Broadband News
News, views and analysis
3 suspends dongle sales in places, Virgin Media declares itself upwardly mobile
01 Dec 2009 | 22.38 Europe/London
Mobile operator 3 says that, due to poor 3G coverage in some areas, some of its customers are unable to even carry out basic web surfing - and it's revealed how its going to do something about it. Meanwhile, rival firm Virgin Media has unveiled its new "super fast" modem for mobile broadband, featuring a potential top speed that's double that of its existing offering.
Mobile broadband customers on the 3 network in certain locations could receive a discount or even the chance to walk away from their contract no-strings-attached after the company declared that its service isn't universally up to scratch across the board - or, specifically, up to what it refers to as "internal standards." While the company won't go into exactly where these locations actually are, they could become apparent as soon as it begins temporarily stopping the sale of its broadband dongles in places where the available 3G connectivity doesn't meet its own benchmark. It's a surprising move for a company that recently claimed it has the most extensive 3G coverage in the UK, reporting its competitors Orange to the Advertising Standards Agency in the process for falsely taking up the mantle.
3's director of corporate affairs, Hugh Davies, is worried about consumers who are suffering from what he calls "degraded experience." "At the moment, we have some internal standards and, if you come within those and we can't resolve it technically or through a change to your terms, we wouldn't hold you to your contract," he told ZDNet UK. While he says we should learn what these "internal standards" actually entail relatively soon - at least sometime in the next few months - for now he's made it clear that it's more a question of whether low-level web usage is pragmatic (i.e. light browsing and checking emails), rather than tasks requiring high bandwidth consumption (such as video streaming).
Dongle sales will be suspended in hundreds of stores for between one and three months while 3 implements a network-sharing deal with T-Mobile in a bid to redress matters. "In the few areas where we cannot offer the best experience if we add significant numbers of new customers, we will temporarily limit the number of new people joining the network by briefly suspending sales activity," the mobile operator says. As for those who are already signed up to the mobile operator and still thinking about jumping ship, it appears the firm would have to run some checks - with your permission - to make sure you really are experiencing what its calling an "unacceptable level of issues" in relation to your dongle (or 3G smartphone) before you're then released from your contract.
What's interesting is that it seems 3 may have an increasingly different take on what "mobile broadband" actually means to at least one of its rivals. While Davies argues that, "when the whole mobile broadband thing took off, it was very much geared around browsing and email, and we've never said we'd be able to compete with high-speed fixed broadband," Virgin Media is releasing a new USB modem that promises "super fast" connectivity. "The new super-quick offering is [makes] Internet browsing, checking emails and streaming video on-the-go a breeze," the associated press release boasts. Back over at 3, Davies says, "where someone calls up and says they're not able to download videos or do streaming, that's not what it was intended for."
Virgin Media are marketing its new dongle as being "ideal" for "keeping up with your favourite shows via BBC iPlayer or YouTube (with less buffering and stuttering)" at a time when 3 is just starting to take theirs off some shelves. Whereas the former's previous fastest modem could handle 3.6Mbit/s, its newest offering can run at 7.2Mbit/s. "If you’re not at home or near a wireless connection, mobile broadband is the best way of staying connected on the move and we’re delighted to be making this a speedier, more pleasant experience for our customers," said Graeme Oxby, executive director of mobile at Virgin Media.
But if 7.2Mbit/s sounds too good to be true after reading about the problems 3 have been suffering with 3G connectivity, it's worth pointing out that Virgin Media's announcement needs to be taken with a pinch of small print. As the press release points out, "speeds for mobile broadband can be affected by many factors including:"
And this is still the key issue: how can consumers know when they're buying a mobile broadband modem which of these factors their connections are going to be subject to? In a world where marketing holds sway - the small print often ignored, even by the tech press - 3's announcement can be seen as a breath of fresh air. It seems likely that other networks will harbour customers who also suffer an "unacceptable level of issues" with their 3G services - and how many are trapped on contracts they can't easily abandon? Calls for a "try before you buy" option for mobile broadband from the likes of the Communications Consumer Panel are surely more relevant now than ever.
