TechWire

Vodafone's new broadband dongle hits 14Mbs. (Yes, in the real world.)

Yesterday I got hold of Vodafone's latest mobile broadband dongle, a Huawei K4605 model. Its selling point is that it is the operator's first HSPA+ dongle.

That means that it has a (notional) top download speed of 42Mbs. Vodafone itself claims that its peak speed is likely to be closer to 27Mbs, which is still a phenomenal result -- if borne out -- for a mobile broadband dongle.

So far, I've only used it in Dublin's city centre. While I haven't got 27Mbs (or anything like it), I have recorded download speeds of 9Mbs and 14Mbs (see screenshot). Upload speeds have varied between 2.4Mbs and 2.9Mbs.

This is a very impressive result for a mobile broadband dongle.

Vodafone says that its HSPA+ (not to be confused with HSDPA) service is available in Irish cities, with the rest of the country to be upgraded "within 18 months".

The dongle costs €35 per month.

Sky shelves its Irish broadband plans (for now)

It seems that Sky has nixed its plans to introduce broadband into the Irish market.

For the time being, at least. The satellite broadcaster, which has a broadband service in Britain, had been telling its customers for some time that a broadband launch was on the way. But it has recently changed its tune with punters, citing "differences" in the Irish market. Here's the Irish office's official word on the matter:

"Sky successfully launched broadband and telephony services to its British customers over 4 years ago. We would like to do the same in Ireland but there are a number of differences between the UK and Irish marketplaces. Sky continues to explore opportunities to launch broadband and telephony services in Ireland".

Decoded, this means that we'll be lucky to see a launch by the summer, if at all this year. Whether or not this news will come as a disappointment to anyone is unclear, as the service would, most likely, have simply been a rebadged Eircom product. And with 100Mbs services now in the market, 1Mbs satellite broadband isn't exactly a compelling prospect.

Other bits 'n' bytes...

Pay attention Leaving Cert students: good guide to Hamlet resources on Rathfarnham SCC's excellent education blog.

Anyone tried Volta.ie's movie download/rental/streaming service? Some good Irish films up there.

Rumours are getting stronger that the next iPhone update will include wifi hotspot capability.

Sometimes telcos do listen: Britain's T-Mobile has backed down (partially) after punters complained about its monthly data cap being reduced from to 500MB.

My colleague, David McWilliams, loves making up words. The latest one: bankocracy.

January's car market isn't doing too badly, it seems. There are at least 2,500 cars sold in Dublin (alone) in the first two weeks of the month. (As this pic shows.)

Irish operators' wifi dongle plans: a comparison

Looking for a 3G wifi broadband plan? It's a byzantine task trying to compare Irish operators' pricing and data plans. So here's a chart comparing Irish operators' (i) prepay wifi dongle plans and (ii) billpay wifi dongle plans.

 

Mobile operators sell two kinds of mobile broadband devices. One is a stick that slots into your computer's USB port. The other is an oval dongle (see picture above) that generates its own wifi signal. Up to five devices (laptops, iPads, smartphones, desktops) can use it at the same time. This is the one I'm focusing on in this post.

Note: this is aimed mainly at novices and beginners. In other words, where there has been a choice between various 30-day access packages, I've chosen the cheapest one available, based on an assumption that novices are less likely to be power-users. I've added in the higher data options in the fine print section below each table.

