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Best Madasafish promotion code

2007-10-04T22:50:00.000+01:00

A quick post to let you know that we have now secured you the best Madasafish promotion code available on the internet.

£15 OFF Madasafish promotion code

The normally Madasafish promotion codes entitle you to £10 OFF your broadband bill and £5 OFF your telephone bill but we have gone better than that. We have managed to negotiate a deal with the team at Madasafish broadband where if you use our new promotion code gobroadband at sign-up you will receive not £10 but £15 OFF your broadband bill.

Please feel free to use the code and tell your mates about it. Please link to this page or this website because the more links we receive the more people we will be able to get discounts for.

Promotion code notes:

When promoted at sign-up, use the promotion code gobroadband.
The promotion code can only be used by new customers of Madasafish. Exisitng customers, sorry.
The promotion code will entitle you to £15 OFF your broadband bill.
You will receive £7.50 OFF your second broadband bill and £7.50 OFF your third broadband bill.
The code probably won't work for the Madasasfish Talk service.
For Madasafish Talk, use the promotion code 40555529 and you will receive £5 OFF your first telephone bill.
Use the x2 promotion codes in combination and you should be able to receive £20 OFF your Madasafish bills.
Enjoy the promotion codes!
You can also take advantage of this Madasafish discount on Mac Broadband - my other website is also offering a £15 discount.

Madasafish is a good broadband choice

2007-09-13T21:04:00.000+01:00

Madasafish Broadband is one of the best ISPs in the UK. They are open and helpful - one of their aims is to be as “transparent and honest as possible” with Madasafish growing to be a reliable and trusted UK provider.

Great customer service and 24/7 support

Madasafish dedication to customer services is completely refreshing in an industry where customer satisfaction ratings are normally low. If you have any problems with your broadband you can be safe in the knowledge that any problems you do come across will be promptly dealt with; Madasafish provide tech support for both PC and Mac users 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Also, their customer services team aim to respond to all emails within 24 hours.

Good for people new to broadband

Madasafish are devoted to making access to the internet simple, safe and straightforward - they are the perfect broadband choice for someone that is relatively new to broadband and the internet. They even send out their wireless broadband modems pre-configured so that your broadband pretty much works out of the box with very little set up.

People who are new to broadband or feel that they will be in neeg good support really should consider Madasafish.

Great for people who use their broadband a lot

However, Madasafish also support high usage broadband customers that like to send and receive photos and other large files, download movies and play multi-player online games. If you plan to use your broadband a lot the check out the awards that Madasafish have won below.

Awards aren't always everything but, Madasafish has won their share....

Awards Madasafish have won

"Best Heavy Consumer Broadband" at the 2006 UK Internet Industry Award
"Best Consumer email" at the 2007 ISPAwards

Awards Madasafish were Highly Commended for...

“Best Broadband ISP” category at the PC Pro Awards
“Customer Satisfaction” at the PC Advisor Broadband Awards
“Best Buy” at the PC Advisor Broadband Awards

Sign-up today ...

If you think that madasafish broadband is the one for you, then follow the link to the Madasafish Broadband website and get a £10 off your first broadband bill.

UPDATE: You can now receive £15 OFF your Madasafish broadband. Just click the Go Broadband - Madasafish discount link and you will get £15 OFF. Alternatively, visit our sister site at Mac broadband on this link Madasafish and use their discount deal.

Madasafish Talk Promotion Code

2007-08-13T21:59:00.000+01:00

You can now get £5 OFF your talk plan with Madasafish broadband. Just use the promotion code 4055529 when you are prompted to at registration on the Madasafish website and, you will receive £5 OFF your first telephone bill.*

For just £9.99 a month you can now receive unlimited FREE evening and weekend telephone calls.

Madasafish Talk

With telephone line rental at just £9.99 a month, Madasafish Talk provides you with a simple and easy way to save money and get free phone calls. Select one of two Madasafish Talk packages and you could make great savings on your telephone bill. It's easy to switch to Madasafish and you get to keep your existing telephone line and phone number. When you sign up for Madasafish Talk you'll also get your line rental, call charges and broadband (if applicable) all on one bill.

Madasafish Talk - Option 1 - "Talk Free"

Price: FREE
Ideal if you make calls mainly on evenings and weekends.
Unlimited free evening and weekend calls to UK landlines (numbers starting in 01 and 02).
Free calls to all other Madasafish Talk users at anytime.
Inclusive calls to UK landlines and calls to other Madasafish Talk users up to an hour are completely free. Redial before 60 minutes to avoid call charges.
Cheap international calls and competitive rates to mobile phones.
5% off calls made to 5 numbers of your choice including international and mobile phone numbers with Favourite Five.
Sign-up to Madasafish Talk Free now

Madasfish Talk - Option 2 - "Talk Anytime"

Price: £5.99 a month
Ideal if you make calls during the day.
Unlimited calls to UK landlines at any time (numbers starting in 01 and 02).
Free calls to all other Madasafish Talk users at anytime.
All calls to UK landlines and to other Madasafish Talk users up to an hour are completely free. Redial before 60 minutes to avoid call charges.
Cheap international calls and competitive rates to mobile phones.5% off calls made to 5 numbers of your choice including international and mobile phone numbers with Favourite Five.
Sign-up to Madasafish Talk Anytime now

Notes: *The Madasafish talk promotion code can only be used by new customers of Madasafish. Existing Madasafish customers - you could try the code but it is unlikely to work.

New madasafish broadband promotion code on the way

2007-08-07T19:55:00.001+01:00

We have been in talks with Madasafish Broadband and hopefully we will soon be able to reveal a special new offer to users of the Go Broadband and Mac Broadband websites.

We've been trying to come up with a way to offer the best new customers* deal available on the web. We currently have the 4055529 promotional code from Madasafish. Use this promo code and you'll get £10 OFF your Madasafish broadband connection. However, we are in talks with Madasafish to try and find a new exclusive deal to the Go Broadband and Mac Broadband websites - Madasafish are a great broadband provider and we want to share this with user of both PC and Apple Mac computers.

If you are thinking of subscribing or changing to the Madasafish broadband service then keep popping back and we should soon have a new code for you to use.

