BT says that it is planning to roll out high speed broadband across a wider area of the UK by enabling more local telephone exchanges for its wholesale broadband service.

An official announcement details a total of nearly 150 different locations around the nation that are going to benefit as a result of these plans and local customers will be able to get online at maximum speeds of 24Mbps once the work has been completed.

BT aims to ensure that nearly 17 million UK customers are online using this faster connection technology by mid-2011, with home broadband and business broadband packages both benefiting from the roll out.

BT’s wholesale manager Emma Elshof confirmed that the provider would be performing the upgrade work over the next few months. She said that even more changes were on the way and that over the summer BT was planning to make some significant announcements.

BT has set a deadline of early 2011 as the period by which the wholesale broadband connections will be available at most of the planned sites, offering an estimated 75 per cent of the population the option to access the internet at 24Mbps.

Although the news about the BT wholesale product reaching more customers is good, most people will be more concerned about the availability of its fibre-to-the-cabinet service. BT Infinity is making its way into more communities, but the progress will seem sluggish for anyone in a community where no upgrade is planned.

Simple Broadband’s Communications Manager Simon Gerrard said “It is encouraging to see BT working on bringing faster ADSL broadband to more of the UK and cheap cable broadband is still progressing steadily in its availability. We can only hope that competition and investment will drive home broadband forward.”

TalkTalk, one of the UK’s largest broadband providers, has said that it will be working to extend the availability of its flagship internet packages to more consumers around the country.

TalkTalk currently offers its basic services to about 80 per cent of the country, which tops its closest rival O2’s 70 per cent availability in UK households. Now TalkTalk says that it will be rolling out its coverage to make sure that 90 per cent of the nation can choose its broadband.

In a press release, TalkTalk said that the 1700 unbundled exchanges that it operates in the UK would be growing to 2000 over the next year. It also said that the speeds of its broadband service would be rising in order to meet the public appetite for data, which experts say is increasing by 50 per cent a year.

TalkTalk is currently trialling its own fibre optic service using the same Infinity network that is bringing about BT broadband deals that have a maximum download speed of 40Mbps. This is the fibre-to-the-cabinet (FTTC) technology that has been implemented in a number of areas to date and it is, as yet, available in only a limited number of locations.

By next spring BT is hoping to bring high speed ADSL2+ broadband to about 20 million UK customers, which is a more ambitious plan than many of its main provider rivals, although its monopoly over the UK’s broadband infrastructure allows it to develop technologies and services at its own pace.

TalkTalk is proving to be a serious contender in the UK broadband provider market, as its recent acquisitions of smaller firms such as AOL and Tiscali have significantly increased its user base and allowed it to gain market share from established rivals.

The future of mobile broadband is currently being decided for German consumers as four leading mobile network providers have begun the process of bidding for the 4G spectrum.

Ten years ago the German government was able to generate about £44 billion from the sale of the 3G spectrum and this has been key to the growth of mobile broadband for a decade. Now it expects that the 4G auction will also bring in billions, but the final figure could fall short of that achieved by 3G in the year 2000.

Analysts believe that networks will collectively pay up to £10 billion for the rights to own a slice of the 4G spectrum, which will bring mobile broadband speeds ten times faster than the current maximum afforded by 3G.

The German equivalents of O2, Vodafone and T-Mobile will all be playing their part in the 4G spectrum auction. To be pedantic the correct term for this initial spectrum is LTE (Long Term Evolution) which is seen by many as a gateway towards even faster 4G mobile broadband in the future.

Analysts will be using the German auction as an indicator as to how other markets, including the UK, will respond to the 4G revolution and the future of mobile broadband. It is believed that some networks will be more willing to commit to 4G than others and when the spectrum is allocated in the UK, the industry will watch closely to see who comes out on top.

Many observers are predicting that BT could enter the 4G auction in the UK, making it one of the few landline providers to jump on the next-generation mobile broadband wagon.

Simple Broadband’s Communications Manager Simon Gerrard commented “The current broadband speeds and deals, including the Orange mobile broadband free laptop offers, will be further improved once 4G and LTE technology comes along, although the providers have a lot to sort out before then.”

Mobile broadband provider Orange has recently announced a new set of packages aimed at business users, with the promise of making work far more flexible in the future.

Orange hopes that organisations and individuals will be better able to cope with a diverse and changing set of business requirements when they pick up a mobile broadband package which has been designed with the needs of an enterprise user in mind.

Orange says that the traditional hours of work are no longer as rigid as they were in the past and it believes that with a business mobile broadband package, staff will be able to adjust their own schedules without having to remain stuck in the office to get the job done.

