O2 is going to start offering home phone bundle deals to all current and new customers of its ADSL broadband packages in an attempt to capture a larger proportion of the home broadband market. This could look attractive since Tiscali broadband prices are set to rise now that TalkTalk has taken over the brand.

Beginning in March, O2 home broadband customers will be able to get a deal that adds the cost of a comprehensive home phone package to their monthly broadband bill.

O2 will be offering a selection of two different home phone tariffs, although there is nothing that you will not have seen before from other broadband providers. The basic package will offer unlimited calls to landline numbers in the UK during off-peak hours during the evening and weekend.

For a more comprehensive calling tariff, O2 broadband customers should choose the more expensive Anytime home phone package, which gives unlimited calls for UK landlines and 20 international destinations and to mobile numbers located in North America.

In a similar approach to the bolt-ons that it offers its broadband customers, O2 will be looking to offer additions to the home phone bundles, including the ability to divert, bar and block incoming calls. These low-cost services are designed to allow users to modify their package to suit their needs.

A spokesperson for O2 said that the company was creating the home phone packages for its broadband customers in order to build on its current brand beyond mobile and broadband into a complete array of communications services. This move is seen as the most important since O2 launched its home broadband service three years ago.

Simple Broadband’s Communication manager Simon Gerrard added that “with Tiscali being absorbed by TalkTalk and with Tiscali broadband prices increased for some of its former customers, the alternative offered by O2 could be an attractive money saving option.”

Homes and businesses in and around Oxford Road in Manchester could soon be able to connect to the internet at significantly higher speeds thanks to new plans to install a fibre optic broadband network.

The plans have been announced as part of an effort to instigate regeneration within the area and the organisation Corridor Manchester will be pushing through the installation with support from local businesses and individuals.

The organisation has sought the expertise of Geo Networks to carry out the construction of the fibre optic network and reports suggest that in order to connect the eastern region of the city the firm will make use of the MetroLink tunnels. This will be the first stage of what should hopefully be a relatively rapid process.

Corridor Manchester’s CEO Jack Potter said that broadband speeds were bound to increase in the local area once the work was completed. However, Mr Potter also said that he hoped local home and business users would be able to access an open network and that any limitations inherent in current broadband provision in the area.

The Salford Quays area of Manchester has already received a commitment from BT that will ensure the availability of fibre optic broadband for the MediaCityUK business park. It is hoped that by 2011 home users as well as local firms will be able to access fibre optic broadband on their premises with greatly enhanced BT broadband options.

Simple Broadband’s Simon Gerrard added “many more areas should expect similar schemes to arrive in the coming years, with urban dwellers set to be the first people to be able to take advantage of extended BT broadband options.” Along with the next generation of mobile broadband, fibre optic broadband is going to significantly help the UK to hit the target of universal broadband availability by 2012.

The Government has been presented with a set of plans by the Local Government Association which are aimed at improving the universal availability of broadband and ensuring that speeds received by all UK citizens are guaranteed by legislation.

The suggestion that home broadband speeds should be defined within the law, giving the average customer certain powers to complain if their broadband connection is unreasonably slow or not as advertised, will be welcomed by most UK customers.

The LGA also said that it was unhappy with the current target of providing at least 2Mbps connections for every home in the UK in time for the 2012 Olympics, telling the Daily Telegraph that the current promise did not show that the government was adequately committed to the continued evolution of home broadband in the UK.

A spokesperson for the group said that broadband had become an important part of daily life for millions of customers around the UK and that support from public and private bodies was necessary to ensure that consumers would not be getting a raw deal in the future when it comes to connection speed and broadband availability.

Broadband has undoubtedly changed society, with benefits such as online banking, video streaming, social networking, blogging and photo sharing allowing communities to develop, relationships to grow, friendships to be maintained and businesses to expand. The spokesperson continued, suggesting that for many, a broadband connection would be life changing, particularly to those living in isolated rural areas where contact with the outside world can sometimes be difficult. With BT broadband options expanding in less densely populated areas of the UK, improvements should continue.

Simon Gerrard, Communication Manager at Simple Broadband added “we are optimistic that home broadband speeds in the UK will continue to rise and should exceed government targets by a significant margin for most customers thanks to new BT broadband options.”

2010 is set to be a good year for businesses around Wales after news that BT is planning to roll out two high-speed broadband technologies across the country emerged. BT Business MD Nigel Stagg said that the availability of ADSL connections capable of up to 24Mbps download speeds should become widespread next year and added that the 40Mbps fibre optic connections that BT is installing as part of its 21st Century Network upgrades are also going to benefit business users.