If you need to get cracking with Madasafish Broadband then use the promotion code 4055529 when you are prompted and you will get £10 OFF your first Madasafish broadband bill, £5 OFF you first Madasafish telephone bill or £15 OFF your combined telephone and broadband bill.

* Only new Madasafish customers will receive a discount off their first broadband, telephone or broadband & telephone bill.

£10 OFF madasafish broadband promotion code with 4055529

2007-06-25T20:57:00.000+01:00

If you are looking for a Madasafish proadband promotion code or referral code then try using "4055529" - when you are prompted.

Hey presto!

Use the 4055529 madasafish promotion code and you will receive £10 OFF your Madasafish broadband bill, £5 OFF you Madasafish talk bill, or £15 OFF your combined bill.

BTW - Madasafish broadband might be small but they are beautifully formed :-)

* Offer only works for new customers & you will be asked to commit to a 12-month contract. If you are looking for a no-commitment broadband connection - try Virgin - they used to offer one.

Mac Broadband UK

2007-04-29T12:56:00.001+01:00

Appologies for the lack of blog posts recently. I have been working on a new website. It is about getting broadband for your mac computer. I noticed how difficult it was to find information about how to select a broadband isp for macs - it seems that lots of the UK providers are useless at helping mac users.

So here it is. Or at least here it will be - Looking to find mac compatible broadband then visit - Mac Broadband.

Mac Broadband

2007-04-29T12:37:00.000+01:00

Our new venture - Mac Broadband UK - is climbing up the Google ranks. It had good positioning on Google for the phrase MacBroadband from day 1 but that wasn't the term we were after.

Our aim with the Mac Broadband UK website is to help UK Apple-mac users find the best mac compatible broadband providers to it needs to rank well on Google for the search phrase 'Mac broadband'.

The Mac BB website was nowhere in week 1 - only just ranking in the top 100 on Google. But 1 re-index later and Google appears to have crawled most of the Mac Broadband UK holding-website and the site is now popping up on page-2, position 18.

UK Broadband arrests for accessing open broadband networks

2007-04-19T21:20:00.000+01:00

Two Redditch residents have become among the first in the country to be arrested for tapping into wireless broadband without expressed permission.

Both individuals were cautioned for dishonestly using internet services without intention to pay (wardriving or piggybacking) but it is believed there is no connection between the the individuals.

The incidents have served to raise awareness among local residents about what is a growing trend in the UK.

PC Tony Humphreys, from West Mercia Police, said:

"We want people to be aware that [broadband theft] is possible and to be vigilant themselves regarding their own broadband connections," reports the Press Association.

"This might slow down your internet service, or more importantly, your internet connection could be used for unlawful purposes."

"We do not want to alarm wireless broadband users - we want them to follow the advice on wireless broadband security issued to them by their broadband providers."

Wireless broadband connections can often be accessed from outside a user's home but can be easily configured to stop unauthorised individuals gaining access to them.

The individuals could have been prosecuted under the Wireless Telegraphy Act:

"Anyone who intends to listen to radio transmissions should be aware of the following: A licence is not required for a radio receiver as long as it is not capable of transmission as well (The Wireless Telegraphy Apparatus (Receivers) (Exemption) Regulations 1989 (SI 1989 No 123). Furthermore, Wi-fi devices are a subset (defined under IEEE 802.11 interoperability standards) of the licence exempt RLAN segment of the 2.4 GHz radio frequency band. Under the terms of the exemption, a licence is only required for the operation of commercial wi-fi services such as "hotspots". However, although it is not illegal to sell, buy or own a scanning or other receiver in the UK, it must only be used to listen to transmissions meant for GENERAL RECEPTION. The services that you can listen to include Amateur and Citizens' Band transmissions, licensed broadcast radio and weather and navigation broadcasts. It is an offence to listen to any other radio services unless you are authorised by a designated person to do so. There are two offences under law: Under Section 5(1)(b) of the WT Act 1949 it is an offence if a person "otherwise than under the authority of a designated person, either: (i) uses any wireless telegraphy apparatus with intent to obtain information as to the contents, sender or addressee of any message whether sent by means of wireless telegraphy or not, of which neither the person using the apparatus nor a person on whose behalf he is acting is an intended recipient; This means that it is illegal to listen to anything other than general reception transmissions unless you are either a licensed user of the frequencies in question or have been specifically authorised to do so by a designated person. A designated person means:
the Secretary of State;
the Commissioners of Customs and Excise; or
any other person designated for the purpose by regulations made by the Secretary of State.
or: (ii) except in the course of legal proceedings or for the purpose of any report thereof, discloses any information as to the contents, sender or addressee of any such message, being information which would not have come to his knowledge but for the use of wireless telegraphy apparatus by him or by another person." This means that it is also illegal to tell a third party what you have heard. With certain exceptions, it is an offence under Section 1 of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 for a person - "intentionally and without lawful authority to intercept, at any place in the United Kingdom, any communication in the course of its transmission by means of:
a public postal service; or
a public telecommunication system.
It is similarly an offence to intercept any communication in the course of its transmission by means of a private telecommunication system. This means that it is illegal to listen to telephone calls, including mobile phone networks which are designated as forming part of the public telecommunications system."

UK Broadband arrests

2007-04-19T21:11:00.000+01:00

The police in Redditch have made their second arrest for broadband 'tapping' - the process of stealing broadband from another 3rd parties home or business network.

A second person in Redditch has been arrested on suspicion of tapping into a wireless broadband connection. They have been received with a caution. This is the second broadband tapping arrest this month (14th April 2007).

At around 9pm on Saturday, April 14, a neighbour spotted a man sitting in a car using a laptop computer outside a property in the Church Hill area and alerted police, suspected the individual of tapping into a home network.

Pc Tony Humphreys, from Redditch police, said:

"We are reminding people with wireless broadband that their connections could be accessed in this way if they do not follow the security advice issued to them by their broadband provider.

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"We also want to warn potential offenders that we take any reports of this type of activity very seriously. A woman was arrested in similar circumstances in a residential road near Redditch town centre last month and she also received a police caution."

