 Britain seems to be ahead in their desire for advanced technological abilities whilst the providing companies lag behind in advertising savvy:
>> Talk Talk is the latest company to sign up to Project Canvas in partnership with the BBC, BT, ITV, Channel 4 and Five. Project Canvas is designed to adopt common standards on the broadband delivery of free-to-air television. There are currently no common standards in place for this type of technology, something which is important for the manufacturers of compatible infrastructure. Talk Talk say that they are able to deliver next generation broadband services to four fifths of the UK and has invested £1bn in its broadband services in the last 5 years.
Talk Talk is offering its customers £250 if they agree to rename their homes with titles like Talk Talk Home and Talk Talk Mansions. The promotional idea has already been taken up by one London family, who now live in Talk Talk Towers. The new name will stand for 12 months. Talk Talk hope to gain naming rights over 50 homes by the start of 2010.
With the number of angry Talk Talk customers around, though, the homeowners may get some unexpected mail by accident!
>> An advertisement run by Virgin media for their Pay TV service has been banned by the Advertising Standards Authority for being offensive to ginger people. The ad ran with the strapline "How do you spot a ginger person in the dark? ... Looks or personality, who wins?". The ASA ruled that the ad could cause offence to people with ginger hair, while Virgin claimed that they were challenging people's ideas of what is attractive. The ASA thought it unlikely that people would interpret it in a light hearted way.
>> Orange has released a map showing how the population of the UK could change with availability of internet services becoming more widespread. Orange conducted research known as Orange's Connected Britain earlier this year and questioned 3250 people on where they would choose to live if they knew the internet connection was good enough to sustain their homes and businesses. The map shows that more people would live in Scotland and the South West of England whereas the Midlands and the North of England would become less densely populated. It also reveals that people would be more likely to work from their homes and from more remote areas.
>> BT Openreach is currently installing fibre optic cable into 77 of the 171 exchange boxes in central Basingstoke. This will allow some residents download speeds of between 15 and 40Mbps. The current average for the UK is just 2.5Mbps. Councillor Keith Chapman commented that the adoption of fast broadband in Basingstoke will improve the opportunities of those living in the town. Just under 30,000 homes in the area will get the service and new packages will be offered by providers in January 2010. It is expected that businesses and housing in Basingstoke will enjoy increased value and more people are likely to move to the town.
>> An Ofcom report has shown that Britain is one of the most advanced countries in the world in terms of digital communications. Their research has shown that 88% of UK households have digital TV - the highest proportion compared to the other 12 countries studied. The number of viewing hours per day also increased in 2008 by 3.2% to 3.8 hours. Households in European countries spent 3.5 hours a day watching television. The US topped viewing times with an average of 4.6 hours a day.
Further research by Ofcom has shown that 23% of businesses in the UK are struggling with unreliable internet connections and 15% are not happy with the speed of their connection. They also showed that nine out of ten businesses rely on the internet and use the web regularly. Ed Richards, Chief Executive of Ofcom stated that their research shows clearly that providers need to start responding more effectively to the needs of businesses.
Ofcom has also revealed the results of research this week which highlights the fact that the UK enjoys some of the cheapest broadband prices in the world, due to the high levels of competition in the UK. A bundle deal in the UK which includes mobile, fixed line and broadband is available for as little as £102 per year, 30% cheaper than Italy, which is the next cheapest in Europe. Ofcom further point out that the competition in the UK will also lead to increased innovation.
>> Research from the OECD has revealed that the UK is placed at number 21 out of 30 in terms of access to next-generation broadband. When it comes to broadband penetration the UK is placed at number 13, but this is mostly DSL rather than fibre optics. Currently around 10% of the OECD have access to fibre optic broadband, yet in Japan and Korea most people do. Taylor Reynolds from the OECD has commented that a cut of just 1% in education, electricity, health and transport would pay for a fibre network. He believes that in time this investment would be more than justified. † [last update: 18.12.09]
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