Orange’s small business director Martin Lyne said that its aim was to reflect the working lives of its customers with the malleability of its business mobile broadband packages.

The new Orange packages offer unlimited use to business customers with a moderate fair use policy to govern the monthly data allocation. It also says that it has made the pricing of its business tariffs clearer.

Mr Lyne said that UK businesses would be presented with a range of mobile broadband options and would have the freedom to choose the package most appropriate to their specific needs.

Orange has been promoting its mobile broadband as a means of allowing workers to make the most out of the good weather when the summer rolls around. It says that using mobile broadband will allow business customers to work from home, or from the local park, rather than having to commute into the office, consequently reducing their carbon footprint.

Simple Broadband’s Communications Manager Simon Gerrard added “Orange tells us that 90 per cent of workers commute for more than an hour a day, so with Orange and BT business broadband packages evolving, many of us should be able to benefit from more time working at home”.

Customers looking to get into the mobile broadband market might be interested to learn that Vodafone has slashed the price of its basic mobile broadband package to just £4.25.

This package is intended for business users and for the first three months this low price will apply, before increasing to £12.77 for the remainder of the contract.

Vodafone’s mobile broadband networks can offer download speeds of up to 7.2Mbps and the provider has been shown in recent surveys to offer some of the fastest and most consistent mobile broadband connections in the UK.

The standard business mobile broadband package from Vodafone comes with a 3GB monthly data allowance, which it is suggested will give you about 100 hours of use each month.

Vodafone includes a free USB dongle with this package and there are a host of other freebies to enjoy. You get a software suite to protect your PC or laptop from viruses and hackers and you also gain access to free online backup and data restoration, which means that sensitive files and documents can be copied and protected. Up to 2GB of your data can be stored in this way.

There is a minimum 24 month contract with this new low-cost business mobile broadband deal and it compares favourably to other wireless broadband prices.

If you do not want to commit for the full 24 month period, there is an 18 month option. The initial monthly premium is higher, at £8.50, but after three months it rises to precisely the same level as the 24 month option.

Simple Broadband’s Communications Manager Simon Gerrard noted “Mobile broadband can be a real asset for business users, allowing them to get online virtually anywhere and Vodafone is now making it as cost-effective as possible”.

Residents in and around Birmingham and the West Midlands are waiting to see which location in their region will be chosen to be the proving ground for 100Mbps superfast broadband.

High speed internet connectivity is being promoted as an essential asset in the area and one which will encourage regeneration and bring economic growth and stability along with it.

Campaigners are hoping that three different areas will be chosen in the 100Mbps trials, although in all likelihood it will be urban Birmingham that feels the benefits before more isolated locations.

A group of local businesses is campaigning for faster broadband in the region, hoping to aid the progress of the roll-out by costing the installation and upkeep itself in order to attract investment from big telecoms firms.

Hopeful locals will have to wait until early June to find out how the investigations and preliminary tests are progressing.

Campaigners believe that the growth of superfast broadband will allow more people to work from home, which will encourage small businesses and entrepreneurs to stay locally and boost the economy.

Broadband activist and businessman Glyn Pickford told the Birmingham Post that consumers and businesses would benefit from faster broadband in the West Midlands. Mr Pickford also stressed that big business would benefit from 100Mbps broadband and that regeneration is reliant upon its availability.

It is believed that members of the public will need to be educated as to the benefits of superfast broadband and new BT broadband options using fibre technology, as many are aware that it is coming but unsure as to how it will impact upon their daily lives.

Simple Broadband’s Simon Gerrard added “It is great to see regions around the UK campaigning for faster broadband and seeing their wishes come true. A stream of new initiatives and ever more diverse BT broadband options prove that 100Mbps broadband is a nationwide issue.”

Business and home broadband customers will be pleased to learn that BT has announced various locations that will be benefiting from a fibre optic broadband upgrade in the next few months.

Its BT Infinity service, which uses fibre-to-the-cabinet (FTTC) technology has so far been available in limited areas of the UK, but now BT says that an additional four million business and home users will be able to enjoy download speeds of up to 40Mbps.

A BT spokesperson said that the telecoms giant is committed to bringing 40 per cent of the UK population some form of fibre optic broadband by 2012 and now it has announced that customers in London, the Midlands, Yorkshire and East Anglia will be some of the first to experience the speed boost.

BT will not be the only broadband provider offering fibre optic services as part of the new upgrades, as it will also be selling on its service to ISPs in order to generate competition and variety. This will be welcomed by business broadband customers who may not be convinced by the current BT Infinity tariffs.