The man arrested was cautioned with dishonestly obtaining electronic communications services with intent to avoid payment - Jacking for short! These latest arrests could cause problems for the various peer-to-peer broadband schemes being set-up

What do you think to internet and broadband jacking? It has been around for years in various forms. Should people be free to use wireless networks that have been left un-secured or should the police be arresting these people? Leave your comments.

UK broadband must get faster

2007-04-17T21:28:00.000+01:00

UK broadband providers and telecommunication firms must build faster networks to cope with new web usage needs, an industry group has warned.

The Broadband Stakeholder Group has warned that Britain’s broadband infrastructure is in need of an upgrade if the United Kingdon is not to fall behind competing nations offering broadband. In its report the government advisory group said that uncertainties surrounding next generation broadband must be resolved within the next two years or the digital divide will widen further.

The report says that the UK’s current broadband infrastructure may not be able to meet the increasing demands of both users and content providers. Broadband Stakeholder Group chairman, Kip Meek...

“Broadband is key to the UK economy and has a critical impact on many people’s daily lives. We have a limited window of opportunity: if steps are not taken now to prepare for next generation broadband, then we may well find ourselves in a position where it is too late to catch up.”

According to the broadband report there is little prospect for the widespread deployment of next generation broadband, even though there are significant benefits to the economy, because broadband operators are unable to justify the additional expense.

BT is looking to speed up the UK broadband infrastructure upto 25 Mbps.
Virgin Media is planning to increase its cable broadband network to 20 Mbps customers
Virgin media have been running a pilot broadband test in Kent where they have been offering broadband speeds of upto 50 Mbps.

However, all of these broadband speed increase are nothing when compared to the introduction of EuroDOCSIS 3 into continental Europe which will allow broadband speeds of upto 200 Mbps.

Pipex broadband deal collapse

2007-04-17T21:07:00.000+01:00

The sale of the broadband provider Pipex is likely to collapse. Carphone Warehouse (who owns Talktalk broadband and AOL broadband) has quit the auction for Pipex, the £350 million internet services provider.

Remaining bidders for the broadband company are understood to include Tiscali the rival Italian-based broadband operator. BSkyB, Orange, BT and Virgin Media had pulled out early in the auction process.

However, with the share price of Pipex broadband internet group falling - since Carphonewarehouse announced it was going to pull out of the bidding for Pipex - other UK broadband providers may re-enter the auction; if the price of Pipex drops enough there is a market-share bargain to be had

Fierce competition in the UK broadband market and consolidation with the sector is likely to be the main reason Pipex is seeking an early exit from the market-place. If Pipex opts to continue as an independent player it will need to spend lots on advertising and keep lowering its broadband prices to remain competitive with the other broadband companies that can afford to subsidise their broadband offering from other parts of the their business.

BT to cut the price of wholesale broadband

2007-04-10T21:01:00.000+01:00

Bt has announced its intension to cut the price of the broadband services that it sells via wholesale to other UK broadband providers. Result, you could be receiving cheaper broadband pricing by the middle of 2007. BT said it would cut the amount it charges other internet service providers for broadband by 9 per cent on 1 May, which could in turn allow the broadband ISPs to charge consumers less. A BT spokesperson said...

"reduced pricing will help ensure the further growth of a competitive market for broadband services".

As well as the proposed price cut, BT Wholesale said it is also aiming to introduce speeds of up to 24Mbps by the start of 2008

Cameron Rejali, managing director for products and strategy at BT Wholesale said...

"The new pricing will deliver significant cost savings to our broadband service provider customers and underlines BT's commitment to maintaining a competitive broadband market.Service providers can also look forward to a nationwide service offering broadband speeds of up to 24 Mbit/s which will start to be made available early next year as part of BT's 21CN roll out. We will shortly start preparing our exchanges to support the delivery of these higher broadband speeds."

However, it doesn't necessarily follow that the price cuts will lead to savings for customers at the end of the line. I guess we'll have to wait and see but here at Go-Broadband we can definately see at least 5% of the broadband wholesale price savings being passed on to the end-consumer or, at the least, faster broadband services in 2008 for 2007 prices.

Pipex broadband deal with carphone warehouse

2007-04-09T23:16:00.000+01:00

Carphone Warehouse (owner of talktalk broadband and AOL broadband) is the last remaining company still interested in buying Pipex broadband. Pipex was being auctioned for £450m. But, BTbroadband BSkyB broadband and the UK's largest internet provider, Virgin Media broadband have all pulled out of the race to buy Pipex, leaving The Carphone Warehouse as the sole bidder.

Charles Dunstone, Carphone's chief executive, paid only £370m for AOL broadband's UK operation in 2006 with its 1.5m broadband customers compared with Pipex's 600,000 subscribers - a similar cost per customer would imply a price tag of only £148m for Pipex.

Pipex broadband shares fell by almost 8% last Monday after Financial Mail reported that Virgin Media broadband and BSkyB broadband had both pulled out of the auction. The broadband company's shares closed last week at 153/ 4p, valuing the company at £377.5m.

BT broadband had been linked with an acquisition of Pipex broadband in the past, as had Orange and Sky. There has been significant consolidation activity in the broadband sector due to intense price competition.

FREE broadband from Google

2007-04-09T22:59:00.000+01:00

Google announces free in-home wireless broadband service

Google has announced "Google FREE broadband" with the launch of Google TiSP (BETA)™,. It is a free in-home wireless broadband service that delivers online broadband connectivity via users' plumbing systems. The Toilet Internet Service Provider (TiSP) project is a self-installed, ad-supported online service that will be offered entirely free to any consumer with a WiFi-capable PC and a toilet connected to a local municipal sewage system.

Google Co-founder and President Larry Page, a longtime supporter of so-called dark porcelain research and development.

"We've got that whole organizing-the-world's-information thing more or less under control. What's interesting, though, is how many different modalities there are for actually getting that information to you - not to mention from you."

For years, data carriers have confronted the "last hundred yards" problem for delivering broadband data from local networks into individual homes. Now Google has successfully devised a "last hundred smelly yards" solution that takes advantage of preexisting plumbing and sewage systems and their related hydraulic data-transmission capabilities.

