3 UK has launched a new mobile TV section of its portal called 3 on Demand.
The content, which is managed by On Demand Group company Mobix Interactive, includes a variety of full episode streaming mobile TV ranging from scripted reality series The Hills, South Park, and celebrity news source E! 3 On Demand adds to the the operator's on-portal live TV streaming and off portal video content, which includes Sky Sports 1, 2, and 3.
Costing between £1.29 and £1.99 for a week's access to an episode the content will be delivered by Mobix's Adrenalin platform, users will be able to pause and resume without the need for a new client application.
3 UK product manager Alex Woodhams said: "3 on Demand can deliver a wide range of high quality full length TV shows in a flexible manner that allows users to pause and later resume shows where they left off.
"Amalgamating all of our mobile TV seamlessly ties in with our broader objective of using the speed of the 3 network to give people access to a wider choice of on-portal content and mobile internet services in a simple yet effective manner."
Mobix Interactive CEO Damian Mulcock said: "We are excited by the arrival of full form programming to the mobile environment, as well as Adrenalin's capability to deliver this new experience, as it is indicative of the momentum in the convergence strategies of our customers and the growing demand for multi-access by consumers."
The new plans suggest that 'up to' 7.2Mbps services will be available to 98% of the population by summer 2009. Furthermore those living in 'big' cities, such as London, should be able to receive 'up to' 14.4Mbps by the third quarter of 2010.
3 and T-Mobile join hands to boost their mobile broadband network
The mobile operators, 3 and T-Mobile, have recently entered a 5-year backhaul agreement with BT Wholesale. The agreement was entered through the two mobile operators' joint-venture company MBNL – Mobile Broadband Network Ltd - formed so that both mobile companies could merge, streamline and strengthen their base stations, and thereby increase their UK reach.
The 5-year deal with BT Wholesale stipulates that BT will connect 7,500 of MBNL's base stations to BT's broadband network (called 21CN – 21st Century Network). The intent is that, by entering this deal, MBNL's capacity to handle the ever-increasing consumer demand for mobile broadband will be bolstered in as cost-efficient and environmentally-beneficial a way as possible.
With the agreement, MBNL envision that by 2010, it will have the most extensive third-generation mobile broadband network in the UK.
We just had to tell you about this amazing value deal from 3. It's only available until 31st November, so be quick! If you're looking for great value mobile phone and mobile broadband there honestly is no better deal around today.
For just £20/month you get all this:
FREE Sony Ericsson K660i (Lime or Black), or Nokia 3120
500 minutes or texts per month (Mix & Match 500) - any network
Unlimited 3 to 3 minutes per month
Free Voicemail
Free Mobile Broadband Dongle
A huge 5GB of Mobile Broadband data allowance per month
3 launches new mobile broadband packages for small business
New 3 tariffs allow businesses to add a second user for half-price, as well as giving more generous data usage limits.
3 Business, the new small business division of mobile operator 3, today launches two new offers to give small businesses more cost-effective access to mobile broadband. The changes see 3 considerably increasing the amount of data available to users in their existing small business bundles, as well as letting SMEs buying one mobile broadband package to get another for half price.
The new bundles, called Broadband 5GB and Broadband 15 GB, increase in-bundle data allowance from 3GB and 7GB to 5GB and 15GB respectively. Additionally 3 Business is also allowing any small business buying an 18 or 24 month mobile broadband or voice package to buy a second MBB plan at half price. Existing customers wanting to buy a new Business MBB package will also benefit, being given 50% off line rental for the new plan.
The changes will allow 3 Business to continue to provide the best of the Internet to the small business user on the move, increasing their productivity and flexibility.
The MBB dongle can also be used in conjunction with the new D100 mobile broadband router. This allows businesses to provide shared wireless broadband without a landline, which can be especially valuable in temporary locations and places where WiFi access is required.
Renato Bottini, Head of 3 Business said, "3 Business has always been focussed on offering small businesses a wide range of communications options at the best possible price. It is especially important in today's climate for small businesses to be able to work smartly on the go, without paying over the odds."
"With these new offerings we believe we have achieved this goal, providing a service at a price which makes mobile working a reality for small businesses."
The new offerings and tariffs are available from today, more details can be found at http://three.co.uk/business
Two national press advertisements for Vodafone's mobile broadband claimed "the fastest, most reliable mobile broadband in the galaxy", for "only £15 a month".
Text in the adverts also read: "Leap into hyperdrive. With Vodafone's mobile broadband you get download speeds of up to 7.2Mbps on your laptop, which is as quick as most home broadband… enjoy mobile broadband that's light years ahead."
The ASA responded to the complaints by 3 and T-Mobile: "The claims 'fastest' and 'most reliable' mobile broadband service were misleading.
