Words About Things

Perhaps the most controversial aspect of Broadband is the speed. Those of us who remember the bad old days of dial-up connections will know how frustrating it can be to wait for a page to load. Whilst Broadband is faster than dial-up it is a well know fact that advertised speeds are not likely to be reached by all users all the time. Speeds are normally listed as ‘up to XX Mbps’ and this has left some people feeling that they are not getting what they pay for.

Even the best mobile broadband connection is by it’s very definition normally not as fast as a fixed line. The benefits of Mobile Broadband include it’s portability and the fact that a landline is not needed. But as the market for Mobile Broadband increases the companies involved get more competitive. Claims about speeds are very closely watched and monitored.

Vodaphone currently advertises speeds of up to 7.2 Mbps but competitors claim that this is unrealistic for most users. They claim that Vodaphones does not provide 3G coverage for all of their users who can mostly expect speeds of around 1.8 Mbps. Vodaphone claims that higher speeds are available in London and at airports but that might be considered irrelevant by most of their users.

Pay as you go mobile broadband provider Three claim that their coverage is greater than that of Vodaphone. They have reported a complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority regarding Vodaphone’s speed claims.

Pret A Manger has launched a wifi service in 170 of its 190 stores. Customers will be able to use the wifi for free on their mobile devices and laptops. Pret are one of the first chains (along with McDonalds) to offer a free wireless broadband connection in a bid to draw in customers. Starbucks also has wifi available in store but charges customers a fee.

Many news sources have described this as a national offer which surprised me as I thought Pret only had stores in London. At first I just figured tht London people thought that the country ended outside of the M25. It turns out they have them in quite a few big cities although they have yet to invade the south west.

“Now you can get cheap deals for mobile broadband it has made it very hard to charge for wi-fi in cafes. Somebody will have to pay for it but it is becoming less likely to be the end user.”

Ian Fogg – Forrester Research

Pret A Manger are hoping that people will linger in store and spend more money if they feel like they are getting something for free. As broadband become cheaper and devices become more portable we can expect to recieve free wifi more often. If I had a nearby coffee shop with free wifi I wouldn’t bother going home!

News story here.

Gordon Brown has unveiled an ambitious plan to try to stabilise the failing economy. Part of the plan is to try to kick start bank lending in order to help businesses and private borrowers. The new idea to supliment this is to create up to 100,000 new jobs.

It has been calculated that by 2010 one in ten of us will be unemployed with those working in retail being particularly at risk.

Brown’s plan owes a lot to Roosevelt’s New Deal which initiated a programme of public works including building new dams and roads in order to create jobs whilst improving America’s infrastructure during the Great Depression. New rail links are planned as well as improvements to schools (many of which permanently use ‘temporary’ buildings).

The PM also hinted at at improvements being made to the UK’s Broadband infrastructure. This would create jobs as well as help us to keep up with other European countries who are already starting to plan their fibre optic upgrades. A fibre optic system would mean a faster phone line able to provide high speed wireless broadband.

“”When we talk about the roads and the bridges and the railways that were built in previous times – and those were anti-recession measures taken to help people through difficult times – you could [by comparison] talk about the digital infrastructure and that form of communications revolution at a period when we want to stimulate the economy,”

Gordon Brown