"There's actually a thriving little underground community that's been studying this exact solution for a long time. And today our Toilet ISP team is pleased to be leading the way through the sewers, up out of your toilet and - splat - right onto your PC."

Users who sign up online for the TiSP broadband system will receive a full home self-installation kit, which includes a spindle of fiber-optic cable, a TiSP wireless router, installation CD and setup guide. Home installation is a simple matter of GFlushing™ the fiber-optic cable down to the nearest TiSP Access Node, then plugging the other end into the broadband/network port of your Google-provided TiSP wireless router. Within sixty minutes, the Access Node's crack team of Plumbing Hardware Dispatchers (PHDs) should have your internet connection up and running.

According to Marissa Mayer, Google's Vice President of Search Products and User Experience:

"I couldn't be more excited about, and am only slightly grossed out by, this remarkable new product. I firmly believe TiSP will be a breakthrough product, particularly for those users who, like Larry himself, do much of their best thinking in the bathroom."

Interested consumers, contractually obligated partners and deeply skeptical and quietly competitive backbiters can learn more about TiSP at http://www.google.com/tisp/install.html

Press release date - April 1st 2007! :-)

Go broadband

2007-04-05T23:39:00.000+01:00

Its odd how Google will not show my new domain as a search result for the look-up phrase. Perhaps putting it in a link name will help. Here goes. .. Find out the latest news and information about broadband at Go broadband.

It will be interesting to see how much influence the keywords in the actual link text have on whether a broadband website gets indexed or not. Have to wait and see. Almost impossible to find the website at the moment.

Over half of UK households use broadband

2007-04-03T23:05:00.000+01:00

There are some really usefull facts in the latest broadband results published by Ofcom for the UK broadband market. Key highlights from the report:

broadband has now reached 50 per cent of UK households.
The broadband penetration figure rose from 39 per cent take-up a year ago - and now more than 13 million homes and SME offices are connected to broadband.

Ofcom has published its latest on the broadband market. The report looks at levels of broadband take-up, usage and the types of services available in the broadband market.

In the seven years since its mass market introduction, broadband has become one of the fastest growing communications technologies. The report shows that over 50% of UK adults now have broadband at home - up from 39% a year ago and a seven-fold increase over the last four years. More than 13 million UK homes and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are now connected to broadband, compared with 9.9 million a year earlier and 330,000 in 2001.

Many new internet users are choosing to go straight to broadband rather than first taking dial-up. According to Ofcom’s research, 23% of people with no internet at home said they were likely to connect in the next year with 76% of those saying they would opt for broadband.

The report also shows that broadband prices are continuing to fall. Speeds of up to 2 Mbit/s were available for £15 a month in 2006, down from £50 in 2003. In 2006 a number of communications providers started offering a broadband service at no extra cost to consumers who took other services in a bundle.

Bundling is an important factor for consumers when choosing an internet service provider (ISP). At the end of 2006, over 40% of all adults with broadband at home took broadband alongside other communications services from the same provider. When asked what the most important factor influencing ISP choice was, the same proportion of broadband users cited the possibility of bundling with other services (27%) as did price (27%).

Other key findings were:

Broadband speeds continue to rise. The estimated average broadband connection speed was 3.8 Mbit/s at the end of 2006, up from 1.6 Mbit/s at the end of 2005.
Despite these increases in speed almost half (48%) of residential consumers were unaware of their headline connection speed in February 2007.
At the end of 2006, one in ten UK adults said they were making calls over the internet via VoIP on their broadband connection, double the proportion that said they did this at the end of 2005. Of these, 14% said they did it daily and a further 30% did so several times per week.
Around half of broadband users have accessed online audio or video content at least once; 29% listen to or download online audio and 26% watch video clips online on a weekly basis.
Local Loop Unbundling (LLU) continues to grow. In February 2007 there were 1.7m residential and SME unbundled broadband lines, accounting for over 10% of all connections compared to 2% a year earlier.
Ofcom’s research showed that 21% of all UK adults owned a Wi-Fi enabled laptop in February 2007 and over one third of those had used public Wi-Fi hotspots to access the internet. In September 2006 there were around 12,000 public hotspots in the UK, a 32% increase on the previous year.
One in three UK adults said they owned an internet-enabled mobile phone in February 2007 and half of those had used their mobile to go online.
In 2006 residential and SME connections generated £1.84bn in revenue for broadband providers – a fifteen-fold increase in six years.

Ofcom Chief Executive Ed Richards said:

“With over half of UK adults now using broadband at home, we have reached a very significant milestone in the development of broadband Britain. Consumers are responding positively to the competition and innovation that the UK market now offers."

The full report is available at: http://www.ofcom.org.uk/research/cm/broadband_rpt/

Broadband for mac

2007-03-31T10:16:00.000+01:00

If you are looking for broadband for your mac laptop or computer then you will soon be able to find the answer at broadband4mac and broadband for mac

These two mac broadband only websites will be focusing solely on the best broadband providers in the UK. They'll be researching the broadband market-place and compare the best broadband deals available. I'll keep you posted.

The power of VoIP

2007-03-29T22:18:00.000+01:00

One of the best things about Broadband is the fact that it has so much more capability to carry large volumes of data then the old 56K dial-up internet connections. So much so that you can surf the internet and make telephone calls at the same time.

However, in the past 18-24 months things have got even better - you can now make phone calls via your computer and broadband connection to anybody, anywhere in the World for !FREE! Such is the power of VoIP. read on ....

VoIP o r Voice over Internet Protocol is a technology that allows for the transmission of voice conversations over the broadband internet, or a similar network. Using an Internet connection to make phone calls has a number of advantages – firstly, you avoid using a landline or network and therefore avoid paying costly service charges and/or line rental, effectively allowing you to make ‘free’ calls.

For other Broadband Glossary terms see: www.go-broadband.co.uk/broadband-glossary

Another benefit of not having to use a network or landline is that there is no problem with signal strength as such, as an Internet connection – any connection – effectively functions as the phone’s ’signal’. This means that voice calls are generally clearer and are of a better quality, although this is entirely dependent upon the strength of the connection.

