UK Broadband Internet Service Provider News

UK broadband Internet service provider news and the latest broadband company press releases. Access the latest new broadband deals and broadband service updates, including broadband news from BT, AOL, Tiscali, Eclipse, Orange, Utility Warehouse, TalkTalk, Virgin & Telewest.

Friday, July 06, 2007

BT Wi-Fi reaches 35,000 hotspots

With each of the BT Total Broadband services offering 250 inclusive monthly Wi-Fi minutes, it's significant for for those who require mobile broadband access that BT broadband customers can now access BT Wi-Fi via a staggering 35,000 global hotspots.

BT Openzone offers 2000 Wi-Fi hotspots in the UK and Ireland that are directly managed by BT, along with 13 Wireless Cities.

Chris Bruce, general manager of BT Openzone, comments: “Now in our fifth year, our customers have access to a quarter of the world’s total hotspots to work, talk and play wherever they are and our roaming usage figures demonstrate people are already taking advantage of this across the globe. A consistent user experience ensures it’s easy for anyone to experience the benefits of Wi-Fi, whether they’re in Cape Town airport or a Hilton hotel in Berlin - and our site partners are telling us that it really makes a difference."

BT Total Broadband

Labels: bt-broadband, voip, wifi-broadband, wimax-broadband

Thursday, January 18, 2007

Pipex Wireless to trial new WiMAX

Working with National Grid Wireless, Intel® Solutions Services and Warwick District Council, Pipex Wireless launches second commercial trial. Pipex Wireless is to launch a second commercial trial of its WiMAX services, working with National Grid Wireless, Warwick District Council and Intel® Solutions Services. The trial will involve three sites in the Leamington Spa and Warwick area, and will deliver products including, leased line replacement, voice over IP, home workers broadband and dedicated broadband connectivity using WiMAX.

As the UK’s first wireless solutions provider to launch WiMAX services - with Milton Keynes currently being implemented - Pipex Wireless intends to initially deliver trial services to Warwick District Council and subsequently approach businesses and home-users in the Warwick area. The trial network will be commissioned in Q2/07 and the trial will run for six months. Other towns and cities are planned for deployment later in 2007.

High-speed broadband will be delivered over Airspan’s HiperMAX WiMAX base stations, one of which will be located on the National Grid Wireless’ headquarters in southern Warwick. Intel Solutions Services is working with the council providing support for the introduction of wireless and other technologies, and evaluating performance.

Chris Elliott, Chief Executive, Warwick District Council, comments, “Attracting the latest wireless broadband and voice services to the area is great news. We are looking to make the District a technologically advanced area to live and do business in. Working with Pipex Wireless on this trial and beyond is a vitally important step to achieve this aim.”

Stephen Marshall, CEO National Grid Wireless, says, “We are pleased to be working with both Warwick District Council and Pipex Wireless to deliver WiMAX services in our home town. Our business is founded on the delivery of infrastructure and managed service solutions to the wireless and broadcast industry and we believe the roll out of wireless broadband networks will be complementary to the wide range of technologies already deployed by our organisation.”

Mike Read, CEO, Pipex Wireless, adds, “Following the initial success of our Milton Keynes trial, we are delighted to expand our WiMAX services into new towns and cities in the UK. Working with National Grid Wireless and Warwick District Council further develops our wireless capability and we are looking forward to more organisations, businesses and consumers using WiMAX.”

About Warwick District Council

The District Council serves a population of over 140,000, covering the main towns of Royal Leamington Spa, Warwick and Kenilworth. An annual budget of £113.5m is managed by four main departments with responsibility for services including Planning, Environmental Health, Leisure and Housing.
Home to Stoneleigh Park (National Agricultural Centre), Coventry Airport, Pro Drive F1 and Roccaro, the area has an enviable attraction for prestigious business development, including leading gaming software developers.

The Council has consistently taken an innovative, partnership approach to developing and implementing new IT solutions. Our clear aim is to provide the highest quality services to our customers. Integral to this is equipping our staff with cost effective technology, maximising potential savings and taking full advantage of recent technological developments.

