Hands0n
12th January 2008, 08:02 PM
Two years ago, if you had said to me that I would be able to purchase affordable mobile 3G/HSDPA data from any of the five physical networks I would have disagreed with you. While the technology was on the drawing board, or being [albeit problematically] rolled out, the commercials relating to Mobile Data were far behind. Mobile Data costs were then, as in many cases remain so now, punitive wrapped up in fluffy language such as "Premium".
Fast forward to the tail end of 2007 and into 2008 and we find a rather different and encouraging picture unfolding. Two of the five networks now provide HDSPA at very affordable tariffs. Not quite on a par with terrestrial broadband [yet] but perhaps quite comparable with BB prices of several years back. That one of the networks is already selling their HSDPA as mobile broadband is indeed telling of their medium-to-long-term intentions.
Of the remaining three networks there is nothing much to write home about. One begrudgingly hands out 128MB per month at a flat rate, another has almost nothing to offer and the remaining member of the trio prices their 3G data so extortionately high they may as well refuse to sell it in the first place. Their customers stay away from their data package in droves.
So what has 2008 to offer us then? Should we expect more of the same? Better deals from those that have already started down the mobile data path?
Well, perhaps a combination of all is on offer. It is encouraging to read that T-Mobile are including their national WiFi Hotspot network in the Web N Walk Plus tariff (£12.50pm). That is a nice addition to the 3GB/pm in many cases. Equally, it is good to see 3 selling their HDSPA as mobile broadband, for clearly they see the equivalence.
Next up seems to be O2 with a [presently] feeble 3G network, EDGE and an arrangement with The Cloud. The latter two are bundled in with their iPhone tariff in a truly Unlimited package - always accepting that unlimited at EDGE speeds may not amount to much. But it holds promise for O2 customers if and when that network beefs up the 3G/HDSPA availability, perhaps in time for a 3G iPhone.
These three companies may well spearhead a mini-revolution as they finally accept that it is firstly mobile network availability that people want, not content. Once the network availability is there then they [the mobile operators] can compete with everyone else for the customer's money.
And so turning to the remaining two, Vodafone and Orange, what are we to make of them? Vodafone still appears to consider mobile data a Premium offering. They seemingly begrudgingly offer a few MB per month for £7.50 with eyewateringly high charges per MB if the customer goes over their allowance. A veritable Dickensian Scrooge in our midst.
But even Vodafone cannot top Orange for their meanness of offerings. Orange may as well hang a huge sign up over their door saying "If you want data then go elsewhere". To add insult to injury, Orange even charge for the data that is used to view their own portal. Unsurprisingly, noone ever writes how good that service is.
Perhaps, then, market forces alone will spur Vodafone and Orange into positive action to deliver mobile data at sane tariffs. Because if they do not then they will get left behind as the more aggressive competitors ramp up their offerings.
I believe, then, that 2008 will indeed be an exciting year for mobile data users, or those who want but cannot afford it with their incumbent supplier.
There is much discussion and confusion as to who exactly wants all of this mobile data, and [finally] what for. Simply put, we are looking for a mobile alternative, or even adjunct, to Cable and ADSL.
Why is this and how has this come about? I believe that there has been a subtle and unforseen convergence of happenings. Firstly wholesale availability of WiFi in the home, courtesy of our competing ISPs, has unfettered the user and their device from the Internet router. Secondly, the ever-decreasing cost of laptop computers, WiFi-enabled mobile phones and PDAs has planted in our psyche the notion of portable/mobile Internet access. Right now, for example, I am writing this on my laptop siting in the lounge some 50' away from my Internet router and not a cable in sight. If I care to I can take this computer into the kitchen or dining room at a whim. Not too many years ago that would have been impossible. And so the very notion of mobile Internet access becomes the expected rather than the exception.
Fair enough, that alone would not necessarily be sufficient to drive a more general demand for mobile data access. But there is an increasing awareness of such things, and the public are not only curious but are increasingly hungry for it. And there is more reason for this increased awareness and demand. Even our technological toys are making use of wireless communications. Witness the X-Box, WII and PS3, all of which use WiFi to communicate to the Internet and wireless controllers adding freedom of movement. We no longer expect or desire wires in our activities. And there is more.
Catalysts like the already legendary iPhone do much to promote the notion of mobile data access and use. Nokia N95s and N95-8GBs being handed out on moderate tariffs like candy increase the notional desire for mobile data. And news stories of regular Joes being burned by mobile network operators for daring to use mobile data unguardedly firmly establish the very fact that such a facility even exists. But also that it can be immensely expensive - and so when the likes of T-Mobile and 3 come along and say "Have this for £12.50/£15 and we won't burn you for using it" the buyer is encouraged to buy into it.
The market is already there, it is eager, it is hungry and [finally] the likes of T-Mobile and 3 are feeding it what it wants. A 3GB for £12.50/£15 is very reasonable, and will almost certainly suffice very many who currently use ADSL with a wired ISP. And there are those for whom wired ISP links are not viable, students in residence and those who live in rented accommodation are natural markets for mobile data access.
Play their cards right and 2008 will, in my opinion, be a defining year for mobile data. Perhaps, as with O2, mobile data will become part of the tariff rather than a bolt-on as with T-Mobile and 3. And bundling WiFi into the package is a sensible first shot across the bows of WiMAX as it begins its infancy in the UK. For to be sure, if the early threat of WiMAX is not to be met robustly the mobile network operators of three to four years hence will be unrecognisable to today's incumbents.
