There have been many issues over claims from Internet Service Providers that state they offer unlimited broadband when in fact there are fair usage limits and restrictions, and the latest firm to be pulled up over its claims of offering an unlimited connection is Redten, which has been slated by the Advertising Standards Authority because of this claim.

The report claims that Redten, which went into administration last year and was then purchased by Fatcat Communications, claimed to offer unlimited broadband but then severely curbed the speeds of users that transfer over 5GB of data. The ASA also said that Redten had made false claims when it stated that it offered a “free upgrade to (more…)

Both the music industry and Internet Service Providers have been trying to combat the growing problems of illegal music downloads for some time, but with most families now enjoying the freedom and flexibility of broadband more and more youngsters have been engaging in this activity, severely impacting on profits for the music industry. With Internet Service Providers under threat of action from music giants many have now decided to take radical action to try and combat the problem.

According to a recent report six of the largest Internet Service Providers have revealed plans that could help to ease the problem. Under these new rules ISPs will write to the parents of teenagers who are found to be downloading music illegally, (more…)

Two major mobile communications providers have announced plans to make high speed mobile broadband more accessible as well as more affordable for small and medium sized businesses in the UK through a venture involving Lenevo ThinkPad notebooks, which will have mobile broadband technology integrated within, which will eliminate the need for a separate dongle or modem.

The two communication firms are looking to provide cheaper built in technology, which will be integrated in all of the Lenevo ThinkPad notebooks, and from the beginning of next month the 3G notebooks are expected to cost the same price as a standard laptop, which means that consumers will not have to pay any extra for the built in technology.

This technology will prove useful to small and medium sized businesses who need continuous connectivity to the Internet but also have to be mindful when it comes to costs and budgets. Built in technology from Sony Ericsson will be used for (more…)

Over recent months households have found that their finances are increasingly strained, and this is because the global credit crunch has brought with it a range of price hikes that have seriously affected household finances. The cost of borrowing has soared, petrol prices have been rocketing, food prices have gone sky high, and inflation levels have spiralled out of control. With many bills such as council tax, water bills, and energy bills all rising the outlook is bleak for most households when it comes to their finances and budgets.

However, according to a recent report the only bills not to have risen as a result of the global credit crunch are broadband costs. In fact, broadband bills have gone against the grain and have actually been falling for the past eighteen months or (more…)

Just a couple of weeks ago communications giant British Telecom hit the news over its broadband service when it managed to escape having two of its broadband advertisements banned by the Advertising Standards Agency. However, the company is now in the news again after being accused by another provider of defamation. This comes as Internet Service Providers continue their battle to try and stay a step ahead of heir competitors and increase custom.

According to a recent report Tiscali has started legal proceedings against BT after accusing the firm of “defamation and malicious falsehood”. The report claims that officials from BT contacted a number of Tiscali customers informing them of rumours that were going around about Tiscali’s future, whilst promoting their own broadband service to these customers. (more…)

Anyone that has always lived in an area where broadband is easily accessible probably takes their broadband connection – or at least the knowledge that broadband is available – for granted. However, whilst BT is excitedly proposing plans to launch superfast broadband to millions of homes, there are still some homes in which people cannot see the points of getting excited because they will never get to enjoy superfast broadband anyway.

One researcher was recently contacted by a man who worked from home yet had no access to broadband due to the proximity of his home to the local telephone exchange. This means that he has to pay a small fortune each month in order to get 512Kbps satellite connection in order to work from home, making him one of the estimated 1% of people that cannot get broadband at all.

The man contacted the researcher, explaining: “There is a significant number of people like me who live and run businesses in rural communities that can still not receive broadband at all. We are a small minority of households/business for sure, (more…)

Communications giant British Telecom recently announced that it was going to invest one and a half billion pounds in the roll out of superfast broadband using fibre optic networks to deliver faster speeds to ten million homes by 2012. At present the UK is lagging behind when it comes to broadband speeds with many other westernised countries enjoying high speed broadband of up to 100Mbps.

The plans from BT mean that millions of people in the UK will also be able to enjoy these superfast speeds if all goes to plan. However, BT is currently challenging regulations from the communications regulator Ofcom that require market dominating networks to be opened up to competitors. The decision on a change in regulation could affect the level of investment that is ploughed into this programme.

