vnunet.com analysis: UK broadband battle heats up

Some mobile operators are shunning convergence and concentrating instead on HSDPA offerings

The UK broadband market is heating up thanks to the launch of a raft of converged services and the arrival of HSDPA in the country.

BT has revamped its offerings with the launch of a converged package that bundles 8MB broadband, telephone, VoIP, future IP television and 250 free Wi-Fi minutes per month at Openzone hotspots. 

BT Total Broadband is offering three different packages, which start at £9.95 and rise to £17.99 after six months. Users are locked into an 18-month contract. 

The premium package costs £22.99 per month, rising to £26.99 after three months, and includes a 40GB usage limit.

Meanwhile, O2 has paid £50m to acquire consumer broadband service Be Broadband, which will allow it to offer a package of converged services in the future. Be Broadband currently offers internet access at speeds up to 24Mbps. 

However, other mobile operators are shunning converged services and concentrating instead on the UK's first HSDPA offerings.

These 3G-based mobile internet services offer peak download speeds of up to 1.4Mbps and upload speeds of up to 384Kbps.

T-Mobile and Vodafone have both announced HDSPA services. T-Mobile is charging £17 a month with a 1GB download limit, and Vodafone is asking £25 a month for only 250MB. 

Vodafone's service will initially run in Greater London, Glasgow, Sheffield, Greater Manchester and Tyneside, with further coverage added at later dates.

T-Mobile's service will launch on 1 August and will initially cover 65 per cent of the UK population.

"Businesses should welcome the availability of faster 3G networks in the UK, " said John Delaney, principal analyst at Ovum. 

"The speeds that HSDPA can deliver under real-life operating conditions will significantly improve the mobile working experience, enabling workers to do things more quickly and easily."