(i) PREPAY WIFI DONGLE BROADBAND PLANS

Operator                   3            O2         Voda     Meteor    Emobile

Dongle price:           €70         €60        €60        €70*         €60

1 day access            €5           €4           €3          €3           €3

1 week access          €10          --           €10         --             --

1 month access        €15         €20         €20        €20           --

Out-of-bundle MB      €1          €0.02*     €0.19    €0.02*     €0.02

 

(ii) BILLPAY WIFI DONGLE BROADBAND PLANS

Operator                    3         O2        Voda      Meteor    Emobile

Dongle price:            €10      €30        €40*        €40          €40

1GB                          €10        --            --            --             --

5GB                            --         --            --           €17           --

10GB                          --         --           €20         €20          €20

15GB                         €20      €20         €25*         --             --

20GB                          --          --            --           €25           --

30GB                         €26*       --            --            --             --

Out-of-bundle MB      €0.05   €0.02     €0.02       €0.02       €0.02

* Now here's the fine print (including data caps) on PREPAY plans:

3 Ireland: 1 day access up to 500MB. 1 week access up to 2GB. 1 month access up to 1GB. HIgher-priced 1 month packages are also available for up to 20GB (€35). 3 also has a current offer where pre-pay broadband dongle comes with 1GB of free data pre-authorised. However,  wifi dongle is currently out of stock. O2: 1 day access up to 500MB. 1 month access up to 5GB. Out-of-bundle charge of 2 cents per megabyte applies until the session is over and then you must take out a new full-price top-up. O2 also offers a "free 24 hour pass" when you initially sign up. O2 also has a special dangle purchase price of €80 with €40 credit. Vodafone: 1 day access up to 500MB. I week access up to 2GB. 1 month access up to 5GB. Add-on data allowances of 500MB (€3), 2GB (€10) and 5GB (€20) are available on prepay plans. Meteor: dongle is €60 if purchased online. 1 day access up to 500MB. 1 month access up to 7.5GB. Free access to Eircom public wifi hotpots with subscriptions. Meteor's high speed broadband access coverage is limited to large urban areas. Emobile: 1 day access up to 500MB. 1 month access up to 7.5GB.

* And here's the fine print on BILLPAY plans:

3: 30GB tariff of €26.24 is a promotional tariff, ends Feb 28th. O2: purchase price is based on 18 month contract. For 12 month contract, €50 purchase price applies. For 6 month contract, €60 purchase price applies. Vodafone: 15GB (€25) plan also gives higher speed, free modem ('up to' 14.4Mbs download) on 18-month plan. A reduced rate of €17 per month is available to Vodafone bill pay phone customers. Meteor: Prices based on 12-month contracts. For 18-month contact, 20GB product falls to €20 per month. Wifi dongle costs €20 extra if bought with 5GB or 10GB plans. Free access to Eircom public wifi hotpots with subscriptions. Emobile: 12-month contract applies

So which one do I use?

I've used wifi dongles from 3, O2 and Meteor, on and off. Of these, I've found 3's dongle probably to be the fastest and the widest in reach. Meteor gives a great perk in the form of free wifi at Eircom public hotspots, but its own high speed 3.5G coverage is far more limited than its rivals. I only recently started using O2's Hotspot wifi dongle and have found it to be a reasonably decent service.

OTHER ISSUES/QUESTIONS

1. How wifi broadband dongles work with your computer/tablet/smartphone: when you turn the dongle on, it emits a wifi signal (based on the sim card housed within it). You will see the dongle's wifi signature in your device's wifi detector. Simply choose it, enter the given password and you're connected. Up to five devices can access this wifi signal at the same time. The dongles are rechargeable: you will get between 3 and 5 hours use from a single charge, generally.

2. Where do they work? Anywhere that you find a 3G mobile phone signal (which is all urban areas and most towns or large villages). I have used dongles with little problem in remote West Cork (Beara peninsula) and rural Mayo (Erris and Belmullet).

3. Do they suffer form the same constrictions as mobile phone signals? Yes. So for example, they work less well in basements or deep inside a large building (unless there are extra transmitters in the building, such as a shopping centre). So if you normally have difficulty picking up a strong mobile phone signal in your home or your office, you will also have difficulty using one of these devices for your internet access.

4. What speed to they connect at? Generally 'up to' 7.2Mbs (download) and 'up to' 5Mbs (upload). (Some connect 'up to' 14.4Mbs.) In practice, it's about half that speed in urban areas and can be as little as a tenth of the advertised speed.

