Posts Tagged 4G broadband
Service providers exaggerate data costs
Posted by Jeremy in Latest Broadband News on October 12, 2011
A new report has indicated that a significant amount of internet service providers are exaggerating the true cost of meeting the demand for data. In recent times, both fixed broadband providers, and mobile broadband providers have claimed that the increase in traffic has meant extra costs for themselves, resulting in lower profit margins and the need for higher prices. It has also been argued by some service providers that the producers of some online content should be willing to help to foot the bill for this cost, with services such as BBC iPlayer being highlighted.
Going against this suggestion is a report that has been funded in most part by those who create content – the BBC, Channel 4 and Skype. They claim that the true cost of delivering extra traffic has been grossly exaggerated by the ISP’s.
“Traffic-related costs are a small percentage of the total connectivity revenue, and despite traffic growth, this percentage is expected to stay constant or decline.”
This statement comes from telecoms experts Plum consulting. this goes to show just how greedy some of the ISP’s are being regarding the influx of new broadband users.
The report actually claims that the cost of delivering further gigabytes is in the region of pennies not pounds, and the indications are that it can cost as little as £0.03. The report does concede that there are some costs associated with adding capacity on mobile networks, given that the network is shared with other companies, but also believes that the forthcoming 4G mobile broadband will reduce these costs.
It will be fascinating to hear the rebuttals that will surely come from the ISp’s themselves. Having been able to fall back on this as an excuse for rising prices for some time, there will be some people demanding an immediate reduction in costs across the board.
LTE trial begins in Cornwall
Posted by Jeremy in Latest Broadband News on October 10, 2011
Cornwall has been chosen as the unlikely testing ground for an extremely fast form of mobile web browsing, known as LTE. LTE is the likely provider of what will become known as 4G connectivity through mobile phones in the future in the United Kingdom, and is used in many places throughout Europe already.
The trial, which is being conducted jointly by Everything Everywhere and BT, is taking place in a Village called St Newlyn East, just outside of Newquay. It is believed that speeds of up to 100Mbps could well be achievable with this sort of technology. The test is likely to produce slower speeds than this, but the main function of the trial is to understand the capabilities of different companies using different ranges in the spectrum in order to satisfy customers. With the belief that more and more people are going to be using mobile internet connections in the future, Everything Everywhere had this to say on the subject:
“Soon, more people will be accessing the internet on their mobile devices than on their PCs, and that means we need the right kind of networks in place to deliver the right kind of experience for our customers. That’s why, as the UK’s largest communications company, we are leading the development and introduction of new technologies like 4G. This next generation mobile network will allow individuals and businesses across Britain to access the people, places and things they want, wherever they are, whenever they want.” Nigel Stagg, CEO of BT Wholesale, also felt that they were contributing the the nations need, rather than their own business model:
“BT is committed to working with the government and using technology innovation to find ways of addressing the remaining challenges within the UK where there are still broadband ‘not-spots’. The final ten per cent of the country is exceedingly difficult to reach with the available standard fixed line solutions. Our proof of concept trial in Cornwall will test the capabilities and services that a shared fixed and mobile data network can support and is just one of the options, along with fibre and other mobile and wireless technologies that we are looking at to offer a possible solution to the rural broadband challenge.”
It is fantastic to see such a great leap forward being taken in terms of mobile browsing, and as many people accept that this could well be the significant future of broadband internet connections, it could not come too soon.
Government to invest £150 million in Mobile phone masts
Posted by Jeremy in Latest Broadband News on October 7, 2011
The Government is set to pledge £150 million worth of investment towards mobile phone masts throughout the country in order to make sure that the country improves its coverage significantly. It is thought that this investment will see improved coverage for around 10 percent of the market, and these improvements will mostly be seen in remote and rural parts of the country.
At the moment it appears that Ofcom are likely to be spearheading this campaign and will be favouring a delivery system similar to the BDUK deployment of cash for super fast broadband development throughout the country. Ofcom are passionate about a strong delivery throughout the country that does not particularly favour any one mobile phone company and have clearly had misgivings about the availability of mobile phone coverage for some time. They have had this to say on the subject:
“We have maintained for some time that market forces alone will not solve these problems. In particular, poor and unreliable coverage, which exists mostly in rural areas, is likely to persist to some degree as there is limited scope for commercially-driven improvements.”
What may not seem immediately obvious however is the benefit this development could bring to mobile broadband services. If Ofcom were to join forces with BDUK, or at least involve the department responsible for delivering fibre optic broadband throughout the country, then some work could go towards making sure that the new masts are 4G enabled, which will obviously mean the possibility of excellent mobile broadband coverage in the near future.
It’s clear that both mobile broadband and super fast broadband services in Britain are likely to step forward significantly in the next year or two. it would be fantastic news if both moved forward together.