Blog posts tagged mobile internet

4G can really help your business, finds 4G network

If you don't live in one of the cities where you can get a signal, news that 4G mobile is now available in the UK may not have made much of an impact on you. And even if you do live in an area that's covered, you could have been forgiven for losing interest once you saw how network Everything Everywhere (EE) has chosen to price its tariffs.

Significant 4G benefits

EE has now released research into the business benefits of 4G. And they show a considerable upside to the technology, even when you allow for the fact that a 4G provider is never going to play down the possibilities of its service.

The survey examined how 4G is used by small and medium-sized businesses in countries where it's been available for a while. Some of the key findings were:

• 74% of firms using 4G in the US say it's helped them innovate and jump ahead of the competition. It seems particularly useful for companies with workers in the field. For instance, construction workers can use 4G to quickly send large amounts of information back to head office.
• Eight out of ten US firms with 4G say it helps them get more done on the move, and nearly half reckon it's actually saved them money by enabling flexible working so they can reduce office space.
• Small firms in the UK have high expectations of 4G. 59% expect it will help them increase productivity and 38% think it will improve staff well-being and motivation.

Interestingly, 4G also lies at the heart of some interesting innovations. The survey cites a CCTV company that's been able to use 4G to transmit footage instead of having to dig up streets to install cables. And a German car manufacturer is soon to launch a car with a 4G hotspot built in - so you can get connected as you travel.

Too early to switch

There is certainly demand out there for faster mobile connections. But for most companies, there's no compelling reason to switch yet. What's more, EE is the only network currently offering 4G at present. Once other providers enter the market next year there's an excellent chance the competition will force prices down.

For those two reasons, the wisest move for most companies is to wait and see how 4G pans out. Besides, the BBC found considerable variation in connection speeds - so there's no guarantee you'll see the full benefits yet.

• Be one of the first to get iPhone 5 with 4G
• 4G mobile broadband speeds tested
• Data limits could make 4G for business costly

Couch commerce and the convenience factor

Do you use your mobile when you're on the couch? (Image: the dailyenglishshow on Flickr.)

Mobile commerce is becoming big business. Recent research suggests that by 2017, the total value of mobile transactions will exceed $730bn. That's about £465bn - or enough to pay for the Olympics around 50 times over.

Unless you've been walking around with your eyes shut lately, that probably doesn't come as much of a surprise. Mobile internet access has gone through the roof, with people using their smart phones everywhere. And where potential customers go, companies tend to follow.

The convenience factor

There's a big convenience factor at work here. Done well, mobile commerce can be seductively straightforward. Take online commerce trailblazers Amazon. Finished your book but still have two hours of a train journey to get through? Just buy another book to read on your Kindle, there and then.

Businesses of all sorts are tapping into that convenience factor - not least the supermarket giants. Tesco is trailing a rather-contrived 'virtual supermarket' at Gatwick Airport, where you can use your smart phone to scan items on a screen for delivery when you get back from your holidays. And Sainsbury's reckons its new mobile optimised website has helped increase its online sales by 20%.

Sure, what's right for the supermarkets isn't always right for smaller companies. But in this case, if you're thinking it's probably is time for you to shape up your mobile commerce experience, you're probably right.

Dont forget couch commerce

Even if your business doesn't sell online, you need to be mindful that a growing proportion of your website visitors will be using mobile devices. Do you want to exclude them from learning about your company?

Before you get started, there's one other thing to bear in mind: it doesn't always follow that mobile internet users are out and about.

Actually, a significant proportion of people use mobile internet when they're at home, because it's usually easier to reach for a smart phone than start up a PC.

Dubbed 'couch commerce', this phenomenon means that the typical image of a mobile internet user as someone with only a few moments to spare at a bus stop or on a train could be inaccurate. And that might influence the information you show them.

• Why doesn't your business have a mobile website?
• Designing for the mobile web
• Mobile apps vs mobile websites

4G mobile speeds - next-gen mobile broadband tested

Your mobile phone almost certainly has 3G mobile broadband built in. It’s the technology that enables you to send and receive emails, view web pages and download Google Maps on the move.

But there’s something faster on the horizon. 4G is the next generation of mobile internet connection. It promises greater reliability and much, much faster speeds. If it lives up to the hype, it could change the face of mobile working.

4G mobile data in action

While some countries – including the US, Germany and Sweden – have already begun rolling out 4G networks, we’re somewhat behind in the UK. However, O2 is running a trial of the system in London. I’ve been lucky enough to be a part of it, and so far my experiences suggest 4G broadband really could revolutionise mobile internet access.

With only 25 masts around London, O2’s 4G coverage is hardly ubiquitous. But then it is a just a trial. And when you’re in a coverage area, the access speeds are superb.

To use the trial, I had to connect via a 4G dongle, which plugs in to my laptop. I first tried it in a McDonald’s near King’s Cross station.

Initially I was connected at a download speed of over 13 megabits (Mbps) per second and an upload speed of around 0.5Mbps. The average speed of a home broadband connection is a little over 7Mbps, so that didn’t seem too shabby – although it was a long way off the theoretical maximum of 150Mbps or so.

4G mobile speeds on the move

Still, I knew I could do better, so I headed out to try some different locations. From the top deck of a number 25 bus I maxed out at 15.5Mbps down and – surprisingly - 25Mbps up.

I switched to the pavement just in time to catch a torrential rain shower, and after sheltering my laptop and dodging raindrops, I took shelter in a pub just off Oxford Street. Sat in the window and sipping a cup of tea (honest!) I hit the jackpot with a download speed of 40Mbps and 23Mbps upload.

That’s really fast (faster than some BT Infinity broadband packages), but to illustrate just how fast, I tried a few tests. A video call through Skype barely warmed up the connection, so I fired up the BBC’s iPlayer.

Streaming video requires a fast connection, yet I managed to stream four different programs simultaneously, without any slowdown, pauses, or interruptions to the video at all. Can you do that with your home broadband connection?

Strong signal = fast 4G

So, there you go. If you’re looking for a fast 4G connection in central London, you could do a lot worse than head for the pub.

But seriously, my brief experiences with 4G technology certainly suggest it has the potential to put an end to today’s mobile internet frustrations.

Of course, there are some caveats. My sojourn found excellent speeds where the signal was strong. But maintaining a strong signal across the UK is going to require a fast rollout of new equipment from the mobile operators. One of the issues with 3G is its patchy coverage in rural areas. There’s no guarantee 4G will be any different.

Network operators will also face challenges depending on which parts of the radio spectrum they use. The available bandwidth is much higher at some frequencies than others, and the frequencies used also affect the strength of connections inside buildings.

We all need 4G mobile speeds

However, the ability to have genuinely fast internet access on a laptop, tablet or mobile phone is going to change how we all use the internet and do business. It is certainly going to drive more business into the mobile environment.

For example, Timico (the company I work for), gives its sales force iPads so they can demonstrate our applications and customer portal. An iPad combined with a 40Mbps suddenly becomes a low-cost teleconferencing system than you can use anywhere.

And 4G can provide a workable backup to the fixed line connection at your office, so the chance of being affected by an internet connection outage will drop considerably.

Everything about my experience suggests 4G could be a game-changer. Now we just need to get on and roll it out across the country!

• Finding the right mobile internet device
• Are tablet computers right for business?
• Mobile internet access explained

Trefor Davies is chief technology officer at Timico. This post was adapted from a post on Trefor’s own blog.