This also allows for greater mobility abroad, as any Internet connection will allow you to make and receive incoming calls for no additional cost, ‘roaming’ charges. Most VoIP phones include features such as voicemail, call waiting and three-way calling, features that traditional mobile network providers usually charge for.

Since VoIP technology uses the Internet to transmit information, more and more VoIP handsets come with services which allow users to use Instant Messenger services such as MSN, AIM, GoogleTalk and Skype. There are an increasing number of Wi-Fi-enabled hotspots in urban areas in which VoIP users can make full use of their phone’s functions.

Since VoIP technology relies on an Internet connection, this too, has its drawbacks. The quality and clarity of a phone is reliant on a fast and secure connection, and although connection speeds of broadband ISPs are generally improving, problems with latency can sometimes result in a reduced quality of the call. Also if you experience a power cut in your home, you will be unable to make any calls on your VoIP phone as its Internet connection has been disabled.

To combat this, some modems are now equipped with chargeable back-up batteries which can temporarily power the modem, making sure that the connection to the Internet remains active. Some business providers of VoIP install dedicated phone connections for VoIP handsets to use in case of a local Internet connection not being available.

Another major disadvantage is in that as the calls on a VoIP are not made on a local line or network, it makes it hard to connect emergency calls to appropriate call centres, although

The number of mobile handsets that currently support VoIP is comparatively small compared with the rest of the mobile phone market, but there is every possibility that commercial versions will become available in the near future. The current providers of VoIP services in the UK are Skype, Vonage, GoogleTalk, BT, and Orange.

Skype

Skype is currently the biggest UK VoIP provider. Skype is a software program, available as a secure downloaded from their website, compatible with any computer platform that allows free calls via VoIP to other Skype members and cheap calls to normal landlines via the Internet, whilst also allowing IM, video calling and SMS/texting.

Calls can be made whilst sat at your computer, using a headset, or with a variety of Wi-Fi-enabled mobile phones (that operate in Wi-Fi hotspots) and cordless handsets available from the Skype website, where credit can also be purchased.

Vonage

Vonage is a leading provider of VoIP services, and is known simply as ‘the Broadband Phone Company’. Vonage’s Residential Premium Unlimited and Small Business Unlimited calling plans offer consumers unlimited local and long distance calling, and features such as call waiting, call forwarding and voicemail are all inclusive and part of one monthly rate.

Vonage provide phone adapters with their packages which act as interfaces between your modem, router and your phone or handset – this transfers any calls made from the phone line straight to the broadband connection. For customers who do not have a router installed, Vonage have an adapter with a built-in router. Connections are made through an Ethernet Broadband connection, meaning that if you have a BT phone line with a USB modem, this will have to be replaced with an Ethernet modem.

GoogleTalk

GoogleTalk is similar to Skype in that it exists in the form of a downloadable application that allows users to make free calls to each other over the Internet, typically through a microphone headset. Signing in to GoogleTalk requires you to register for a free GoogleMail email account. Google Talk is currently free, as the program is a beta, and is currently being mass-tested across the Internet.

BT Broadband Talk

Broadband Talk is BT’s entry into the VoIP market, offering free evening and weekend calls, as well as cheap rates for all other times (with unlimited UK calls available for under £5), cheap international rates and a reliable connection, guaranteeing clear reception every time.

New Broadband Talk phone numbers will begin with a ‘05′ code and will work over a wired or wireless broadband connection via the BT Home Hub or an existing broadband router. BT Broadband Talk requires a touchtone phone; most corded and cordless phones are compatible, but be sure to check BT’s website to see if you can sign up first. Everything else required for installation is available in the welcome pack.

Similar to Vonage, BT provide customers with phone adapters to link up to their existing connection, with router-less phone adapters for those who do not require a router pre-installed.

Orange Unique Phone

Unique Phone from Orange is the mobile network and broadband company’s converged mobile and VoIP service. Unique Phone handsets operate both on a WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network) Wi-Fi connection in the home, and the regular mobile network outside.

Much like BT Broadband Talk, Unique Phone allows for calls to be made within the home to other Orange mobiles and landlines for free, as they are routed through the Orange Livebox over an Orange broadband connection. The Livebox is a wireless hub, allowing for six devices (computers, laptops, Unique Phones) to share the same connection.

The Orange Unique Phone is available for £50 a month, and includes all the features provided by Orange’s Unlimited Broadband package, as well as 1300 free mobile minutes.

Broadband 'unlimited' misleading

2007-03-28T20:20:00.000+01:00

There is a new petition surfacing on the Prime Minister Petition website.

Many broadband ISP's (Internet Service providers) are advertising Broadband with 'Unlimited' downloads. Yet this is not the truth - the majority of the broadband services being promoted are not unlimited.

Instead the broadband providers tend to hide a 'fair usage policy' in their terms and conditions.

Some broadband suppliers cap the broadband usage at a defined amount.
Other broadband supplier use an undefined criteria that only they know!

To get involved and sign the petition to force Broadband providers to be honest/regulated in their product advertising - visit: http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/Unlimited-ADSL/

Virgin broadband faster than ever

2007-03-28T20:15:00.000+01:00

Virgin Media is to break broadband speed limits later this year, by doubling the speed of its flagship ‘XL’ cable broadband service from 10Mbps (megabits per second) to up to 20Mbps.

The company says the 100 per cent speed increase will mean an MP3 music track could be downloaded in around two seconds, making the Virgin XL broadband service the fastest widely available home internet connection in Britain.

Virgin added that bandwidth boosting will take place from May 2007 and will coincide with a small price increase on the fastest broadband service, from £35 to £37 per month. Upstream broadband speed will also be increased, to 768Kb, and all Virgin broadband services will continue to offer unlimited downloads and an online security package.

Ernie Cormier, chief commercial officer of Virgin Media, said:

"We want to make entertainment and communications the simple and exciting world it should be, but our technology also means we can offer an ultra-fast broadband service that our competitors can’t match."

Virgin is favorite to buy Pipex broadband

2007-03-26T19:22:00.000+01:00

Virgin Media is hot favourite to buy broadband company Pipex broadband for about £470m, with a deal possible this week.

