O2 ’s mobile broadband has been found to have the fastest speeds in the country according to an independent study.
SIRODA announced the results of a detailed survey of the UK’s main mobile networks. It compared data speeds of all O2, Vodafone, Orange, T-Mobile and 3 and O2 achieved the fastest average web page access load time in London at 1.7 seconds. O2 was also the fastest on average across the UK when downloading a music track.
Derek McManus, Chief Technology Officer, O2 commented:
“We’re very pleased with these conclusive findings, which have been independently verified. “Our London customers are now seeing the benefits of the investment we made before Christmas, where we spent £30m delivering 40 new sites.
The results show that O2 has stepped up its game compared to 2 years ago when they were threatened with a £40m fine for rolling out their 3G network too slowly and breaching the terms of it’s licence.
A fast 3G network backed up by O2’s WiFi Hotspot deals with The Cloud and BT Openzone mean that O2 Mobile Broadband should give you a great experience wherever you are.
Have you got O2 Mobile Broadband? Let us know your experiences by adding a comment below.
The Mobile Broadband Expert . news, O2, WiFi hotspots
3 have just started bundling an iPod Touch with MiFi mobile broadband WiFi.
As you probably know the iPod Touch is a fantastic mp3 player that also has many of the features and Apps of its big brother the iPhone. Thanks to it’s WiFi capabilities you can surf the internet on its excellent web browser, stream BBC’s iPlayer, check out Facebook, play games online and download music.
The downside has always been that free WiFi connections are few and far between. 3 have the solution. They are bundling MiFi. their mobile broadband modem that’s crossed with a WiFI router, with an iPod Touch in their latest deal. This means that wherever you can get 3’s 3G service you will be able to connect your iPod Touch to the internet.
For £23 a month on a 24 month contract you get an 8GB iPod Touch, a MiFi modem and 5GB of internet access. According to 3 that’s roughly 72 hours of browsing, 800 songs and 400 applications. You can of course use your MiFi modem to connect your laptop and other wireless devices to your MiFi as well as your iPod Touch and 5GB is a huge download limit.
Charlotte Blanchard, Director of Products and Services at 3 said,
“The iPod touch offers a really great browsing experience, but as with so many devices with WiFi capabilities, the internet function rarely gets used because hotspots are so hard to come by. Now with MiFi on 3, iPod touch users can get wireless internet whenever they want on the network that’s designed and built for the mobile internet. We’ve responded to feedback from our customers to bring this bundle into our range, and at £23 a month it’s the perfect treat for Christmas.”
Click here to go to the 3Store and find out more.
What do you think about this deal? Please leave a comment below and join the discussion.
The Mobile Broadband Expert . 3, ipod touch, MiFi
Mifi the mobile broadband modem with built in wireless router will launch with Vodafone. Two weeks ago 3 announced it will launch MiFi and Vodafone has quickly followed suit.
However the rumours suggest that Vodafone UK hasn’t confirmed it will launch the MiFi modem with only Germany, Spain and Romania confirmed to date. Fear not. A quick scout of the Vodafone website finds the MiFi support pages are live on the Vodafone business website. This suggests it will launch in the UK and I expect it to be available to consumers too.
For those of you who haven’t heard of the MiFi it’s a ‘personal mobile broadband hostpot’ device that allows you to share your mobile broadband connection with up to five other WiFi devices.
For businesses it’s a great way to share one connection between a team of people who are working off-site. For families you can share one connection between a couple of laptops, a Nintendo DS and an iPod Touch. Perfect for an extended stay at Grandma’s house!
If you try MiFi please let us know what you think by leaving a comment below.
The Mobile Broadband Expert .
Mobile broadband operator 3 has announced the pricing and launch date for its new mobile broadband WiFi router – MiFi.
MiFi is a battery powered wireless router that lets you share your mobile broadband connection over WiFi. So if your family or mobile workplace is armed with several laptops and you want to share one mobile broadband connection between you whilst on your travels the MiFI is perfect.
The MiFi is due to launch on Thursday 17th September online and in stores a day later.
The MiFi will initially launch only as part of a new mobile broadband contract, although I expect it will be offered as a standalone product once within a month or two.
The 2 plans for the MiFi are:
- Mobile Broadband 5GB – 5GB of data, a one month minimum term for £15 a month just like SIM Only mobile pone tariffs. The wireless modem costs £69.99. Read more about SIM Only mobile broadband
- Ready to Go mobile broadband – For £99.99 upfront you get a wireless modem and 3GB worth of data which lasts up to 3 months. You then top up with pay as you go mobile broadband.
Marc Allera, Sales & Marketing Director at 3 UK says:
“Mobile Wi-Fi is the future of internet access on the move and we’re bringing it to customers at price points that make it accessible and affordable. It’s the perfect gift for people after genuine wireless internet access on the go to complement the laptops and iPod touchs that will undoubtedly make their way onto Christmas lists across the UK this December.”
The point on iPod Touchs is a good one. Having WiFi access during extended stays when visiting relatives or on a UK holiday can be a great way to keep the kids entertained on a rainy afternoon.
Expect WiFi router gadgets to become more widespread with other operators over the coming 12 months.
Visit 3 Mobile
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3’s Mobile broadband service could be a “viable alternative” to fixed line broadband ISPs according to their Director of Technical Solutions, Phil Sheppard. Hold onto your horses though, it would apparently require a ‘relatively small investment’ and access to more radio spectrum from its rivals.
This statement was made at one of the governments Broadband for All Westminster eForum seminars that was set up to discuss Lord Carter’s final Digital Britain report. The report pledged a minimum of 2Mbps universal UK minimum broadband speed and this forum raised ideas for achieving this rather paltry ideal.
Sheppard said:
“Mobile Broadband tends to be capable and commercially capable of providing the 2Mbps broadband universal service commitment and is an extremely efficient way of doing it. It is very cost effective, it actually doesn’t need government funding, what it needs is access to spectrum, that’s the key.”
Putting aside the worryingly low target of 2Mbps for all which seems alarmingly out of touch with the direction of online usage and the rapid growth IP based TV services, this statement is part of a larger battle for 3 to get access to an old piece of spectrum that O2 and Vodafone currently control. Winning this radio spectrum would give them not only the chance to increase the speed and coverage of their mobile broadband service, it would also improve their legendarily awful mobile phone coverage for voice calls too.
Call me a cynic if you will.
What do you think? Could or have you tried replacing your home broadband with mobile broadband? Add a comment below.
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