All the latest broadband news from the Broadband Genie news team.
Many online bargains will be available from Christmas day as retailers launch sales via their websites. Electrical goods are forecast to be the most popular online purchases, with Comet expecting buys after Christmas dinner at 3pm until a peak at 9pm.
Simon Rigby, head of direct channels at Comet, said: “It really seems that, regardless of the family get-together, people are keen to bag themselves a bargain ahead of the Boxing Day rush.”
Other companies launching their online sales on Christmas Day include PC World, Currys, Argos and Marks & Spencer.
The Post Office Broadband predicts that on Christmas Day around 60% of the UK population will go online.
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Carphone Warehouse has announced plans for the development of its own optical fibre network to serve its broadband customers.
Currently, Carphone Warehouse relies solely on BT network however, as subscribers have grown to 2.5 million customers it was decided that a dedicated network would help to develop the potential for its growing customer base.
Neil McArthur, chief executive of Carphone Warehouse Networks, said: “We chose Infinera for our national backbone because it allows us to achieve far better economies of scale. More importantly, it gives us control of our own destiny when it comes to rolling out high-capacity, high-quality services when and where our customers need them.”
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3 has announced a new Pay As You Go Broadband plan for its existing Turbo offering customers. Purchase the new USB 3G modem for £99 and you can add credit for set data allowance, rather than online time. Data allowance can be added to your USB with an expiry time of 30 days and prices are currently set at £10 for 1GB, £15 for 3GB and £25 for 7GB. Out of bundle charges are set at £1 for every additional megabyte.
All USB customers will receive the same speed-rate as customers on monthly contracts, with data rates of up to 2.8 Mbps. However, if users are located outside of 3’s Turbo network they could drop to as low as 384kbps.
For the fashion conscious 3 USB Modems are available in three different colours; red pink and white.
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A number of smaller BT exchanges in the Shetland Isles have fallen victim to failing broadband during 2007. Earlier in the week services were disrupted for almost 24 hours in Vidlin, Ollabery and Gutcher. Customers have reported that BT helpline staff refused to admit that there was a failure and suggested that the problem was caused by their computer equipment.
Shetland MSP Tavish Scott has been forced to arrange a meeting between the broadband-troubled villagers in Shetland and BT: “I am very concerned by the systemic failure around Shetland,” said Scott. “The best way forward would be to have a meeting involving British Telecom and local users hosted by the area’s community council early in the New Year.” It has been suggested to residents to document their broadband downtime so that a factual analysis can be presented to BT.
A spokesperson for BT has said that the company would consider the invitation:
“BT Scotland is pursuing these network reliability issues with our colleagues in BT Wholesale - they manage the broadband network - and we’ll get back to Tavish Scott once we have discussed his invitation to a meeting with them…I’m told that the fault which affected Vidlin was not related to the fault which affected Gutcher and Ollaberry,”
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The FCC has announced the list of bidders interested in the 700MHz spectrum auction. In total 266 companies have put their name down, with a total of 96 currently accepted into the auction. The remaining companies have been asked to provide more details before the 4th January deadline for submissions.
Microsoft founder Paul Allen has confirmed speculation that he is interested in the auction. The tycoon has created Vulcan Spectrum specifically for the biddings.
The auction is set to last for several weeks through the FCC website and bidders will be given the opportunity to adjust bids throughout the auction period according to the competition.
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Independent UK organisation ‘The Consumer Panel’ has asked Ofcom to produce a mandatory code of practice for UK broadband ISPs. Topics to be covered in the code would include rules for advertised broadband connection speeds, a sore topic for many ISPs this month.
The Consumer Panel is asking for the following practices to be made mandatory for all broadband providers:
To inform consumers, during the sales process, about the theoretical maximum line speed they could expect
Provide clear information upfront about the factors that can affect line speed
Contact customers two weeks after installation to provide them with the actual line speed supported by their line
If the actual line speed is significantly lower than the package they bought, consumers should have a penalty-free choice to move to a different package or, in certain circumstances, opt-out from their contract.
“This code would establish agreed processes to give the customer the best information during and after the sales process, and to give them flexibility to move freely to different packages that reflect the actual speeds with which their ISPs are able to provide them,” said Consumer Panel chairperson, Colette Bowe.
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T-Mobile and 3 have announced that they will be sharing networks in the UK next year. The deal will see 98% of UK mobile phone users having 3G coverage in 2008. A spokesperson from 3 commented that its Mobile Broadband offering is “now set to go from strength to strength in 2008 as it becomes faster, slicker and cheaper.”
As an environmental bonus, the network sharing deal will also see a reduction of 5,000 signal masts around the country.
The joint venture contract will run until the end of 2031, both operators will work as equal partners in planning the development and operation of the integrated access network while remaining competitors in the UK mobile wholesale and retail markets.
T-Mobile and 3 have confirmed that they had been in contact with UK communications regulator Ofcom during the deal and were not aware of any regulations that would block the partnership.
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Virgin Media cable customers were unable to connect to their broadband internet connections last night due to an error during a routine maintenance process. From 22:00 to 10:43 this morning connectivity was disrupted for both internet and Digital TV services.
A customer service announcement on the Virgin Media status page stated the following:
“Some customers Nationally may currently be experience a loss all Digital & Broadband services. Our engineers are aware of the issue and are working to restore normal service as quickly as possible. Virgin Media apologise for any inconvenience caused.”
Most of the problems occurred in the North West, Yorkshire and the Midlands.
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A new report has found that more than 4-in-10 people over the age of 50 fear that going online will lead them to falling victim of fraud. The results from pollster ICM found that 82% of users over 50 expressed anxiety about going online. Almost a third of mature users admit that they are put off by internet jargon, while more than a fifth believe “that the internet cannot offer them anything”.
The report, which is being used to urge the government to do more to end “digital exclusion”, follows the launch of The Post Office’s broadband for over-50s service. It had previously been suggested that the over 65s were the most online-active age group.
The New Year will see The Post Office initiating a pilot internet training session in some of its branches. Help the Aged policy manager Anna Pearson spoke of the importance of integrating the over 50s into new digital ventures: “The evidence shows that pensioners should not be written off as uninterested in the internet. Older people are a key group who, with some support, can really benefit from what digital technology has to offer.”
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PlusNet has cautioned broadband users of the possibility of slower broadband speeds this Christmas. Customers are warned that a number of outside influences could slow down broadband connections including the inconspicuous Christmas tree and house lights.
The ISP has cautioned that additional festive electricals could cause electrical interference in homes and lead to slower connection speeds or unstable connections.
“While we expect home internet use to be widespread over Christmas, customers could possibly see some issues if several of these factors converge,” said PlusNet’s products and marketing director, Neil Armstrong. “The broadband connection does not stand alone and is inextricably linked to other elements in and around the home,” Armstrong added. “We feel it’s important to let customers know what these factors are and what they can do to minimise the negative impact they have.”
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