Be Revalue their Starter package

Be Broadband have recently upgraded their old Be Lite package and have replaced it with the new Be Value service. The maximum connection speed has changed to the now-standard up to 8Mbps connection speed, but the 4GB usage cap has been removed – Be Value customers can now surf the net with the same unrestricted access as Be Unlimited customers.

Existing Be Lite users will receive an email in the next few days about the changes to give them the full details and options available.

Be Unlimited customers will be able to switch to this new service and save on monthly costs if they are connecting at 8Mbps or less, although this option will see customers beginning a new 12 month contract with Be.

In O2-related news, there is now a Broadband section on their website, where potential customers can enter their details so that they can get signed up on the still-yet-to-be-confirmed launch date.

The O2 website states that; “Everyone will get a great deal, but there’ll be discounted rates for O2 Pay Monthly customers” hinting heavily at the shape of things to come. Be Broadband is owned by Telefónica, the Spanish telco which purchased O2 last year – rumours of the firm releasing a triple-play package of broadband, mobile and residential phone services have been doing the rounds ever since.

Tiscali’s Triple Play Christmas Present

Having conceded their position in of the UK Broadband League middle ground to TalkTalk, Tiscali are again set to raise the stakes by finally pressing on with their IPTV service.

Tiscali bought Homechoice, one of the first IPTV platforms to roll in the UK, in August last year and since then has been quietly inking deals with content providers, including one deal with Sky, which gives Tiscali the broadcasting rights to show the so-called ‘missing channels’, i.e. everything that was dropped from Virgin Media following the carriage fee farce this March.

It is understood that there will be a basic Tiscali TV package that will be made available via a Freeview set-top box with a wireless IPTV connection for the on-demand content – you get this, plus broadband and phone for a one-off £30 set up fee and a monthly subscription. There will be the option to pick and choose from a range of on-demand content and add subscription packages, such as Sky Sports, for additional monthly fees a la BT Vision.

Tiscali, whose broadband customer base exceeds 1.5 million, hope to get their IPTV boxes under each subscriber’s Christmas tree this year:

“By Christmas 2007 Tiscali TV will reach almost 10 million homes and we believe we can offer great value digital TV and the best value Triple Play service in the UK for those who don’t want to pay for expensive premium TV, but do want more than Freeview,” says Mary Turner, chief exec at Tiscali UK.

Discussions with sports broadcaster Setanta are still going on, but as the new football season has already begun, it may well be that Tiscali have missed that particular boat, this time at least. However, the presence of the coveted Sky channels alone could put more pressure on an already embattled Virgin…

Those Tiscali TV packages in full:

With 2Mbps Broadband – £19.99 per month plus £30 setup fee

• TV Variety Pack – over 60 TV & radio channels, including Sky One
• Over 350 on-demand programmes
• On-demand access to over 1,000 movies
• 7 day BBC, C4 and FX catch up service
• Includes all UK and international Weekend calls
• Phone line rental included
• Free set top box and free wireless router included

With 8Mbps Broadband – £24.99 per month plus £30 setup fee

• TV Variety Pack – over 60 TV & radio channels, including Sky One
• Over 350 on demand programmes
• On-demand access to over 1,000 movies
• 7 day BBC, C4 and FX catch up service
• Includes all UK and international Anytime calls
• Phone line rental included
• Free set top box and free wireless router included

New AOL Broadband Wireless

Today AOL Broadband has started the migration to their new range of broadband packages that will be available from this week on.

The first change (which has happened today) is that the AOL Broadband Silver package has been deprecated in favour of their new offering, AOL Wireless.

The major changes between the two packages are as follows:

• The speed has been increased from up to 2Mbps and is now up to 8Mbps.
• The unlimited downloads is no more and on AOL Wireless there is a usage cap of 10GB per month.
• Now AOL Talk Evening & Weekends package is included at no extra cost.

You still get the benefits of one month free when you order online and a free wireless router when you sign up to AOL Wireless, but unfortunately there is still regional pricing in place where if you are not in an AOL LLU (local loop unbundled) area you will be charged an additional £5 monthly premium.

Check back later in the week for other AOL product upgrades as well as an AOL Broadband Offer that is not to be missed (especially if you are in the market for a new laptop).

BT reaches the 4 million mark

BT has further extended its lead over the UK broadband market, by becoming the first UK ISP to supply 4 million customers with broadband services. BT lost its position at the head of the Broadband league to Virgin Media early this year – the lead was regained after BT set about assimilating PlusNetand then the Brightview group.

This rapid customer growth comes despite BT having its home turf business under pressure from low-cost phone and broadband providers such as Tiscali and TalkTalk. The telco has also had the time to launch BT Vision, a hybrid terrestrial/pay TV platform which allows BT to compete with Virgin and Sky, who both have set up shop in the residential voice market. Crucially, BT Vision has attracted a number of customers to its sports package, a market area which is considered to be Sky‘s family jewels – as a BT Broadband connection is required to make use of this IPTV service, this is an example of customer retention at its shrewdest.

As Ian Livingston, the big cheese behind BT Retail said “…Broadband can provide so many more services than just internet surfing, and it has become central to many people’s lives and businesses.”

We couldn’t agree more, and live in hope that BT will capitalise on these gains made in the market place and make good on the rumours that they are planning to invest into a full FttH (Fibre to the Home) network; an inside source at BT revealed that the company have been considering investing in a Fibre to the Kerb network, where a connection will be supplied from the roadside to 3 metres into the household – further investment would be required to complete the virtual ‘last mile’ into the home.

With Virgin currently providing super fast 20Mbps connections, with a view to upgrading in the future, we’re looking forwards to seeing how the future of broadband in the UK takes shape.