24Mbps ADSL connections are already available in Bangor and Caernarfon and Mr Stagg indicated that business customers in other towns such as Wrexam should also be eligible for a faster connection for their enterprises.

The most important of the new broadband technologies that BT has promised to offer Welsh business customers is fibre optic connectivity. BT is using Fibre-To-The-Cabinet (FTTC), which will allow customers to continue to use their existing copper land line telephone connections to provide the last mile of connectivity whilst the rest of the work is performed by a fibre optic network.

In the first instance, business broadband customers in Wales should expect download speeds of up to 40Mbps and upload speeds of 2-15Mbps if they sign up for a fibre optic broadband package from BT. The download speeds are set to increase as time passes, with a target of up to 60Mbps for FTTC customers in the near future.

In the first half of 2010 BT plans to roll out FTTC at 100 different telephone exchanges around the UK, with a small proportion allocated to Wales.

Simple Broadband`s Communications Manager Simon Gerrard commented that BT’s plans to improve the availability of high-speed broadband for businesses everywhere was “an exciting prospect and one that should significantly drive recovery and growth over the next decade.”

A new survey from mobile telephone and broadband provider Orange has predicted a shift in the population densities within the UK as a result of broadband availability in the future.

The report asked many people how they would respond to the universal availability of broadband and whether they would consider moving further afield if they were guaranteed a high speed broadband connection.

A majority of the respondents believed that universal broadband availability, provided predominantly via mobile broadband networks in the most rural regions, would indeed encourage them to up sticks and leave their current locations.

The availability of mobile broadband in Scotland and the South West of England would attract many new residents to these areas according to the report. Conversely a small exodus from the Midlands and the North East is anticipated by the results.

The main attraction of high speed broadband connectivity in areas currently underrepresented by the technology is the opportunities for remote working it affords. A mobile broadband connection that was fast enough to enable someone to work from home with equal effectiveness to that achieved by working in an office could completely change the face of the UK’s largest cities.

Orange’s Robert Ainger commented that the survey anticipates this population shift and forecasts a revolution in the way that people work. The survey data has been used to produce an interactive map which is available to the public online. Visitors are able to select an area to which they might consider moving and find detailed information as to how broadband availability is likely to change there over the coming years.

The news not only suggests that some of the cheapest mobile broadband in UK rural areas could soon become available, but that the potential savings for businesses as a result of the change in working patterns could be in the tens of billions of pounds.

Industry regulator Ofcom has revealed figures which show that the price of broadband in the UK is considerably lower than in the majority of other nations around the world.

The recent report analysed figures from various developed nations including Germany and Italy, identifying that the cost of most digital TV, home phone, broadband and mobile services is lower in the UK than anywhere else.

The figures concluded that a family of four in the UK could pay as little as £108 for mobile phones, broadband, home phone and TV packages to cover the entire household. This includes an 8Mbps broadband connection and mobile phones for every member of the family.

Deals covering all of these services in a bundle, which is usually the cheapest way in which families can pay for them, would cost customers in Italy 28 per cent more. In terms of value, Italy is the UK’s closest rival, although the gap in average prices is significant.

Ofcom’s CEO Ed Richards indicated that the low price of broadband in the UK was due to a highly competitive market. With BT broadband deals and bundles competing with comparable packages from Virgin Media and Tiscali, prices are likely to stay low and continue to fall in the UK over the coming months.

Mr Richards also cited innovation within the UK broadband industry as key to its continued success and the wide availability of digital services despite recent criticism of government plans for the future.

In other research from Ofcom, it was discovered that over 35 per cent of all UK households take advantage of BT broadband deals or similar in order to receive additional services including home phone and digital TV from a single provider.

According to an industry source, an unprecedented number of mobile broadband customers now utilise their service as their primary broadband connection.

Most industry experts and business users think of mobile broadband as a supplementary service, aimed at plugging the connectivity gap when users are on the road and assuming that a majority of customers have a fixed line service to use when they are at home.

Official figures released by Ofcom suggest that over 40 per cent of mobile broadband customers actually consider the service to be their main broadband connection. These results however require some context in order to fully appreciate their impact.

The figures released by the industry regulator show that just 6 per cent of all broadband customers have a mobile broadband contract and no fixed line alternative. On the other hand there are only 8 percent of broadband customers who have both a fixed line service and a mobile broadband contract for use when they are away.