Pipex is the sixth largest broadband company in the UK and recently appointed UBS, which holds 18.2% of its equity, to find a buyer. BT broadband , Carphone Warehouse, Orange broadband, Tiscali broadband and Sky broadband have all shown an interest but industry sources suggest that Virgin Media is now odds on favourite to tie up an agreed deal within the next couple of days.

Pipex focuses on the UK consumer broadband market. It is willing to heavily discount its broadband charges for those consumers willing to commit to taking bundled services on 12 or 18 month contracts. It is Pipex's domain name registration business that is lacking in Pipex broadband's rivals and therefore proving to be a key-factor in the purchase negotiations.

If the deal goes ahead, Virgin media will face a regulatory probe. If Virgin, which has 3.3m internet customers buys Pipex broadband it would add 570,000 more customers and would then walk into a regulatory storm over its market share. Virgin is already the largest internet provider in the country, but acquiring more customers through the Pipex deal --whose customers are carried on BT lines - could be investigated by the Office of Fair Trading.

In a bid to avoid a referral, Virgin would argue that its business provided over cable networks is not part of the same market. If they go down that road, there is a real 'gotcha' for the likes of Carphone and BT because of the open network issue.

Rival bidders for Pipex, including The Carphone Warehouse, BSkyB and BT, say they cannot compete fairly with Virgin because it does not have to open up its cable network to them. BT and The Carphone Warehouse are pushing Ofcom to make Virgin let rivals use its network so they could win customers from Virgin without installing new phone lines.

The Pipex sale has also raised speculation about the future of Sardinia-based Tiscali, which has two million UK broadband customers.

Go-broadband.co.uk now indexed on Google

2007-03-24T23:41:00.000Z

WOW it has only taken 4 days to get my new broadband domain indexed on Google. (so much for the sandbox)

The power of blogs! This site has been crawled by Google-bot since day 1. Google has been popping into the Go-broadband blog to say hello every few hours. On day 1 I also subscribed up to the FREE edtion of Feedburner and that has been pumping out my bolgs to the wider world. I noticed Technorati in Feedburner's list of blogging sites so I popped over there too.

I have now signed-up to Technorati and today noted that my original post on the Google-indexing topic has been picked up and tagged up under 'indexing' on their website. Come find me at technorati at http://technorati.com/blogs/http://gobroadband.blogspot.com

Anyway - seems like it has only taken a further 3 days for Google to wonder off my blog and onto the intended target over at www.go-broadband.co.uk.

This means I can now move this index off blogspot and onto www.go-broadband.co.uk/blog. Well thats the plan - if I can figure out the Blogger FTP system.

Well it should be straight-forward enough. Shouldn't it?

Tiscali broadband - new £15/month 'Broadband + TV offer'

2007-03-24T18:44:00.000Z

Tiscali Broadband + TV for £14.99

Tiscali broadband has revealed its latest plans for its broadband service. Following the acquisition of the pioneering Homechoice IPTV service in August 2006, Tiscali broadband has launched a national roll out of Tiscali TV .

Tiscali broadband + TV launched on 1 March 2007 when over 40,000 Homechoice subscribers will become part of Tiscali broadband. Their customers will immediately benefit from the new competitive offer of broadband plus TV for £14.99.

Tiscali broadband + TV is currently available in London and Stevenage but will be available outside London in Birmingham, Edinburgh and Newcastle during April and May 2007, and in areas of Leeds, Sheffield and Liverpool by mid 2007. By the end of 2007 Tiscali TV will be available to a footprint of over 10 million UK homes. The roll out will continue through 2008 and the broadband + TV service will be available to Tiscali's entire unbundled local loop network by the end of 2008.

The Tiscali broadband + TV pack offers consumers over 30 digital TV channels including all of the free digital channels from the BBC, Channel 4, Five and ITV, including E4, BBC Three, fiveUS and ITV2, also a 'Replay or Catch-up' service allowing subscribers to watch over 50 hours of key BBC programmes up to seven days after they have been broadcast, and access to a further 100 hours of on-demand programming including complete series of Dr. Who, Friends, Sex and the City and Prime Suspect. Tiscali broadband + TV is free to all subscribers who buy the 2Mb broadband product in Tiscali broadband + TV enabled areas. Subscribers can also access over 1000 movies on demand to watch instantly with prices ranging from £1.99 to £3.49 per movie.

In addition subscribers can upgrade to the 'Big Pack' adding an extra 25 channels and 1000 hours of on-demand TV programmes. They can also choose the award-winning Music or Kids packs which include VMX with 5000 music videos and Scamp the exclusive pre-school channel. Tiscali broadband + TV has the most on-demand content available from one provider.

Tiscali will also offer the UK's best value 'triple play' package. For £19.99 the customer will get 2Mb broadband, the TV pack, line rental and free weekend telephone calls. This compares favourably with the entry-level cable triple play package at £30.

The company will also launch a new set top box in July 2007, with a 160Gb, Hi-Definition enabled, personal video recorder (PVR), allowing subscribers to record any shows they choose and watch in Hi-Definition if they have an HD TV.

Mary Turner, Chief Executive Tiscali UK:

"Tiscali TV will give our subscribers real value for money, choice and flexibility - things that are core to our brand values. We believe there is a real gap in the market for our TV product. The success of Freeview has shown that customers want more than five channels but don't necessarily want to pay a high monthly subscription. Our TV service gives customers broadband plus the channel choice they want and free on-demand programming, all for the price you would pay for a standard broadband connection".

Tiscali broadband + TV is delivered into your house via a landline broadband connection so there's no need for cabling or a satellite dish on your building. All you need is a phone line to the house. As at March 2007, Tiscali Broadband with the TV option will cost £14.99 per month

Orange broadband network problems

2007-03-22T22:29:00.000Z

Orange broadband experienced problems over the weekend, but says only a small percentage of customers were affected and the service is now up and running again.

