3UK

3 pledges 14.4Mbps in major UK cities by 2010

Paul Rasmussen — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 11:07:49 -0500

In an effort to gain subscriber attention, 3UK has outlined plans to provide customers in London and other major metropolitan areas access to mobile broadband speeds up to 14.4Mbps by Q3/2010. As an interim, the company has hinted speeds of up to 7.2Mbps could become available to 98 per cent of the UK population by mid-next year.

The company, which has gambled its reputation on its 3G capabilities, claims it has already completed a rollout to give more than 95 per cent of the UK's population access to 3.6Mbps using HSDPA. However, the company was unable to confirm when customers living in more rural areas would have access to these speeds.

It would appear the push to provide higher speeds in more areas is part of the company's strategy to broaden the use of 3G services helped by lower-cost handsets. "We need handsets at a price point that enable us to open that market up", said Kevin Russell, CEO of 3 UK. This was illustrated by the company's announcement of the new INQ handset last week that is tailored for use with the social networking site Facebook and Windows live, etc.

For more on this story go to:
Register Hardware

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Vodafone advertising ruled misleading

Paul Rasmussen — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 13:08:49 -0400

The UK's Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has upheld complaints from rival mobile operators with regard to Vodafone's mobile broadband advertising. T-Mobile and 3UK claimed the Vodafone ads extolling ‘the fastest, most reliable mobile broadband in the galaxy' were misleading and the ASA agreed. Vodafone was told the advertisements should not appear again in the present form and that they must make clear the basis of their claims in the future.

For more:
- See this Mobile News article

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SPOTLIGHT: T-Mobile in hot water over advertising in the U.K.

3UK mimics T-Mobile with launch of 3G wireless router

Paul Rasmussen — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 12:41:10 -0400

Within days of T-Mobile launching its femto-like 3G wireless router, 3UK has unveiled a competing product the company claims can enable up to four people to share a mobile broadband connection.

The company is using the D100 from Huawei into which the subscriber inserts their 3G dongle as supplied by 3UK. Users can then access the D100 using a WiFi connection. The device, which supports a maximum of four WiFi connections, can be purchased online from 3UK for around €90.

Separately, O2 has hinted it might announce something similar later this month. The company's head of solutions architects, Steve Pluta, is expected to unveil a new offering targeted at SMEs that integrates fixed-line and mobile services. The scant details available mentioned that this new FMC service, which would not launch until Q1/09, would come with the option of taking fixed-line services and pricing on to a mobile handset.

For more on this story:
- go to The Inquirer and Mobile Today

Related article:
T-Mobile dongles 3G mobile broadband sharing. T-Mobile story

30% of our subscribers use mobile broadband, says 3UK CEO

Paul Rasmussen — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 11:00:09 -0400

Kevin Russell, CEO of 3UK, has been painting a bright future for the company believing the current financial mayhem will enable it to attract subscribers looking for value. Of particular note was Russell's claim that 600,000 subscribers (30 per cent of its customers base) already were using mobile broadband, and that the company expected more to sign up as consumers looked for better priced deals.

The company, which has a network sharing deal with T-Mobile, said it would have a mobile broadband network comprising over 13,000 sites with a 99 per cent coverage by mid-2010. "This network will provide us with a phenomenal opportunity to reposition our brand and take a real leadership position in data services. Our key focus over the next three, four, five years has to be to leverage that differentiation in data."

To drive this data growth, the company is also focused on promoting the uptake of Facebook, Windows Live Messenger and Skype. "We're seeing a real drive of customers starting to take their Internet behaviour from the home onto mobile," said Russell, adding that September had been the best month for mobile broadband sales as customers switched from using fixed-line services.

For more on this story:
- go to ITPro and MoneyAM

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T-Mobile and 3UK sign joint backhaul deal

Paul Rasmussen — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 13:04:58 -0400

In a deal valued at several hundred million pounds, T-Mobile UK and 3UK have agreed a five-year deal with BT to provide upgraded backhaul from 7,500 base stations on their consolidated 3G infrastructure. This new agreement scraps the existing five-year contracts that both operators had with BT.

The deal, which was signed by Mobile Broadband Network - the JV set up by T-Mobile and 3UK to manage and coordinate the network sharing agreement, will run on BT's next generation Ethernet service that is currently being deployed nationwide in the UK. The migration of the common backhaul network to Ethernet technology will follow BT's roll-out programme. In the shorter term, BT will continue to upgrade the legacy leased line connections.

Emin Gurdenli, technology director at T-Mobile UK, said: "This agreement with BT will make sure backhaul is not a constraint now or in the future at a time when T-Mobile is experiencing strong growth in mobile broadband and other mobile data services."

Backhaul, a somewhat ignored, but increasingly vital element, is coming under increasing stress as mobile operators push subscribers to use ever cheaper 3G data services.