Currently rated as ‘Excellent’ by the Audit Commission’s Comprehensive Performance Assessment, the Council is placed in the top 10% nationally, and as the best District in the Midlands.

About Intel® Solution Services

Intel® Solution Services is Intel Corporation's worldwide consulting organization, focused on driving business transformation and competitive advantage to companies through the practical application of new technologies.

About National Grid Wireless

National Grid Wireless is a wholly owned subsidiary of National Grid and is the leading independent provider of infrastructure to the mobile telecommunications operators in the UK.

National Grid Wireless is also one of two UK providers of terrestrial infrastructure for the transmission of analogue and digital television and radio broadcasts in the UK and as such achieves a 98% population coverage. In addition to the traditional analogue services, National Grid Wireless has a strong position in the growing digital television market, owning two of the six digital terrestrial television licences and providing infrastructure services to all the Freeview channels and the BBC and BSkyB.

About Pipex Communications plc

Pipex is a multiple award-winning provider of integrated telecommunications and Internet services. With a broad customer base including small/home-offices and blue chip companies, Pipex provides a comprehensive range of consumer, business and corporate voice, broadband, security domain name registration and shared and dedicated hosting solutions.

Pipex’s focus is simple: enabling businesses and consumers to achieve their aspirations through proven communications services and emerging technologies. This is achieved through an extensive portfolio of high-speed Internet connectivity, managed services and hosting, security and voice products - combining exceptional performance, innovation and a commitment to customer service.

Owning one of the UK’s most extensive communication networks, Pipex boasts more than 100 Points of Presence (PoPs) nationwide. In addition, state-of-the-art data centres, which are manned and monitored 24x7, ensure the security of Pipex’s customers’ business critical applications. Its commitment to investing in its technology infrastructure ensures that Pipex continues to deliver the most scalable, resilient, secure and reliable services.

Pipex broadband deals

Labels: pipex-broadband, wifi-broadband, wimax-broadband

Monday, January 08, 2007

Nokia and The Cloud to offer free WiFi access with Nokia N800 Internet Tablet

The partnership is launched with the new Nokia N800 Internet Tablet, announced earlier today at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. Anyone purchasing the device in the UK will be given free access for one month, enabling them to go online, check email and access a wealth of new media content on the go. The offer will be available exclusively to users of the Nokia N800 and Nokia 770 Internet Tablets before being rolled out to other Nokia devices.

The Nokia N800 has been purpose-built to deliver the best possible, always-with-you internet experience, combining quick and easy access to the Internet with a high resolution, widescreen display. With the Nokia N800 you can enjoy all your favourite Internet services and applications anytime, anywhere, including Web browsing, instant messaging, email, Internet calling, podcasting, blogging and much more.

The Nokia N800 will be available at independent retailers including John Lewis, DSGi and Comet, as well as online channels, including Expansys.com, Play.com, and Dabs.com. The jointly branded sales package will include a coupon inside that enables consumers to take advantage of the service.

Ari Virtanen, vice president, convergence products, Nokia said “This partnership brings together a device developed specifically to offer one of the best possible mobile Internet experiences with a key player in the growing development of public WiFi hotspots. We are pleased to be able to offer our customers this compelling proposition.”

Niall Murphy, CTO of The Cloud said: “We are delighted to partner with a market leader like Nokia at this important stage for the mobile industry. Delivering access to content on consumer devices is an emerging market and we are proud to be doing this in conjunction with a major brand like Nokia.”

The Cloud offers sophisticated WiFi coverage at over 8,500 locations including airports, hotels and railway stations across the UK, Germany, the Nordics and The Netherlands with hundreds of new hotspots coming online every month. The Cloud also operates large scale networks in Canary Wharf, Amsterdam and in 9 other UK cities including Manchester and Edinburgh. The Cloud is currently deploying a network across the entire City of London that will go live early in 2007.

Labels: wifi-broadband

Sunday, January 07, 2007

World-first BT Fusion embraces next-generation Wi-Fi

Deal with Phones4u takes Fusion to the High Street

BT today announced a next generation of BT Fusion Wi-Fi handsets, which will use the company’s growing network of hotspots and Wireless Cities to offer customers thousands of extra places to get great value on their mobiles.