Mobile communications provider O2 is one of the firms that is considering investing in the roll out of superfast broadband. (more…)

Over recent months households have found that their finances are increasingly strained, and this is because the global credit crunch has brought with it a range of price hikes that have seriously affected household finances. The cost of borrowing has soared, petrol prices have been rocketing, food prices have gone sky high, and inflation levels have spiralled out of control. With many bills such as council tax, water bills, and energy bills all rising the outlook is bleak for most households when it comes to their finances and budgets.

However, according to a recent report the only bills not to have risen as a result of the global credit crunch are broadband costs. In fact, broadband bills have gone against the grain and have actually been falling for the past eighteen months or so, according to the research carried out by a price comparison site.

The report claims that over the past year and a half broadband costs have plummeted by a massive sixty percent, whilst in comparison gas and electricity bills have risen by fifteen percent, and are set to rise again later this year. (more…)

According to a recent report the Advertising Standards Agency has decided not to ban a recently launched advertisement relating to BT broadband. The advertisement highlights the parental control features offered by BT Total Broadband, but some people have complained that it encourages parents to allow their kids to use the Internet without any form of supervision.

Over twenty complaints were received about the advertisement, which shows a young girl storming to her bedroom and shutting herself in to use the Internet whilst shouting to her mother that she doesn’t understand her. The mother expresses concern to her partner, and when he asks what she is worried about the mother says “I am worried that she (more…)

Over recent months there has been a great deal of news relating to the lack of advanced technology in relation to superfast broadband in the UK, with officials claiming that the UK is lagging behind many other countries when it comes to superfast broadband based on fibre optic networks. However, a recent announcement from BT shows that some communications giants are prepared to invest in the future of broadband.

BT has stated that it plans to roll out superfast broadband via fibre based networks to up to ten million homes by 2012. The programme is expected to cost around one and a half billion pounds, but consumers will be able to enjoy speeds of up to 100Mbps, in the same way as many other countries such as Japan already do.

The chief executive of BT said: “Broadband has boosted the UK economy and is now an essential part of our customers’ (more…)

Over recent months the news has been filled with stories about how the UK is lagging behind many other countries when it comes to broadband, with countries such as Japan and France enjoying superfast broadband whilst the UK trails along using copper telephone wires and receiving nowhere near the speeds that other countries are getting.

The countries that receive superfast broadband are those that have switched to high speed fibre optic cables, and this is something that Ofcom and many other industry officials want to see in the UK. However, the cost of switching to fibre optic networks could run to fifteen billion pounds, and this is a price that neither the government nor Internet Service Providers (more…)

There are many reasons why people decide to switch broadband providers, and up until recently the number one reason for switching was the reliability – or lack thereof – of the Internet Service Provider. However, over recent months the global credit crunch and rising living costs have been biting hard on household budgets, and this, at least in part, has resulted to switch, with the number one reason for changing broadband providers not being the cost rather than reliability.

According to a recent report the top reason for changing broadband provider changed from reliability to price between April and June of this year. Reliability has now become the third most common reason to switch providers, with the s (more…)

The communications giant Virgin Media has been writing to hundreds of customers warning them about illegal music downloads over file sharing sites, according to a recent report. Virgin is running a ten week campaign in conjunction with the BPI in order to provide Internet users with more information and to educate them about illegal downloads. Around eight hundred letters are thought to have been sent out.

The BPI has stated that thousands more letters will be sent out as part of the campaign, and it added that some Internet Service Providers may end up being taken to court as the industry tried to clamp down on illegal downloads. The BPI is trying to encourage all ISPs to sign up to a ‘three strikes and you’re out’ policy, where illegal downloaders will be given two warning over their activities and will then face disconnection if they continue to share copyright files. (more…)

Mobile broadband is a relatively new technology that has stormed onto the communications scene over recent months, and has been welcomed with open arms by those desperate to access the Internet on the go, such as students, business people, and even those that want to enjoy recreational Internet surfing whilst relaxing in the garden, the park, or even on the beach.

According to a recent report, around six percent of the population in the UK access the Internet whilst on the go using mobile technology in May, and most industry experts expect this figure to rise quite quickly given the increased demand for mobility and convenience from consumers, and the more competitive deals that are being launched by various mobile broadband providers who are hoping to attract increased custom and beat off rival providers. (more…)

Over recent months mobile broadband has been fast gaining popularity, and this has been further reflected in the soaring sales seen with prepay dongles, with the sale of these dongles now estimated at around eight thousand per week. Industry officials have stated that more and more people are realising the benefits of mobile broadband, which offers convenience, ease, and flexibility, and this is driving up the sale of these prepay dongles.

