Detail of the 8th  ISPA Conference announced

We are pleased to announced that the 2013 ISPA Conference, the eighth annual event, titled “The Internet industry: What lies ahead?”  will be on the 27th November, at K&L Gates in London.The conference will examine the positive role the internet has made to innovation, what infrastructure we will require and what the internet and an ISP will look like in the future. It will do this by focusing on what sort of broadband infrastructure we need to be fit for the future, how the internet enables innovation, what services a future ISP will have to offer and where the current and future balance lies in moderating views and content online.James Brokenshire MP, Minister for Crime & Security will deliver a keynote speech, and there will be four panels titled ‘Enabling Innovation’ ‘Broadband Post 2015 and beyond’, ‘The Future ISP’ and ‘Dumb pipes or moral entities’.

The event features a networking lunch and closes with a drinks reception afterwards. In a new development we will be hosting a dinner the night before, with limited spaces.

A full agenda can be seen here and early-bird tickets are available here.

There are speaking and sponsorship opportunities for the conference, which are an excellent way to meet senior executives from across the internet industry. Please click here for more information, or contact us on admin@ispa.org.uk or 020 3397 3304.

  

Come to the ISPA/LONAP Internet Industry Drinks Party

With summer drawing to a close, ISPA and LONAP (the London Access Point) have teamed up to put on a drinks reception for members and the wider industry.This is a free event, with drinks and food, at the Phoenix Artist Club in London's West End Tuesday 24 September. Hosted by Trefor Davies from ISPA Council, the night is a good chance for members of both organisations and the wider industry to meet and share ideas as well as learn about what each organisation does.

Tickets are free, and can be reserved here.

  

ISPA members' dinner in Parliament

There are very limited spaces for ISPA members at a dinner ISPA has organised in the House of Commons on the evening of Wednesday 16th October.Hosted by Alun Cairns, MP for the Vale of Glamorgan, we will be discussing issues such as online safety and competition in the marketplace. The event will be an excellent way to meet fellow members and parliamentarians in an unique and historic surroundings.The dinner is exclusive to ISPA members, and costs £65 for a three course meal with wine. We expect spaces to fill up quickly, so please email admin@ISPA.org.uk to RSVP or find out more information.

  

Ofcom announce easier switching and highest ever speeds.

Ofcom unveiled its plans to make switching broadband suppliers simpler, by committing to a  Gaining Provider Led (GPL)  approach, where the new provider would manage the entire switching process.ISPA supports anything that makes switching easier to improve competition, however we responded saying industry had some concerns over some of the back-end complexities GPL involves.Ofcom also announced the highest ever average UK consumer broadband speeds, at 14.7mbps, a 64% increase on the year before.

Our response is here, welcoming that even as speeds and services are getting better prices are countinuing to fall for consumers.

  

Super-connected cities trial launch

A trial of the government's Connection Vouchers scheme was unveiled this month. The scheme will allow SMEs to apply for grants to help with the cost of installing superfast  broadband. The trial will run in five cities (Cardiff, Belfast, Edinburgh, Manchester and Salford) before rolling out nationwide later in the year.ISPA has been engaged with this engaged with this on behalf of its members, and you can see our policy response here.A number of ISPA members have registered as suppliers and we have been helping our members navigate and understand the scheme, part of the Super-Connected Cities Fund.

  

ISPA events

As well as a busy calendar of ISPA events, we have secured free and discounted places for members at several upcoming  events. Click here to see the full calendar and take asdvantage of these offers.

  

ISPA in the news

ISPA featured in stories In V3 and TechWeek EuropeOur full coverage can be seen here.