This article was first published on EamonnMallie.com
97% of Northern Ireland residents have access to superfast broadband1, the highest proportion of any region within the UK. So why are only 60% of Northern Ireland households taking up this service?
Ofcom have published “The first Communications Infrastructure Report” which details lots of interesting facts that no local news outlet seems to be paying much attention to.
Access to the Internet is pretty much a human right these days and you can access the Internet for free at your local library. What student would prepare for an assignment without conducting some form of Internet research? I’d guess that nearly every single office job requires the Internet whether for email or browsing.
The Internet, therefore, is as much a utility as our water supply and is an essential every day service that we need.
So why then has there not been a media frenzy about these figures? Naturally the report does not cater for the need of our tabloid media but it definitely does need reported on.
The BBC reported “Northern Ireland broadband service criticised” which is a misleading headline in my opinion. Yes the report suggests that more could (and should) be done to improve access to broadband, but 97% of us here in NI already have access to superfast broadband. I have it and I’m about to get upgraded to a 30Mbit/s connection. What have you got? 1 in 4 have less than 2Mbit/s which means that you will really struggle to stream video online and most likely your skype call will be pixelated. In my view this is unacceptable and easily rectified with a simple call to your ISP.
Percentage receiving less than 2Mbit/s
Each area has been ranked from 1 to 5 on the percentage of broadband connections that have modem sync speeds of less than 2.2Mbit/s.
1= less than 5%
2= 5% – less than 10%
3= 10% – less than 15%
4= 15% – less than 20%
5= 20% or more
Of course there will be those who argue that you simply don’t need superfast broadband. This is shortsighted and fails to recognise the benefits that come with a fast connection to the Internet. Superfast broadband is now more affordable and the consumer is in a strong position to take advantage of this without having to stretch their budget. Ofcom also reveal that on average we download 17 Gigabytes of data every month. That’s equivalent to about 11 or 12 hours viewing of iPlayer per month. As each year passes we consume more and more content online (up sevenfold in five years) thus making superfast broadband all the more important if you want to watch video online.
Hands up if you have an Internet connected TV? I know it’s not just me. If you have a games console, a Blu-Ray player, an Apple TV or have recently bought your TV then you can probably watch YouTube and other online video content from the comfort of your sofa.
Lots of us have laptops, mobile phones and tablet computers and we use them while we are watching television. I would wager that the majority of the time we are using the Internet on those devices either browsing facebook, playing words with friends, updating all of those apps you downloaded from the App store or even sending an email. OK so nobody sends email anymore, but you get the point, we need the Internet just to go about our normal everyday tasks. If you are a typical household with a mummy and daddy and 2.1 teenagers you’re going to need superfast broadband just to keep everyone happy.
The family I’ve just mentioned will all have mobile phones and statistically speaking more than 2 will have a smartphone and in a couple of years (maybe even just one) everyone will have a smartphone. This will not only apply pressure to the home wifi network but will see massive demand for 3G (and soon 4G) services. In other words, we just can’t get enough Internet!
But, we in Northern Ireland are a bit screwed when it comes to mobile Internet.
If you want 3G on the road you better not actually need it outside Belfast and the main roads.
3G coverage by geographic area
3G coverage by geographic area
Each area has been ranked from 1 to 5 on the level of mobile coverage.
1= 90% or more
2= 70% – less than 90%
3= 50% – less than 70%
4= 25% – less than 50%
5= less than 25%
So how does this actually affect us? Generally speaking when we are at home we can make the best use of the Internet, whether that be watching a High Definition movie or making a video call to a friend who lives on the other side of the world. However, this report should be highlighted not because of how I can get access to the Internet on a personal level, but for the stark reality that many businesses and those who travel for their work are not able to make use of superfast broadband connections whether in the office or from their car. This impacts the local economy. This means we are not as competitive and this means jobs are on the line. You only need to have a quick look at a recruitment agency to see that IT plays an important role within our local economy. The wider view is of course that the Internet provides access to a global market. We can now sell services overseas with literally the click of a mouse. The Internet provides opportunity and superfast broadband will enable our local businesses to compete on the global stage which ultimately will boost the local economy. Simple. Well not quite, but I hope you understand how crucial it is that we not only have access to superfast broadband but that we also avail of its service.
