Mobile broadband will change the way we shop
The growth of
mobile broadband is set to have an impact on the retail sector, according to new research from BT.
The telecommunications company said that as more people opt for mobile broadband services, retailers will need to change the way they offer their products to consumers in line with the way people are getting online.
BT's study revealed that in the last three months and estimated 45 per cent of mobile broadband users have used their
devices to hunt down goods or services online and one in three claimed this had helped make "well-informed buying decisions".
"Broadband on the move is bringing about a change in consumer behaviour," said BT Futurologist Ian Neild. "Consumers can now do the things they would normally do at home when they are out and about. The ease with which they can go online to sites like Pricerunner or TripAdvisor to inform their buying decisions puts added pressure on high-street retailers to offer the best prices and the product ranges that people want." He continued, "The days of the internet being something for the home are over. For a growing number of savvy shoppers, the online and in-store worlds have now merged,".
Read the full article
here.
Labels: industry insight, mobile broadband, roaming
T-Mobile opens largest Wi-Fi hotspot in Heathrow's Terminal 5
T-Mobile UK has launched its largest Wi-Fi hotpsot covering the interior of Heathrow Airport's Terminal 5. The new Heathrow Terminal 5 Wi-Fi HotSpot is T-Mobile's largest in the UK, spanning the equivalent of approximately 50 football pitches. The Wi-Fi service is also available through T-Mobile at the other Heathrow Terminals.
For those passengers who are not customers of T-Mobile or other participating providers, the Terminal 5 HotSpot service is priced at £5 for one hour's access, or £10 for 24 hours, payable by credit card. There is also a monthly subscription service for regular users at £20 per month.
"T-Mobile is committed to meet the increasing demand for people on the move to be able to connect to the internet when and where they need to – whether for business or pleasure," comments Richard Warmsley, Head of Internet on the Move, T-Mobile UK. "One in four new contract customers are signing up for our
mobile broadband service and user numbers are set to quadruple in 2008. It's clear this trend is set to continue and customers now expect to be able to hook up to the internet anywhere and at any time, particularly at major transport hubs like Terminal 5."
Don't forget, Wi-Fi hotspot access is included with all
T-Mobile mobile broadband deals.
Labels: mobile broadband, network coverage, roaming, T-Mobile
Mobile broadband abroad - a cautionary tale
If you're thinking of using your
mobile broadband abroad be very sure that you fully understand the roaming charges levied by your provider.
We came across
this story today on Jonathan Hopkins' excellent blog and felt it was well worth sharing with you.
Johnathan describes the meticulous measures he took prior to setting off for Portugal to ensure he was going to get the best value mobile broadband roaming, only to return and be told he owed over £2500.
Labels: mobile broadband, roaming
Mobile operators must get mobile broadband strategy right
Webitpr.com report...
AdaptiveMobile, the leading security provider of mobile subscriber protection for enterprises and individuals, today recommends that mobile operators carefully consider their international
mobile broadband strategies.
This follows the European Union's threat to impose legal measures to make operators cut the amount they charge their
mobile broadband customers for roaming on overseas networks, which has made some operators consider banning all customers from downloading data through their
mobile broadband service while abroad to avoid getting involved in a high profile legal wrangle.
However, AdaptiveMobile argues that operators taking a simplistic view to blocking subscribers'
mobile broadband usage while abroad run the risk of losing the significant revenues promised by mobile broadband subscribers willing to pay for a high-quality roaming service.
Gareth Maclachlan, COO of AdaptiveMobile, comments: "Whilst operators understandably don't want to be perceived as trying to unfairly glean excess revenues from unwitting subscribers while abroad, taking a 'one size fits all' approach blocking their usage while abroad will result in them losing very significant revenues, at a time when you would expect them to be looking to maximise their 3G network investments. Even though there is the suggestion that subscribers would be able to lift the block, for a high proportion, this would be too disruptive and operators would never maximise their average revenue per user (ARPU)."
"Operators need to take better control of their network assets, so that they can offer a bespoke service to each user on a case-by-case basis. In this way, they can not only control subscribers' mobile broadband usage in the UK and abroad, but also the type of content that is being delivered over their network to the user, in terms of blocking spam and viruses, and in the case of vulnerable users, inappropriate or intimidating messages and imagery. They should also make steps to better protect roaming users from unnecessary data usage, such as application and operating system updates, which can be upto 500Mb in size and in many cases are downloaded without user knowledge."
Read the full article
here...
Labels: industry insight, mobile broadband, roaming