Mobile phone lovers will be able to make guilt-free calls at home or out and about at BT Openzone hotspots and get four minutes talk for the price of one*.

For the first time, BT Fusion will be available to buy on the High Street this Spring in over 400 Phones4u stores across the UK, after the chain signed up to be the partner for the Wi-Fi launch.

BT’s extensive BT Openzone network in the UK and Ireland means that it is in a unique position to offer a truly converged fixed-mobile service.

The company’s plan to build a first phase of 12 Wireless Cities by the end of March next year means that most of the UK’s major city centres will soon offer widespread Wi-Fi coverage and the same four-for-one tariff will cover these locations.

It is expected that the introduction of the Wi-Fi handsets, the Nokia 6136, Motorola A910 and Samsung P200, will boost sales of this innovative mobile service.

Free internet surfing on the Wi-Fi handset is also part of the offer for Fusion customers, who can email or surf the web on their mobiles at home and at BT Openzone hotspots at five times faster speeds than GPRS.

Steve Andrews, BT chief, Mobility and Convergence, said: “Today, Fusion takes another huge step forward with an exciting new evolution offering even more places to get great value mobile calls. These latest free handsets will allow customers the freedom to just make the calls and surf the web via BT broadband without having to think twice.

“It is great sitting on the sofa at home and not having to worry about the cost of a convenient call made from your mobile. It is even better to get the same freedom when you are out and about, maybe in a hotel, at the airport or even shopping in a city centre. It knows where you are and connects automatically to Wi-Fi when you are at home or at a BT Openzone hotspot.

“BT Fusion was the world’s first and we believe it is the best. And because we have a large estate of BT Openzone hotspots and plans for a first phase of 12 Wireless Cities, customers can easily see the opportunity for savings. Our deal with Phones4u will make Fusion available on the High Street for the first time, as well as online and by calling BT. This mobile service is a great example of our convergence strategy to keep customers well connected wherever they are.”

BT Broadband

Labels: bt-broadband, wifi-broadband

Wednesday, January 03, 2007

Channel 4 Radio and The Cloud first to offer podcast content over public WiFi

Channel 4 Radio will be the first broadcaster to target its audience via a WiFi network through a deal announced today with The Cloud. To coincide with Celebrity Big Brother, from the 3rd January 2007, 4Radio will provide radio programming over The Cloud's Public WiFi network, designed specifically for the PSP, and other mobile devices with complementary functionality. Available free of charge for a two month trial period users will be able to download 4Radio podcasts, including Celebrity Big Brother, and listen to them whilst on the move.

The partnership will allow 4Radio to provide a virtual “breakfast show on the go”: thousands of commuters will be given the choice to create their own breakfast show, on demand, through The Cloud’s network of 7,500 public WiFi hotspots, located in high foot-fall locations including coffee shops, hotels, train stations, pubs and airports.

Every day Commuters will be able to choose from a selection of Channel 4 Radio content including Morning News, Celebrity Big Brother and SlashMusic, 4 Radio’s innovative music show. This venture enables PSP users to take full advantage of the device’s rich platform for media consumption on the move. When a PSP user walks into a Cloud hotspot and then clicks on the Internet browser on their device they will be automatically directed to the landing page and one click away from a Cloud/4Radio branded portal fully optimised for the PSP.

Nathalie Schwarz, Director of Channel 4 Radio, said: “Radio has the potential to be the most powerful and influential medium in broadcasting, but to achieve this in a digital world it needs to start innovating and fast. Making 4Radio’s content available on demand, on the go through The Cloud’s WiFi network enables us to target listeners who want bold and mischievous radio programming but don’t have time to tune in before they leave the house. We are providing it at their convenience – to fit in with our listeners’ busy lifestyles.

For the digitally savvy generation too much radio programming feels tired and formulaic. Becoming the first broadcaster to make radio content available wirelessly on PSPs will help 4Radio connect with a young, mobile audience making our programming easily available whenever and wherever they want.”