An Orange broadband spokesperson released the following statement:

"Orange can confirm that a broadband network outage occurred for less than an hour on the evenings of Sunday 18 March and Monday 19 March. The outage affected just under three per cent of our broadband customer base, and we are currently working with our suppliers to rectify the fault. We apologise to those customers affected."

But according to Orange broadband's online help page:

"Customers in Liverpool, Newcastle, Tannockside and Cardiff may be experiencing intermittent disconnections or slow browsing due to a known network issue. This is a known fault which is currently under investigation."

5 reasons to use Madasafish broadband

2007-03-22T21:52:00.000Z

1. Customer Service Focus

Madasafish broadband are not a Service Provider that puts all their work into acquiring new customers and forgets about them as soon as they've signed up. Quite the opposite. They focus on providing an excellent service at all times. On the rare occasions when things do go wrong, They take personal responsibility for sorting them out.

2. Honesty and transparency

Madasafish broadband are completely transparent and honest when describing their package offerings. When you don't have anything to hide it's quite an easy policy to follow. They don't say 'unlimited' and mean 'so long as you don't use it much'. They don't say 'free' and mean 'so long as you pay us lots of money for another service They provide'.

broadband are members of The Internet Services Providers' Association (ISPA UK) and They abide by the ISPA UK Code. They are one of the first companies to sign Ofcom's Broadband Industry migration code of practice which ensures fair treatment for customers who want to change broadband service provider. their focus is simply to provide top quality phone and Internet services.

3. Fanatical About Support

Whether you're a Windows PC or Mac user, their technicians are fully trained to help you resolve any problems or queries you might have. And Madasafish broadband are here 24 htheirs a day, every day of the year, if you need us.

4. Value for money

Madasafish broadband services come with free connection and a free router. Monthly fees start at just £11.99 a month for speeds up to 8Mb. Switch your phone line rental to Madasafish for just £9.99 a month and you'll get free evening and Theyekend calls. Includes excellent call rates to mobiles and international destinations.

5. Award winning broadband

They don't like blowing their own trumpets (in fact there isn't even a trumpet owner amongst us) but the last 12 months has been quite exciting for us. They've had to dust off their tuxedos and evening dresses on several occasions to go and take the plaudits.

At the 2007 Internet Service Provider Awards (or ISPAs, as they're affectionately known) They received the award for "Best Consumer Email". ISPA said;

"the judges felt that Madasafish's email security and reliability reflects the vital role email now plays for consumers. The ease by which consumers are able to navigate Madasafish's email interface using key commands was seen as a great feature."

At the 2006 ISPAs Madasafish was the overall winner in the 'Best Heavy Consumer Broadband' category. An ISPA spokesperson said,

"The judges considered Madasafish to offer a great product which represents real value for money." The judges also applauded Madasafish for offering an inclusive broadband service, which supports both Apple Mac and PC users.

The 2006 PC Pro Awards saw Madasafish Highly Commended in the 'Best Broadband ISP' category. The PC Pro awards Theyre voted for by the magazine's readers. Madasafish was Highly Commended in both the 'Customer Satisfaction' and 'Best Buy' categories of the PC Advisor Broadband Awards. Again, based on the feedback of thousands of readers, these commendations really reflect their commitment to Customer Service and value for money.

Madasafish broadband grows since broadband MAC became mandatory

2007-03-22T21:42:00.000Z

Madasafish Broadband has reported a 30% increase in the number of broadband customers switching to their service since the change in regulations governing consumers’ rights in switching broadband providers.

On 14th February 2007, the industry regulator Ofcom made it mandatory for an ISP to issue a Migrations Authorisation Code (MAC) to broadband customers wanting to switch to an alternative broadband supplier. In the month following this decision, Madasafish broadband has noticed a dramatic increase in the number of customers migrating into their broadband service, with the number of new subscribers to the service increasing by almost a third from previous monthly sign-up figures.

Matthew Henton, Head of Marketing at Madasafish broadband said,

“It’s becoming clear under the new rules that ISPs which consistently ignore satisfaction levels and provide poor customer service are now being punished as consumers vote with their mouse – so to speak – and switch to better performing providers. We applaud Ofcom’s decision to enforce the MAC scheme as it gives broadband users the ability to change providers easily. ISPs with poor levels of customer satisfaction were typically not providing MAC codes, or even charging for them, because they had most to lose."

Although many broadband ISPs, including Madasafish, had previously followed the voluntary scheme to make switching easy, some providers had simply refused to play fair. This forced Ofcom to act in the interests of broadband consumers and make the migration scheme compulsory.

BBC Watchdog broadband survey 'misleading'

2007-03-22T21:19:00.000Z

According to Brightview (owener of Global Internet, Waitrose & Madasasfish broadband), the BBC Watchdog broadband survey* mislead viewers. The broadband company argues that the surver focused too heavily on the number of votes cast about a broadband provider, not the relative satisfaction of the various broadband supplier's customers.

BBC watchdog cited as receiving the largest number of positive votes. However, Brightview said Watchdog failed to point out that BT also had the third highest number of dissatisfied customers.

Brightview said that the broadband survey

"doesn’t show how good BT’s broadband service is; it just shows how big BT is. Only 64 percent of the BT customers who voted were actually satisfied with their broadband service, ranking BT a lowly 20th out of the 29 providers in the survey,”

Global Internet (95 percent), Waitrose (94 percent) and Madasafish (91 percent) – all Brightview-backed ISPs – took three of the top four spots for customer satisfaction. Zen Internet (93 percent) was also in the top four, while Metronet (90 percent) came fifth.

David Laurie, chief executive of Brightview, said:

“Basing the programme’s results on volume of voters was the supreme example of the BBC’s ineptitude at managing a very important survey on broadband providers. It is Watchdog’s duty to inform the consumer, but by telling viewers that the ‘best’ provider of broadband also features as one of the worst, it only confused the issue and failed to make use of some valuable consumer data.

“The BBC’s ridiculous handling of the survey did nothing to reflect customer opinion, and misled consumers into believing that a provider which achieved a customer satisfaction significantly below average is the best.”

* Over 50,000 broadband user's took part in the Watchdog broadband customer satisfaction survey.

