Business Mobile World

The cost of business mobile contracts could be set to come down soon as a number of networks launch new business tariffs.

Vodafone have launched Business Choice which is aimed at SMEs with 2 to 50 mobile phone handsets. This is a flexible tariff with a number of paid add-ons allowing companies to mix and match their requirements and build a tariff that reflects their usage.

Businesses can choose the number of minutes to be shared, data allowances and technical support, and the basic plan includes free calls to UK landlines, free UK calls to company mobiles on the same plan, 150 standard UK text messages and free voicemail retrieval as standard.

As an incentive a £5 monthly discount for all businesses signing up to certain options before August 15th is available. Contact us for more information.

At the same time the parent company of Orange and T-Mobile, Everything Everywhere, have announced their intention to launch an assault on the UK business market. The combined power of these two networks should produce better tariffs for business mobiles than are currently available.

With a merged network, coverage, which is essential for business users, should no longer be an issue meaning that both networks will be able to increase their business customer base.

Full details of any new business tariffs from Orange and T-Mobile will be printed here as they become available. In the meantime to take advantage of the enhanced coverage and low cost business tariffs currently available from these networks get in touch with us.

There doesn't seem to be a lot of interesting mobile news currently, certainly not since we last posted on 10th February. The most interesting news from the world of mobile phones, both business mobile phones and consumer mobiles, is posted below.

Firstly it looks like the Orange/T-Mobile merger is going to go ahead without regulatory inspection in the UK. The decision is with the EU and it would appear that the companies involved have made enough concessions for the OFT to withdraw its objections and the EU to approve it. The decision is expected early next week.

Hopefully once regulatory approval is granted we will then get a timescale for the merger and perhaps more details of the direction that will be taken by the newly-merged network. Fingers crossed it will bring lower prices and more innovative products but don't hold your breath.

Vodafone would appear to be the fastest network for web browsing on mobile phones according to a recent independent survey commissioned by O2. The figures are general across the UK rather than region specific and the actual differences in speed between the major networks is unlikely to be noticeable by the average user.

Vodafone have also launched what is thought to be the world's cheapest phone. The 150 should sell for around £10 and is aimed at the developing world. The developing world is seen as the main growth area in the coming years as phone sales in the developed world fall.

TalkTalk are looking to enter the mobile phone arena by becoming a MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator) later in the year. This service is in addition to the home phone, broadband and digital TV products it already offers.

Sony Ericsson have been censured by the ASA (Advertising Standards Agency) over claims it made in a TV advert with regard to it's Satio handset and its ability to connect to Facebook. The handset does not come with a Facebook app and initially could not even run the app due to software problems. However the Facebook app is now available for download onto the Satio.  

A collection of stories, snippets and interesting information from the world of mobile phones.

• Some of the latest mobile phone apps include one from the AA listing 14,000 places to eat, stay and drink in throughout the UK. This guide will also tell you about local points of interest based upon your location. For those that regularly misplace their phone or have terrible memories where they last put it down a new app called Where's My Phone could be the answer. It allows you to whistle and the phone rings in response, allowing you to locate it.
  
• SmartPhones represent 25% of the mobile phone market yet nearly half of all phone based web traffic comes from them. The average SmartPhone user utilises around 300 minutes per month. Facebook is the most popular website accessed by mobile phone users.
  
• New mobile phones - the Sony Ericsson X10 is due to arrive in April, although it could be earlier. This phone makes use of the Android operating system and features a full touchscreen, 8.1mp camera with auto focus and 16x digital zoom, Timespace (a social networking aggregator), 1GB built-in memory expandable up to 16GB and GPS.
  
• Business Mobiles - companies, particularly corporate users, are spending up to one third of their mobile phone communication bill on personal calls made by their employees. This represents a total spend of £1bn which could possibly be saved by better management and procedures for company mobiles.
  
• The OFT are lobbying for an investigation by UK authorities into the Orange/T-mobile merger. The deal will already be scrutinised by the EU but fears of reduced competition and increased prices for consumers have led to the call from the OFT. A UK investigation could further drag out the merger timescale for several extra months.
  
• Apple - O2 have sold their 2 millionth Apple iPhone in the UK despite losing their exclusivity late last year. The next big thing, the Apple iPad, due for launch later this year, is also on the radar for all of the networks looking to tie up deals with Apple. No news yet of an exact release date or pricing.
  
• O2 continue testing on the 4G mobile network. Speeds of up to 150mbps are potentially available using this technology, however this has not been achieved yet and a full rollout of this is a little way off still.
  
• Nearly 97 billion text messages were sent in the UK in 2009. This represents an hourly rate of 11 million! These figures show a steady increase from 2007 and 2008 despite competition from social networking sites such as twitter and facebook.
  

This may be the last post before the 25th so a Happy Christmas to all of our customers, new and old, and a prosperous New Year.

