New developments in internet cabling look to be getting started in September, with the UK’s sewers providing the gateway to the world wide web. The Merseyside based company H20 Network’s ethos ‘using the Past to Connect the Future’ came up with their system F.O.C.U.S (Fibre Optical Cable Underground Sewer) in 2003, and have been in discussion with councils in Northampton, Bournemouth and Dundee to see which one of the towns will be first to receive the 100mbs service. This is super fast when compared to current fastest broadband providers Be Broadband who offer 24 meg, and O2 broadband who offer 20 meg. This is particularly exciting news for Venturian Media as our Northampton service currently runs at around 4 meg, meaning will the new H20 service we would be running at 25 times our standard rate!

This environmentally friendly cabling service can be installed 80 per cent faster than traditional wiring methods. This will save the Government over £1billion a year in roadworks, plus another £4billion will be saved by cutting down traffic disruptions. Another thing that won’t be disrupted is customers connections, where 2km of cable would usually take 12 months to be laid under roads, H20 can provide the same system in 4 hours.

Managing director Elfed Thomas came up with the idea of using sewer ducts for fibre optic cables some years ago.

“We have big infrastructure problems in the UK yet we have all this piping, so I thought why can’t we use the sewers? The alternative way of laying fibre involves digging up the roads. This can be extremely disruptive, expensive and slow, with it costing between £150 and £200 per metre to dig up a road. There is also the added advantage of the new cable lying 5metres below the ground, compared with 450mm for conventional cables. The H20 system eliminates the additional connection fee telecom companies charge when adding extra bandwidth. With our cable having no restriction on bandwidth, the customer is firmly in control and has the ability to upgrade at any time without the additional cost.”

With over 360,000 miles of sewerage pipes in the UK alone, this system can cut costs nationwide. It also opens up the possibility of more fibre optic usage in the more remote parts of the country. Although people will be claiming we’ve been ‘laying cable’ in the sewers for centuries, this vast network of underground piping could not only help the people of Britain, but also the environment.

>> Check out the current top 10 Broadband Providers

Be broadbandtoday announced the further roll-out of their super fast broadband network to cover 67% of the UK population. This is great news for UK consumers as by the end of June 2008 a further 2 million lines will be able to enjoy the benefits of the UK’s fastest broadband service - be* broadband.

Be broadband, took on the big boys with their innovative and technically-advanced UK broadband networks when it launced a few years back and impressed so much that it was purchased by O2 who use the infrastructure for their own o2 broadband service. Be Broadband use ADSL2+ broadband technology to ensure it’s users receive the fastest speeds possible through their phone line, and this latest roll-out means a further 2,000,000 lines will become available. Use the broadband availability checker to see if high speed broadband is available in your area.

Talking about the roll-out, Oli White, Head of Marketing  for be broadband said “this is the next stage in our development at Be as we believe that reliable high speed broadband takes continual innovation and investment. These 400 new exchanges will mean that over 67% of the UK population will be able to experience faster speeds with ADSL2+. But it doesn’t stop there; we are already testing new technologies that will enhance not only the network but our speed.”

BeThere Broadband’s latest roll-out includes expansion into Northern Ireland and Wales which is great news for countries who are often overlooked when it comes to high speed broadband access and users often have little choice between broadband providers.

Be Broadband is not only the fastest broadband available in the UK through your phone line, it is also one of the best value with prices starting at just £14 for 8Meg unlimited or £18 for 24 Meg unlimited - they really are one of the best broadband providers on the market.

>> Sign up for be broadband from £14 a month

>> Read more about be broadband

Virgin Media bundles are increasing the savings you can make online by offering £10 offer per product / service (excluding mobile phones). That means you can sign up for their 3 for £30 broadband, TV and landline phone package and save £10 on each - that’s a saving of £30!

With the broadband market becoming more and more competitive (o2 broadband launches soon of course!) each provider is trying to steal a march on the rest of the market. Virgin Media who were the original “quad play” kids have brought in this saving, Tiscali have launched their TV service and Be Broadband have slashed their prices to make their 24 Meg broadband package available for just £18 and saving of £6 a month.

There has never been a better time to get a great value standalone broadband or bundle deal. Why not try our broadband post code checker to see the best package in your area?

Be Broadband have slashed the prices of their 24Mb broadband packages to offer home users super fast speeds for just £18 a month (a saving of £6 a month) and businesses can benefit with a price of £22 - a price cut of an incredible £18 a month!!! Be Broadband price cuts coincide with their nationwide coverage extending, with 75% of all visitors to www.bethere.co.uk being able to receive their high speed broadband through a BT phone line. Be continue to impress by offering the highest specification broadband in the UK and these ultra competitive prices are going to make them hard to beat!

Check out the package and pricing details below :

	Be unlimited	Be pro	Be value
Price	£18 (down £6/month)	£22 (down £18/month)	£14
Download Speed	Up to 24 Mbps	Up to 24 Mbps	Up to 8 Mbps
Upload Speed	Up to 1.3 Mbps	Up to 2.5 Mbps	Up to 1.3 Mbps
Download Limit	None	None	None
Contract Length	Only 3 months notice	Only 3 months notice	12 months
Static IP	Free	Free (+15 if required)	N/A
Cust/Tech Support	24/7 and Free	24/7 and Free	24/7 and Free

As noted previously in this blog Be Broadband are actually owned by O2 after a takeover last year, and with O2 broadband launching immenently these price cuts have been introduced to keep the be broadband brand alive and kicking!

>> Click here to sign up for 24Meg Be Broadband today

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…)

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…)

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

A press release from Be Broadband landed on the desk here at Broadband-TV-Phone towers today stating that they were introducing a new “Value” up to 8MB Unlimited Broadband package to replace their “lite” up to 24Meg broadband with 2GB Download allowance deal at the same great price of £14. This may raise a few eye brows for consumers who think they are getting “less for more” but when you look at the facts of the deal most users will be considerably better off.

Dana Pressman, Managing Director of Be Unlimited stated in the press release that “this is great news for consumers as an uncapped, up to 8 meg** service for only £14 per month is what customers want. Services like the BBC iPlayer are what we planned for right from the start. With built in redundancy in the core network we can give our members the sort of service others will struggle to provide.” (more…)

Eclipse Internet took the top prize at the Internet Service Providers Association (ISPA) awards when they won the Best Consumer Broadband award beating strong competition from the likes of Virgin Media and Be Broadband. An ISPA spokesmen commended Be in particular for pushing the limits of broadband capabilities in a consumer market by being bold and offering up to 24Mbps broadband. (more…)