Reports show that these dongles are priced at around fifty pounds each, and it is through that increased visibility at retailers may also be helping sales figures to rocket. Just six months ago only one thousand dongles per week were being sold, according to recent figures, so this latest figure reflects a massive rise in prepay dongle sales.

Contract based dongle sales still make up the majority of dongle sales in the UK, however, and of the thirty thousand dongle (more…)

Whilst the weather in Britain may not be the best most of us want to get out and about, whether it is to the park, having a few relaxing drinks in the local beer garden, sitting in our own gardens, or even hitting the beach. However, most people don’t want to have to go without access to the Internet when getting some fresh air, as the results of a recent survey have shown.

According to the data, which was recently released by T-Mobile, around forty four percent of Brits want to be able to enjoy access to the Internet whilst relaxing in the back garden, thirty two percent want to be able to access the Internet whilst on holiday, around twenty percent want to be able to surf the Internet as well as surf the waves whilst at the beach, and (more…)

There has been a good deal of concern over the speed and advancement of broadband technology in Britain over recent months, and according to one recent report the relatively slow broadband speeds available in Britain are affecting many businesses in the country, weakening them and restricting their capabilities and achievements.

A survey was recently carried out by BT Openreach, Ofcom, and the Communications Management Association. The results of the survey showed that around a third of businesses were not happy with their Internet access and speeds, and the demand for next generation access is expected to soar over the coming two years. (more…)

Recently media giant Virgin has been running a press campaign relating to download times for television shows and music based on the different packages that the provider offers. The advertisement was run on a national levels and the campaign was entitled ‘Hate to Wait’. The advertisement included a table that showed the different download times for shows and music based on the various broadband packages offered by Virgin.

However, the press campaign has been brought to a swift end after rival communications giant British Telecom complained to the Advertising Standards Authority, claiming that the download times given on the table were not accurate, and that (more…)

Earlier this week the mobile communications giant T-Mobile announced that it was upgrading its network to provide consumers with a range of additional benefits, and to make the technology both faster and cheaper. The communications giant announced plans to make mobile broadband both faster and more cost effective for consumers, with both upgrades and a greater choice of value for money mobile broadband packages.

The provider recently switched on the country’s first fast upload network HSUPA, which is a broadband upload service that enables user to share videos and photos. In fact, from the start of this month users have been able to enjoy uploading (more…)

Over recent years many people have become reliant on the Internet for many reasons, ranging from leisure use and recreational use, to study and education, and for business use. A recent report has claimed that the demand for broadband has now become so high that there is a risk of a drastic slowdown of the whole Internet because of a huge expansion in broadband use.

Officials state that the demand and rising use of broadband is putting increased strain on the system, and this could result in users experiencing log jams that could result in a complete slowdown of the whole system. Investigations have been launched by the communications regulator Ofcom.
One industry official stated: ‘This is a developing crisis. In fixed line there is still capacity, but it is dominated by BT. Mobile (more…)

Over recent weeks Virgin Media has started to issue warnings to broadband customers if they are found to be illegally downloading material, informing them that they are at risk of having their service disconnected. Virgin is working on a three strikes and you’re out basis. More recently the UK’s largest broadband provider, BT, has also started to threaten customers with disconnection if they are found to be illegally downloading.

BT is threatening customers that are found to be sharing copyright music over peer to peer networks, and one of the customers that it wrote to was found to have done this with a Girls Aloud track called Biology. This indicates that BT has now joined the battle to stop this sort of illegal activity, and has been working with the BPI in order to implement this, although it is not yet known whether a three strikes method will be used, as it has been with Virgin Media.

A BPI official said: “Establishing partnerships with ISPs is the number one issue for the BPI, and we are beginning to form positive working relationships with BT, Virgin Media and most of the other major ISPs.” He added: “Everyone agrees on (more…)

Students that decide to open a bank account with NatWest can now enjoy getting cheaper mobile broadband, as the bank is offering new student accountholders fifty pounds off a new mobile broadband connection with the provider 3 when they open their account. This will enable students to take advantage of cheap mobile broadband, and they can still take (more…)

Over recent months there have been severe concerns over how behind the UK is when it comes to next generation broadband, and a number of broadband based summits have been called in order to discuss the issue and reach some form of solution. A recent report has indicated that the UK’s communications regulator Ofcom is still looking at different ways to expedite the rollout of next generation broadband in the form of fibre to door connectivity, with hopes to get this rolled out as quickly as possible.

