Broadband Deals
Monthly Archives: April 2009
Digital Britain Plan Could Increase Illegal Downloads
The Government has been warned that its Digital Britain plan could increase illegal downloads, with the music and film industry potentially being a thing of the past unless anti-piracy measures are introduced soon.
The warning follows a recent survey carried out by the Industry Trust where more than 30 directors of film and TV companies stated their concerns about the damage caused to their industries by piracy.
94% of them stated that if there wasn’t stronger support from the government, the damage caused may not be fixable.
The Industry Trust’s Director General, Liz Bale, recognises that the film and TV industries are not currently as affected by piracy as the music industry. However, she still feels that it is a wake up call for the government.
She said, “If the current framework hasn’t changed in five years, the UK industry will have become insignificant. This is a wake-up call for government as well as industry.”
Liz continued, “Digital Britain proposes creating a massive hub in the UK of innovative content creators and publishers, and net-savvy civilians backed up by digital literacy. But in opening the floodgates for business we need to make sure we are not enabling illegal businesses. We need to clear the undergrowth, in the governments own language.”
The worry over the rise in illegal downloads comes as new super-fast fibre optic broadband speeds are planned across many parts of the UK – potentially making it faster than ever for people to download movies and music illegally.
Satellite Broadband Provider Avanti Signs UK Telcos
Satellite broadband provider Avanti Communications Group has won 2 year contracts for the provision of satellite broadband products to 4 UK telecommunications suppliers.
This is good news for the 10% of UK homes that cannot currently get an acceptable broadband service as the satellite broadband services of these four companies, Avonline PLC, Broadbandwherever, Coview Solutions and KBR IT & Networking Solutions Limited could fill this void.
Avanti is currently developing its first satellite, known as Hylas, which will be launched later this year. It provides its current EU customers with broadband services through a leased satellite. The launch of its own satellite will enable it to broaden its customer base to the UK and Ireland.
The Chief Executive of Avanti explained, “Our wins in the UK are also important in the light of the British Government’s “Digital Britain” study. When the final report is published in June, Avanti expects it to recommend the use of satellite to address the 10% of the UK population which does not have access to acceptable terrestrial broadband services. We now have the distribution in the UK to cope with large scale and rapid deployment.”
However, satellite broadband is not as reliable as consumers would like it to be. In fact, it can sometimes be even less reliable than mobile broadband.
For example, it is thought that multiplayer gaming would be difficult to do with a satellite connection, but obviously that won’t affect everybody.
Overall whether it is slightly unreliable or not, customers who currently fit into the 10% of UK homes that can’t access broadband will no doubt welcome the news that this could soon change.
Talk Talk Broadband £50 Off For Tiscali Switchers
TalkTalk are now offering Tiscali customers £50 off the TalkTalk Broadband and Phone Essentials package when they switch to TalkTalk at the www.TalkTalk.co.uk website.
This exclusive online offer means Tiscali customers can get TalkTalk’s Broadband and Phone Essentials package free for the first 3 months – it usally costs £6.49 a month. They will also not have to pay TalkTalk’s £29.99 connection fee.
The Essentials package provides broadband speeds up to 8Mb, a 40Gb download allowance, a free wireless router and free technical support from a TalkTalk phone line.
There’s also unlimited phone calls to UK landlines evenings and weekends, free calls to other TalkTalk customers and free local daytime calls from the 1st May.
This offer is available on an 18 month contract, with switching Tiscali customers only needing to pay just £11.25 per month for TalkTalk phone line rental for the first 3 months, followed by £17.74 a month thereafter. (£11.25 + £6.49)
TalkTalk’s offer arrives following on-going concern over the future of Tiscali, though Tiscali itself has consistently assured customers that there will be no disruption to its services.
Interested Tiscali customers can go to the www.TalkTalk.co.uk website for further information.
O2 iPhone Users To Get Free Wi-Fi At Starbucks
Mobile operator O2 has today announced that all iPhone users on the O2 network will soon get free Wi-Fi access in UK Starbucks stores. The coffee shop is set to offer Wi-Fi access at all of its 678 UK stores following an agreement with BT Openzone.
O2 mobile broadband consumers who have Wi-Fi access included in their contract will also be able to benefit from free Wi-Fi access in Starbucks from this summer.
BT Openzone Wi-Fi is being rolled out in Starbucks stores from April and provides a faster connection than 3G mobile broadband, whilst also taking up less battery power too.
The CEO of BT Openzone, Chris Bruce, explains, “Starbucks is the perfect place to work or catch up over email. Use of our Wi-Fi doubled last year and coffee shops are increasingly popular as a third place to work or log on to the internet. We’re constantly looking to boost the choice of places where people want to connect. The location of Starbuck’s stores in the high street and travel hubs is helping to extend our reach to many Wi-Fi customers.”
The current cost of Wi-Fi set by BT Openzone is 15p per minute +VAT. However, there are bundled deals availabe which provide savings if you use Wi-Fi services frequently.
The 4.6 million BT Broadband customers who have free monthly Wi-Fi minutes in their broadband contracts will also have free access at Starbucks.
Sky Offer Free Phone Line Rental At Sky.com
Leading digital TV provider Sky is now offering free phone line rental for a year at Sky.com for new customers joining Sky TV with a Sky+HD box and HD pack.
Sky’s phone line also comes with an award winning free calls package (Sky Talk) that includes free evening & weekend UK landline phone calls. There’s also no need to change your BT phone number when you switch to Sky.
New customers can join Sky TV with the HD pack from just £26.25 a month. The Sky+HD box costs a one off £49 when ordered online (£199 when ordered by phone) with free standard installation included.
Sky+HD brings you impressive high definition TV (up to 4x picture detail and superb surround sound) with all the features of Sky+ (pause, rewind & record live TV). You’ll also have access to the UK’s widest range of HD channels.
Free wireless Sky Broadband is also available with Sky Talk and provides up to 2Mb download speeds, 24/7 technical support and a free wireless router.
Sky’s free phone line rental offer at Sky.com provides a saving of up to £150 a year compared to BT line rental. It is available to order online only at Sky.com until the 14th May 2009.
Broadband TV To Overtake Traditional TV
It is thought that broadband TV could soon overtake traditional TV as one of the main providers of TV programming.
The popularity of broadband TV has increased significantly over the past year due to its flexibility. As broadband speeds are increasing, it is now easier than ever to download movies and watch streaming video online.
New gadgets have also played a part in the popularity of watching streaming media online. The iPhone and newer iPods for example, enable users to watch movies and videos pretty much wherever they are.
Brian Turner, the executive editor of techwatch.co.uk explains, “Nowadays, internet protocol television services are becoming much more mainstream and home video entertainment systems repeatedly try and leverage the internet for a wider service offering.”
The recent Microsoft report known as “Europe Logs on: Internet Trends of Today & Tommorow” suggests that broadband TV will overtake traditional TV by June 2010. That is based on the current growth rate and popularity results in recent surveys.
Virgin Media are one company that knows just how popular broadband television has become. Their broadband TV on demand service is proving to be particularly successful.
They have also just finished testing how effective advertising through broadband TV is. The results found that consumer’s preferred the relevant ads that had been placed before and alongside their favourite programmes.
Overall broadband TV is definitely set to increase in popularity as faster broadband speeds are introduced. It would not be surprising to see broadband TV overtaking traditional TV by this time next year as on demand TV viewing becomes the norm.
