Tag: broadband
PC World scraps free laptop offer after one month
PC World has scrapped its free laptop with Orange broadband package just one month after it was first launched, blaming huge demand for using up the “tens of thousands” of notebook PCs within weeks.
Many customers must have been of the same opinion as Jonathan, that the deal looked very good: “Let’s face it, who among us is ever going to turn down a free gift – especially when it’s worth up to £500.”
Now, those who faltered will have to take up PC World’s generous offer on their website’s apology page. “We’re Sorry. This deal has now ended. You can still take advantage of our great laptop deals at PC World…”
Gee thanks.
Opinion: Free laptop deal looks good
Jonathan Weinberg writes…
Let’s face it, who among us is ever going to turn down a free gift – especially when it’s worth up to £500. Well, that’s the prospect facing techno shoppers at Carphone Warehouse, Currys and PC World this week.
You couldn’t have failed to see the ads in the newspapers over the weekend proclaiming the gratis machines in return for signing up to broadband with the likes of Orange and AOL. ‘So where’s the catch?’ I hear you ask. ‘There’s always a catch!’
Well, you’re right, to get the free laptop you are tied into a contract with the firms for two years and yes, the machines aren’t super-spec’d enough to suit most Tech Digest readers. But in terms of getting people interested in technology and onto the interweb superhighway, it has to be good news…
BT considering 50Mbps broadband
According to a report in the Financial Times, BT’s chairman, Sir Christopher Bland, has said that the company were looking at increasing broadband speeds to between 40 and 50Mbps.
Such a scheme could cost around £4 billion, and thanks to regulation and the high cost, BT would have to make a viable case for implementing it.
FTTC (Fibre To The Cabinet) and VDSL2 are great technology, but in a market where customers want to pay as little as possible for their broadband, BT would need to prove it could recoup the massive cost of development more quickly through value added services such as video on demand.
Daily Tech Hotlinks for 20-Jul-07: Harry Potter, Swedish broadband, iPhone hacked, Nintendo DS
– Worst press release ever, Grief Counsellor offers Harry Potter fans help for grief associated with book’s deaths (PR Newswire)
– 75-year old Swedish woman obtains world’s fastest internet connection (Yahoo)…
High-value consumers want Net Neutrality: no two-tier Internet
Tim Berners-Lee has spoken out against it, now new research suggests that high-value Internet consumers in Europe want flat-rate pricing on their broadband service without Internet Service Providers (ISPs) placing restrictions on what they can access.
JupiterResearch, which carried out the Europe-wide study, is urging ISPs not to supply faster, prioritised Internet access only to a select group of web sites that pay for improved performance.
29% of consumers questioned said that they desired flat-rate, unlimited broadband, while 16% said they wanted no access restrictions.
Daily Tech Hotlinks for 19-June-2007: Wi-Fi, Broadband, Yahoo, EA, Vodafone
– A Venezuelan tech-god puts the rest of us to shame by setting a new record for the longest Wi-Fi link, of 237 miles.
– John Howard, the embarassing Aussie Prime Minister has announced a US$1.68 billion initiative to bring broadband to 99% of the population by 2009. Now, to get at least 80% of the population to buy computers and actually start using electricity…
– Yahoo’s Terry Semel…
Brits can't live without their broadband
A new survey by Orange Broadband has found that 61% of Britons can’t live without the Internet, with half saying that they spend three or more hours online every day.
Ofcom pushes wireless broadband and rural coverage
Ofcom has introduced new regulations that will see wireless broadband extended across the country – even those hard to reach rural areas. The regulations would allow for operators already using the 5.8GHz frequency band to increase power levels, and thus…
Tech Hotlinks for 30-May-07: Apple iPhone, Broadband, CD-Wow, CounterStrike, Google
– A loose-lipped exec has blabbed that there will indeed be Google apps available on the Apple iPhone, ending millennia of mass hype and hysteria.
– Broadband is more popular in Scotland than anywhere else in Britain, with more 50% of residents using high-speed connections to access .jpegs of sheep and perfectly formed black pudding.
– Ending a five-year legal battle, CD-Wow have been ordered to pay the UK record industry £41 million for importing cheap CDs…
BT offering rewards for its loyal broadband customers. How about a lower subscription and higher bandwidth allowance instead?
Andy Merrett writes…
British Telecom has announced that, as a “thank you” to its loyal broadband customers, it will be offering them £500 worth of vouchers to spend on leisure breaks or online stores.
That’s all very nice for PR, but to be honest, I’m not a huge fan of these types of promotions. It won’t have cost BT anywhere near £500 per customer to give away these vouchers (which, by the way, I’ve not had a sniff of yet), there are usually some hefty terms and conditions on how they can be used (in other words, please spend more money), and really… all I want is a decent broadband service.
