The word on the underground broadband grape vine is that the eagerly awaited o2 Broadband could be launched within a matter of days. We’ve noticed that there are the first signs of an online media campaign with paid search listings appearing in the Google search results offering customers the chance to pre-sign up – this in itself suggests that the launch of o2 Broadband is imminent. According to our sources, the delay in launching their own broadband product following o2’s acquisition of broadband provider BeThere broadband early in 2006 has been caused by several factors.

Firstly, o2 were keen not to go down the same route as rivals Orange whose own broadband product has been poorly received and plagued by problems with customer service. This is especially of concern to o2 given Be Broadband’s excellent reputation for customer service and it’s growing popularity through viral methods. Be Broadband offers customers up to 24 meg speeds and this, coupled with its great customer service and competitive price point, has seen its popularity rocket, particularly now that it is available in far more areas than it has been historically. O2 Broadband are now faced with the tricky decision as to whether to drop the Be Broadband brand or to run with two broadband products simultaneously which are effectively competing with each other! (more…)

With broadband penetration becoming increasingly widespread, broadband providers are focusing more and more on the ’switchers’ rather than brand new customers. A common problem that we hear time and again is that of MAC codes and the issues that they cause in terms of being able to switch broadband provider quickly and efficiently online. We would estimate that broadband suppliers are losing thousands of sales through online switchers not realising that a MAC code is needed or having their MAC code available at the point of purchase. This disrupts the sales cycle and can therefore introduce an opportunity to reconsider which broadband provider a customer chooses. Customers are notoriously fickle with little brand loyalty, meaning the very fact that they have to obtain a MAC code before proceeding can have a negative effect on their perception of the provider that they initially opted for. (more…)

In his first speech as Competitiveness minister (sounds like a good job doesn’t it?) Stephen Timms has said that the UK needs to look at our current levels of broadband provision and make plans for the future to ensure that we don’t get left behind by other countries who are investing heavily in their telecommunications infrastructure to provide super fast broadband.

Timms previous post was as the e-commerce minister and he was key in pushing the UK’s broadband provision, indeed if you think of the speeds we were used to 5 years ago when dial up was still prevalent he certainly did a good job there! In a speech to the Broadband Stakeholder Group (BSG), he highlighted the issues facing the UK  when he said “other countries are starting to invest in new, fibre based infrastructure, delivering considerably higher bandwidth than is available in the UK today”. (more…)

Virgin Mediacontinue to upgrade their cable broadband service to the target speed of 50MB with beta tests being carried out on lucky customers areas including Dover, Ashford and Folkestone. Public trials are reported to begin next month in selected areas of Kent with fees expected to be in the region of £47 a month for 50Meg broadband. This may prove prohibitive for many home users but individuals and businesses that have a need to upload and download large amounts of data will be licking their lips in anticipation! (more…)

Hot on the heels of picking up the Apple iPhone contract o2 have announced that their broadband packages are soon to go live. O2 purchased Bethere broadband in August 2006 and since then the broadband world has been waiting for an announcement as to when the super fast broadband would be bundled with the o2 phones. O2 are now taking registrations and no firm date has been set yet but we’re thinking a Christmas launch would make pretty good business sense!

>> Read more about o2 broadband

BT have announced that Birmingham will be the next location for their live trials of their 21st Century Network (21CN) following on from successful trials completed in June 2007 in Central London, Woolwich and Cambridge. 21CN will make new voice and data services possible by using ADSL2+ technology through the copper wire infrastructure that already exists in BT exchanges. (more…)

As predicted previously in this blog O2 have beaten off stiff competition from other mobile phone providers such as Vodafone to sign a deal for exclusive distribution rights for the Apple iPhone within the UK. According to an article written in the Guardian O2 won the bidding war by reputedly signing a deal which would give up to 40% of the revenues it makes back to Apple!  Although O2 have sole rights to the distribution they will also be using Carphone Warehouse outlets to sell the device on O2 contracts to gain maximum exposure for the must have gadget for 2007 – in fact Apple have already shipped it’s first 1 million units with a target of 10 million by the end of 2008 as the product is rolled our worldwide. (more…)

If you’re anything like me then you’ve got a huge bundled knot of indeterminate wires hidden behind your TV, under your desk and behind the sofa – out of sight, out of mind and as soon as a new item of electrical equipment is purchased the connecting cables seem to breed with the rest of the wires in the house and are literally and metaphorically swept under the carpet.  Aside from numerous other benefits to going ‘wireless broadband’ this is one very good reason to either spring clean your internet connection and upgrade to a new broadband provider which includes a wireless router or simply treat yourself to one of the many wireless routers available as a standalone purchase. (more…)

Broadband provider Tiscali has launched its TV service (which was formerly branded as Homechoice) across Britain and has set its stall out to take the big boys of “tri-play” (Virgin Media, BT and Sky) head on with a plan to win half a million users to join their already 1.5 million strong broadband customer base.

The Tiscali TV packages come bundled with high speed unlimited broadband, FREE national and International calls and a FREE phone line all for a low monthly fee starting at just £19.99. The Tiscali TV bundles are an excellent choice for those who want more than the basic Freeview channels but without paying out for a monthly digital TV subscription. via cable or Satellite. In fact, the Tiscali TV services is provided through your phone line (known as IPTV) so the only equipment you need to get up and running is the Tiscali Set Top Box which is provided FREE when you sign up. (more…)

Several media outlets have reported that BSkyB are planning to offer a standalone broadband service on the back of their successful “See, Speak, Surf” TV, Phone and Broadband bundle and taking their ongoing war with Virgin Media a step further.

Although no official comment has been made from the Sky camp, it is believed that they are planning to offer their broadband service to prospective customers without a satellite television subscription. Indeed it is believed that Sky have been testing their standalone broadband service for some months although as yet, there is no launch date for the product hitting the consumer market.

Broadband, TV and phone bundles are currently all the rage with Virgin Media currently leading the way with their “Quad Play” packages which also include mobile phone as part of the multi media bundle. BT have also recently launched BT Vision which is a Freeview platform that works with their BT Total Broadband Home Hub and Tiscali TV is also launching throughout the country as we speak. TalkTalk are also offering a FREE Freeview box and 2 months FREE subscription to Sentanta Sports as part of their broadband and international talk packages.

>> Click here to read more about Sky TV’s “See, Speak, Surf” TV, Phone and Broadband bundles starting at just £16 a month