Orange Mobile Broadband to provide unlimited overnight downloads
Orange has come up with a variety of packages for mobile broadband which also allow unlimited overnight downloads.
Customers of Orange Mobile Broadband’s new package, which includes the Early Bird tariffs, have a particular download allowance for a month, but also have unlimited downloads during off – peak hours between 12 AM and 9 AM.
This new package will be starting from 12.72 pounds monthly for a free 3GB data bundle, and will go upto 17.62 pounds for 5 GB and 27.4 pounds for a 10 GB data bungle. All pacakges come with a free mobile broadband USB dongle as well as a 1 year contract.
Customers of these packages can also purchase additional data if required in bundles of 1 GB, 3 GB, 5 GB or 10 GB with the price starting at a mere 5 pounds for 1 GB and going upto 20 pounds in order to get a 10 GB additional data bundle.
The product director of broadbandchoices.co.uk, Michael Phillips, said that Orange is the first ISP in the country to have provided such an amazing deal. Mobile broadband packages tend to offer much less download allowances when compared to the fixed – line broadband connections and customers have a tendency to go over their limit, thereby incurring a lot of additional costs, added Phillips.
Phillips continued by saying that the new tariffs provided by Orange will be a real boon to mobile broadband users as they will be able to put items to download overnight without eating up into their monthly data bundle allocation, resulting in less costs incurred for these downloads.
Orange, Phillips mentioned, also provide additional bundles at the least cost in the market. They charge, he said, nearly 10 pounds less than what rivals do for 1 GB.
Merger of Orange and T-Mobile to result in the biggest mobile phone company in the UK
Orange and T-Mobile are merging to become the biggest mobile phone operator in the country, with over 28.4 million customers (37% of the market), thereby going over rivals Vodafone and O2.
However, the deal will result in significant lay – offs among the total 19,000 workers as the 2 companies will reduce the number of towers, close high street retail stores and cut down on call center staff in an aim to save nearly 3.5 billion pounds.
The number of mobile phone masts will reduce by at least 5,000.
By 2012, the venture will come under one name with either T-Mobile or Orange resigned to the waste bin. A decision hasn’t been reached on the brand to be dumped until the merger is approved by authorities, which will, most probably, take a number of months. This merger will also result in nearly a million residential broadband customers.
The CFO of France Telecom, owner of Orange, Gervais Pellissier, said that the deal would change both companies’ position in the country and benefit customers in the UK. The CFO of Deutsche Telekom (owner of T-Mobile), Timotheus Hottges, said that this meger was a step in the direction of bringing about a new mobile champion in the country.
However, analysts are reluctant with regard to the structure of the deal, whereby both companies have a 50% share, and get the feeling that tough decisions might be hard to make. Both companies have committed to the agreement for a minimum of 3 years.
This merger solves Deutsche Telekom’s problems in the UK where T-Mobile is 4th in market share and has not performed to its potential. It also enables Orange to up their margins by sharing their wireless network items with T-Mobile.
T-Mobile is currently sharing their 3G network with 3, the 5th biggest mobile operator in the country and this deal will also be part of the JV. Orange already provides coverage for 3’s 2G services. However, a deal is yet to be sealed with Hutchison Whampoa, the owner of 3.
Source - Guardian
Far-flung Scottish communities get BT access
With the news that the existing BT telephone exchanges in far-flung rural Scottish areas will get an upgrade, communities see themselves getting faster internet services. More so for the Scottish government that has witness piling up of complaints from the border towns, and increasing demands for improved broadband network service.
BT, the largest broadband internet provider in the United Kingdom, recently announced it has allotted a £3 million fund to upgrade accessibility of about 50 rural towns in Scotland. The company is currently undertaking finalization plans with the Scottish government which is expected to have a positive end in the next few weeks.
Scottish finance secretary John Swinney expressed the remote areas are anticipating speedier accessibility to more homes. He said communities have been frustrated with the existing internet services they are getting, mostly small and medium sized businesses who are burdened with unreliable connections. But with the successful initiation of BT’s move at Inverness, Culloden and Dingwall telephone exchanges, their frustrating experiences will soon end.
Swinney went on to say that there is a stark margin between high levels of broadband availability in more populated and larger areas of the country, and the weak connections in the rural areas. The BT plans is expected to close this gap in the coming months, he said.
BT announced that their provided stable broadband service over phone lines distancing some seven miles away from exchanges is twice the current reach of existing broadband services in rural Scotland. With this, businesses in the remote areas are expected to be boosted with the more effective services and faster internet speed.
This BT plan came amid a continuing debate with the UK government of the latter’s broadband tax proposal that, if approved, a 50 pence monthly tax would be collected from subscribers with a fixed telephone line.
More information related to this post at: news.bbc.co.uk
Orange’s broadband service has been restored
Broadband services have been restored to all Orange customers after a full outage on Thursday, reported Orange.
