Mobile Broadband provider Three are now offering 15GB of data per month for £15. The deal is avaliable for those who sign up to a 24 month pay monthly contract. This is perhaps Three's best mobile broadband offer for those willing to comit to a long term contract.
Most mobile broadband contracts offer around 3-5GB for £15 so this latest offer will appeal to those who are 'heavy' users. There is nothing worse than going over your monthly alowance and being charged an arm and a leg for a few mb of data so the 15gb limit will appeal to some.
Hopefully this offer will lead to a 'price war' between the main providers. If a company wants to keep its customers during such shakey financial times they need to offer great value epecially for luxurys such as mobile broadband. Three seem to know this, lets just hope the others are paying attention.
Wednesday, 30 September 2009
Monday, 28 September 2009
Vodafone Criticized for Download Speed Discrepancies
A recent report by Broadband Expert investigated the actual download speeds customers can expect to recieve with each of the main mobile broadband providers. It will come as no surprise to anybody that users are unlikely to experience 'up to...' speeds often quoted.
Vodafone in particular was singled out for criticism, not because their mobile broadband was particularly slow, but because they claimed to provide speeds of up to 7.2Mbps. Despite this tests carried out resulted in speeds of around 1mbps. Most providers quoted speeds of up to 3.6mbps about 3 times faster than the average speeds experienced during tests.
Vodafone's claims to offer speeds up to twice as fast as their competitors was disputed by Broadband Expert. Vodafone have responded to the report by claiming that "reliability and consistency were more important to customers than speed" which begs the question: why are they advertising such high potential (but unrealistic) speeds?
Whilst the best mobile broadband is reliable and consistent nobody wants consistently lower than advertised speeds. Mobile broadband providers should not, in my opinion, be allowed to advertise speeds that less than 25% of users can expect to receive.
This is not the first time Vodafone's claims have been questioned. An advert they created featuring a mobile broadband dongle as a rocket with the tag line "The fastest, most reliable mobile broadband in the galaxy" was disputed by the Advertising Standards Authority and had to be pulled.
Vodafone in particular was singled out for criticism, not because their mobile broadband was particularly slow, but because they claimed to provide speeds of up to 7.2Mbps. Despite this tests carried out resulted in speeds of around 1mbps. Most providers quoted speeds of up to 3.6mbps about 3 times faster than the average speeds experienced during tests.
Vodafone's claims to offer speeds up to twice as fast as their competitors was disputed by Broadband Expert. Vodafone have responded to the report by claiming that "reliability and consistency were more important to customers than speed" which begs the question: why are they advertising such high potential (but unrealistic) speeds?
Whilst the best mobile broadband is reliable and consistent nobody wants consistently lower than advertised speeds. Mobile broadband providers should not, in my opinion, be allowed to advertise speeds that less than 25% of users can expect to receive.
This is not the first time Vodafone's claims have been questioned. An advert they created featuring a mobile broadband dongle as a rocket with the tag line "The fastest, most reliable mobile broadband in the galaxy" was disputed by the Advertising Standards Authority and had to be pulled.
Thursday, 24 September 2009
Broadband Tax To Be Law By Next Election
The minister for Digital Britain Stephen Timms has said that the new broadband tax will be law by the time the election comes around. Speaking at a debate in London Mr Timms said that the tax is still a priority and will be 'presented to parliament as part of the Finance Bill'.
The proposed tax which aims to raise cash to improve the nations broadband infrastructure will cost those with fixed phone lines 50 pence per month. The idea for the broadband tax was proposed in the Digital Britain report in order to finance the government's plan to provide 'broadband for all' by 2012.
Those without a fixed line will not have to pay the tax another reason why mobile broadband is best when it comes to saving money if not for download speeds. Pay as you go mobile broadband users will be able to avoid the tax which may help to provide them with a fibre optic connection (eventually).
The tax has proved to be controversial with the Conservatives saying that they would oppose it. Some have said that broadband providers should foot the bill as they stand to profit from increased broadband coverage whilst others have questioned the ability of a 50p tax to pay for a fibre optic network.
Steve Weller of uSwitch.com says that the proposed tax is 'a classic case of robbing Peter to pay Paul.'
The proposed tax which aims to raise cash to improve the nations broadband infrastructure will cost those with fixed phone lines 50 pence per month. The idea for the broadband tax was proposed in the Digital Britain report in order to finance the government's plan to provide 'broadband for all' by 2012.
Those without a fixed line will not have to pay the tax another reason why mobile broadband is best when it comes to saving money if not for download speeds. Pay as you go mobile broadband users will be able to avoid the tax which may help to provide them with a fibre optic connection (eventually).
The tax has proved to be controversial with the Conservatives saying that they would oppose it. Some have said that broadband providers should foot the bill as they stand to profit from increased broadband coverage whilst others have questioned the ability of a 50p tax to pay for a fibre optic network.
Steve Weller of uSwitch.com says that the proposed tax is 'a classic case of robbing Peter to pay Paul.'
"We are talking about a digitally dependent economy and society, and as such, the Government should be looking to share the burden across businesses and consumers alike."
Wednesday, 23 September 2009
Starbucks in the UK Offer Free Wifi to Loyal Customers
Starbucks has followed the lead of Pret-a-Manger in offering customers free Wifi in their stores. The Wi-Fi will be provided by BT Openzone and will be in 650 branches in the UK. In order to connect customers will need to sign up for a Starbucks reward card. Reports so far suggest that this will allow them unlimited acess.
Those with Wifi enabled laptops and mobile phones will be able to benefit from the service whilst they sip over-roasted coffee.
Those with Wifi enabled laptops and mobile phones will be able to benefit from the service whilst they sip over-roasted coffee.
Monday, 21 September 2009
New Peugeot To Include In-Car Internet
We all know that the internet is moving away from the computer and into our everyday lives. 3G enabled mobile devices mean that we need never be offline (unless we are unfortunate enough to wander into a 'notspot'.
Peugeot have decided that their new 5008 needs an in-car Wifi router so that multiple devices can connect to the internet during those long tedious car journeys. No specific technical details have been released yet but it looks like the device will be an inbuilt router which will connect to a mobile broadband 3G network via a USB dongle.
It remains to be seen how useful an in-car router will be considering that most internet devices may soon have inbuilt mobile connections. If two people wish to connect and you have a pay as you go mobile broadband contract I guess it would be suitable.
Peugeot have decided that their new 5008 needs an in-car Wifi router so that multiple devices can connect to the internet during those long tedious car journeys. No specific technical details have been released yet but it looks like the device will be an inbuilt router which will connect to a mobile broadband 3G network via a USB dongle.
It remains to be seen how useful an in-car router will be considering that most internet devices may soon have inbuilt mobile connections. If two people wish to connect and you have a pay as you go mobile broadband contract I guess it would be suitable.
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