Mobile broadband customers on the 3 network in certain locations could receive a discount or even the chance to walk away from their contract no-strings-attached after the company declared that its service isn't universally up to scratch across the board - or, specifically, up to what it refers to as "internal standards." While the company won't go into exactly where these locations actually are, they could become apparent as soon as it begins temporarily stopping the sale of its broadband dongles in places where the available 3G connectivity doesn't meet its own benchmark. It's a surprising move for a company that recently claimed it has the most extensive 3G coverage in the UK, reporting its competitors Orange to the Advertising Standards Agency in the process for falsely taking up the mantle.
3's director of corporate affairs, Hugh Davies, is worried about consumers who are suffering from what he calls "degraded experience." "At the moment, we have some internal standards and, if you come within those and we can't resolve it technically or through a change to your terms, we wouldn't hold you to your contract," he told ZDNet UK. While he says we should learn what these "internal standards" actually entail relatively soon - at least sometime in the next few months - for now he's made it clear that it's more a question of whether low-level web usage is pragmatic (i.e. light browsing and checking emails), rather than tasks requiring high bandwidth consumption (such as video streaming).
Dongle sales will be suspended in hundreds of stores for between one and three months while 3 implements a network-sharing deal with T-Mobile in a bid to redress matters. "In the few areas where we cannot offer the best experience if we add significant numbers of new customers, we will temporarily limit the number of new people joining the network by briefly suspending sales activity," the mobile operator says. As for those who are already signed up to the mobile operator and still thinking about jumping ship, it appears the firm would have to run some checks - with your permission - to make sure you really are experiencing what its calling an "unacceptable level of issues" in relation to your dongle (or 3G smartphone) before you're then released from your contract.
What's interesting is that it seems 3 may have an increasingly different take on what "mobile broadband" actually means to at least one of its rivals. While Davies argues that, "when the whole mobile broadband thing took off, it was very much geared around browsing and email, and we've never said we'd be able to compete with high-speed fixed broadband," Virgin Media is releasing a new USB modem that promises "super fast" connectivity. "The new super-quick offering is [makes] Internet browsing, checking emails and streaming video on-the-go a breeze," the associated press release boasts. Back over at 3, Davies says, "where someone calls up and says they're not able to download videos or do streaming, that's not what it was intended for."
Virgin Media are marketing its new dongle as being "ideal" for "keeping up with your favourite shows via BBC iPlayer or YouTube (with less buffering and stuttering)" at a time when 3 is just starting to take theirs off some shelves. Whereas the former's previous fastest modem could handle 3.6Mbit/s, its newest offering can run at 7.2Mbit/s. "If you’re not at home or near a wireless connection, mobile broadband is the best way of staying connected on the move and we’re delighted to be making this a speedier, more pleasant experience for our customers," said Graeme Oxby, executive director of mobile at Virgin Media.
But if 7.2Mbit/s sounds too good to be true after reading about the problems 3 have been suffering with 3G connectivity, it's worth pointing out that Virgin Media's announcement needs to be taken with a pinch of small print. As the press release points out, "speeds for mobile broadband can be affected by many factors including:"
- Distance from cell tower
- Number of people using the same cell tower
- Location of cell tower (some may not support 7.2Mbit/s speed)
- Interference from other 3G signals and other wireless technologies
And this is still the key issue: how can consumers know when they're buying a mobile broadband modem which of these factors their connections are going to be subject to? In a world where marketing holds sway - the small print often ignored, even by the tech press - 3's announcement can be seen as a breath of fresh air. It seems likely that other networks will harbour customers who also suffer an "unacceptable level of issues" with their 3G services - and how many are trapped on contracts they can't easily abandon? Calls for a "try before you buy" option for mobile broadband from the likes of the Communications Consumer Panel are surely more relevant now than ever.
Fair comments I think.Don't forget consumers do have the 28 day 'cooling off' period when taking out a Mobile Broadband contract.
Where I work we always make sure the customer knows they can return their dongle and cancel their contact if they have any coverage issues.
03 Dec 2009 | 21.22 Europe/London