Virgin claims are wrong, according to ASA
February 25, 2009 at 10:55 am
Companies have long been known to add a little creativity to their claims when it comes to advertising, and Virgin is no exception. However, it has recently had to face the music over its latest claims, which prompted a number of complaints from both members of the public and from Virgin’s old foe, BSkyB.
The offending passages that were reported to the ASA (Advertising Standards Agency) appeared in Virgin’s latest advertising campaign to highlight the high speeds on offer through its fibre optic broadband system.
In the advertisements, it made the bold claims that the “old-fashioned copper phone wires” that are currently in use by other broadband companies are “struggling to cope” and that “fibre optic broadband is already here and paid for”, amongst others.
The issue with the first claim was that it could not be substantiated. This was because BSkyB’s own broadband system relied upon copper wiring and had not experienced any problems.
The second claim was brought to account because BSkyB believed that Virgin’s coverage of the country with their fibre optic system only reached 50% of the people, and could not reach the entire country without significant investment.
In all, four complaints were upheld and one complaint was not upheld. Virgin will have been pretty annoyed by the whole event, not least because the company has had a long-running dispute with BSkyB over the years, in relation to the TV services on offer from each rival company.
My guess is that we can expect both companies to be keeping a close eye on each other’s advertisements in the future, which will at least lead to more accurate claims for the rest of us.
Line rental going up by £1 in April
February 25, 2009 at 10:53 am
Broadband users across the country are going to find their monthly fees increasing by £1 from the 1st of April this year, but not through any changes on the part of their service providers. Instead, BT has decided to hike the price of the line rental, which will mean it is going to cost an extra £12 to access broadband over the course of a year.
Standard customers will now have to pay £12.50 a month as opposed to £11.50 a month. This may not seem like a lot, but in these days in which every penny really does count, it is going to add up to an annoying extra expense that many people will feel is not fair.
The line rental has long been the bane of ADSL broadband users, because even if they never use the phone they have had to pay for this expense, and they are now expected to pay £150 a year for it.
So, exactly what is the answer to this problem? Well, if you go with a provider which offers an unbundled service then it will probably work out cheaper. However, switchers should be warned that the cost of reconnecting back to another provider in the future will cost a hefty sum of £125.
However, according to BT, there is a way to reduce the monthly line rental fee, and it comes in the form of paperless billing. The vast majority of BT customers still receive paper bills, but if you switch to paperless then the fee will only be £11.25 under the new system, meaning it will actually go down from what you were paying previously.
T-Mobile comes top in broadband tests
February 18, 2009 at 2:04 pm
T-Mobile broadband was given a boost recently with the news that it had come top in tests carried out by P3 Solutions, the network testing group.
The tests took place in a whole range of different areas across the mobile broadband spectrum. These included sending and receiving email, uploading a 1Mb image, downloading a 90-second YouTube video clip and visiting popular websites like Ebay and Google. These and a number of similar tests were carried out in a bid to find which provider performed best in certain areas.
T-Mobile was ahead of the game in both upload speeds and overall web browsing experience. Upload speeds were a massive 59% faster than its nearest competitor, and the web browsing experience was 35% faster. However, it wasn’t a complete success for the company as it was beaten to the top spot in download speeds.
The tests, which took place in 16 of the biggest cities in the UK during peak hour, were obviously a coup for the company, as this is publicity that money cannot buy. Better still was the fact that it was the second consecutive time that T-Mobile had managed to outperform its rivals. The tests have taken place over the last two quarters of 2008, and T-Mobile has come top both times, meaning it really is proving to provide one of the best mobile broadband services around at the moment.
Emin Gurdenli, the chief technology officer at T-Mobile, said that “we will continue to expand on the potential of mobile broadband”.
Ofcom support for universal broadband
February 18, 2009 at 2:02 pm
Ofcom’s new chairperson has spoken publicly about her support for universal broadband to be rolled out across Britain. Dr. Collette Bowe stated that this was one of her top priorities in response to a complaint from Mike Weir, who currently represents a remote constituency in which individuals cannot always gain access to broadband. Mike Weir described how this is negatively affecting the members of his constituency and revealed that he would be “taking a close interest” in the future developments in the world of broadband.
Although Bowe was keen to express her support of the idea in theory, she was unfortunately not as enthusiastic about discussing the idea in any great depth. She refused to explain how the plan would work in practice and did not hint at whether the legal requirement would be placed in the hands of BT or whether every internet provider would take their fair share of the process.
However, before consumers get too excited about Bowe’s plans, it should be remembered that she has already lost favour amongst some in parliament and elsewhere. Many people believe that she is being significantly overpaid. Bowe will be paid a salary of £200,000 and will work just three days per week. It has been suggested that she should set a good example to others and take a pay cut, particularly during this period of economic downturn. However, Bowe has been quick to stress that she should not be receiving a lower salary than that provided to her predecessor.
Confusion over broadband speeds
February 10, 2009 at 1:28 pm
A recent report from the Office of National Statistics has revealed that broadband service providers are still failing to provide a fair and transparent service to consumers who are becoming increasingly confused by the world of broadband. The latest survey has shown that over forty per cent of broadband connections are currently running at speeds which are slower than 2Mbps.
This is pitiful when viewed in the light of Ofcom’s recent claim that the “average headline speed” had doubled in the space of one year to reach a figure of 4.6 Mbps. The statistics released by the Office of National Statistics were also based on the headline speed of the connection, rather than the actual speed. This is worrying for British consumers because the actual speeds they experience in their home on their computers could in fact be below the measured rate of 2Mbps. Ofcom recently revealed statistics which stated that around a fifth of British people are unhappy with the speed of their broadband service and would like to see it improve in the future.
Time and time again, Ofcom has released figures which provide us with an accurate measurement of how broadband use is evolving in the United Kingdom. However, its latest report has shown that consumers are remaining confused about their own broadband service, with over half of British customers feeling unsure about their connection speeds. Such confusion is simply compounded by the fact that the media write long articles about headline speeds and actual speeds, since many consumers do not understand the difference between the two.
Post Office launches internet help guide
February 10, 2009 at 1:27 pm
Results of new research from Post Office Broadband have revealed that over seventy per cent of the British public tried to give non-Internet users lessons in using the web during the recent Christmas and New Year period. Whilst spending time with friends and family is one of the great highlights of the festive period, this particular activity often causes great stress and anxiety and lessons more often than not culminate in fights.
It is a well-known fact that you should never even consider teaching a close friend or family member how to drive, since the stress resulting from these lessons often leads to shouting matches. However, it now seems that teaching loved ones how to use the Internet is replacing teaching them to drive in the ranks of activities to be avoided at all costs. Thankfully, there now seems to be a solution to this problem. The Post Office has developed a new guide which aims to help Internet users teach their friends and family members how to use the web in an enjoyable and stress-free manner. This guide can be accessed online by following the relevant link located here.
It really is worth investing the time and effort involved in teaching those who are unable to use the web how to access the Internet. The research undertaken by the Post Office found that almost twenty per cent of those who do not use the Internet say they feel left out of wider society and the same percentage dislikes being denied access to public information located on websites, which Internet users simply take for granted. They are also being denied access to online deals with regards to numerous products and services.
