said the government must also anticipate how the mobile market – and technologies that underpin it – will evolve, and what this means for its objectives over the next decade, shaping a framework that supports innovation, investment and the needs of future users.
In its action plan, the minister referenced the digital inclusion action plan, in which access to secure and reliable connectivity was seen as the foundation to ensuring that people everywhere can get online. That said, delivering these benefits was dependent on substantial investment in mobile networks.
To date, the UK mobile network operators have been investing heavily in the country’s mobile networks, averaging £2bn annually between 2020 and 2024. In particular, as a result of the merger between the two component parties, VodafoneThree has committed to investing £11bn in creating its merged network, while competitors BTEE and Virgin Media O2 have also planned to invest in upgrading their networks. For example, BTEE has an ambition to deliver standalone 5G to 99% of the population by the end of 2030.
Lloyd assured that the UK government would support industry to deliver this investment, including through removing barriers to deployment and ensuring digital connectivity is appropriately considered and built into new infrastructure projects from the outset. However, she warned that the UK mobile sector stands at a critical inflection point of rapid market changes, coupled with persistent investment challenges.
Lloyd said governments and regulators across the globe are considering how their telecoms policies and regulatory frameworks can best drive innovation and investment in this new era. That, she emphasised, is why it is necessary to act immediately to understand the challenges, safeguard the UK’s international competitiveness, and deliver the high-quality, nationwide connectivity the UK relies on.
The call to action and the four-point plan were designed to realise the potential of the mobile sector, and the UK government said it recognised that doing so would require concerted and coordinated action across government and industry, to deliver the coverage needed in this decade and shape the mobile market for the future.
The government said that, in creating its call to evidence, it welcomed responses from across the ecosystem, including mobile operators, infrastructure providers, technology companies, local authorities, public sector bodies, civil society organisations, academia and investors. The call will run until 11:59pm on 21 April 2026.
Tech
The Best Babbel Promo Codes and Deals for April 2026
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Tech
Robotaxi Outage in China Leaves Passengers Stranded on Highways
An unknown technical problem caused a number of robotaxis owned by the Chinese tech giant Baidu to freeze on Tuesday in the middle of traffic, trapping some passengers in the vehicles for more than an hour.
In Wuhan, a city in central China where Baidu has deployed hundreds of its Apollo Go self-driving taxis, people on Chinese social media reported witnessing the cars suddenly malfunction and stop operating. Photos and videos shared online show the Baidu cars halted on busy highways, often in the fast lane.
A college student in Wuhan tells WIRED that she was stuck in a Baidu robotaxi with two friends for about 90 minutes on Tuesday. (She asked to be only identified with her last name, He, to protect her privacy.) The student says the car malfunctioned and stopped four or five times during the trip before it eventually parked in front of an intersection in eastern Wuhan. Luckily, it was not a busy road, and the group was not in immediate danger. The screen display in the car asked the passengers to remain in the car with seatbelt on and wait for a company representative to come “in five minutes,” according to a photo He shared with WIRED.
He says it took about 30 minutes to reach a Baidu customer representative on the phone. “They kept saying it would be reported to their superior. But they didn’t explain what caused [the outage] or let us know how long we needed to wait for the staff to come,” He says. But no one ever came, and after another hour of waiting, the three passengers decided to just get out and go home by themselves (the doors weren’t locked).
On Chinese social media, other passengers also complained about being unable to reach Baidu’s customer support. “I tried every way I could think of to call for help using the options the app showed, but the phone line wouldn’t go through, and when I pressed the SOS button it told me it was unavailable. So then what exactly is the SOS for?” wrote one person in a post on RedNote alongside a video showing the button not working. She said she had to force the door to open and get out of the car as traffic halted to a complete stop behind her robotaxi. “Apollo Go, you really owe me an apology,” she wrote.
Baidu didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Local police in Wuhan issued a statement around midnight in China that said the situation was “likely caused by a system malfunction,” but the incident is still under investigation. No one was injured and all passengers have exited the vehicles, the police added. It’s unclear how many of Baidu’s robotaxis may have been impacted.
One dash cam recording posted to RedNote shows a car passing 16 Apollo Go vehicles parked on the road in the span of 90 minutes. On several occasions, the video shows the driver narrowly avoiding hitting the robotaxis by braking or changing lanes at the last minute.
Others were apparently not as fortunate. In another RedNote post, a man claimed he crashed into one of the malfunctioning Baidu vehicles. The man wrote in the caption that he was driving over 40 mph on a highway when the car in front of him suddenly changed lanes to avoid the stopped robotaxi. He couldn’t react fast enough and ended up running into the self-driving car. Photos of the man’s orange SUV being towed away show that the car’s front-right fender was completely torn off, and other parts appeared to have sustained major damage.
Tech
Our Favorite Affordable Air Purifier Is Temporarily Even Cheaper
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Despite its low price tag and squat stature, the Airmega Mighty is capable of cleaning a substantial amount of space. At full bore, it can handle a 361-square-foot space, although you’ll get the best performance, and save your ears, if you’re closer to a 200-square-foot room. If you don’t want it running constantly, there are built-in timers to automatically shut off after 1, 4, or 8 hours, or you can use Eco Mode, which will run until the Might doesn’t sense any dirty air for half an hour.
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While the Coway Airmega Mighty is available in three colors, only the black and silver model is currently discounted, so you’ll have to pay full price if it doesn’t match your living room’s color scheme. We’ve put in the work testing every air purifier we could get our hands on, so make sure to check out the full guide if you’re trying to clean up your space. The Coway is discounted as part of Amazon’s Big Spring Sale, and we’ve got the best deals from products we’ve tested gathered in one place if you want to save some bucks.
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