In general, I've been pretty happy with 3G broadband, mainly because I move about a lot. But it may or may not be the right service for you. 

Wimax v 3G: will 3G run into problems soon?

One of the things I didn't get around to reporting on at CES a few weeks back was Intel's Wimax stand.

It had several laptops on display from Dell and Lenovo (among other brands) that had the Wimax processor built-in. For those unaware, such a laptop can receive a Wimax broadband signal, if it's available. In Ireland, Imagine has launched Wimax and is building it out across the country's biggest cities and towns. The service offers speeds of 7Mbs (for €25 per month).

The Intel demonstrator knew all about Imagine. He knew about the frequencies involved and the general project underway in Ireland. This would tend to lend credence to Imagine's claims that Intel is taking Ireland seriously as a Wimax test-bed.

I asked him about competition, especially from mobile 3G networks, who will soon move to speeds of ("up to") 14Mbs and, according to the head of 3 Ireland, may hit 28Mbs by the end of 2010.

He made one interesting point about mobile 3G broadband. While the speeds can be turned up, there is a lack of spectrum to host very many people using the service at the same time. That means that if the numbers signing on to 3G broadband continue to grow at the pace they're doing at the moment, it doesn't matter how fast a download speed an optimum signal can deliver: it'll never deliver more than 2Mbs or 3Mbs at peak usage times.

Right now, though, 3G definitely has the edge over Wimax. The main reason for this is coverage. If you sign up for a Vodafone, O2, Meteor or 3 Ireland 3G dongle, you can use it just about anywhere in the country. (Okay, so there are a few place not covered. But the vast, vast, VAST majority is covered.)

You can also use it in some European countries (although watch out for data roaming costs, which are insanely expensive). At the moment, you can only use Wimax in a handful of Irish cities and not when you're on the road.

Bitbuzz growing steadily: 174k reg'd users and €927k in revenue last year

Bitbuzz appears to be adding customers at a very steady pace.

I've always been pretty harsh about wi-fi access prices in Ireland. And I still believe that €5 per hour is a prohibitive sum to encourage widespread wi-fi, and pushes thousands of prospective customers into the arms of 3G broadband vendors (which is far, far cheaper for a frequent user-about-town). However, fair play to Bitbuzz for keeping up the business and for growing it.

A big 'fair play' to them, too, for going public on (some of) their accounts and their registration numbers. For a small company, it is all too tempting to remain schtum on one's accounts, for a variety of reasons. (This can vary from colourful tax arrangements to perceived embarrassment over 'small' figures.) The company doesn't reveal its profitability -- which it should do -- but opening up about its revenues and registration figures is a great start.

From Bitbuzz's press release:

Bitbuzz had a total of 173,747 registered users by the end of this period [first half of 2009], indicating an increase of 22% since the end of 2008.  Revenues for the six months to end June amounted to €501,350 compared with €433,950 for the corresponding period in 2008, representing an increase of 13.4% per cent. Full year revenues for 2008 amounted to €926,560.

Deals announced in the period included contracts with the Fitzwilliam Hotel Group; the Templeton Hotel; Mooney Hotel Group; Ibis Dublin West Hotel; StayGroup Apartments; BB’s Coffee and Muffins and The Streat Café Franchise -- all of which have contributed significantly to growth.  The total number of Bitbuzz Wi-Fi hotspots across the country at the end of June ’09 was 194, up from 178 at the end of 2008.

Fastest free wi-fi hotspot in Dublin -- The New York Grill

8.5Mbs!! And free!! (Upload is just 0.6Mbs.) It's a grill and cafe in the docklands, close to Jurys.

What next?

What should I be doing on this blog?

