With all the talk about the new mobile broadband networks and high speed packet access (HSPA) technology you would be forgiven for thinking that the once coveted 3G network is on its last legs.

Indeed the 3G network is still used by millions around the globe but there is popular belief that it will become extinct as soon as 4G technology takes centre stage circa 2010.

Despite the grim forecast for the 3G network, Vodafone seem to be sticking to their guns and have announced that they are rolling out a 14Mb mobile broadband plan across the UK.

The major cities will benefit first with London, Liverpool and Birmingham all topping the list.

Vodafone have happily reported that over 80% of all current 3G dongles and handsets can take advantage of these new speeds.

Liverpudlian’s will be on top of at least one list come 2010.

Now as we are always reporting here at Simplifydigital, advertised speed is one thing but actual speeds are a totally different ball game and this is perfectly illustrated in Vodafone’s ‘80% claim’.

You see, whilst 3G technology cannot substantially support speeds of 14Mb Vodafone claim that over 80% of their 3G customer base will be privy to the 14Mb advertised speeds. Why? Because the 14Mb speed is only a theoretical speed and whilst Vodafone are legally allowed advertise speeds of up to 14Mb you will most likely be receiving half of that.

Vodafone will obviously be transferring their current developments in broadband technology to the 4G network and while it’s easy to throw stones from the Simplifydigital towers we must admit that it’s refreshing to see some telco companies out there pursuing the need for speed.

If you would like to compare mobile broadband deals or digital TV, broadband and home phone deals give one of our resident digital experts a call on 0800 1388 388.

Written by Chris

There is both good news and bad news in the latest announcement from Vodafone’s mobile broadband headquarters.

The good news is that they have again been pushing the mobile broadband boundaries with news that they are just about to launch a 21Mbs mobile broadband package.

The bad news?

It’s Vodafone Greece not Vodafone UK who are launching the high speed mobile broadband product and there is no news yet on when these speeds are expected to hit UK shores. 

Vodafone Greece have long been renowned as the pioneers of high speed mobile broadband. Earlier this year residents of mainland Greece were the first people in Europe to be offered mobile broadband speeds of up to 14Mbs.

Greece is the word for lightening fast mobile broadband.

The 21Mbs plan will first be available in Athens via the much hyped High Speed Packet Access technology (HSPA+). Along with above average download speeds on their laptops the Greeks will also be able to enjoy upload speeds of 5.7Mbs when they choose the Vodafone network of course.

Again, this is another firm statement that mobile broadband is positioned high on the networks R&D agenda. And with no fixed line or cable broadband offering it’s easy to see why Vodafone are playing so aggressive in the mobile broadband space.

If you want more information on mobile broadband or if you want to compare digital TV, home phone and broadband deals click here or give one of our resident experts a call on 0800 1388 388.

Written by Chris

The Daily Mail today recounts the story of Will Pierce who took his young son skiing for 5 days and came home with a £22k bill from Vodafone.

He used his Vodafone dongle to download a relatively small amount of TV programming at a cost which amounted to approximately £300 per minute of TV programming downloaded – so an 18 minute TV show cost him over £5,000!  Clearly the same amount of downloading within the UK should effectively be free.

As Mr Pierce rightly points out: ‘There’s no warning when you log on how much it will cost a minute or a counter on the screen telling you what it is costing. If you ran up such a bill on your credit card while overseas you’d get a call checking that it is you who is spending so much.’

This is an absurd situation – people recognise that if they use their mobile phone abroad it costs more, but not hundreds of times more.  So as mobile broadband subscriptions become ever more popular, many more mobile broadband users will fall into the same trap as Mr Pierce.

Ofcom, confirmed that there are currently no rules forcing companies to alert their customers to the size of bills they are incurring. An Ofcom spokesman said: ‘We are meeting mobile operators to explore how we can prevent “bill shock” happening. But we don’t act on the charges. The European Commission does.’

However, last week, the European Parliament voted to cap the price of ‘data roaming’ to 0.5 euros a megabyte, but this could take months to become law.

Vodafone initially insisted that Mr Pierce’s usage was ‘valid’ and refused to back down. However, a spokesman for Vodafone said yesterday that the company would waive the full amount.  She added: ‘Such bills are exceptionally rare and we have an investigation under way.’

Written by Charlie

Motorola have begun their trials of 4G mobile broadband, testing their new technology in their facility in Swindon on Monday. Motorola are conducting the tests using long-term evolution technology (LTE) which is supposed to be faster and more reliable than the well known 3G network. This isn’t 2009’s first step in providing faster mobile broadband to the UK market. Vodafone have claimed that they successfully tested their new HSPA+ mobile broadband service, reaching speeds of 16Mb/s.

As mentioned by Simplifydigital, Vodafone was obviously going to create a large ripple in the mobile broadband market place with their announcement and we assume that Motorola’s announcement is first in a long line of companies reacting to the change in the waters. Motorola are claiming that if successful, they will be able to offer theoretical speeds of 100+ Gb/s (Thats gigabytes NOT megabytes!). This is obviously a huge increase on what consumers currently receive on either their mobile broadband or traditional ‘fixed line’ broadband service. So it begs the question, with so many laptop deals out there, combined with superfast mobile broadband been more widely available, is ‘fixed line’ broadband fast becoming the ‘dial up’ of broadband offers?

Is traditional broadband being circled by the sharks?

Mobile broadband offers the customer more freedom than the name suggests. Many providers currently offer ‘pay as you go’ mobile broadband plans with consumers preferring not to be locked into a lengthy contract at a speed that may soon become ‘prehistoric’. Mobile broadband is also seen as a more social way of connecting to the web with the user not restricted to their family’s droll computer room. Cafe’s and even pubs are fast becoming populated with laptop users browsing the web in between latte’s or pints. Students and professionals are able to do last minute research on their next project on the way to school or work and computer gamers can get some much needed sun whilst playing online in the backyard!

So with Motorola’s latest announcement, we wait for the next ripple and perhaps the entire broadband market’s tide to change?

If you want to see what mobile broadband offers are currently out there why not give us a call on 0800 1388 388 or click here.

Written by Chris

Vodafone is preparing to launch mobile broadband connections with an actual speed of 16Mb/sec, following in-field trials of the new High Speed Packet Access (HSPA+) internet. HSPA+ is part of the 3G family which supports mobile and laptop internet browsing.

After Virgin Medias announcement of 50Mb/sec home broadband it is now time for mobile broadband to start pushing the boundaries.

Vodafone predict that the HSPA+ service will offer typical download speeds of around 13Mb/sec in good reception areas with the service dropping to around 4Mb/sec in less receptive areas.

Despite the low speed in less receptive areas the HSPA+ service is still a vast improvement on Vodafone’s current offering which is advertised at speeds of up to 7.2Mb/sec in the best possible reception areas.

Not usually known for its flying speeds, mobile broadband is set to take off

A recent report by Ofcom suggests that UK consumers number one gripe with broadband is not receiving the packages advertised speed on their laptop or PC. The report mentioned that speed and price seem to be at the top of everyone’s wish list when selecting a broadband package.

This is sure to provoke competitor action in a constantly changing broadband environment where consumers want faster speeds and more reliability… Watch this space!

If you want to find out which mobile broadband package is best for you click here.

Written by Chris