Talking of New Year, the date for Vodafone's iPhone launch is now known. It will be on the 14th January 2010. Pre-orders are now being taken direct via their website although there don't appear to be any tariff details as yet.

Don't expect to see any startlingly different tariffs from either Orange or O2. It is likely that they will follow the other two networks both in terms of pricing and length of contract.

For the cheapest iPhone deals the best option could be Tesco Mobile who are offering 12 month contracts. It does mean that you have to contribute towards the cost of the phone initially but you are better off in the long run in terms of total cost. It also allows you to upgrade after 12 months which could be useful as it is likely the next generation iPhone or a variant will be released by then.

These are the deals for individual customers. For iPhone business mobile contracts get in touch with us for your tailored quotation. We have a wide range of business mobile tariffs from all of the major networks and can assist with a single iPhone or multiple iPhones for all of your employees.

The New Year is an ideal time for businesses to take a look at all of their outgoings. Remember we can help with a wide range of telecoms providing your business with an integrated solution and saving you money in the process. Our quotes are free and without obligation.

Orange have reported that they sold more than 30,000 iphones on their first day of offering the handset to their customers. There is no stopping the momentum behind the iPhone, particularly now that Tesco Mobile have announced they will be selling it online and in their mobile shops.

Tesco currently have around 100 mobile shops within their stores, a number which is set to grow to 200 during 2010. No tariffs have been announced but they claim they will be offering a little "Tesco value" to their customers.

Does this herald the start of a price war? Orange getting the iPhone certainly didn't, with tariffs set almost exactly the same as O2. Vodafone come into the market in 2010 and this extra competition may start the prices heading ownwards.

However, how much room for manoeuvre is there in the price? If you are paying £30 per month over 24 months your total outlay is only £720. With an iPhone GS costing in the region of £500 (probably a bit less to the major networks) there isn't much of a profit margin.

Whilst we can supply the iPhone to our business customers, we find that other handsets from Nokia and RIM (BlackBerry) are much more popular. It did pop into our Top 10 business mobile handset chart for August 2009 but hasn't been seen since.

As a business phone it doesn't offer any extra features above many considerably cheaper handsets. Businessmen with their heads screwed on understand value and understand that every extra penny spent on their mobiles is a penny off their profits.

So if you are looking for a business mobile phone and are considering the iPhone get in touch with us for some free advice and some cheaper (and better) alternative handsets that will save your business money month after month.

Further to the meeting held by Peter Mandelson with all 5 major network providers to have a Spectrum reframe (to hit Labour's Mobile broadband targets by 2012).

T-Mobile and Orange are now telling the UK regulator that they do not want to give up spectrum in exchange for regulatory approval of their planned merger. This isn’t going to please OFCOM as the merger will have 37% of mobile customers and over 50% of all available spectrum.

It will be unlikely that Vodafone and 02 will give up any of the 900mhz bandwidth if T-Mobile and Orange are not going to let go of any of their spectrum to meet Mandelson's 2012 targets. It should be remembered that there is a General election coming up next year which could change things!

What is Spectrum?

According to Wikipedia it is "the range of all possible frequencies of electromagnetic radiation". For more information read the Ofcom pdf relating to the Frequency Allocation Table which contains 224 pages of further info.

Author: Simon Hunt

Position: Telecommunications Consultant with 21C Telecom

The latest news on the release date of the iPhone on the Orange network is that it will be 10th November, a day after O2's exclusive deal expires. This will make them the only official competitor in the run up to Christmas as Vodafone will not be carrying the iPhone until next year and neither 3 nor T-Mobile have officially announced that they will carry the phone.

3 are rumoured to be considering carrying the handset, with no offical announcement, whilst T-Mobile have ruled themselves out, although they are importing iPhones on an unofficial basis for some of their high spend and valuable customers.

So if you are looking for an iPhone on contract this Christmas your choice is likely to be O2 or Orange. This could drive prices slightly lower although a real price war is unlikely until Vodafone start their iPhone sales in the New Year.

If you are an Orange customer looking to upgrade to an iPhone and your contract is due for upgrade in the next couple of months get in touch with us as we also offer consumer upgrades on the Orange network in addition to our core business mobile sales.

Similarly if you are on O2 customer we can help you with upgrading to the Apple iPhone. You just have to be nearing the end of your contract.

The tariffs for a free iPhone on O2 start at around £35 for a 24 month contract. This includes 600 minutes, 500 messages and "unlimited" data. This is for the basic 3G 8GB. If you are looking for the iPhone 3GS 32GB you are going to have to pay around £75 per month to get one free of charge.

There are no details of tariffs yet on the Orange website but there is the option to pre-register for news of release and the opportunity of getting one as soon as it is released.

If you are a business customer we can help you with a new iPhone on a wide range of tariffs. Just contact us for a free no obligation quotation.