For BT, this agreement now means they provide the backhaul requirements for four of the five mobile players in the UK market - an important growth area given that this leading fixed-line operator is being pressurised by new entrants.

For more on this story:
- go to Financial Times and Cellular News

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France Telecom to upgrade broadband backhaul. FT story
T-Mobile boosts backhaul to handle HSDPA. T-Mobile story

T-Mobile UK to chop 5,000 cellphone masts

Paul Rasmussen — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 13:08:28 -0400

The site-sharing agreement struck between T-Mobile and 3 UK seems to be gathering pace with around 5,000 cell sites identified for decommissioning. Both operators are planning to remove masts and transmitters as they begin to share resources, but it looks likely a small amount of new sites will be built as they take 3G into areas where coverage has been absent.

The two firms claim this site-sharing deal will give them the best 3G network in the UK, providing 98 per cent of the population with good 3G coverage. This claim could prove to be a valuable marketing tool for both firms, especially given that 02 recently admitted it had failed to meet its licence obligations regarding network deployment and coverage.

A similar deal between Vodafone and Orange to share networks remains stalled after the two companies failed to agree on the value of each other's infrastructure assets. Negotiations surrounding the sharing of transmitter sites has been seen as relatively simple in comparison to deciding how any agreement would work with respect to backhaul and core network components.

For more on this story:
- go to Mobile Today

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NSN signs 3G networking deal, and aims for 10% profit margin

Paul Rasmussen — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 11:38:30 -0400

Mobile Broadband Network (MBNL), a network collaboration JV between T-Mobile UK and 3 UK, has awarded Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) the contract to be the 3G infrastructure provider for the joint network. The deal will call for NSN to build and operate what MBNL claims will be the largest 3G network in the UK providing near 100 percent coverage by the end of 2009.

Perhaps buoyed by this contact win, NSN's CEO, Simon Beresford-Wylie, has stated that the company is aiming to reach a profit margin of 10 percent by Q4/09, up from nearly seven percent in Q2/08. Beresford-Wylie said that NSN had walked away from potential deals in an attempt to avoid its margins and cash flows from being damaged.

NSN also reported that it had sold its 56.1 percent holding in the Korean telecoms network company Dasan Networks to a group of Korean investors for US$43.5 million. Dasan had been supplying NSN with broadband access equipment and services. Dasan will continue to be an OEM supplier to NSN.

For more on this story:
- go to Trading Markets 1 and 2

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BBC mobile TV trials disappoint - where next?

Paul Rasmussen — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 10:23:41 -0400

Following very low usage during its latest mobile TV trials, the BBC has launched a public consultation on what it should do next. The service, which was available free to U.K. subscribers of Orange, Vodafone, T-Mobile and 3UK, attracted less than 600 viewers per day. Despite the lack of consumer interest, part of the BBC's new plan involves seeking permission to syndicate the broadcaster's TV channels and radio networks for delivery to mobile devices over a 3G data connection. No details have been made public as to whether this service will be provided free by the BBC with mobile operators collecting the data-download fees.

The idea of a free mobile TV service has received negative feedback from other TV and radio broadcasters which consider it to be an unfair leverage for the BBC, not helped by the BBC being funded by the U.K. tax payer.

According to reports, the BBC saw monthly content consumption of its BBC One, Three and News 24 TV channels reach a high of just 13 minutes per month during the 12 month trial which ended in April.

For more on this story:
- go to ITProPortal and 3G.co.uk

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T-Mobile ad campaign in doubt as 3UK cries foul

Paul Rasmussen — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 15:17:00 -0400

T-Mobile's £17 million TV advertising campaign has run into trouble after its rival, 3UK, filed a complaint with an advertising watchdog. The advert, which promises the best-value tariff from any U.K. mobile operator, has been slammed by 3UK as incorrect given that it offers consumers a better deal. The new T-Mobile campaign--its first for 18 months, features people unsuccessfully searching for more call minutes than are available under the new pricing from T-Mobile. However, 3UK claims that the message: 'you won't find more minutes for £30, guaranteed,' is untrue given that it can offer more minutes for customers at a price point of £27.

While the Advertising Standards Authority is reported to be examining the complaint, these price-guarantee campaigns are more focused on discouraging customers from looking elsewhere. Cell phone tariffs are deliberately made confusing to prevent a price war, with few consumers willing to work through the complex and ever-changing combination of voice, text and data bundles on offer. Outsiders agree that 3UK might have scored a technical win over T-Mobile, while others argue that, based on strict comparisons with other operators' tariffs, the £30 claim made by T-Mobile can be upheld. Looks like one for the lawyers.

For more on this story:
- go to Guardian

Related stories:
T-Mobile cuts data roaming charges. T-Mobile story
T-Mobile goes aggressive--mimics winners' tactics. T-Mobile cuts tariffs story