One of the options that the regulator is looking at is to use the sewers to try and rollout this technology as quickly as possible. With the huge cost implications that are on the horizon when it comes to developing and rolling out this advanced technology it could really prove beneficial to use existing infrastructures such as the sewers in order to get fibre to door (more…)

The mobile communications giant T-Mobile has recently announced that it will be cutting European mobile data roaming costs by eighty percent. The cut is to take effect from next month, and from August the provider will introduce roaming call and text packages according to the report. Mobile broadband use from Europe will plummet from £7.50 per MB to just £1.50 per MB. Also, the cost of sending a text from European destinations will be slashed from forty pence to just twenty five pence.

T-Mobile will also be introducing a range of bundle deals, and this includes packages priced at five, ten, fifteen, twenty and (more…)

In a recent report analysts have questioned the effectiveness of the trial of super fast broadband by communications giant British Telecom, stating that it is unlikely that it will get the UK back on track in terms of broadband advancement, and adding that it may be too little too late. The super fast broadband provided through fibre cabling will be offered to three hundred new homes in the Kent area, with those trialling it possibly getting it for free.

The report shows that speeds for customers using this broadband will start at 2.5Mbps, but there will be bursts of 100Mbps speeds. An official from BT has described the speeds as not only decent but ‘higher in fact than anyone currently (more…)

Over recent months mobile broadband has become huge, with an increasing number of people signing up to enjoy the flexibility and convenience of this new age broadband. However, according to a recent report mobile broadband could become even more popular next year, with the possibility of this broadband being available with bundled contract packages.

Bundled broadband packages are extremely popular with fixed line broadband, and this is where the consumers takes a set price package that includes television, landline, and broadband. Industry officials predict that broadband providers will start to offer the same type of bundles as early as next year, offering mobile phone, minutes, texts, and mobile broadband.

One industry official said: “Competition is reaching its zenith in the mobile broadband market. It is only a matter of time before mobile broadband modems are offered for free in conjunction with mobile phone packages in the same way as ISPs such as TalkTalk currently offer ‘free’ home broadband with home phone deals.”

Another official said that with the uptake of mobile broadband providers are now offering deals that are better, cheaper, and more effective than before. He mentioned the mobile broadband package that is available from Vodafone for £15 a month, stating: “Sixty-five per cent cheaper, four times faster and with three times the download allowance than two years ago.”

According to one official, whilst mobile broadband is undoubtedly becoming more popular and could continue to increase in popularity with these bundled deals, it is unlikley to affect fixed line broadband levels. He stated: “Right now mobile broadband is marketed by the operators as a complementary service. Fixed-line has too much traction in the UK to be replaced by mobile any time soon.”

It has recently been announced that the communications and broadband giant Virgin Media is preparing to write to thousands of its customers over illegal music downloads. The move has come as no surprise to the industry, and has been made jointly with the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).

The customers that are being contacted are being informed that they could have their services disconnected unless they refrain from illegally downloading music files. Officials say that many of these people may not be aware that they are committing a offence, and also that the parents of many children may not be aware of what their kids are downloading from (more…)

The communications regulator Ofcom recently announced the launch of a voluntary code of practice for ISPs to sign up to. The aim of the code was to provide greater clarity and transparency to consumers in areas such as the actual broadband speeds they will get based on their circumstances, which would then help the consumers to better determine which (more…)

Earlier this month the UK’s communications regulator, Ofcom, announced a new voluntary code of practice of broadband providers to sign up to, which was designed to enable consumers to get more information about actual broadband line speeds that they will receive, thus enabling them to get the right broadband package for their needs based on greater clarity of information.

Around thirty fixed line broadband providers quickly signed up to the voluntary code of practice, with Ofcom officials stating: “Broadband is a thriving market in the UK. We want to encourage real clarity for consumers about the actual broadband speeds they can receive. This voluntary code is a significant step in this direction.”

However, senior officials from the broadband industry want the voluntary code of practice to be extended to mobile (more…)