Mobile broadband is one of the more popular technologies amongst the younger audience, with one in ten adults under the age of 35 using a mobile broadband connection as their primary means of gaining online access. Affluence is also becoming associated with mobile broadband as it is often comparatively expensive when considered against a fixed line alternative if it is to be chosen as the sole internet connection.

Although wealth and mobile broadband are associated, lower earners are also a growing element of the market with around 8 per cent of homes bringing in under £12,000 relying on mobile broadband alone to connect to the internet. Those with a tight budget who need to compare wireless broadband prices to ensure that they are getting the best deal are being enticed by the potential savings they could make and by the fact that mobile broadband does not require line rental payments.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has revealed statistics which place the UK in the bottom third of a list of global nations in terms of average broadband connection speeds.

The UK ranked just 21st out of the list of the world’s 30 most developed nations in terms of broadband speeds and infrastructure, which means fellow EU states including Spain, Greece and Portugal are higher placed.

The OECD said that the results proved that investment in fibre optic technology was key to improving average broadband speeds. Although the UK is ranked 13th in the list when the level of broadband penetration is considered, a majority of UK customers take advantage of BT broadband deals that utilise ADSL technology rather than the faster fibre optic cable connections.

Japan outstripped the UK significantly, topping the charts with a maximum advertised download speed of 1Gbps according to the report. A majority of Japanese broadband customers connect to the internet using fibre optic technology, whilst on average only one in ten broadband customers in the global market have such an opportunity.

Government subsidies are helping nations including the US, Sweden and Norway to install the next-generation of broadband technology. The report claims that health, education, transportation and electricity industries all benefit from faster broadband and that these economic benefits far outweigh the initial cost of rolling out the fibre optic technology.

The OECD report has shown that the UK’s broadband tax and the funds that it generates could well be the best way forward if the government is to fully implement next-generation broadband technology over the coming years. However, critics believe that this process is not occurring quickly enough and there is little doubt that the UK still has some way to go before its average download speeds achieved via standard BT broadband deals can begin to approach those of the top nations.

A new strategy to help protect the most sensitive members of society from the potential threats inherent online has been launched by the Government.

Recent government statistics revealed that 99 per cent of all children aged between 8 and 17 had access to the internet and of that grouping just under a 5th claim to have been exposed to indecent or inappropriate material on the internet.

In order to combat fears of online safety for young broadband users, the UK Council for Child Internet Safety has set down the new guidelines as part of the Green Cross Code for internet protection.

A three-pronged recommendation, called the Digital Code of Zip It, Block It, Flag It, is key to helping parents have confidence that the youngest members of their family will avoid coming to harm whilst online.

This code involves making sure that children do not divulge personal information to strangers, do not open suspicious email messages and if they do come into contact with inappropriate material or relationships online that the children feel able to tell a responsible adult about it.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown spoke about the new scheme, identifying the importance of the internet in the education and entertainment of the younger generation. Mr Brown said that the internet use had to be properly supervised to ensure that the online world is as safe as the real world.

There are many BT broadband options which include parental blocks, preventing children from accessing inappropriate sites and other providers such as TalkTalk offer similar services to help promote and enable youngsters to enjoy broadband internet connections in their own homes whilst staying safe. Adults will now need to learn as much about broadband as their children.

Millions of pounds are being invested in the broadband infrastructure for Northern Ireland in order to offer much faster connections to home and business broadband customers around the country.

A total of over £48 million will be injected into the industry over the next year and a half, with the promise of improved speeds for both rural and urban customers.

Businesses who want to take advantage of high speed connections are in luck, as the plans include the provision of a 10Mbps minimum download speed for urban businesses, whilst a 2Mbps minimum is expected for rural businesses.

Completion of the improvements is targeted for mid-2011 and half of the money is being invested by British Telecom after it won the contract.

The remaining money is being provided from various public sector sources, including some from the European Union.

A spokesperson for the government said on announcing the plans that the money would not only enable faster broadband for all residents of Northern Ireland, regardless as to their location, but would also create up to 1000 new jobs as a result of the improved broadband infrastructure.

Cheap cable broadband using fibre optic technology will be key to the success of the investment scheme, although 166 telephone exchanges are being upgraded and various wireless broadband hotspots are also going to allow for wider coverage.

Many are pleased that the investment will help those in rural areas, where broadband connections are traditionally sluggish or non-existent. The inclusive nature of the plans is being heralded as a step in the right direction that other areas of the UK would do well to follow if growth and productivity are to be improved.

BT Chief Executive Ian Livingston said that cheap cable broadband provided using fibre optic technology would continue to be integral to increased speeds and wider availability of broadband in the future.