Orange said that another incident whereby customers were unable to get access to their emails on the Blackberry phones had been solved as well. They said that this problem was due to some ‘vandalism’ of critical cables’
Orange have not mentioned as to the reason for the problems for their broadband customers, but they said that they had taken care of the problem soon after it was identified.
However, a BBC News website reader, Kieran Casey, said that he had noticed the problem at 0900 BST on Thursday. At about 1400 BST, he mentioned of a conversation with Orange, who said that the repairs would take ‘another few hours’.
Mr Casey said that, considering the size of Orange, the fact that they had this problem for such a long time was quite unbelievable and ridiculous. Orange Broadband, which ran under the name Wanadoo previously, has a customer base of nearly 1 million in the fixed broadband sector in the country.
The firm, with over 15 million mobile customers, had made a recent announcement saying that they would merge their UK mobile operations with T-Mobile.
A spokesperson for Orange said that they were aware of Blackberry customers experiencing problems in accessing their emails. The spokesperson also said that they were aware that it was due to a vandalism of the cabling infrastructure which had been supplied to them by a third party provider in Heathrow, London.
In another incident, said the spokesperson, some broadband customers may have had a problem accessing the internet. They said that they were able to confirm the solving of this problem and that full service had been resumed for all their broadband customers.
Source - BBC News
Local broadband shops to be opened by BT
High Street will finally get to find out more about the super – fast total broadband service being offered by BT with the opening of 2 shops by BT, where potential customers can go for a full – demonstration of this service.
This unique idea will see the opening of stores in Whitchurch, near Cardiff this week and then in Muswell Hill, North London during the next week.
These stores will be first ever retail stores to be opened in the country which focus exclusively on broadband in the country. They invite people to ‘come in and experience the future of super – fast broadband from BT’.
BT is hoping that these stores, which could see more branches being opened if successful, will be useful in convincing people who don’t have a broadband connection to get one by signing up for it.
The Marketing Director of BT Retail, Matthew Dearden, says that the BT Retail Super – fast broadband shop in Whitchurch is the first of this type of store to have opened in the high streets of Britian, with another shop being scheduled to open in Muswell Hill in London the following week.
This showcase will enable them, according to Dearden, to show the locals everything they need to know about super – fast broadband which is being trialled in that area. These demonstrations, he added, will enable them to see a wide variety of business and home apps which will increase the quality of their lives.
BT Retail have undergone a recent upgrade, enabling it to provide top download speeds of about 20 Mbps. They plan to further install 1.5 million fibre internet connections by next year. This would enable the speeds to go upto 40 and 60 Mbps.
Source - T3.com
BE Broadband gives away Amazon.co.uk voucher on 9-month contracts
A wonderful surprise awaits all new BE Broadband subscribers as the internet service provider hooked up with Amazon.co.uk.
BE Broadband announced most recently that it will give away £25 –worth voucher from Amazon to new customers signing up with its nine-months contract options with BE Pro and BE Unlimited packages.
The ISP stated that they are making these worthwhile offers as the school year opens so that students can avail of their low-cost plans, as well as the Amazon treat. This great option for students would mean there will be no additional but unnecessary months after the first nine where they will be paying their bills. After their school term has ended, this nine-month subscription ends as well.
For the BE Pro package, subscribers will experience faster uploading and be able to run their own web and mail servers. At the same time, the BE Pro is best for those who want multiple static IP address with its 24Mb speed, as well as get faster access to games and other powerful packages. The nine-months contract costs only £21.50 monthly fee for unlimited usage, and there is no connection fee charged by BE.
On the other hand, subscribing to the 9-month contract of BE Unlimited means faster games at 24Mb speed, being able to watch television programs and movies more often, and have unlimited downloads. BE Unlimited subscription also means getting a static IP address and reliable ping, options most preferred by the younger generation, particularly because it costs very low at only £17.50 per month and unlimited use.
Offered only until October 18, BE announced further that interested subscribers just have to visit their website and sign up. Once there, the code word AMAZON will have to be entered and more information to getting their £25 –worth voucher from Amazon will be shown.
O2 is awarded with a top prize after results of a broadband survey
O2, a leading broadband service provider, has been honoured with a top award after the results of a broadband survey which involved nearly six thousand and five hundred people.
The PC Advisor Broadband Survey, conducted recently, saw O2 snatch one of the top awards and saw off competition from other broadband providers. The results of the survey led to O2 winning the ‘Best Buy’ broadband title, a prestigious one, despite close competition from other companies like ZEN Internet and Be Broadband.
More than six and a half thousand people were part of the survey and they were asked their opinions on a number of aspects of the broadband package they hand, including the download speeds, the reliability of service as well as the level of customer service. After the analysis of the responses to the survey, O2 came trumps and won the title ‘Best Buy’ broadband.
Commenting on the award, an O2 official said that they were very happy to have got the award and that it was a fantastic year for them and that they felt that they had a very impressive product at a reasonable price. He also said that their customers never have to worry about anything when they avail of O2’s services as they provide a number of benefits such as access to free internet security, no connection charges and free customers service. He also thanked everyone for voting for them and looked forward to the next year.
