Posts Tagged mobile broadband
BT extend ‘white space’ trials to Cornwall
Posted by Jeremy in Latest Broadband News on March 10, 2012
BT are extending their recent ‘White Space Technology’ trials to Cornwall, after encouraging results from their initial trial which took place on the Isle of Bute. The technology works by using low-power transmitters which are no longer used since the digital changeover to provide a fast broadband service to remote and rural areas.
This decision is not without its controversy, facing some quite difficult technical challenges when it comes to Ofcom regulations. However, Ed Richards, the chief executive of Ofcom believes that it is a viable technology and worthy of further exploration.
“Technology in this area, as in other areas, is moving forwards at a fast pace. But we should also be confident in the groundwork that has been established. The science is clear; the technology is in many areas already there and continues to improve quickly. So there is a significant opportunity here that we need to grasp,” Richards said.
“The technology for more dynamic spectrum access has come of age without being exploited fully. At the same time, consumer demand for services has exposed the limitations of the current arrangements.”
At a recent conference in Brussels he added by saying that some important policy decisions needed to be made about how exactly to utilize the gaps in the broadband spectrum, and that these decisions should be coordinated across the board.
The problem being that there isn’t an endless amount of white space to play with. The growing popularity of smart phones already dominate the internet landscape and therefore use significant amounts of bandwidth across the country- and this number is growing. The concern is that there simply won’t be enough to go around.
Mr Richards calls for a code of conduct which will have to be followed by all broadband providers to ensure that they are aware of both the benefits and limitations of using this technology.
The government intends to ensure that super-fast broadband speeds are available to 90 percent of the UK by the year 2015. However, BT warns that there were still be an estimated 2 to 3% of homes defined as ’slow-spots’, with speeds of 2Mbps or slower.
Slow broadband affects a ‘Third of UK postcodes’
Posted by Jeremy in Latest Broadband News on February 28, 2012
A third of UK postcodes are still experiencing broadband speeds lower than the national average, according to research from price comparison site uSwitch.
After speed testing 1.7m, Half of UK addresses get broadband speeds of 6.7Mbps or above. Yet a third struggle to get speeds above 5Mbps.
Hereford was the slowest city, with average speeds of 3.1Mbps. Winchelsea, the East Sussex village, was the slowest, with an average speed of 1.1Mbps, according to uSwitch.
The government is supporting super-fast broadband and want to see it standardised in most UK homes. They have pledged to make the UK the fastest broadband nation in Europe by 2015 with minimum speeds of 2Mbps.
The uSwitch data – based on 1.68 million speed tests carried out over the last six months – suggests that there could still be some way to go. At the moment the slowest locations are Winchelsea, East Sussex; Menstrie, Clackmannanshire; Askam in Furness, Cumbria; St Bees, Cumbria; Ripley, Surrey and Newbiggin-by-the-sea, Northumberland.
“Britain might be riding the wave of a super-fast broadband revolution, but for 49% who get less than the national average broadband speed, the wave isn’t causing so much a splash as a ripple,” said Julia Stent, director of telecoms at uSwitch.
“And what’s really surprising is the number of cities and towns such as Hereford and Carlisle that are suffering from slow broadband speeds, dispelling the view that it’s just rural areas and small towns that have issues with their broadband,” she added.
The government is providing substantial budgets to tackle these black spots with councils pumping their own money towards expenses also. The task is an ambitious one but is achievable. With time and money the goal should be reached.
For those in well-connected postcodes, there is only good news. Both Virgin Media and BT have recently turned up the speed dial on their broadband services.
Virgin announced that broadband with speeds of up to 100Mbps was now available to 10 million homes, while BT pledged to offer some homes speeds of up to 300Mbps by 2013.
Three unveils home 3G device
Posted by Jeremy in Latest Broadband News on February 6, 2012
Three has just announced its plans to enter the home broadband market in the UK with its new ‘Web Cube’ MiFi device. The Web Cube is designed to give consumers access to home broadband without needing a landline or any costly installation.
3G mobile broadband is notoriously patchy in the UK but Three claims the Web Cube will be capable of achieving a maximum connection speed of 10Mbps (megabits per second) and will give consumers an average speed of between 2Mbps and 5Mbps, a figure that does not compare badly with the national average fixed-line broadband speed of 7.6Mbps.
The Web cube is currently being trialled in parts of Glasgow and Edinburgh in Scotland and Leeds in England. Three will not be providing Web Cubes for free, the device will set customers back £60 and will come with a £15 per month rolling contract that provides a mere 10GB (gigabites) of data allowance, although the amount is increased to 15GB per month if customers sign up for a 24 month contract.
Three’s 3G network is reasonably fast in urban areas but signal may be weak or patchy in more rural places, ruling the Web Cube out as an option for customers in these areas until the local infrastructure is improved as part of the Government’s bid to provide favourable mobile or fixed-line broadband to at least 90 percent of the country by 2015.
While not offering the greatest speeds and data allowance available, for those who do not stay at one address for more than a year at a time, like students, could find that the option to simply unplug the Web Cube from one location and plug it back in at another without having to inform their provider of a change of address or wait for the service to go live could prove inviting.
Consumers should expect an ad campaign in the near future informing them of when the Web Cubes will go on general sale. Until then, interested parties can register their interest on Three’s official website.