Posts Tagged mobile broadband
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.
Windows 8 to feature simple mobile broadband connection
Posted by Jeremy in Latest Broadband News on January 24, 2012
In a post on its ‘Building Windows 8′ blog, computer powerhouse Microsoft has released details of how Windows 8 will offer improved wireless broadband connectivity. Devices and networking team program manager Billy Anders wrote about how the company has been improving mobile broadband connectivity management to provide users with comprehensive access to wireless broadband.
Anders wrote: “We looked at the fundamentals of wireless connectivity and re-engineered Windows 8 for a mobile and wireless future, going beyond incremental improvements.”
The company included mobile broadband connectivity functions in Windows 7 but third-party software and drivers for USB broadband devices made connecting a chore. To solve this, Microsoft worked with mobile broadband hardware producers to develop a driver that is compatible with all mobile broadband devices, allowing the company to integrate mobile broadband alongside the more commonplace Wi-Fi. With connectivity to both Wi-Fi and mobile broadband available, Windows 8 customers will be in the enviable position of having almost unlimited broadband access available to them.
Ander also said: “We knew that if we were to give you true mobility, that Wi-Fi alone would not be enough. Therefore, for Windows 8, we fully developed and integrated mobile broadband (MB) as a first-class connectivity experience within Windows – right alongside Wi-Fi,”
A major improvement will be in the managing of mobile broadband connections. Users will be able to easily monitor their data usage, which in turn will help to keep costs down as users will be able to see when they are at risk of exceeding their data allowance.
Windows 8 Task Manager will also allow users to see how much of their mobile data allowance each open application has used. This will help users learn which programs use the most of their data allowance, which will also help user to keep the cost of browsing and downloading as low as possible.
Dell announces pre-installed mobile broadband partnership
Posted by Jeremy in Latest Broadband News on January 14, 2012
Dell has announced that they have struck a partnership with mobile provider Three and manufacturer of ‘white label’ broadband connectivity devices Macheen that will see pre-installed broadband services available on its laptops and tablet computer devices.
Macheen, a company based in Texas in the USA, will manufacture and provide the relevant technology, while Three will provide the network for the technology to operate on and all three companies will split the revenue that the venture generates. The deal will give those who purchase a tablet or laptop featuring the technology to simply sign up to a mobile broadband tariff that Three offers in order to access mobile broadband services. No need to plug a dongle into a USB port, or wait for their service to go live.
The agreement reached with Dell is the first Macheen has come to since it launched its unbranded mobile broadband software. President and CEO of Macheen Inc., Richard Schwartz said: “Device makers are looking to turn lower-margin hardware into constant customer connections-without the heavy lifting,” adding: “That transition begins with simple, seamless connections to the cloud, followed by on-going offers of new content and services. We are seeing a significant improvement in both the purchase and connection rates for device makers who build in connectivity into their devices.”
As it is the first deal of its kind, the companies involved hope it will provide a new revenue stream and pave the way for more deals between mobile broadband providers and computer manufacturers. Macheen is already in talks with other computer companies and mobile broadband providers in other countries.
However, industry commentators are unsure whether consumers will embrace this white label service or prefer to seek out mobile broadband coverage themselves. Mobile providers and computer manufacturers will be watching Dell’s sales figures closely once the products containing the technology are launched.