Niall Murphy, The Cloud’s CTO, commented: “There is an explosion in consumer WiFi devices around the corner and leading edge content providers are already starting to prepare for this large new market. WiFi usage is starting to shift from business to consumer devices and by the end of 2007, 80% of WiFi enabled devices are expected to be targeted at consumers. WiFi users will be demanding entertaining and unique content which they can access on the way to and from work, university or school. As the leading WiFi provider across the UK and Europe, we have already proved ourselves as being second to none in terms of offering access. Partnering with 4Radio to offer innovative content is therefore very exciting for us.”

Labels: wifi-broadband

Thursday, December 21, 2006

Milton Keynes takes first steps to WiMAX broadband

Pipex Wireless has become the first service provider to offer secure wireless broadband using WiMAX in the UK, with the successful delivery of WiMAX services into Milton Keynes. Currently in the pilot phase of the rollout, the first trial customers have successfully been connected to the WiMAX network in Milton Keynes.

WiMAX technology will help make Milton Keynes one of the UK’s most connected new cities, enabling both businesses and residents to access broadband and IP-based services over multiple local networks and technologies. Pipex Wireless and Milton Keynes Council have signed an agreement to work closely together to ensure that the trial succeeds in achieving its objectives. Activities to identify additional infrastructure to offer wider commercial services during 2007 have already begun.

With no customer-based, fixed infrastructure required, Pipex Wireless’ WiMAX service enables broadband to be rapidly installed at customers’ premises or homes and via hotspots around the town. Offering increased symmetrical broadband delivery, WiMAX is ideal for remote workers and users who need to send large volumes of data, such as architects, graphic designers, web managers and new media agencies.

Steven Jewell Head of IT at Milton Keynes says, “We expect, the capability that WiMAX will be able to provide to remote and home workers will be an essential element in the established growth plans for Milton Keynes.”

“We’re delighted to get Milton Keynes’ residents and businesses working on WiMAX broadband,” says Mike Read, Chief Executive Officer, Pipex Wireless. “Our WiMAX service offers a secure, highly flexible platform for broadband and voice services, which we aim to rollout further around the town in 2007. By working with Milton Keynes Council and our other technology partners, including Airspan and Ericsson, we have the ability to make hooking up to a wireless world a reality.”

Jewell continues, “Milton Keynes is a thriving, forward-thinking town, with thousands of businesses and residents looking to be at the forefront of communications technologies. With Pipex Wireless, we are building a model of public and private cooperation for an economic, sustainable wireless development that will be just as beneficial to many other public authorities in the UK. This is a significant building block towards delivering ‘digital’ Milton Keynes and is an integral part of the Milton Keynes Digital Challenge bid.”

Pipex Wireless was created in April 2006 by Pipex and Intel Capital, Intel Corporation’s venture arm, to develop unique fixed and portable broadband wireless services for consumers and business customers in the UK. Milton Keynes was chosen to be the first town as its telecoms network has a relatively high proportion of poor quality and long reach copper wires, thereby limiting the potential for residents and businesses to access ADSL broadband services.

Labels: pipex-broadband, wifi-broadband, wimax-broadband

Thursday, December 14, 2006

BT Fusion now available with Wi-Fi for small businesses

BT today launched BT Fusion Wi-Fi for business, bringing together the benefits of fixed and mobile convergence on one mobile device, with seamless two-way handover between Wi-Fi and GSM.

The new service will give small business customers a range of benefits to increase their productivity and performance, including: high speed access to business applications in Wi-Fi mode at up to five times faster than GPRS, free access to all your fixed and mobile voice messages stored in one place, and call rates as cheap as 5p for 60 minutes from the office and out and about.

Two cutting edge dual-mode Wi-Fi mobile handsets are available from BT immediately, the Nokia 6136 and the Motorola A910. Samsung’s P200 will be added to the range next month.

When combined with BT Business One Plan, BT’s triple-play package for mobile, fixed and broadband, prices start from just £15 a month including the handset, allowing businesses to squeeze extra value from their existing BT broadband line.

In the office, or at BT Openzone hotspots, for up to 60 minutes customers pay 5p for UK fixed line calls, less than the cost of a text; 15p for calls to BT mobiles, and 25p for calls to other UK mobiles. On the move all calls to both fixed and mobile numbers are capped at 25p for up to 60 minutes.