"We concluded that, because readers would understand it was based on both the speed and reliability of the Vodafone service, and because we had not seen evidence to support those claims, the claim 'mobile broadband that's light years ahead' was misleading.
"The ads must not appear again in their current form. We told Vodafone to make clear the basis of their claims in future."
3 Mobile wrote to customers this week to inform them of major disruptions to its mobile broadband service in certain areas. 3 apologised in writing and informed customers it is attempting to rectify the problem. 3 expects the problem to be temporary and explained it in terms of the network infrastructure improvements that are underway.
Mobile broadband customers have been offered two months' free rental for their troubles.
GfK Group has issued its latest statistics for Mobile Broadband USB Modem (Dongle) sales. The data shows that 149,000 such devices were sold during September 2008, compared with just 55,000 in January 2008.
However this isn't the peak; that occurred in July when 163,000 units were sold. 76% of Mobile Broadband users are on contract based services with the remaining 24% on 'pay as you go' (PAYG) deals.
However it's worth pointing out that the uptake of true PAYG has only recently taken off after T-Mobile and 3 Mobile launched a range of better priced options with fewer constraints, causing a significant rise in uptake.
You also get a free Huawei e220 USB Modem included. Max download speeds for this modem are quoted at 3.6Mbps, but 3 currently only offers a maximum of 2.8Mbps on their 3G network anyway.
Hot on the back of the recent T-Mobile USB hub news, 3-Mobile have released details of their mobile broadband sharing hub - and it looks good, very good. The D100 WiFi Router allows you to share your mobile broadband connection without the need for any additional hardware. An ideal solution for landline-free homes.
All it takes is plugging your mobile broadband dongle into the router, connecting to the Wi-Fi enabled device and voila you have Broadband to share. People can share their Broadband with up to four people in their home, who ever they may be. And when they're heading out of the house they can just pull the dongle out of the router and have web access on the move.
At the 8th annual Mobile Choice Awards 3 Mobile bagged the prize for best 'Tariff Deal of the Year'.
The tariff that brushed aside the competition was 3's Mobile Broadband offering in a category that featured Asda's prepay deal, the O2 iPhone tariff, the Virgin Liberty Sim deal and another 3 plan, the Mix and Match.
Judges were impressed with 3's endeavours in the market place in relation to Mobile Broadband, "3 have focused more than any other mobile operator on taking broadband out of the home and into the big, wide world. If you have a laptop or a mobile phone and you want to access the internet 3 makes it simple, and offers good value. It's innovative, the pricing is clear, and 3 is dominating the market."
The full list of Mobile Choice Consumer Awards winners for 2008 is listed below:
Phone of the Year: Nokia E71 Best Camera Phone: Samsung i8510 Tariff Deal of the Year: 3 Mobile Broadband Best Bluetooth Headset: Jawbone Noise Assassin Best Network: O2 Best Smartphone: Nokia E71 Best Mobile Game: Tetris Pop Best Music Phone: Samsung F400 Best Customer Service: Virgin Mobile Most Stylish Phone: LG Secret KF750 Best High Street Retailer: 02 Stores Best Mobile Sat Nav: HTC Touch Cruise Best Online Retailer: Virgin Mobile Readers' Dream Phone: Apple iPhone Manufacturer of the Year: Samsung Mobile
The joint venture of UK mobile operators T-Mobile and 3 has signed a deal with BT Wholesale to provide high-speed links between their base stations, giving the business arm of BT a welcome boost with a contract worth several hundred million pounds.
The five-year deal with Mobile Broadband Network highlights the need for mobile operators to shore up the speed of data transmission as mobile broadband becomes widely used by customers.
BT Wholesale signed similar five-year deals with rival operators O2 in May and Vodafone in April, leaving only Orange of the big UK mobile operators without a similar arrangement.
Emin Gurdenli, technology director at T-Mobile UK, said: "This agreement with BT will make sure backhaul [the backbone connections of the network] is not a constraint now or in the future at a time when T-Mobile is experiencing strong growth in mobile broadband and other mobile data services."
Mobile broadband is increasing in popularity because of devices such as Apple's iPhone, as well as the planned launches of smartphones from Nokia and Sony Ericsson, and Google's G1.
Telcos, IT companies unite to promote mobile broadband
LONDON (Reuters) - A group of 16 leading telecoms and IT companies is uniting to promote mobile broadband in a marketing initiative worth more than $1 billion over the next year under the auspices of the GSM Association.
The companies - which include Vodafone, Microsoft and Asustek - aim to make it simpler for consumers to identify laptops that have built-in access to the Internet via high-speed, next-generation HSPA and LTE networks, by applying a mobile broadband mark.
The mark is also backed by a US$1 billion marketing budget, to be spent in the next year. The mark, which looks like a stylized cloud or bird, will be on laptops in time for the holiday shopping season.