More than 300 local telephone exchanges are being upgraded as part of the new initiative and around 190 of these will be located in the south and east of the UK. The North West will see 30 exchanges upgraded and the Midlands is getting around 40 fibre-ready exchanges.

BT hopes to complete the work by the middle of next year, although some have said that the concentration of the exchanges in the south implies that the digital divide is getting wider.

Simple Broadband’s Communications Manager Simon Gerrard said “Businesses can really benefit from high speed access, not only for their own premises, but also within the local community, as the internet will become an ever more effective tool for sourcing custom locally.”

The budget delivered by Alistair Darling last week was extremely important for businesses looking to ensure their future prosperity as the promise of universal high speed broadband was essentially pledged.

The new 50p Broadband Tax has been confirmed and this comes almost simultaneously with the new Building Britain’s Digital Future initiative, in which prime minister Gordon Brown committed to getting high speed broadband to 100 per cent of the population in the next decade. Business leaders can only hope that future governments are able to live up to this promise.

Thankfully it looks as though most businesses are being backed by local and national plans to help bring broadband to as many people as possible, but for many there is little clear idea as to what kind of timescale they will be looking at before the promise of universal high speed broadband becomes a reality.

At the moment, the 2017 deadline for 90 per cent high speed broadband coverage is looking attainable, but there are no official figures relating to how much the public or private purse will have to pay in order to ensure that the final 10 per cent is not left floating in the wind.

The nations that currently top the charts in terms of high speed broadband availability, including Korea and Japan, could only achieve market saturation with heavy investment from the authorities, which suggests that relying entirely on the private sector for the cash is not going to work in Britain.

It is believed that if high speed BT business broadband packages become widely available within the next decade, working from home will be far more common and the morning commute for those who do head into work will be less crowded as broadband enables more diverse working patterns.

People looking for shorter minimum contract periods in the mobile broadband market will be able to take advantage of a new pay monthly package from Vodafone.

For £15 a month you will get a 3GB data cap and there is a 12 month minimum contract to cover. However, your money also bags you a free USB dongle to help you get online.

Vodafone offers a similar package for people who want a rolling contract similar to a pay-as-you-go scheme. The monthly price and data cap are identical, but with a one month minimum contract you will need to pay £19 for the dongle.

Whether you like the sound of this Vodafone package will depend on how you respond to wireless broadband prices. If you know that you will need the service consistently for at least 12 months, then it is a good deal as you will save the £19 fee for the dongle.

Vodafone has undercut its closest 12 month-offering rival Orange, which has the same data cap and free dongle deal costing £18 monthly. Orange gives you the option to upgrade the USB dongle to a premium edition that comes with a free microSD memory card and the claim of offering a better connection, but you will have to pay £20 for the privilege.

By looking at these latest deals it is easy to see how much mobile broadband prices have fallen over the last year. Data caps have virtually trebled in this lower price bracket and a pay-as-you-go mobile broadband contract is nearly as attractive from a financial point of view as a fixed term option.

Simple Broadband’s Communications Manager Simon Gerrard added “Vodafone now offers its users some of the most competitive mobile broadband packages out there, along with fast download speeds.”

Gordon Brown has emphasised the importance of super fast broadband access on a universal scale in the UK during a recent speech.

Mr Brown said that it is not inaccurate to equate the importance of the arrival of broadband to that of domestically available electricity. He also pointed out that it would empower the citizens of the UK, as well as saving billions of pounds of taxpayer’s money in the process.

The most significant use of broadband for Mr Brown is in the formation of government policy and the movement towards a truly democratic society. He said that everyone should be able to have their say on the shape of their communities, as well as on the progress of government on a local and national level.

Mr Brown also expects the use of the internet to simplify the standard bureaucratic exercises that are required when moving house, changing job or dealing with any state-funded service.

There is already evidence that broadband and internet-based technologies have saved the government money, as pensions secretary Yvette Cooper has shown figures proving that one billion pounds has already been saved thanks to making services available on the internet.

People will soon be able to claim the Jobseeker’s Allowance online, as well as getting access to their old age pension, which the government claims will save another hundred million pounds each year.

So far the only barrier between the complete virtualisation of many government services has been the lack of universal broadband coverage. It is hoped that cheap cable broadband, subsidised ADSL technology and mobile broadband will all play a part in reducing this deficit.

Simple Broadband’s Simon Gerrard said “It is good to see politicians paying attention to the increasingly essential nature of high speed broadband.”