Pipex broadband up for sale

2007-03-21T21:44:00.000Z

Well the number of UK households connected to the internet appears to be growing month on month. According to the latest stats from the government office of statistics, broadband usage is now up to 57% ( National Office of Statistics & lies - latest internet access figures).

And yet oddly while the number of UK households subscribing to broadband seems to be up, then number of companies supplying broadband seems to be shrinking. UK Broadband provider Pipex is now up for sale and the bidding war is intense.

It seems that the latest company having a look at Pipex to buy is Virgin media. Virgin media as a new business is only 2-3 months old following the merger of NTL and Telewest into the Virgin brand. Both had shocking customer service so the marketing bods thought that under the Virgin banner they could convince their existing broadband customers to stick with Virgin while they sort through the problems of NTL and Telewest broadband.

It would intially seem odd that Virgin media would be looking to buy Pipex broadband before it has got its own house in order but there is a BIGGER picture. Only Virgin media and SKY can truly dominate in the new market paradigm of product bundling (broadband, telephone, and TV) and therefore will be looking to buy up the whole of the UK broadband market place. BT and the CarphoneWhareHouse could get a look in (they are both big after-all) but Virgin and Sky are the one's to keep an eye on long-term.

We'll keep track on the who's going to get to buy Pipex. It might take a few weeks.

Amazing Pipex is up for sale really considering they themselves have been on the acquisition war-path over the last 18 months, buying up all the little broadband providers. It seems that only large broadband providers will survive in the long-run.

Broadband survey results - BBC Watchdog

2007-03-21T21:20:00.000Z

BBC Watchdog this evening published the results of its Broadband survey.

It ran the survey following complaints from the public surrounding poor customer service, reliability, and value for money. Interesting to note that the biggest player of them all - BT - ranked so well. They might be damned expensive but they do offer a easy to use service with great customer service and ease of broadand cancellation or migration.

The results of the survey are as follows:

THE BEST BROADBAND PROVIDERS (by number of votes *)

* There is a huge scew towards the big players in both the 'best' and 'worst' tables and the same broadband providers will appear in both lists.

[This table lists - in order of the total number of votes cast - the companies that, overall, viewers who took part in the survey were most happy with. It was calculated by adding together the 'satisfied' and 'extremely satisfied' ratings in each of the five categories. This total is the number listed after each company's name.]

Based on sum of 3s & 4s (satisfied, extremely satisfied)

1. BT - 18,862

2. Virgin - 17,881

3. AOL Europe -16,977

4. Tiscali - 11,973

5. TalkTalk -10,802

6. NTL - 10,399

7. Orange - 9,036

8. Telewest - 8,062

9. Sky - 6,202

10. Pipex - 5,772

11. Plusnet - 5,014

12. Zen - 4,742

13. Eclipse - 2,781

14. Demon - 2,515

15. Tesco - 2,216

16. Freedom2Surf - 2,160

17. Madasafish - 2,031

18. Nildram - 1,619

19. Waitrose - 1,308

20. Bulldog - 1,162

21. Supanet - 1,131

22. UK_Online - 987

23. ToucanSurf - 895

24. One.Tel - 585

25. Homecall - 528

26. Force 9 - 518

27. Metronet - 426

28. Biscit - 258

29. Global - 166

THE WORST BROADBAND PROVIDERS (by number of votes

This table lists - in order of the total number of votes cast - the companies that, overall, viewers who took part in the survey were least happy with. It was calculated by adding together the 'extremely dissatisfied' and 'dissatisfied' ratings in each of the five categories. This total is the number listed after each company's name.

Based on sum of 1s & 2s (extremely dissatisfied, dissatisfied)

1. Orange - 12,313

2. TalkTalk - 11,944

3. BT - 10,669

4. Tiscali - 10,412

5. AOL Europe - 7,500

6. Sky - 6,525

7. Virgin - 6,306

8. Pipex - 4,083

9. NTL - 3,753

10. Plusnet - 2,109

11. Bulldog - 1985

12. Telewest - 1373

13. Biscit - 883

14. Eclipse - 869

15. ToucanSurf - 811

16. Demon - 738

17. Tesco - 555

18. Freedom2Surf - 469

19. UK_Online - 432

20. Supanet - 431

21. Zen - 371

22. Homecall - 326

23. One.Tel - 305

24. Force 9 - 229

25. Nildram - 256

26. Madasafish - 190

27. Waitrose - 80

28. Metronet - 47

29. Global - 8

Broadband Experiment: How to get your brand-new broadband domain indexed on Google

2007-03-20T22:10:00.000Z

Now this should be interesting. This is going to be a Google indexing test.

I had read somewhere recently about a quick fire way to get a newly registered domain indexed on Google. The article "How to get your website indexed on Google" suggested that if you were having trouble to get a new domain indexed on Google - eg. my new one, 'go broadband' - then you should set up a free blog on something like blogger.

You should then proceed to make a few posts about broadband over the period of a few days and wait for Google to find you new broadband blog. The Google robots should in theory wonder through the blogger index, find your broadband blog and then index the sites it finds you linking out to.

So here is my first test.

I have put some external links out to some broadband sites that I know are already indexed by Google and will then simply check their inbound referalls to see if this broadband blog gets indexed (probably a bit Naive considering Google only shows a small proportion of the inbound links to a website).

With any luck, if this broadband blog gets indexed and the sites I am linking to get indexed as well then there is no reason why the following domain shouldn't get sucked up by Google too > hopefully under a keyword phrase to with comparing UK broadband providers. If that doesn't work then we'll try something else to help get me indexed.

Here's hoping. I'll post as soon as I get picked up. How exciting.

Broadband setup

2007-03-20T21:58:00.000Z

Well the Go-broadband blog is now up and running. Pretty straight-forward to edit within the pre-configured options.

If anyone sees this then please post a reply so I can find out how the post comments part works.

Thank-you

Go Broadband is ... GO

2007-03-20T20:57:00.000Z

Welcome.

This is the first post of 'Go broadband' on blogspot.

The blog will be here at http://gobroadband.blogspot.com until I have fully tweaked the configurations of Blogger.

This site will move to live on http://www.go-broadband.co.uk

Thank you for dropping by.