Steve Andrews, managing director of Mobility and Convergence, said: “This is a great day for small businesses. Customers tell us they need communications services that are better, simpler and faster to help them succeed wherever they are working.

“BT Fusion brings together in one service, high speed access to critical business information, free access to all your messages stored in one place and a great value calls package – wherever you are, all on one high quality handset.”

BT’s estate of around 2,000 Openzone hotspots at premium business locations, such as airports, railway stations and hotels, as well as an increasing number of leisure sites, mean that it is in a unique position to offer customers even more places where they can get higher quality, ultra high-speed access and fixed line rates for all their BT Fusion calls.

Additionally, BT’s plans to build a first phase of 12 Wireless Cities by the end of March next year means that most of the UK’s major city centres will soon offer comprehensive, high quality, Wi-Fi coverage with Openzone access.

Andrews said: “We were the first to market in the world with BT Fusion, we’ve already offered UK businesses the first triple-play tailored for their needs and now we are the first to offer them fixed-mobile handsets using Wi-Fi, at home, in the office and out and about with BT Openzone. And we will continue to build on our extensive and growing Wi-Fi network.”

The new groundbreaking service also includes a free 20MB data allowance so that businesses can use their mobiles for more than just phone calls without worry. Customers can use their handsets to access their e-mails, business applications and the mobile internet, in the office and at BT Openzone hotspots at faster speeds than GPRS.

Also available free is Call Minder Multi, BT’s smart messaging service, which combines the customer’s mobile and landline voicemail, giving them only one mailbox to call to pick up all their messages.

Other benefits for Wi-Fi Fusion customers are that they can keep their existing mobile number, receive a single bill and have just one point of contact.

Labels: bt-broadband, wifi-broadband

Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Birmingham takes lead in Wi-Fi revolution with BT

BIRMINGHAM today confirmed itself at the forefront of exploiting digital technology by signing an agreement with BT for the creation of a street-based wireless city communications network.

The agreement forms part of the Digital Birmingham initiative, a partnership between Birmingham City Council, and other public, private and voluntary sector organisations who share the ambition to establish Birmingham as the leading European digital city by 2010.

The Wireless Birmingham Wi-Fi network will cover a square mile area of the city centre.

Today’s formal agreement is part of BT’s Wireless Cities initiative, which will see Birmingham leading the way in early 2007, followed by other major UK cities in the first phase of an ongoing programme.

Birmingham’s plans are the most advanced of the cities that signed up for the programme in May.

Cllr Paul Tilsley, Deputy Leader of the City Council, said: “The Wireless Birmingham agreement is a clear demonstration of how well we have worked in partnership with BT – who are making a significant financial investment to establish this network.

“It shows the commitment both sides of the partnership have to ensuring Birmingham is recognised as at the leading edge of digital developments and that the city becomes the first truly sustainable wireless city in conjunction with a private sector partner.

“The project offers endless opportunities and possibilities – not least of which is to enable us to deliver our services in a creative and innovative way. Many cities have plans to implement such wireless networks, but this agreement shows we are serious about competing on a national and international stage when it comes to establishing the technological facilities that today’s world requires.”

BT will fund the city centre network, with the City Council providing access to its street lamp posts in order to create the essential infrastructure.

In a groundbreaking innovation, people with laptops, mobile phones, hand-held computers and gaming devices using Wi-Fi (the industry standard for connecting devices wirelessly to the web) will be able to access information and services from the City Council free of charge through an internet portal.

The portal will give free access over the network to Birmingham-specific information relating to topics such as health, transport, events, and schools, whilst people are out and about in the city centre.

It will also enable the council to provide free wireless access to educational information anywhere within the city centre including the city’s 50,000 higher education students, using the same technology they are familiar with as it is already installed in many schools and colleges.

As well as the free services, people will be able to buy vouchers or subscribe to innovative services such as BT Openzone and Fusion, and a range of new applications and services for consumers and businesses, allowing them to remain contactable, access broadband wirelessly and surf the web whilst on the move.

