Vodafone is a flop
February 27, 2008 at 11:02 am
It’s only in the last couple of years that the giant mobile phone companies here in the UK have jumped on the broadband bandwagon. It feels as though they could and probably should have been doing it for years. The future became rather bright for Orange in Spring 2006, when they made all their rivals sit up straight by launching their own broadband service. But they didn’t jump in without a float though. They teamed up with established players, Wanadoo, and together they have gone from strength to strength. Then, after months of stalling, O2 launched their own service last year and partnered with the lesser known Be Broadband company to try and pose an equal threat. Then came Vodafone.
Of all the partnerships in this game, when Vodafone signed a deal with BT, you’d have thought they would win the race hands down. This has not been the case whatsoever though. Their big selling package is the high-end 8MB broadband package that comes with free BT line rental, unlimited landline phone calls and a 24 hour helpline. This comes at a cost of £25, which is a little on the expensive side in comparison to the non-mobile phone companies in the market, but with the prospect of a multi-channel TV bundle deal later on this year it might all seem like a good deal.
The problem for Vodafone though is that no one really knows about them in terms of broadband. They have roughly 10,000 customers here in the UK, which is extremely low, considering they have been active for over a year now. Although their rivals O2 aren’t swimming in online customers either, they have many more than Vodafone, and Orange are dominating the market with more than 300,000 customers on their books.
Vodafone have tried to excuse themselves by saying they haven’t spent very much at all on marketing and so aren’t expecting people to come flooding in. They claim to be putting more effort and money into keeping their existing customers happy and loyal, as they are very aware of how fickle the broadband customer is. Their profits have been better on the continent and they have their highest turnover in Germany, where two thirds of their 3 million broadband customers are based. Vodafone’s chief executive, Arun Sarin, said in response to questions over their broadband future, “It is obvious emerging markets will contribute a much larger piece of our revenue and profit in the future”.
More competition brings with it better results for the consumer… most of the time. But the merging of these huge companies means we are all being shepherded by the same farmer. It feels as though it’s only going to be a matter of time before Vodafone re-launch their broadband service and take us all by surprise.
UK to see new 100mbps cable
February 22, 2008 at 10:41 am
It wasn’t that long ago that we all gasped at the idea of 1 megabit per second broadband. Technology doesn’t go back, it goes forwards and that means we’re going to have to get ready for the coming of a new era: speeds of up to 100mbps here in the UK.
This Autumn, internet cabling company H20, are planning to launch a trial for a 100 mbps broadband service in a carefully chosen town here in the UK. It will receive the quickest broadband in the country and journey through a sewer system and then into a little four-inch box on the house. The towns in the running for the service are Dundee, Northampton or Bournemouth and they have been chosen due to the fact that they already have sewer systems in place and therefore no large disruptions would be necessary. The sewers are the saving grace and Mr Elfred Thomas, of H20, has said “While deploying traditional fibre over a two-kilometre area would be six to twelve months in the planning, we can do it in four hours."
Not only H20 but also a rival cabling company, Geo, are planning this expensive and possibly revolutionary service this year. They provide services for some of the large Internet Service Providers such as Tiscali and The Carphone Warehouse and so it’s very likely this will make its way into our homes before we know it. Other household names such as Virgin Media and BT are also pricking their ears up at this and planning to seize on the new and tempting technology. BT are planning to launch a fibre cabling system trial in the Kent town of Ebbsfleet this summer. It will begin with 600 homes receiving the service but could take up to ten years to launch. It won’t come cheap either at a whopping £15 billion.
Why do we even need such ridiculously quick internet? The sort of things 100 mbps fibre optic cable could help with are HDTV, the ability to download large files like films at much quicker speeds, video messaging (such as the increasingly popular Skype), online gaming and finally online video and audio streaming, such as the BBC’s new iplayer service. The popularity of services such as the iplayer and other on-demand services indicates the demand for this entire venture and our need for speed here in the UK.
We live in a world now where actual wires are gradually becoming a thing of the past. We’re all going wireless and this means that more and more computers are relying on something like a router. However, these poor routers can become over-worked if more than a handful of computers use them. 100 mbps could see the end to anything slow in relation to the internet. It’s already taken off in the more advanced European countries such as Sweden. It’s only a matter of time before the UK join them in the fast-lane.
Don’t pay over the odds for broadband!
February 18, 2008 at 1:57 pm
With the average Brit spending over a month a year online, it is not surprising that 15 million households in the UK now have broadband. However, it seems that far too many of us are paying over the odds for the service. According to a report recently published by uSwitch.com, a third of all households are collectively wasting £162 million a year!
Prices are now lower than ever before, with speeds increasing all the time, but we consumers are not taking full advantage of what’s on offer, despite the fact that a recent survey by ICM Research found that 69% of us said we would change provider if we thought we could save money. Some of this 69% are also seeking higher speeds, whilst others are not satisfied with the level of customer care from their current provider.
Those of us who would not contemplate changing provider are either too apathetic to do so, or are concerned that we would have to enter into a long contract, although according to the product development director at Broadbandchoices.co.uk, the company which commissioned the report, this is an unfounded worry provided we shop around.
So, if we decide to take the plunge, just what can we expect? uSwitch compared prices from January 2004 with current deals and found that the average charge four years ago for a 0.5Mb speed, was £27 a month. We now pay on average £17 a month for a speed of up to 8Mb. With different providers cutting their prices by varying amounts, it is well worth shopping around or looking at some of the price comparison websites. As well as uSwitch, similar services are provided on Firsthelpline.com, Top 10- Broadband.co.uk and moneysupermarket.com
The cheapest
The cheapest 8Mb package is offered by Plusnet and costs just £10 a month.
The dearest
At £20, (twice the cost of the cheapest package from Plusnet), Orange is the most expensive provider for stand alone 8Mb service. For 0.5Mb they are joint most expensive at £28 a month.
The fastest
There is good news for speed fiends: Virgin Media will be upgrading many customers free of charge from next month, from 4Mb to 10Mb. They also have plans to introduce speeds of up to 50Mb in 9 million households by the end of this year. Some providers such as O2 and Tiscali are currently able to offer 24Mb speed, having acquired Be broadband, meaning they no longer have to rely on BT lines.
Here are some tips for those about to change provider:
- Advertised speeds are maximum speeds and may not always reflect what you will get in your home, depending on various factors.
- Get a MAC code from your current provider to keep the break in connectivity to a minimum.
- If you have an e-mail account linked to your current provider, remember that this will no longer be available so make sure that you notify all your contacts.
- Ensure that your new package is sufficient for your down-loading needs, although you should also make sure that you are not paying for something which you do not require.
- Finally bear in mind that price is not always an indication of good service and it is perhaps not surprising that in customer satisfaction surveys, the lower end of the market often comes out worst.
