Tag: Mobile Broadband
UPDATED: BT announces cheapest UK home and mobile broadband combo
It’s pretty much a straight up fight for your data between all the mobile networks and just about everyone else who pipes any kind of service into your home. Doubtless the electric and water companies will be on it soon enough but today is the turn of BT to land their latest blow in the shape of the cheapest home and mobile broadband combo package on the block.
They’re offering you a dongle, 1GB of mobile data per month at a supposed 7.2Mbps and limited 8Mbps home broadband package for a total of £303.08 over 18 months or just £15.65 a month if that sounds too scary.
The deal’s well over £100 cheaper than similar offers from Virgin and Orange and comes with the BT satisfaction of speedy set up and the fact that it’ll probably work more often than not.
Out now over here.
UPDATED: BT blocks the Pirate Bay from mobile broadband customers
Anyone considering mobile broadband might want to rethink their decision today, after BT announced that it would henceforth be blocking access to the Pirate Bay for its mobile broadband customers. The company states that it’s in “compliance with a new UK voluntary code”.
BT’s mobile broadband is based on Vodafone’s network and it’s being claimed that the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) – who were responsible for a block on Wikipedia earlier this year – are behind the move. Apparently Orange, O2, T-Mobile, Virgin Mobile, Vodafone and 3 have also all agreed to participate.
The move comes after the Pirate Bay’s administrators were convinced of assisting the making available of copyrighted content and sentenced to a year in prison. The four are appealing the decision, though I argue that I don’t think it’ll make the blindest bit of difference.
What we really don’t want, though, is an unelected, non-governmental organization like the IWF deciding what content we’re allowed to consume online. As OnlineFandom points out, many Swedish labels have found ways to gain considerable commercial benefit out of The Pirate Bay, sharing content on it with full permission. Why should Brits miss out on that?
(via Tech Radar)
3 offers 15GB of data per month for £15
With most mobile service providers given up on trying to con us over the price of a text message, I’d thought it was data they were trying to do us for now. That was before I saw this deal from 3 offering 15GB per month for just £15, and at a pound per GB that makes it the best mobile broadband package…
SHINY VIDEO REVIEW: Huawei E176 USB dongle – SIM-powered 7.2Mbps mobile broadband
For something I was a little nonplussed to read about when I first received the news, I’ve got to say I was mighty impressed with the Huawei E176 HSPA mobile broadband USB stick. It’s the kind of kit that makes up your mind about getting an unlimited data package on your phone…
Vodafone to trial 21Mbps HSPA+ high speed mobile network
Vodafone has announced that it has been testing technology that could succeed HSPA, successfully having completed trials of 16Mbps “HSPA+” and with plans to test a 21Mbps service in the spring.
With a theoretical top speed of 21Mbps, Vodafone claims real-world download speeds of up to 13Mbps, and at least 4Mbps across its entire network…
Vodafone launches pre-pay USB broadband modem
The rise in popularity of pay-as-you-go mobile services has now extended to mobile broadband, with news that Vodafone has launched its first pre-pay USB modem.
The “TopUP and Go” 3.6Mbps modem costs £39 and comes with a £15 credit which offers 1GB of data. Good news: purchased data doesn’t expire after 30 days.
Customers simply use a voucher or call a phone number (08080 101238) to buy additional data…
LG crams 4G LTE tech on a mobile phone chip
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the future. While you were in bed this morning, dreaming of Konnie Huq running in slow motion in the snow, LG were hard at work in Japan (where it’s midday when it’s 3am here) putting ridiculously futuristic technology on a mobile phone chip.
The tech is called LTE, which (doesn’t really) stand for “the Long Term Evolution of 3GPP”. It’s basically the plans that the 3rd Generation Partnership Project has for the future of 3G and cellular broadband in general. Some people refer to it as 4G.
O2 launches cheapest PAYG mobile broadband
O2 has just joined 3 and T-Mobile in offering a pay-as-you-go mobile broadband package. It’ll sell you a USB dongle for just £30, and then you can choose from £2 a day with a 500MB data allowance, £7.50 a week with a 1GB allowance or £15 a month with a 3GB allowance. You’ll also get free Wi-Fi at hotspots operated by The Cloud.
This seems to currently be the cheapest on the market. It’s closest rival is 3’s ugly Huawei e220 modem, for £40. 3 charges £10 for 1GB, £15 for 3GB and £25 for 7GB, offering more data if you need it, at a slightly higher price.
This is a positive step for mobile broadband. For just £30, there’s now a very low barrier to entry, and with prices as cheap as £2 for 500MB, I’m seriously considering picking on of these dongles up and keeping it in my bag for ‘just in case’ occasions, like the train, or an airport. I’ll wait till I get to try the INQ1‘s dongle capabilities first, though.
Press Release (via O2 Press Centre Twitter)
Related posts: iPhone 3G PAYG coming to O2: 16th September from £349.99 | O2 launches new Xda ‘Zest’ on PAYG
Vodafone announces Stick Pro USB mobile broadband plus new deals
Vodafone has announced its new USB Stick Pro offering customers access to its HSDPA 7.2Mbps network, claiming that it has the most reliable and fastest mobile broadband network in the UK.
Having said that, the announcement is honest enough to warn users that average download speeds are anywhere between 1-5Mbps, with maximum upload speeds of 2Mbps but an average of 1Mbps…
O2 changes mobile broadband based on consumer survey
Consumer surveys are all very good for finding out what people like and don’t like, but so much the better when a commissioning company takes note of the results and changes its product accordingly.
So it is with O2, which carried out a survey of consumers to find out what they thought of mobile broadband.
Over one in ten responded by saying that they felt they’d been mis-sold a package, with a third saying that they were paying more than they believed the deal stated, while one-fifth cited poor coverage as a bugbear. Around one in six said that there was no returns guarantee if the service wasn’t right for them, while half wanted free use of Wi-Fi hotspots as standard…
