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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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The only stumbling block I can see here is that it knocks the Labour Party landline 50p stealth tax into touch and Gordon Brown is not going to have that, is he.