businessinfomag.uk
magazine
28
Communications
Lack of awareness
limits 4G take-up
Businesses are in danger of missing
out on the digital revolution and
falling behind tech-savvy competitors,
warns Vodafone.
Its survey of 1,200 senior decision-
makers in the public and private sectors
shows that nearly two-thirds (64%) of
UK organisations still don’t have 4G
and that 41% expect never to need it.
One third of those that do not yet have
4G can’t see how it would benefit their
business.
Take-up is particularly low amongst
SMEs, with fewer than one in four (24%)
using 4G, compared to 39% of larger
organisations.
Businesses that have upgraded to 4G
since it was introduced in 2012 cite a
number of benefits, including:
n
Increased data transfer speeds (51%)
n
Faster responses to customers and
suppliers (43%)
n
The ability to use all business
applications when working remotely
(48%)
n
Enhanced flexible working (42%)
The biggest barriers to adoption
include cost and a lack of knowledge
about 4G’s benefits, with 43% or
those surveyed claiming to have a poor
understanding of its capabilities.
Vodafone says it has invested £1
billion in 4G since the start of the year
and that its 4G service is now available
in 500 cities and towns across the UK.
More competition
In its first report looking specifically
at 4G services, mobile analytics firm
RootMetrics says that greater investment
by Vodafone and O2 is helping intensify
competition with EE, which was the first
to bring 4G services to market.
According to RootMetrics, EE still
has a larger 4G footprint (79.3%) than
Vodafone (58.2%), O2 (52.7%) and
Three (24.8%).
Its testing in 16 cities covering 50%
of the UK population shows that EE
also offers the fastest 4G download
speeds, peaking at 94.1 Mbps in Belfast,
compared to a maximum of 64.7
Mbps for O2 in London, 64.5 Mbps for
Vodafone in Belfast and London and 50
Mbps for Three in Sheffield.
When 4G is not available, Three
recorded its fastest median download
speed of 7.3 Mbps in Belfast. In
comparison, EE’s fastest median
download speed when not on 4G was
4.9 Mbps in Glasgow; O2 never passed
3 Mbps; and Vodafone only exceeded 3
Mbps once (in Manchester).
The RootMetrics report highlights
another benefit of 4G – reliability.
Its analysis shows that when 4G is
Businesses missing out as new analysis highlights speed
and reliability as key 4G benefits
available, success rates for making a
connection and then staying connected
neared 100% for all operators.
RootMetrics CEO and President Bill
Moore said: “2014 was the first year in
the UK when all the major networks
were providing 4G services.We have seen
some startlingly fast speeds in pockets
of the UK and overall median speeds are
substantially higher than 3G.What is
even more encouraging is the reliability
of services once customers are on 4G. The
growing footprint of each network means
that as more customers are able to access
4G, they will be able to consistently
access all the benefits 4G brings.”
.
com/uk
in brief
Cloud UC
Swyx Solutions, a manufacturer of UC
software for SMEs, has produced a
free guide to cloud-based unified
communications.
How SMEs can
benefit from cloud-based unified
communications
is written
for SMEs that are either
investing in communications
infrastructure for the first
time, considering upgrading their
on-premise phone system, looking to switch to a
hosted model or simply want to discover how it can help them to communicate more
effectively and reduce costs.
One third of new businesses will start life as a pop-up,
claims EE. Its research shows that 11.6 million people plan
to start their own business within the next two years, and
almost a third (29%) want do so by launching a pop-up
selling food (30%), drink (18%), arts and crafts (15%),
fashion (12%) or jewellery and accessories (11%). Pop-up
successes are becoming increasingly common, with pop-ups
like PRESS London growing into bricks and mortar retailers,
while online-only businesses, such as Amazon and Google,
are looking at pop-ups as a viable way to connect with
customers. To help entrepreneurs get started, EE provides
a range of 4G connected products and Pop-Up bundles,
including tablets, smartphones and mobile payment devices.
Toll fraud alert
With toll fraud rising by 15% each year, NEC has
introduced a low-cost solution to keep fraudsters
at bay. Designed for the NEC UNIVERGE SV9100
communication server for SMBs and the SL1100
for small businesses, the £99 Toll Fraud Guard
application monitors the SMDR output of the
system and identifies calls that could be deemed
fraudulent. Depending on the perceived threat, it
either alerts the company via email or blocks the
activity immediately. NEC sales director Andrew
Cooper said: “Toll fraud stats in the UK are shocking
with an estimated cost of £1.2bn each year and an
average cost of £10k per victim.”
Vodafone says
it has invested
£1 billion in 4G
since the start
of the year
