Broadband Deals
Monthly Archives: April 2009
Government May Help Fund Super Fast Broadband
At the Digital Britain summit in London, the Business Secretary, Lord Mandelson, has hinted that there may be Government funds available to help roll out super fast broadband across the UK.
With only half of the UK’s homes expected to have access to BT’s new super fast fibre optic broadband service by 2012, Lord Carter’s Digital Britain goal of full UK coverage currently looks unachievable – unless the Government intervenes.
Commenting on the possibility of Government funding, Lord Mandelson said, “Of course there is a possibility, but naturally enough not a certainty because I cannot pre-empt decisions taken by those above my pay grade.
Mandelson continued, “But let me say that I am a public investor where it is appropriate and right. I am not however somebody who believes in replacing market forces or displacing the private sector where they need to be in the lead and can do better than us in the government. So support, encourage, aid abet, even pump-prime here or there, is what we need to do as a government, but how and when are for others to decide.”
The Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, also stated at the summit that creating a universal service obligation for basic broadband was vital for competitiveness in the UK economy.
Overall further investment is required for more UK homes to benefit from super fast fibre optic broadband in the years ahead – so any funding from the Government would be welcome.
Orange 1 Month (30 Day) Mobile Broadband Contracts
Mobile telcommunications provider Orange has added 1 month (30 day) mobile broadband contract options to its range of packages.
Priced the same as their 18 month contracts at £14.68 a month for 3GB’s of data or £24.47 for 10GB’s, these rolling 1 month contracts also offer the same mobile broadband speeds up to 3.6Mb.
Customers just need to pay a one off £29 for the Orange USB modem stick which is free on the 18 month contract option.
1 month (30 day) rolling mobile broadband contracts are set to become a popular choice for mobile broadband users as there’s no long term commitment.
Users tempted by mobile broadband can give it a try without being tied into a long contract. They are also free to take advantage of a better longer term deal if one becomes available from the provider.
1 month contract users just need to make sure they keep an eye on their data usage as there’s a 5p per MB charge on Orange if they go over their limit, while for 18 month contract holders, the charge is lower at just 1.43p per MB.
Further information on these rolling 1 month (30 day) contract options can be found at the Orange.co.uk website or at our mobile broadband comparison and review service.
3 Extend Range Of Free Laptops With Broadband
Mobile operator 3 has extended its range of free laptops that are available with its mobile broadband packages.
The UK’s leading mobile broadband provider has added 4 new free laptops to the Three.co.uk website which include the Acer Aspire 150b, the Toshiba L350-20G, the Acer 6930G-583 and the Fujitsu Siemens Amilo Li3710.
The Acer Aspire 150b (worth £299) is one of the smallest (8.9”) and lightest (1kg) laptop netbooks around today and is perfect to pop into your bag to take to work, to college, or away on your travels. It also has a good specification with a 160GB hard drive, 1GB of RAM and Windows XP Home installed.
Available with 3 mobile broadband speeds of up to 3.6Mb and a 1GB monthly data allowance, this package costs just £17.50 a month.
The Toshiba L350-20G (worth £370) has an excellent 17″ TFT WXGA widescreen display plus 160GB hard drive and 2GB of RAM. Windows Vista Home Premium and MS Works software is also installed, making it a good choice for those customers wanting to replace their desktop with a smaller alternative. Available with a 5GB 3 mobile broadband data allowance and 3.6Mb speeds, this package costs just £35 a month.
The Acer 6930G-583 (worth £460) is a stylish laptop for the more demanding professional. Complete with an Intel Core 2 Duo processor and 250GB hard drive, this laptop also includes 3GB of RAM, a 16″ HD LCD display and Blu-ray DVD drive. At just £40 a month with 5GB of data and mobile broadband speeds up to 3.6Mb, this is a good buy. Windows Vista Home Premium is also included.
The Fujitsu Siemens Amilo Li3710 (worth £430) is a good household family laptop and with broadband speeds up to 3.6Mb included, the £40 a month charge looks reasonable. The Amilo has a 16″ HD LCD display, dual core processor, 250GB hard drive and 2GB of RAM. Vista Home Premium and MS Works is included, whilst there’s also a multi format DVD burner.
Further information on these laptops can be found at the Three.co.uk website or alternatively, you can compare these to other laptops using our Mobile Broadband Free Laptop comparison service.
Auditor Refuses To Sign Off Tiscali Accounts
Continuing on its downward spiral, Tiscali has once again received a new blow to its business. Its auditor has refused to sign off its accounts as the current state of the business meant that the auditor couldn’t give an opinion on the 2008 full-year results.
The only hope that Tiscali has of staying afloat is if it manages to renegotiate its debts with its lenders.
The company was in negotiation talks with BSkyB, but they broke down in March after the company refused to sell for less than £600 million. Now Tiscali would be fortunate to get even half that amount if it is forced to sell in order to relieve its debts.
The company has contested the auditor’s decision and will propose a plan to limit the company’s losses during a meeting at the end of April. It is also claimed that its lenders have agreed in writing to extend a standstill agreement until late 2009.
Whilst giving a statement, a Tiscali spokesperson said, “The company, in disagreement with the conclusion drawn by the audit report, believes that it has co-operated at best and that it has provided all the information necessary to enable the independent auditors to issue an audit opinion on its 2008 financial statements.”
Tiscali’s UK customer base will no doubt be waiting eagerly to see exactly what happens at the meeting later this month. The company is certainly in trouble, but it seems to be doing its best to explore all possible future options.
No Email Over Easter For Tiscali Broadband Customers
To add to its current woes, its been reported today that many Tiscali Broadband customers had no access to email over the Easter bank holiday weekend.
The incident is thought to have been caused by the company’s failure to renew the screaming.net domain, a domain Tiscali acquired as part of its merger with World Online back in 2000.
A technical agent of Network Solutions (the company Tiscali used to purchase/renew the domain name through) told ISPreview, “Multiple expiration notices were sent to Tiscali by Network Solutions prior to, and after the domain name registration expired. When we did not receive Tiscali’s renewal fee by the expiration date, their domain name registration services were deactivated.”
Continuing the agent said, “However, rather than delete the domain name at that point, we sent additional renewal notices and provided a grace period of more than 30 days. Because we did not receive Tiscali’s renewal fees by the end of the grace period, the domain name services were terminated in accordance with our Service Agreement and the domain name was registered by another registrant.”
Tiscali have been surprisingly quiet over the incident, despite angry customers bombarding their technical support forum. However, they did give the following statement, “We are aware that there has been an issue with users accessing the screaming.net email. We have identified this as an issue with our domain name partner and are pursuing this as a matter of urgency today.”
It certainly comes as another blow for the struggling company as it searches for a buyer.
BT Launch 3 Months Free BT Broadband Online Offer
BT have launched a 3 months free BT Broadband offer for customers who bring their phone calls to BT.
From today, new customers or those switching back to BT can get their broadband free for the first 3 months when they order either a broadband and phone calls package or a broadband, calls and digital TV package.
The offer is available online only at BT.com and follows BT’s recent £30 off your BT bill offer which is still valid when ordering broadband only packages on the BT website.
The new offer means BT’s entry level broadband and phone calls package, which includes free evening & weekend phone calls and free calls to 0845 and 0870 numbers, is free for the first 3 months, followed by £15.65 a month thereafter.
Further information can be found at the BT website, BT.com, or at our BT Broadband & Phone Calls review.
