March 11, 2010
Our satisfaction of Broadband speeds in the UK has reportedly fallen for the third year in a row!
A broadband speed satisfaction survey was done by broadband comparison website broadbandchoices.co.uk that had 8,000 respondents and around a third of those who answered were not satisfied with the broadband speeds that they received. The level of dissatisfaction since last year has increased where 27% were not satisfied and is basically double how dissatisfied users were in 2008 when 16% said they were not happy with their broadband speeds.
Broadband speeds for many is the main important factor they have with their internet connection, and with broadband speeds being the main selling points to many broadband deals alongside the price it is only to be expected that the speed we receive is of high importance.
Of those who responded, 28% of those said that they were planning on changing broadband providers because they were not happy with their broadband speeds.
It appears that the main dissatisfaction comes from those who are on standard 8Mb or below broadband deals, as the study also found that of the broadband subscribers who were on 24Mb and above broadband deals only 15% of these were not satisfied with their broadband speeds.
Demand for fast broadband is ever increasing, this is mainly because more and more online applications become available that require faster broadband connections, such as streaming TV and music live and the internet connections are used to do more tasks.
Not a day goes by when there is not more talk of the latest fibre optic broadband deployments. As such we anticipate that as broadband speeds increase the “bar” for what broadband speed we want to achieve will continue to be raised and once fibre broadband is deployed throughout the UK (BT are currently starting their roll out of fibre broadband) we anticipate that we will see those on ADSL2+ (24Mb broadband) becoming the ones who are not as satisfied of their broadband speeds.
One big bug-bear with broadband speeds is the advertised speeds are quite often not close to what the user is actually going to receive, the advertised “up to” speeds are the theoretical maximum broadband speeds users would be able to receive but there are very few, especially on standard copper wired ADSL who are likely to get this maximum speed.
Currently though, for those who are not satisfied with their broadband speeds should look to see if fibre broadband is available to them (Virgin Media) or if their telephone exchange has ADSL2+ enabled where they will be able to receive broadband speeds up to 24Mb and to consider changing their broadband provider if they are not happy with the download and upload speeds that they receive.
To see what broadband speed you receive use our free broadband speed test tool.
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Virgin Media are to look to look up instead of down when it comes to installing some of it’s fibre optic cable by using telegraph poles.
 Plans by Virgin Media, the UK’s largest cable operator are to use telegraph poles and existing ducts to deliver it’s cable broadband services that will be able to deliver broadband speeds up to 50Mb and also it ‘s digital TV services if a trial of the technology to Woolhampton in Berkshire goes well.
Virgin Media currently have their current fibre cable network underground which can prove expensive to deploy with the digging up of roads, however up to this point they have not been able to do any different as there are planning guidelines which stop large scale overhead deployment of cable.
The government is looking at the possibility of changing these guidelines which would then open up the possibility for Virgin Media to do large scale overhead deployment of their cable network which Virgin Media estimate could benefit around 1 million homes.
Virgin Medias Chief Executive, Neil Berkett said:
“This unique trial will allow us to understand the possibilities of aerial deployment and may provide an exciting new way to extend next generation broadband services. With everything from BBC iPlayer to YouTube increasingly demanding reliable ultrafast broadband speeds, we’re keen to ensure that all communities, in towns, cities and villages right across the UK, stand to benefit.”
The government are keen to get next-generation digital services out to rural communities and allowing Virgin Media to look up instead of down could be one way to help with rolling out fibre broadband to more rural areas.
Virgin are already planning on extending their network to another 500,000 homes that would then be able to access it’s current top rated XXL broadband service offering 50Mb. There are currently 12.6 million homes in the UK that are able to connect to the Virgin Media network.
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March 10, 2010
Leading broadband providers in the UK have co-signed a letter published in the Financial Times about recent amendments to the Digital Economy Bill.
The changes to the Digital Economy Bill to adopt amendment 12A that Parliament are to address look to force broadband providers to block websites that have been accused of hosting copyrighted material illegally without the case even being heard by a judge.
The letter in the Financial Times says that:
“The Lords have been thoughtful in their consideration of the bill to date. It is therefore bitterly disappointing that the House has allowed an amendment with obvious shortcomings to proceed without challenging its proponents to consider and address the full consequences,”
“Put simply, blocking access as envisaged by this clause would both widely disrupt the internet in the UK and elsewhere and threaten freedom of speech and the open internet, without reducing copyright infringement as intended. To rush through such a controversial proposal at the tail end of a parliament, without any kind of consultation with consumers or industry, is very poor law-making”
The weight behind the letter is considerable, with BT Chief Executive Ian Livingstone, alongside representatives from broadband providers Orange, TalkTalk and Virgin Media and also Google, Facebook and Ebay adding some very heavy “internet weight” to the opposition.
However, music industry officials welcome the amendments and say it sends a clear message out to those hosting copyrighted content illegally.
Mr Livingstone, the Chief Executive of BT also thinks that instead of cutting of users who illegally transfer copyrighted music and videos they should be issued with fines living driving fines where they are able to appeal it if they think it is unfair. If they don’t appeal it then they pay the fine.
The bill will have it’s third hearing in the House Of Lords next week and it will then be put before the House Of Commons to see if ther government can get it pushed through before the General Election which is expected on May 6th 2010.
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Fibre-Optic broadband access is growing across Europe as next generation broadband starts to take off.
A study done by IDATE on behalf of the Fibre-to-the-Home (FTTH) Council Europe showed that the rate of growth of Fibre-To-The-Home broadband went from 19% in June 2009 up to 29% by the end of December 2009.