The City Council will also use the BT Wireless Cities network to pilot a range of pioneering initiatives which will improve the delivery of a range of public services, from the spring. These could include: mobile office devices for Birmingham street wardens, who provide face-to-face assistance and security for the citizens, visitors and business owners of Birmingham; and Wireless CCTV, which will be used for city centre management, security and parking services. On successful completion of a pilot, it is the intention of both parties to formalise an agreement for the future running of the service.

Carefully planned by the project partners, the initial coverage area is to maximise citizen and business benefit by including the professional district, the ICC, NIA and Brindleyplace, Broad Street, the Jewellery Quarter, Eastside, Digbeth, and the main retail areas. Aston Science Park and Millennium Point are also to have coverage from day one.

The development and operational costs of the network will be borne entirely by BT – there is no cost burden on the taxpayer for the provision and management of the network.

Frank Mills, BT’s West Midlands regional director, said: “It is a real testament to how forward-thinking and ambitious Birmingham City Council is in wanting to reap the benefits that a BT Wireless Cities network can bring. This is one of the first of many licensing and applications agreements BT is planning with local authorities around the UK.

“Key to the success of this agreement has been that BT and Birmingham City Council have worked closely together to ensure we’re not just rolling out a network of hotspots, but guaranteeing that the Council has the right applications in place to make wireless public services work for every resident, every council worker, every business owner and every tourist. We believe that partnering with local authorities is the most successful model for creating a true Wireless City and the people of Birmingham will notice a significant difference in the way they can use the network on a range of devices for entertainment, education and communication, even when they’re on the move.”

Birmingham City Council and BT are founder members of the Digital Birmingham partnership which has the ambition to establish Birmingham as the leading European Digital City by 2010.

BT broadband

Labels: bt-broadband, wifi-broadband

Wednesday, November 08, 2006

LLU hits one million lines in the UK

Openreach today announced that the UK has achieved an important milestone in the telecoms market as the number of unbundled lines reaches the one million mark. This represents a 420 per cent increase in the number of unbundled lines since the creation of Openreach in January 2006. This tremendous growth means that Local Loop Unbundling (LLU) is now a critical component of the highly competitive UK broadband market, providing an alternative route to market for those companies who wish to install their own equipment in BT exchanges.

On average, Openreach is currently fulfilling almost 30,000 LLU orders per week, with more than twenty operators providing unbundled services from more than 1,000 local exchanges across the UK. This tremendous progress is the direct result of ongoing collaboration between Openreach, industry and the Office of the Telecommunications Adjudicator.

Steve Robertson, CEO, Openreach said, “This is a fantastic achievement for the whole of industry and demonstrates that the UK has one of the most competitive broadband markets in the world. This progress has been underpinned by price reductions and the introduction of new product and systems capability to make it simpler for operators to migrate their end customers onto unbundled services. Openreach is committed to making sure that this positive trend continues.”

Labels: llu-broadband, wifi-broadband

Tuesday, July 04, 2006

Ultra WiFi available across the UK

The Cloud, Europe’s leading WiFi network operator, today announced the commercial launch of Ultra WiFi - its new low-cost, flat rate tariff which makes unlimited broadband WiFi access available for the first time in the UK for a market-leading price of £11.99 across its 7,000 UK hotspots and 9 city centre hotzones.

The new unlimited flat rate is available at a price of £11.99 a month with a 12 month subscription and £11.99 a week on a pay-as-you-go basis. It can be purchased directly from The Cloud website www.thecloud.net.

Bobby Sarin, COO, The Cloud commented: "For too long, public WiFi access has been over-reliant on high voucher pricing for revenue which has hindered frequent usage, despite WiFi’s high performance and popularity. Ultra WiFi finally allows everyone to have great value, “always on,” flat rate access to high speed WiFi across the UK for £11.99 per month.“

“Ultra WiFi at last gives regular mobile internet users a realistic alternative to mobile data solutions from cellular operators, at a cost they can control. We have been thrilled by the response to the announcement of Ultra WiFi from businesses, self-employed, consultants, students and ordinary people who want internet access on the move at a price they can afford and control.”