The mobile network operators have little time left in their hands and they cannot afford to be complacent about mobile data anymore. The year 2008 is their best chance to ensure that they have a mobile data market of any sort towards the end of this particular decade.
Fast forward to the tail end of 2007 and into 2008 and we find a rather different and encouraging picture unfolding. Two of the five networks now provide HDSPA at very affordable tariffs. Not quite on a par with terrestrial broadband [yet] but perhaps quite comparable with BB prices of several years back. That one of the networks is already selling their HSDPA as mobile broadband is indeed telling of their medium-to-long-term intentions.
Of the remaining three networks there is nothing much to write home about. One begrudgingly hands out 128MB per month at a flat rate, another has almost nothing to offer and the remaining member of the trio prices their 3G data so extortionately high they may as well refuse to sell it in the first place. Their customers stay away from their data package in droves.
So what has 2008 to offer us then? Should we expect more of the same? Better deals from those that have already started down the mobile data path?
Well, perhaps a combination of all is on offer. It is encouraging to read that T-Mobile are including their national WiFi Hotspot network in the Web N Walk Plus tariff (£12.50pm). That is a nice addition to the 3GB/pm in many cases. Equally, it is good to see 3 selling their HDSPA as mobile broadband, for clearly they see the equivalence.
Next up seems to be O2 with a [presently] feeble 3G network, EDGE and an arrangement with The Cloud. The latter two are bundled in with their iPhone tariff in a truly Unlimited package - always accepting that unlimited at EDGE speeds may not amount to much. But it holds promise for O2 customers if and when that network beefs up the 3G/HDSPA availability, perhaps in time for a 3G iPhone.
These three companies may well spearhead a mini-revolution as they finally accept that it is firstly mobile network availability that people want, not content. Once the network availability is there then they [the mobile operators] can compete with everyone else for the customer's money.
And so turning to the remaining two, Vodafone and Orange, what are we to make of them? Vodafone still appears to consider mobile data a Premium offering. They seemingly begrudgingly offer a few MB per month for £7.50 with eyewateringly high charges per MB if the customer goes over their allowance. A veritable Dickensian Scrooge in our midst.
But even Vodafone cannot top Orange for their meanness of offerings. Orange may as well hang a huge sign up over their door saying "If you want data then go elsewhere". To add insult to injury, Orange even charge for the data that is used to view their own portal. Unsurprisingly, noone ever writes how good that service is.
Perhaps, then, market forces alone will spur Vodafone and Orange into positive action to deliver mobile data at sane tariffs. Because if they do not then they will get left behind as the more aggressive competitors ramp up their offerings.
I believe, then, that 2008 will indeed be an exciting year for mobile data users, or those who want but cannot afford it with their incumbent supplier.
There is much discussion and confusion as to who exactly wants all of this mobile data, and [finally] what for. Simply put, we are looking for a mobile alternative, or even adjunct, to Cable and ADSL.
Why is this and how has this come about? I believe that there has been a subtle and unforseen convergence of happenings. Firstly wholesale availability of WiFi in the home, courtesy of our competing ISPs, has unfettered the user and their device from the Internet router. Secondly, the ever-decreasing cost of laptop computers, WiFi-enabled mobile phones and PDAs has planted in our psyche the notion of portable/mobile Internet access. Right now, for example, I am writing this on my laptop siting in the lounge some 50' away from my Internet router and not a cable in sight. If I care to I can take this computer into the kitchen or dining room at a whim. Not too many years ago that would have been impossible. And so the very notion of mobile Internet access becomes the expected rather than the exception.
Fair enough, that alone would not necessarily be sufficient to drive a more general demand for mobile data access. But there is an increasing awareness of such things, and the public are not only curious but are increasingly hungry for it. And there is more reason for this increased awareness and demand. Even our technological toys are making use of wireless communications. Witness the X-Box, WII and PS3, all of which use WiFi to communicate to the Internet and wireless controllers adding freedom of movement. We no longer expect or desire wires in our activities. And there is more.
Catalysts like the already legendary iPhone do much to promote the notion of mobile data access and use. Nokia N95s and N95-8GBs being handed out on moderate tariffs like candy increase the notional desire for mobile data. And news stories of regular Joes being burned by mobile network operators for daring to use mobile data unguardedly firmly establish the very fact that such a facility even exists. But also that it can be immensely expensive - and so when the likes of T-Mobile and 3 come along and say "Have this for £12.50/£15 and we won't burn you for using it" the buyer is encouraged to buy into it.
The market is already there, it is eager, it is hungry and [finally] the likes of T-Mobile and 3 are feeding it what it wants. A 3GB for £12.50/£15 is very reasonable, and will almost certainly suffice very many who currently use ADSL with a wired ISP. And there are those for whom wired ISP links are not viable, students in residence and those who live in rented accommodation are natural markets for mobile data access.
Play their cards right and 2008 will, in my opinion, be a defining year for mobile data. Perhaps, as with O2, mobile data will become part of the tariff rather than a bolt-on as with T-Mobile and 3. And bundling WiFi into the package is a sensible first shot across the bows of WiMAX as it begins its infancy in the UK. For to be sure, if the early threat of WiMAX is not to be met robustly the mobile network operators of three to four years hence will be unrecognisable to today's incumbents.
The mobile network operators have little time left in their hands and they cannot afford to be complacent about mobile data anymore. The year 2008 is their best chance to ensure that they have a mobile data market of any sort towards the end of this particular decade.