According to research commissioned by the GSMA and Microsoft and carried out by Pyramid Research, there is demand for $50 billion worth of such notebooks this year.
"We definitely expect to see several hundred thousand in the shops by Christmas time," Mike O'Hara, the GSMA's chief marketing officer, told Reuters by telephone.
The group said the move also could pave the way to connect devices from MP3 music players to refrigerators and cars to the Internet in future.
The partners will label laptop computers that meet their standards for mobile broadband access with a new service mark that identifies laptops ready for mobile broadband connection "out of the box."
Many in the telecoms and computer industries believe that most people in the world will have their first and perhaps only experience of the Internet via a mobile device.
"While there will always be a place for WiFi connectivity, the great benefit of mobile broadband might be that it liberates the user from the spatial tyranny of the so-called 'hotspot,'" Shiv K. Bakhshi, director of mobility research at IT research firm IDC, said in a GSMA statement released on Tuesday.
The other partners in the initiative are 3, a unit of Hutchison Whampoa Ltd, Dell, ECS, Ericsson, Gemalto, Lenovo, Orange, a unit of France Telecom SA, Qualcomm, Telefonica Europe, T-Mobile and Toshiba.
We believe that Pay As You Go mobile broadband will be a popular Christmas gift choice this yesr - check out the latest PAYG deals.
3 Mobile announced today that it has dropped the price of it's Pay As You Go dongles by £10 accross the range.
This means that you can now get mobile broadband for a £50 outlay - including 1GB of data - with no contract or ongoing commitment.
This is undoubtedly a strategic a manoever in advance of the widely anticipated Christmas rush for mobile broadband. And a shrewd move it is; placing 3 Mobile PAYG at the forefront of this competative market in terms of pricepoint.
Most of the tech-savvy buying public are aware of the recent, and likely ongoing, release of laptop-inclusive mobile broadband deals from the likes of Orange, 3 Mobile and T Mobile. We've featured several articles on this blog on the subject and there's little doubt that thousands of happy customers have taken advantage of the deals.
But just how much do these 'free' laptops actually cost you, the consumer?
Well, in this article for the first time, we compare three of the most popular direct laptop-inclusive mobile broadband deals with their equivalent dongle-only tariffs to give you a true picture of the value for money you're getting.
Laptop-inclusive 24-month plans:
Dongle-only equivalent plans: *Note that Orange is a special case because its dongle-only plan is only an 18month contract.
What's immediately apparent from the tables above is that the laptops offered in these plans are not, in any way, 'free'; you pay for them in full. However, this is perhaps to be expected, after all, nothing in life is truly free!
So, you obviously do cover the laptop cost over the contract period but, the payments are spread. The premium you pay for this privilege is £31 for the Orange and 3 Mobile plans whilst for T-Mobile it's £25 over the contract term. These premiums equate to around 5%, 4% and 3.5% interest respectively on the total contract cost; not quite interest free, but competitive nonetheless.
In our view, if you're in the market for a new laptop and need mobile broadband, then this may be a great way to spread the cost. In two years time, when your contract is up, simply pick up another laptop-inclusive deal. The chances are the monthly payment will be lower by then and the laptop specification will almost certainly be better.
Benchmarking company Global Reviews finds T-Mobile's website rates best for customer satisfaction among all UK network operators
T-Mobile has come top of an independent customer poll of mobile networks' websites.
Independent benchmarking company Global Reviews asked more than 1,000 web customers for their views of the UK networks' websites. It assessed sites against more than 500 criteria, including content and usability.
While all the networks' sites increased their scores for online customer satisfaction since the last tally in January, T-mobile came first with 68 per cent, while 3 was last with 53 per cent.
Networks scored well compared with other sectors. Their average was 60 per cent, 20 per cent higher than the hotel sector and 12 per cent better than credit card websites.
A Global Reviews spokeswoman said: "T-Mobile received high scores in almost all categories and a significant improvement in site utility. But it improved just one per cent since January and others are gaining."
"Orange improved nine per cent, O2 five, 3 by four and Virgin Mobile three. Overall the industry average is up by seven per cent."
On Orange, she said: "It made big improvements across the board and its score for customer support online has increased from 45 to 61 per cent."
Despite coming last, 3 Mobile also made strides forward. The spokesperson added: "3 is catching up fast."
"It saw a 15 per cent increase in the quality of its content and tools score, nine per cent in customer support and six per cent in the process. Site utility is the next areas it needs to focus on."
Vodafone increased its score but only made it to third place, while O2 came fourth. Virgin came fifth but was one of the most improved sites.
Orange and T-Mobile stand by Vodafone's rebuttal of European Commission's proposed termination rate cuts of up to 70 per cent. Termination rates are the charges levied for using your phone abroad - also referred to as roaming charges.
