ISPA have announced the finalists for its Internet Villain and Internet Hero awards which will be decided at their annual award ceremony.
We keep seeing reports that British consumers are hooked on their broadband connections and that more and more people are using to get online to stay connected, for information, communication and entertainment.
We even see evidence that mobile broadband is gaining a foothold amongst small to medium businesses, allowing employees to get online and continue working on the move, and American business travellers report that mobile broadband is a priority for them in terms of getting connected at airports and even in the air.
But mobile broadband is still in relatively early stages of adoption, and its business applications are only just beginning to be seen. For a mobile sales force, for example, mobile broadband is invaluable in keeping up to date. American provider of biological research BIVI supports 180 field and sales representatives, who need to connect regularly to the company’s customer relationship management system to send and receive vital information. Mobile broadband has provided a solution to the issue of staying in touch, allowing field sales people to stay connected, streamlining systems, increasing productivity and saving the company money.
And mobile broadband has even recently been suggested for use by police and rescue services personnel - again to provide up-to-the-minute information which could be vital. Like any technology, it takes some time before adoption is widespread, but as it improves and evolves, mobile broadband will prove to be invaluable in a wealth of situations.
Wrexham & Shrophsire become have become the latest company to announce free Wi-Fi for passengers on it’s rail services that operate from Wrexham, Shrewsbury and
Telford to London Marylebone.
Swedish telecoms manufacturing giant Ericsson has announced that it is about to launch a new module specifically designed for netbooks.
A leading light in mobile broadband technology,Ericsson is responsible for a great deal of the actual hardware which runs our mobile broadband networks, and now it is making it even easier for laptop manufacturers to integrate wireless connectivity into their machines.
The module - the Ericsson F3307, to be precise - is expected to launch on Thursday, and is already pre-approved by major mobile broadband networks in 75 countries worldwide. The solution is tailor-made for netbooks, and it combines performance with low power consumption, whilst offering download speeds of up to 2Mb using the HSPA standard.
Mats Norin, Vice President of Ericsson Mobile Broadband Modules, commented: "Netbooks are redefining the way consumers think about the internet and mobile broadband. By coupling our cost-effective mobile broadband solution with the affordability of netbooks, Ericsson is bringing connectivity to the masses."
And hoping to make lots of money, too - the company reckons that in excess of 300 million netbooks will be sold in the next five years, most of which will come equipped with mobile broadband.
While fixed broadband has become as normal in people’s homes as toasted cheese sandwiches, another means of connecting online is starting to take the market by storm: mobile broadband.
Mobile broadband basically frees you up to check up on work emails and the latest sports results while you’re out and about instead of having to be stuck indoors close to a modem or router. Seeing as laptops have given us the freedom to do the same thing, it only stands to reason that internet access had to follow.
You may be thinking that you can already check up your mates’ latest facebook statuses on your smartphone. The beauty of mobile broadband is that you don’t need to squint and curse your human-sized fingers on a 3-inch screen.
Great news for small business looking at getting into using mobile broadband.
Orange mobile broadband has cut its business rates by up to 50% until 31 July in a bid to stoke up small businesses’ interest in the technology.
Existing Orange business customers can now subscribe to Business Everywhere Unlimited mobile broadband for £7.50 per month.
Other small businesses can sign up for £10 per month.
Both packages are subject to a fair use policy.
Business take up of mobile broadband has been slower than mobile operators expected, and Orange’s offer is designed to encourage small businesses to try out the technology.
Access to file-sharing portal The Pirate Bay has been blocked by certain mobile broadband providers, it has been claimed.
The site, which provides links to BitTorrents that users can download for free, has recently been in the news due to its founders’ copyright violation court case - where they were found guilty.
However, consumers can still reach The Pirate Bay, unless they use mobile broadband from BT, it has been suggested.
ISP Review reported yesterday (April 21st) that users are given a warning message when they try to enter the site.
Three are offering a whopping 15gb monthly deal for £15 and this is bound to create a fierce competition between the mobile providers for mobile broadband customers.
The deal represents half price to what three normally charge.
However, do you really need 15gb a month? Even if you illegally download then you would be hard pushed to use this up, especially as three’s mobile network is hardly the fastest around.
THREE MOBILE BROADBAND:
Three were the first mobile company to offer pay as you go broadband and have kept up the pressure on the other networks by coming up with great deals.
No contract, pay as you go
Add ons: £10(1GB), £15(3GB), £25(7GB)
Allowance must be used within 30 days
VODAFONE UK MOBILE BROADBAND:
Vodafone have just entered the pay as you go
Top Up and Go..Includes USB modem & 1GB of data
Data top ups do not have expiry date
£15 per GB of data
T-MOBILE PAY AS YOU GO MOBILE BROADBAND
T-mobile were the second to enter the UK mobile broadband market and with good coverage they are a good bet for mobile broadband.
Mobile Broadband Pay Per Day (3GB) - 7MbPay as you go
ORANGE UK is to support mobile broadband for laptops from HP Compaq and Toshiba with connectivity supported by a new mobile broadband dongle from Huawei.
Only available on long contracts, the two new laptop offers are designed, says Orange, to allow consumers to choose a device that suit their needs, whilst still getting the great benefits of internet access - without the need to pay the full price upfront - which we thing is excellent!
For £30 per month is the 1 Kg HP Compaq Mini 700 10.1-inch laptop which is based on and Intel Atom processor and comes equipped with a 60 Gbyte drive, 802.11 B/G WLAN connectivity, a 92% full size keyboard and integrated webcam.
It is hoped that these deals will be available on a prepay scheme soon.