The t-shirt for iPhone web surfers

Your significant other is at you to ‘get some new clothes’. You want to spend your money on a gadget, preferable internet-related. Is there any way to get what you want? Of course there -- buy a wi-fi t-shirt! It’s clean, comes in a selection of ‘smart’ colours (which is what you’ll tell her) and displays when you’re in range of a wireless network by lighting up the chest of the garment. Sorted, right? Well, er…

Pros: uber-gadgety

Cons: if you actually try to argue that this counts as ‘new clothes’, you’ll face having clothes bought for you in future.

Price: €25 (plus delivery charges) from firebox.com

Docklands wi-fi: a rip-off

Here's a development that seems to hark back to the bad old days worst of the current wi-fi overcharging. The Dublin Dockland Development Authority has been telling the media for the last two years that it would be rolling out "free" wi-fi. Now it has done so -- and limited it to 10 commercial websites.

Anyone wanting access to normal websites, like Google, will have to pay the astonishing sum of €70 per week (or €20 per day or €6 per hour). Sorry, DDDA, but this is a complete rip-off.

For the record, here is the press release:

The Docklands Authority has today (June 26 2008) launched a Wi-Fi network for the area providing mobile high-speed broadband access for anyone working, living or visiting the Docklands.

Developed in conjunction with 3PlayPlus, the service, called DockNet, will transform Dublin’s Docklands into a giant Wi-Fi broadband hotspot and is the first of its kind in Dublin.

DockNet will provide high-speed broadband to Dublin’s Docklands via wireless technology enabling thousands of residents, business owners and visitors to experience a rich Internet experience without being tied to their desk.

Users of the service will be able to access ten websites for free. These websites include dublindocklands.ie, sports.ie, phantom.ie, and dublinbus.ie. Users accessing websites outside the ten free sites will be charged at rates starting at €6 for one hour.

The first phase of the service covering the Grand Canal Dock area went live today with Wi-Fi being rolled-out in other areas of the Docklands over the coming months. It is anticipated that the entire Docklands area will have Wi-Fi coverage by mid-2009.

Donal O’Connor, Chairman, Docklands Authority, said, "The Authority believes that the delivery of Wi-Fi for the Docklands is an important investment in the infrastructure required to enable the area’s continued regeneration. Broadband Internet access is now vital to the economic and social development of any community and we are delighted to be able to provide anyone living, working or visiting the Docklands with the opportunity to utilise Wi-Fi."

Commenting on the new service, David Higgins, Director of Finance of the Docklands Authority, said, "Securing the provision of broadband communications in the Docklands will put the area at an advantage as it will facilitate new ways of working, opportunities for education, training, and new home and leisure activities. Wi-Fi has become a necessary service and we are delighted to be the first area network established in Dublin."

Terry Crowley, Managing Director, 3PlayPlus, said, "3PlayPlus is delighted to work with the Docklands Authority on this project, bringing our experience in broadband and multimedia service provision to the Docklands.
We look forward to delivering broadband to the area and empowering the region with world-class Internet service."

DockNet will be one of the largest wireless hotspots of its kind in Ireland.  DockNet will have the capacity to fully support advanced digital services such as VoIP, Broadcast TV, CCTV security and video applications, enriching the digital experience throughout the whole area and delivering broadband connection speeds.

Fixed Wireless Access is among the fastest-growing Broadband access platforms and according to ComReg’s annual report, April 2008, it is presently realising a 56% year-on-year growth. Fixed Wireless Access is a proven technology and capable of delivering faster speeds than traditional copper-cable based systems.

The ten websites that can be accessed for free via DockNet are:
www.dublindocklands.ie
www.sports.ie
www.welfare.ie
www.met.ie
www.chq.ie
www.ifsc.ie
www.dublinbus.ie
www.itsyourmoney.ie
www.dubsimon.ie
www.phantom.ie

The schedule of rates for accessing websites outside of the ten free sites are (as of 23 June 2008):
1 hour - €6
4 hours - €10
24 hours - €20
7 days - €60

Wifi cafes -- return to the pits

What is the ugliest, smelliest, most unhygenic wifi cafe in Dublin? Right now, I'd say it's Cafe Kylemore in the Stephens Green Centre. As I write, I'm surrounded by filth, scum and a collection of other bits and pieces of detritus. My window seat is adorned with stains and some black substance, while the grouting between the floor tiles looks like it's a scientific experiment. The icing on the cake? €3.70 for a small hot chocolate. What a rip-off.