Across Europe it is estimated that there is FTTH access available to 25 million homes and businesses with currently around 3.5 million taking subscriptions.
In Europe it was found that there was 249 FTTH projects taking place, with 136 of these being new initiatives that were launched since 2005.
The UK however does not show up on the tables for leading the way with FTTH, Norway top the charts with a coverage of 64.9% and Sweden in second spot with a FTTH coverage of 41.4% coverage.
It is countries in Western and Northern Europe that also lead the way in terms of subscriptions to FTTH services, with 67% of subscribers in these countries, Sweden, Italy, France, Norway, The Netherlands, Denmark and Germany.
The UK we hope will start to feature in the next year or two as fibre broadband deployment is starting to take off a bit more here now, even though we have Virgin Media who are a cable provider the study did not include them. BT are starting the roll out of their own fibre network (BT Infinity), with around 2.5 million premises having FTTH installed by 2012 although the majority however are having FTTC (Fibre-To-The-Cabinet) installed which does not offer as fast speeds as it uses copper wires to deliver the broadband from the cabinet to the premises. Virgin Media are also looking to offer 100Mb fibre broadband via their DOCSIS 3 network.
What is considered one of the main issues with next generation high speed broadband connections is getting people to sign up to them, so a similar process that was needed to get people to change from dial up internet to standard ADSL broadband.
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March 8, 2010
Virgin Media customers are to be exclusively able to watch Film4HD from this summer.
A deal between Channel 4 and Virgin Media has been agreed that will mean that Film4HD will be exclusively available only to Virgin Media customers when it launches later this summer on their digital TV service.
Also available to Virgin Media customers will be E4HD which gets many popular TV programmes such as Glee, Skins, Hollyoaks, Desperate Housewives, 90210 and Ugly Betty. The E4HD channel is due to launch on Virgin Media in April this year.
The executive director of digital entertainment at Virgin Media, Cindy Rose, said:
“Channel 4 has a great track record in delivering innovative and compelling content and we’re delighted to bring some of their very best films and most popular programmes to our customers in stunning HD. As more and more households become HD-ready, we’re lining up content that makes the most of High Definition and are making HD available to all our of customers for no extra fee.“
V irgin Media already have a range of HD channels available and are due to get more added. Some of their current HD channels include: C4HD, BBC HD, National Geographic HD, ESPN HD, Discovery HD and Eurosport HD.
Virgin Media XL TV customers will be able to access the HD channels at no extra costs with BBC HD and 4HD being available to all Virgin Media digital TV customers.
To be able to receive the HD channels Virgin Media customers will need a V+ HD digital recorder which is needed to decode the channels, a HDMI cable to connect to a HD-ready TV.
Some of the new Film4 HD films expected to be shown soon are Slumdog Millionaire, Go Lucky and Looking For Eric as well as other Hollywood blockbusters and many more.
Virgin Media also have a hundreds of hours of HD on Demand programmes available to Virgin Media customers as well as the BBC iPlayer which is delivered through their cable network.
Virgin Media have recently also announced that they are to start offering 100Mb fibre broadband (Read: Virgin to start roll out of 100Mb fibre broadband) meaning that they will be able to deliver far more content such as broadband and HD Television at the same time.
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People believe that internet access is a “fundamental right” according to a global poll done for the BBC.
Over 27,000 adults were queried for the study by GlobeScan across 26 different countries and the study found that 79% believed that internet access is a fundamental right.
Of the 14,000 or so who were queried who already used the internet found that 87% of these believed that internet access should be “the fundamental right of all people”. There was 71% of non-internet users who also believed that they should have the right to access the internet.
Countries such as Finland and Estonia have already ruled that internet access is a human right for those living in these countries which are interesting for the UK at the moment as the government are trying to get their “Digital Economy Bill” pushed through which would mean that there should be universal broadband across the UK by 2012 and also that a “three strikes rule” would become law for those caught downloading illegal files such as music and videos.
The study also delved into what internet users concerns were with the internet, with fraud being the issue that concerned 32% of those questioned, 27% thought explicit and violent content was the biggest concern with 20% most worried about threats to their privacy.
In the UK we were found to be only second to Japan to feel that the internet has increased our freedom, with 87% of internet uses here believing this to be the case, just 11% did not agree that this was the case. Interestingly a figure of 75% of British felt that internet access should be a fundamental right.
Social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook are sites that 42% of British internet users enjoy spending time and 55% think that there should be some government regulation of the internet.
Doug Miller, the GlobeScan Chairman said:
“Despite worries about privacy and fraud, people around the world see access to the internet as their fundamental right. They think the web is a force for good, and most don’t want governments to regulate it.”
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March 1, 2010
O2 are to offer mobile phone discounts worth up to £50 for new customers who take up their home broadband.
The home broadband packages that the discounts apply to are either the Premium or Pro packages.
The O2 Premium package is available for £10 for O2 mobile phone customers or £15 for everyone else and offers customers a free wireless router, up to 20Mb download speeds, upload speeds of 1.3Mb 200 free web texts and McAfee security software.
The O2 Pro package also comes with an enhanced wireless router, 500 free web texts per month, 2.5Mb upload speeds and a dedicated customer service number for a cost of £17.50 per month for existing O2 mobile customers or £22.50 for everyone else.
Both deals are available on a 12 month contract and come with unlimited usage (fair use policy applies).
The £50 mobile phone discount will be automatically applied in one lump sum after 11 months of have the home broadband.
O2 are due to launch their own home phone package later this month meaning that they will then be able to offer broadband bundles of home broadband, mobile phone, home phone and mobile broadband.
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