32Mpbs Broadband For 90% By 2019
March 27, 2009 at 2:22 pm
The analyst firm Point Topic has stated that by 2019, nearly all the people living in the UK will have access to super-fast broadband with speeds in excess of 32Mpbs.
This announcement comes on the back of the latest government drive to ensure that every home in the UK will have access to broadband with speeds of at least 2Mpbs by 2012. But Point Topic is now saying that if this becomes a reality then the platform will be in place for much faster speeds only a few years later.
This will all be possible because of the new fibre optic network that BT is currently planning to install across the country. If this goes ahead then it will lead to broadband access becoming a reality for all, which will in turn lead to higher speeds across the country.
However, this is by no means a guarantee. Tim Johnson, the chief analyst of Point Topic, said that it would require “focused and rigorous action” on the part of the government and industries if it is to become a reality.
Point Topic has also claimed that by 2013, 5 million homes and businesses could have access to high-speed broadband through fibre optics, as well as stating that high-speed internet is now a necessity for many people rather than just a novelty. So much content now requires faster speeds than those on offer from dial-up services that people will continue to demand high-speed broadband over the coming years, leading to a huge change in the way that we use the Internet.
Is this the end for Tiscali?
March 19, 2009 at 12:45 pm
It looks like Tiscali could soon become one of the latest high-profile victims of the recession. The Milan-based company has recently been in talks with BSkyB concerning the sale of its UK operations in a bid to pay back the vast debt that it owes, but it now appears that the negotiations have fallen through.
It was hoped that a sale could be reached by the end of March, but the company has stated that it is now “de facto impossible” to continue negotiations with Sky.
It was thought that Tiscali would be able to sell the UK part of the company for £600 million in order to pay off its debts, and that the talks broke down because Sky only offered £350 million.
As a result of the news that it was trying to sell up, trading in shares was suspended. After the talks with Sky fell through, the company asked the banks to suspend the interest repayments it owes on its €557 million debt. It has just been announced that the banks have agreed to suspend the debt repayments, and this will give Tiscali a chance to work out a new financial plan.
Tiscali has been having a hard time lately. It has been struggling with the fierce competition in the UK market, and although it was once one of the biggest providers in Europe, its markets have shrunk from fifteen to just two – Italy and the UK.
The company has stated that its customers will not be affected by the recent goings on, and that they will not experience any changes in the services they are currently receiving.
Whether the company will survive or not is yet to be seen. But what is certain is that if it does fail, the other providers in the UK will be quick to try and tempt its customers.
New minimum 10Mbps speed from Virgin
March 19, 2009 at 12:43 pm
Some 2.6 million households who subscribe to the minimum Virgin Media broadband tariff are going to be in for a treat in May, as the company has just announced that it is going to provide them with a free upgrade.
Now those customers on the smallest 2Mbps speed connection will have their speed increased to 10Mbps completely free of charge as part of Virgin’s upgrading programme.
This is not the first time Virgin has upgraded its customers free of charge. Last year it provided its 4Mbps customers with an increase to 10Mbps, and this represents the next stage of the programme. By receiving speeds of up to 10Mbps, more people on the same connection will be able to play online games and watch online video at the same time.
Virgin recently released a 50Mbps service, but this is only available to people where the fibre optic network is in place. However, this latest upgrade to 10Mbps will be available for everyone. After the upgrade, there will be three packages for customers to choose from: the 10Mbps, 20Mbps and 50Mbps. Neil Berkett, the chief executive of Virgin, said that it is now offering the “highest quality broadband service in the UK”.
Existing customers on 10Mpbs broadband may feel a bit hard done by as they will continue to pay £14 a month. However, their service includes a phone line as well, and on top of that people who get the upgrade will not be entitled to the PCguard protection package.
Britain a broadband nation by 2012
March 13, 2009 at 2:46 pm
There has long been concern that the government is not doing enough to provide broadband at reasonable speeds to the whole of the UK. At the same time, other countries are developing much quicker fibre-optic broadband networks, and the disparity is being referred to as the ‘digital divide’.
However, the government has announced new plans to ensure that the entire population of Britain will be receiving broadband at speeds up to 2Mbps by 2012. It is welcome news for the entire country, not least those who have yet to benefit from broadband access.
This new ‘digital network’ was hailed by the Prime Minister, who said that it would be “the backbone of our economy in the years ahead”.
But at the same time as promising access to broadband and higher speeds for all, announcements were also made about cracking down on illegal file sharing, which has become increasingly popular due to the availability of file sharing websites which make it particularly easy to download new movies and music without paying a penny.
The government would not want to see the higher speeds they are promising lead to a boom in the number of people downloading illegally over the Internet, and so the two different programmes are going to go hand in hand. One of the problems with illegal file sharing is that so many people are using other people’s wireless networks, which if not secured can be accessed by anyone within range, making it particularly difficult to convict people for downloading the files.
The ‘Digital Britain’ report aims to highlight the importance that the communications industry has for our economy and will continue to have in the future.
BT go to war with TalkTalk over business broadband
March 4, 2009 at 2:51 pm
A price war has begun between BT and TalkTalk after they both recently launched their new small business broadband services at exactly the same time.
The simultaneous release was completely by chance, according to the companies, but now it seems that they have been thrust into a war that neither side can back out of.
BT’s price slash refers to the Option 3 package, which it slashed from £40.50 to £30, making a 35% cut along with free mobile broadband thrown in. Meanwhile, Opal, which is the business branch of TalkTalk, launched its own £7 business broadband service providing speeds of up to 24Mbps.
BT was “not surprised” by the release of a rival package, but accepted that it was a coincidence. The company is hoping to increase the services it can offer to this large sector of the market to increase its dominance. Meanwhile, Opal is looking for 20% of the market.
The temperature has increased following rival announcements from the two companies seeming to contradict each other. Opal announced that its new service was 40% less than BT’s broadband package, but a fuming BT responded by saying that it was not a fair comparison seeing as its own service provided a lot more for the money.
Opal wondered why BT had waited so long to put its prices down, with the managing director, Paul Lawton, stating that their customers “will be left asking how much money the company was making” before the cut.
This is all great news for small businesses, but we will have to wait to see who comes out top in this broadband war.
Finally! A free laptop from O2
March 4, 2009 at 2:48 pm
Netbooks and laptops seem to be all the rage these days – a useful means of persuading cash-strapped customers to sign up to hefty mobile broadband contracts. So it is somewhat strange that O2 has only just managed to get its act together and offer a free laptop with its latest deal.
The actual deal offers a choice between two different contracts, each bundled with a different machine. The first is for customers signing up for a £30-per-month deal, who can take home a brand new Samsung NC10 netbook which has a 10.2-inch screen, 1GB of memory and is usually sold for £300.
However, if customers want to get a bigger and better laptop, they will have to sign up for the £40-a-month contract, which includes a Samsung R510. This has a dual core Intel processor and a bigger hard drive, but the catch is that it requires a one-off payment of £80 in order to get the laptop. Another downside is that customers will have to sign up to a massive two-year mobile broadband contract, which seems a bit much.
There is a 3GB data allowance on each contract included in the cost, which is pretty reasonable, but for an extra £10 per month this can go up to 10GB. However, both deals have unlimited wireless access, and for a further £5 a month for you can get the Home Broadband Service thrown in as well.
This is certainly not the cheapest deal on the market, but it is good to see that O2 has finally got involved with the free laptop brigade. The deal begins at the end of February, so check out the O2 website if you want to be one of the first to take advantage of it.