A spokesperson on behalf of the PC Advisor said that with a big response rate, their survey has gained its place in the country as one of the most trusted survey of its kind and that this year saw the rating and ranking of the top 14 ISPs in the country. Most of the ISPs got good results but O2 scored the most in the 3 fields mentioned earlier.
Increase in number of broadband connection in UK noted by Ofcom
The communications regulator, Ofcom, has noted that there has been an increase in the number of broadband connections present in the country, which is now numbering 17.5 million.
The number of people adopting broadband connections have been increasing over the past couple of years with a large number of providers providing a variety of packages that are very easily accessible for a lot of people in addition to being affordable.
The figures from Ofcom have revealed that the number of broadband connections in the country are now in the range of 17.6 million. The number of connections currently in use in the country as at the end of the first quarter show up an increase of about 1.6% when compared to the last quarter of last year, according to the Ofcom Telecommunications Market Data Tables.
About 4.6 million of the broadband connections currently in place are said to be provided by BT Retail, which emerged as the top provider and more than 3.4 million broadband connections, according to the report, are being provided by the other providers. About 3.7 million broadband connections are said to be provided by Virgin Media cable. While BT, as of now, has a bigger market share than its biggest rival, Virgin Media, the new 50 Mbps connection along with the discounted prices being offered by Virgin could possibly see Virgin overtaking BT as the biggest broadband provider in the country.
A study conducted recently has revealed that the fastest broadband down – link speeds being offered come from Virgin Media with the average speed being around 7.42 Mbps, a factor which, they say, could increase the number of customers who switch from BT or from other broadband providers to Virgin Media, thereby possibly resulting in Virgin Media becoming the most dominant player in the market with the highest market share.
State funding guidelines for broadband networks set in EU
In hope to better serve the most worthy government endeavors, guiding principles for state funding has long been called for by several sectors in the European Union. The most recent development was reported on Thursday by Dow Jones where it stated that the EU Commission has crafted guidelines for all state funding in broadband networks.
The Commission which is tasked at regulating the state funds and investments announced it will materialize the long-planned move. The guidelines are aimed to enhance the competition in the industry of telecommunications in the EU. It is also designed to benefit the citizens of the bloc that all may have an equal chance to have connections to speedier broadband networks.
The same EU Commission stated that such accessibility will prove beneficial to the pursuits in education, as well as push the industry players to more positive innovations.
In the belief that broadband networks should be largely led by the private providers, the Commission strengthened its earlier plans to push for guidelines that state funding to the industry will be limited. But at the same time, the Commission assured that state funds may be invested in pursuits to expand broadband services to regions not among the investment mapping of private service providers. Such a move would sure be appreciated by distant and rural villages all over the bloc.
The guidelines formulated by the EU Commission are aimed at aiding the larger playing field of broadband networks with regular speed capability, and those that have even more advanced speed as well. Also, it hopes to pave way for an extensive leveling of such services and create a competitive scenario among European Union players.
Anti-trust official of the EU Commission, Neelie Kroes closed the body’s statement saying these guidelines will strengthen the pursuit of a more educated European society.
Click here for additional information regarding this post: Wall Streen Journal
Broadband research says mobile broadband “slower than said”
Broadband Expert, a comparison site in the United Kingdom, recently released its report saying mobile broadband companies in the country are not true to their advertisement claims.
This came after Broadband Expert surveyed 3,342 broadband connections for five months and found that users noted only 1.1Mb download speed, a stark contrast to those stated in the companies’ advertisements. While the speeds stated in these ads totaled to 4.5Mbs for all five surveyed networks, only 1.1Mbps resulted.
When experts raised queries on how the survey was conducted, Broadband Expert explained the tests were performed by broadband users on the firm’s website. The users were required to select their ISP, the advertised speed of the connection, and the speed that they got.
Broadband Expert commercial director Rob Webber explained further that some providers had higher testing than others, while no sufficient data from British Telecom and Virgin Mobile was compiled to come up with a valid result. Only the networks Vodafone, Three, O2, Orange and T-Mobile were tested.
According to Webber, the mobile ISPs shouldn’t indicate in their ads the maximum possible speed and focus on the average speed instead, so as not to mislead the customers.
The test results were countered by Forrester Research, a market research entity, saying it is difficult to compare mobile ISPs substantially, considering foremost that there were various variables involved in pitting one average speed to another.
Forrester analyst Ian Fogg said mobile internet comparisons aren’t the same with home-based broadband as the varying locations of users and time of use does have an impact of the connectivity and speed.
Vodafone commented on having the lowest percentage of advertised speeds saying their company is keener on providing reliable and consistent connections, and not on speed. A statement from Vodafone indicated they are communicating service developments with their customers, downplaying the Broadband Expert study.
Click here for related information: BBC News