3 Mobile has branded Vodafone's submission to the European Commission rejecting significant cuts to mobile termination rates as "scaremongering".
But other networks have supported Vodafone's stance and even suggested handset subsidies could disappear if termination rates are cut too low.
Vodafone said it wasn't against reducing termination rates – the fees networks charge each other to connect calls across their networks – but it disputes a call from EU telecoms commissioner Viviane Reding for reductions of up to 70 per cent.
The network also said the reduction envisaged by the EU would make it difficult for networks to recover their costs and could lead to the adoption of a US-style mobile market model of 'bill and keep', where customers pay to make and receive calls.
It claimed there were around 40 million mobile users in Europe who would then be prompted to cull their mobile usage. According to the bill and keep model, users spend an average of €15 per month, but according to Vodafone, these 40 million European users currently spend less than €10 per month.
Alternatively, networks would have to raise their retail charges to recover costs.
"We are not against prices coming down, but if the EC brings these cuts in the time frame they are suggesting, operators will have to recoup these costs somehow," a Vodafone spokesman said.
3 Mobile are looking to give everyone on a 3 tariff access to email via their handset.
These tariffs are very similar in nature as mobile broadband, but without the broadband. The first tariff includes a 10MB data limit with unlimited access to POP3 and IMAP, while the other more expensive tariff includes up to 1GB with unlimited access to their own Notes or Exchange servers. Priced at £2.50 for unlimited access (double up to a fiver if you want to use exchange or notes), the potential for this is great if you're the type of digital nomad that likes to keep correspondance in the domain of the hand-held.
Pushing email availability on mobile handsets will, Tech Watch believe, follow a similar pattern to the strategy that saw a huge up take of 3 Mobile'ss mobile broadband, it'll be interesting to see if this service proves as successful.
3 Mobile looking to improve mobile broadband speeds to 14.4Mbps
Mobile network operator Three has told Techradar it expects to move to even higher mobile broadband speeds as it attempts to corner the mobile broadband market.
"We're hoping to bring our network up to 7.2mbps over the summer," confirmed a spokesperson from Three to Techradar. "Our network currently offers 3.6mbps, which in real terms is around 1mbps, and we're currently investing in our network. This means we might get 2mbps when we upgrade."
The spokesperson said the network is working on upgrading the speeds to an even faster 14.4mbps, but is unsure when this will be as Three is now implementing the current upgrades. "[...] higher speeds mean the network becomes more sensitive. [...] What we hope to offer is greater capacity, in order to serve more users, rather than just focusing on the top speeds."
Inquirer contributor, Tony Dennis has written a post on 3 Mobile's mobile broadband offering and the way it’s designed to connect the 'unconnectable'.
This Robin Hood type painting of 3 by the Inquirer is built on the brand's positioning; specifically, the ability to offer their mobile broadband service in a pay-as-you-go package that engages the previously 'disenfranchised'. This being that portion of the market that, for circumstances such as bad credit history (for whatever reason) or a free-roaming nature, aren't suited to a fixed connection or contracted solution.
This is what the Inquirer believes is partly accountable for the large and expanding mobile broadband dongle UK user base, recently reported at almost 500,000. Like Tony says, "All you need is a computer, a USB port and a decent signal from the nearest 3 mast."
Ireland leads the way in mobile broadband revolution
Does 3G technology offer a viable alternative to fixed-line broadband?
When it comes to broadband, Ireland scarcely figures on most European league tables – with one exception. According to research by the telecoms consultancy Analysys Mason, Ireland is second only to Austria in adopting mobile broadband.
That’s no mean feat for a technology launched just last year and a country that, according to the telecoms regulator ComReg, has around 800,000 fixed-line broadband connections in total. Unlike many other European countries, 3G mobile broadband is an extremely strong competitor to fixed-line services in Ireland.
There are currently more than 230,000 mobile broadband subscribers in Ireland; 3 Mobile claims 90,000 users, Vodafone some 84,000 and O2 some 60,000. Such is the demand that one operator says customers are signing up at the rate of over 200 a day.
T-Mobile offers Acer TM5320 laptop with mobile broadband
T-Mobile has today launched their first laptop-inclusive mobile broadband deal. They're offering an Acer TravelMate 5320 laptop worth £349.99 to new customers signing a 24-month mobile broadband contract at £30 per month.
This makes T-Mobile the second network provider to offer a direct inclusive laptop deal - 3 Mobile was first to market last month with a range of laptops available with their mobile broadband service.
We expect other players to follow suit soon, so watch this space.
Incidentally, the introduction of this offer sees a re-branding of T-Mobile's mobile broadband products. For simplicity and to avoid confustion with their mobile phone Web'n'Walk service add-on, their mobile broadband packages are now termed 'Broadband Plus' and 'Broadband Max'.