In addition to new pricing, The Cloud is launching new outdoor coverage in nine city centre hotzones across the UK that will greatly increase WiFi coverage in key business and retail areas. Combining this new outdoor WiFi footprint and new pricing with new services such as VoIP, instant messaging and gaming will make WiFi even more useful to businesses and consumers.

The Cloud is beginning to switch on its new city centre hotzones, starting with Manchester City Centre. Hotzones in Birmingham, Cambridge, Edinburgh, Leeds, Liverpool, Nottingham and Oxford, along with the London boroughs of Kensington and Chelsea, Camden and Islington will all go live this summer. The Cloud is also currently building a hotzone for the City of London which will be operational by the September 2006.

In addition to the new hotzones coverage, people will be able to log on and use unlimited WiFi at conventional Cloud hotspots located at BAA airports, regional airports, First Great Western train stations, Coffee Republic outlets, Little Chef cafés, Swallow Hotels and over 4,000 pubs and regional hotels across the country, as well as the business district of Canary Wharf.

Labels: wifi-broadband

Monday, June 05, 2006

Openreach cuts prices to boost LLU market

Openreach today announced the introduction of new pricing which will make it cheaper for communications providers to move their end customers on to unbundled services. LLU operators will benefit from a 27 per cent reduction in the price for migrating their end customers in bulk from BT Wholesale’s broadband products to Openreach’s shared LLU offering. The new price of £25.39 (ex.VAT) will commence on the 1st July and will apply to LLU operators who migrate their existing IPstream or Datastream end-customers to shared LLU in bulk. Openreach also announced the introduction of a new mass migration product to enable LLU operators to migrate their existing Wholesale Line Rental end customers to full LLU on an aggregated basis. This product will be launched at a price of £27.54 (ex VAT) – 21 per cent less than the price for migrating a single user. In addition, LLU Operators will now be able to request a number migration 1 at a price of 49p (ex VAT).

Anne Heal, Managing Director Sales, Products and Marketing, Openreach said, “We are fully committed to making LLU a success. This pricing reduction, along with the introduction of a new mass migration product and the ability to transfer a customer’s telephone number, will make it simpler for customers to move between operators. LLU lines have grown by over 600% in the last year to more than 400,000. This announcement will give industry additional certainty and the confidence to invest in LLU and further stimulate market growth.”

1 Number Migration allows Openreach to migrate the existing end users’ telephone number onto the LLU operator’s network at the LLU operator’s request.

Labels: bt-broadband, llu-broadband, wifi-broadband

Friday, May 12, 2006

Wanadoo & Orange soon to tie the knot

France Telecom, owned Wanadoo and Orange are to join forces this summer under the single Orange banner. Whilst speculation still exists as to the exact date, a June announcement is expected.

For some Wanadoo customers, this will be the second re-brand that they will have experienced, following the change from Freeserve in 2004.

According to The Register, Orange are expected to unveil a "free" broadband proposition similar to the one Talk Talk that is causing a lot of stir in the industry. Like the Talk Talk (Carphone Warehouse) offer, Orange's deal is understood to have strings attached, caps, and a lengthy contract lock-in.

Wanadoo Announcement

"Wanadoo and Orange have been sister companies for several years. Having developed a strong partnership, the natural step is for us to join forces to create one integrated communications company for our customers. We've chosen Orange as it's the strongest brand, with a name which is well known and trusted throughout the world."

Wandoo broadband

Labels: llu-broadband, orange-broadband, wanadoo-broadband, wifi-broadband

Monday, April 10, 2006

New Wi-Fi hotspot network from KeConnect

BT Openzone and KeConnect, one of the UK’s leading internet service providers, have signed an agreement that will allow subscribers and card holders of both companies to roam each others Wi-Fi hotspots across the UK from May 2006.

Branded as KeZone, KeConnect’s Wi-Fi hotspots are set to grow quickly providing customers with access to over 2,500 hotspots throughout the UK by the end of the year.

KeConnect intends to introduce KeZone hotspots to a broad range of public places through its existing reseller base. With over 470 resellers and thousands of existing KeConnect Broadband users, the potential for the company to provide the consumer with increasing internet access whilst on the move, is very real indeed.