Feel free to leave a comment on the issue of broadband access and whether you think it really matters to the local economy or not.
Im still on the look out for a better mobile rss reader than google reader. Let me explain. Lately I’ve been using rss feeds more and more. I’ve become obsessed in fact and for that reason I’ve put some effort into finding a suitable client for my nokia n95. So far I’ve used opera mini, mippin, google reader and mobispine. Google reader is by far the best, easy to use, fast, and because it’s browser based I’m always in sync.
Opera mini is ok, but can be cumbersome. It works like a traditional browser based rss solution.
Mippin was ok. Like google reader, it is browser based, but gives you a client feel. There’s no logging in to do, but there are too many clicks before you get to read the whole story.
I thought mobispine was going to be the answer, but no, it lacks a few features. It gives you that client feel and is certainly one of the better feed readers around for symbian devices, but it’s not better than google reader. For example, it doesn’t download stories in the background. It does have a nice interface and you can import your bookmarks from another reader such as google, but it’s not better and for me that’s the deal breaker.
So why is google reader so good? It’s very basic, lets you view the original story in quick time and satisfies my requirements. So what could make it better? Well on the desktop, I can take google reader offline and read the stories. I can do this by using google gears. So why can’t google make a client for my phone, that downloads the rss feeds in the background thereby allowing me to read as and when I please? In the mean time I will have to make do with their browser based solution.
Instant messaging is all about communicating quickly and efficiently with a friend or a colleague. Instant messaging (IM) has been around for a long time, but has yet to sweep the main stream. Why is this and who really needs it? This is the big question and, I’m not sure.
When I got my last mobile contract, I also got a whole bunch of sms (texts!) and an unlimited data bundle. I thought this was going to bring email to my phone, and it did. But I rarely use it to connect with people. Part of the problem for me has been my friends reluctance to email. I think it’s a work thing, we use email at work at have developed an aversion to it at home. The other point here is that most of my friends do not have data tariffs on their mobile and therefore do not embrace the mobile internet as a whole. So email for me is not an important communication tool.
The same can be said for IM services. They are useful, cheap and effective, but unless you’re at the computer they are fairly restrictive. There are lots of applications that work on mobiles that allow you to IM, such as fring, MSN, yahoo etc, but we (at least here in the UK) are being held back by our network operators not offering data bundles as standard and failing to drive customer demand. Another potential problem is that many of us have a text bundle that is huge. Why IM when sms is just as good?
For me this is where the point of IM is lost. Instant messaging is about connecting with people who are online at the same time as you, who might be sharing similar experiences or maybe have something cool to say. Texting is more formal and this form of communication is different to instant messaging. It often lacks the spontaneity that comes from IM. I find that using an IM service helps me keep in touch with friends, who I would not normally text or email. I suppose this is why facebook has been so successful. But I’m tired of that already!
One of my favourite ways of instant messaging is using gmail. Gtalk is built right in and I can see which of my contacts are online and send them a quick message. It is so easy to use, I just wish more of my friends would finally get themselves a gmail account.
As previously posted, I’ve started to twitter and I’m starting to like it.
I have been using 3g for over three years and this year has been the year that mobile data has become customer focused.
3g is mobile phone technology that enables data streams to be sent to mobile phones in a relatively fast way. Essentially, 3g enables users to browse the net, make video calls, stream radio stations and check email while still being able to receive phone calls.
So what’s changed this year? Quite simply, data plans have become affordable. I pay three £5 a month for a 1GB download allowance. That’s plenty, considering I have a home broadband package as well. The tariff gives me the freedom to do things that previously I would not have considered, as the cost was prohibitive.
There are several choices for consumers now, but if you are considering a new mobile on a contract think about getting a 3g phone. Generally these will ship with high specifications including, expandable memory, good camera, mp3 player, movie player, calendar, email etc. I personally use Nokia’s N95, but have an E65 which is an excellent phone. If you fancy an iphone, wait until apple release a 3g version which is expected later this year.
A useful source of 3g info is Talk3G, a forum dedicated to 3g talk.
97% of Northern Ireland residents have access to superfast broadband1, the highest proportion of any region within the UK. So why are only 60% of Northern Ireland households taking up this service?