City-wide wi-fi abandoned by Dublin City Council

A report commissioned by Dublin City Council says that a free metropolitan wi-fi network shouldn't be pursued because it would run foul of European Commission regulations on state aid.
"If we went the whole hog the Commission would probably shut it down," said Fine Gael councillor Naoise O'Muiri, a committee member, to this blog. "The telcos are powerful companies and would have resources to fight it, too."
But what about the examples that US cities such as Philadephia have set?
"Over there, it's much less regulated," said O'Muiri. "There's an obsession with market over here and that's definitely a factor."
The committee is relying heavily on a European Commission decision earlier this year concerning a plan by authorities in Prague to build and operate a citywide wi-fi network for schools and other public utilites.
While the Commission allowed the scheme to proceed, its rationale for doing so implied that any similar project which discommoded a private sector player could violate EU competition rules.
The report, which will be recommended by members of the Council's wi-fi committee, recommends pilot projects in three "disadvantaged" areas of Dublin instead. The areas are Ballymun, Ballyfermot and a small section area of Dublin 8 and Dublin 2 around the Liberties and Thomas Street area.
It is possible, too, that such wi-fi access may be limited to government services, such as motortax.ie. And the trials are mooted to last three years at a cost of between €600,000 and €1 million each.
Personally, I'm very disappointed in this outcome. Wi-fi services in Dublin are few and far between and are very costly. I don't fully accept that Brussels is the problem: there are so few wi-fi operations in Dublin that it should be possible to come to some sort of compensation programme, even giving operators a small piece of the (much larger) city-wide revenue pie.
It could be argued that newer HSDPA services, with speeds of 3Mbs, is now a cheaper solution. But this is no use to business travellers or visitors from abroad, as they require annual contracts from mobile operators.
Councillors are likely to trumpet this as a triumph in the fight against the digital divide. But that's not what this should have been about.

Free wi-fi in Radisson SAS, Stillorgan

Following a fairly bad-tempered article about how hotels rip off their clients on broadband charges, the following has come in:

"Dear Adrian, I would like to refer to recent article "realityBytes" in Sunday Business Post article -- March 11th 2007 -- "Thinking of traveling to Dublin on business" and to take this opportunity to update you on free broadband and Wi-fi at Radisson SAS St. Helen's Hotel, Dublin. That's free internet access in all guest rooms via your laptop and free wireless access for conference delegates in meeting rooms and public area hot spots. I would be very grateful if you would kindly include this information at your next opportunity to ensure that our clients traveling to Dublin are aware of this great cost saving we have to offer. Sincerely, Yvonne McNamara, sales manager, Radisson SAS St Helen's Hotel, Dublin."

'Free wi-fi' for Dublin docklands this year

Free wi-fi in the Dublin docklands area appears to be on the agenda, if comments made by the chief executive of the Dublin Docklands Development Authority are to be believed. Speaking at the Irish Property Developers' conference earlier in the week, Paul Maloney said that this was on the DDDA's agenda for this year. No further information as to tenders, infrastructural layout or the like yet.

Manchester plans free city wi-fi

Or so the BBC says. The story is here. Dublin's bid may be hotting up -- more on this later.

Free Dublin wi-fi on the cards?

Looks like free or subsidised wi-fi for Dublin city is still simmering as an issue. Dublin City Council looks set to put in free wi-fi in all Dublin library branches, according to documents I've seen. And a Labour TD, Tommy Broughan, has re-iterated his call for a free wi-fi zone between the canals in Dublin. More on this later.