Commenting on the anticipated uptake of KeZone hotspots, Managing Director of KeConnect, Robert Kemp said:

“With our reseller base spread across the UK, we already have a number of businesses eager to introduce Wi-Fi to a variety of public places that do not currently have this facility. The business proposition for our resellers is considerable because of the increasing demand for wireless hotspots.

“In the locations in which they install hotspots, they will benefit from very minimal set-up costs. They are only charged the wholesale value of the pre-paid cards once the end-user has activated it. This enables the initial outlay to be kept to an absolute minimum, yet the business opportunity can be maximised with the potential to earn a substantial profit share.”

Julie Ragbourne, Head of Roaming and Wholesale, BT Wireless Broadband added:

“It’s critical for the future of Wi-Fi that service providers join forces to promote and drive awareness of the benefits of the wireless technology available at hotspots. Our BT Openzone customers already have access to over 8,400 hotspots in the UK and Ireland and over 30,000 globally, and this new partnership highlights our commitment to keep growing that number.

Working with KeZone will take us another step closer to BT’s vision of enabling customers – whether business users or ‘mainstream’ consumers – to access all their information on their own choice of Wi-Fi enabled device wherever they are, whilst receiving the highest levels of service delivery and customer care.”

The widespread introduction of Wi-Fi usage outside the office and home only becomes viable if hotspots are as easy and fast to use as possible. This is where KeConnect’s KeZone hotspots offer a real advantage to the end user as they will be connected via the KeConnect network, which is well-renowned for being under-contended. This makes for much faster connectivity, irrespective of the location of the hotspot, providing the KeZone end-user with easy and instant access.

Labels: wifi-broadband

Wednesday, November 16, 2005

BT cuts LLU prices to stimulate competition

BT today announced that it will be introducing new Local Loop Unbundling (LLU) price reductions to further stimulate competition in the UK broadband market. LLU operators will benefit from a 40 per cent reduction in the price of connecting new broadband customers to BT’s fully unbundled LLU offering.

This follows BT’s commitment to industry in June that it would bring the price of LLU New Provide charges in line with those for Wholesale Line Rental (WLR) and underlines BT’s ongoing commitment to making LLU a success. From 15 December, the price for new provides on the fully unbundled product will be reduced from £168.38 (ex. VAT) to £99.95 (ex. VAT).

BT will also be withdrawing the minimum term rental charges for both its shared and fully unbundled products giving LLU operators the opportunity to pass this benefit on to end-customers.This reduction follows the 70 per cent reduction in total charges for shared LLU introduced by BT Wholesale in September 2004. With the introduction of these price reductions, the UK is now ranked third in Europe on price comparison for LLU.

Steve Robertson, CEO, Openreach said, “These price reductions clearly demonstrate BT’s ongoing commitment to LLU and are designed to create additional certainty and confidence for operators investing in LLU. Openreach has been set up to deliver transparent and equal access for all to our network. We are confident that the price reductions announced today will further boost demand and stimulate competition in the market.”

BT Broadband

Labels: bt-broadband, llu-broadband, wifi-broadband

Compare other broadband deals & offers

1Mb broadband deals
2Mb broadband deals
2Mb - 10Mb broadband deals
Cable broadband deals
Fastest broadband deals
Free broadband deals
Cheapest broadband deals
No-contract broadband deals
Pay-as-you-go broadband
Unlimited download broadband deals
Satellite broadband deals
Business broadband deals

UK broadband service news

BT Wi-Fi reaches 35,000 hotspots

Pipex Wireless to trial new WiMAX

Nokia and The Cloud to offer free WiFi access with Nokia N800 Internet Tablet

World-first BT Fusion embraces next-generation Wi-Fi

Channel 4 Radio and The Cloud first to offer podcast content over public WiFi

Milton Keynes takes first steps to WiMAX broadband

BT Fusion now available with Wi-Fi for small businesses

Birmingham takes lead in Wi-Fi revolution with BT

LLU hits one million lines in the UK

Ultra WiFi available across the UK

Openreach cuts prices to boost LLU market

Wanadoo & Orange soon to tie the knot

New Wi-Fi hotspot network from KeConnect

BT cuts LLU prices to stimulate competition