Blogs - Be

Wednesday, March 3rd 2010

When it comes to broadband speeds, no one could deny that Virgin Media has had a major hand in upping the UK average. The company has a long history of topping speed tests and has continued the trend this month in the latest Cable.co.uk figures for February.

With an average speed of 8.4Mbps, Virgin Media is comfortably setting the pace when it comes to connections, with rival bundle provider Sky lagging behind by a whole 1Mbps.

Orange came third with an average connection speed of 6Mbps, while O2 and Be's shared infrastructure generated a figure of 5.6Mbps.

BT completed the top five with an average of 4.1Mbps, but there is little doubt where the power lies when it comes to speed in the UK.

Wednesday, February 10th 2010

For the past few years, the world of fibre optic broadband has been dominated by the likes of Virgin Media. Earlier this year, BT joined the exclusive club with the launch of its Infinity service, but its latest plans look set to be potentially market-changing.

Earlier this week, BT's chief executive Ian Livingston told the Financial Times that it has been talking to Ofcom about potentially opening up its underground infrastructure for rivals to use.

It is thought that such a move could allow companies to lay cables without having to dig up pavements.

Monday, January 4th 2010

Equality has come to the broadband market, thanks to the launch of Be's new and improved Value package.

The company's new deal, which is now available at the permanently reduced price of £7.50 a month, is the cheapest in the UK to be available with no traffic shaping, so all data travelling across the network gets treated the same.

Most broadband providers tend to slow certain downloads or limit users' traffic, but such restrictions are a thing of the past with the new service.

After consulting with members, the company found that people prefer a limited connection to a traffic managed alternative.

Tuesday, December 22nd 2009

With Christmas fast approaching, a quick walk down the high street is likely to bring a sackful of savings and special offers to your attention. The same can be said of broadband at the moment, but be warned – a few top deals are set to expire over the festive period.

Yesterday (December 21st) saw the end of Sky's offer of a £50 Marks & Spencer voucher with its digital TV packages, while consumers have until the end of today to buy a pre-pay mobile broadband dongle from O2 at half price for just £14.67.

In addition, customers can get 12 months on Be Value's package at £6.75 a month if they enter the code 'halfprice' when signing up to the company online.

Thursday, September 3rd 2009

For many who are heading to university, the thought of all-day partying is often more higher on the agenda than utility bills.

However, more and more broadband providers are looking to tap into the market, which means students need to be aware of what is available to them and what deals will best suit their needs.

Be Broadband has even made an early move in the market, offering nine-month deals that are tailored to fit the needs of those heading into shared housing.

However, communications regulator Ofcom has moved to stop the subject from getting too confusing for students by publishing new advice on the topic.

Monday, August 24th 2009

At the end of last month, figures from Consumer Direct suggested that broadband providers have finally turned a corner in terms of customer satisfaction.

While it was found that the number of complaints received by the body concerning broadband had dropped, a new poll has suggested that we should not take the findings as a sign that providers have upped their game.

The survey by Which? signaled great news for the likes of O2 and Be, which both scored over 80 per cent in terms of customer satisfaction, according to the Daily Telegraph's report.

Tuesday, August 11th 2009

The UK's biggest broadband providers have gone freebie-mad recently and fibre optic firm Virgin Media have become the latest to join the bandwagon.

Its offering of free installation on its broadband services - which could equate to a saving of up to £30 for subscribers who take on its packages - is just the latest in a long line of incentives launch by providers in the past week.

While BT is offering customers connection-boosting iPlates for free, Be Broadband and TalkTalk have also revealed they are offering several months on their services for no charge.

Tuesday, June 2nd 2009

While we all often get frustrated when our internet takes an age to load one page, new figures have suggested that the speed of household connections has never been better.

The study by Broadband.co.uk has revealed that the average speed available during May was 4.25Mbps, which is a small increase on the figure recorded for the previous month.

Virgin Media was found to be the top-performing provider overall, with a download speed of 5.87Mbps. The news comes less than a week after the company's mobile broadband was praised in a study by Broadband Genie.

Tuesday, May 19th 2009

We probably all have an opinion on which broadband provider is the best, but a major awards ceremony taking place later this year is hoping to end all arguments.

The UK Internet Service Providers Association has announced the shortlist for its 11th UK Internet Industry Awards for 2009 and a number of the leading players in the market have been given nods.

Orange dominated with four nominations, in the Best Consumer Fixed Broadband, Best Consumer Mobile Broadband, Best Business Mobile Broadband and Corporate Social Responsibility categories respectively.

Following closely behind is Virgin Media, which is up for three gongs including Best Consumer Customer Service, while O2 also gets a mention in two sections.