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Monday, February 22, 2016

Only 16 masts installed via UK Mobile Infrastructure Project

The UK Government’s £150 million Mobile Infrastructure Project has only seen 16 masts installed since it launched – despite its original ambition to cover around 600 sites. Most of the budget remains unspent.

Weaverthorpe in North Yorkshire was the first village to benefit from this project to reduce areas of non-existent mobile coverage, often described as ‘not spots’.

Ed Vaisey MP, the Minister for Culture and the Digital Economy, admitted “I do not think the programme has been a success”.

He explained that planning regulations and local opposition had caused problems, as had the issue of running costs for the sites. “One difficulty of the programme is that the companies do not want to participate in it - I do not say that pejoratively - because they are landed with the operating costs of the masts. We, the Government, pay the installation costs, but the companies are landed with the operating costs for masts that are, by definition, uneconomic.”

Mr Vaisey added “we have erected 16 of the masts and are hoping to get 60 up and running”.

However, he also pointed out that the 2014 changes to the UK operators’ licence agreements means that geographic coverage will be improved. Combined with the additional sites, this means the percentage of ‘not spots’ (no mobile coverage) across the UK is expected to fall to 2% by the end of 2017.

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Opinion Articles

Text message offers crop advice for Philippine rice farmers

Simone Orendain of voanews.com writes:

A new program offers rice farmers in the Philippines advice on fertilizer use via their cell phones.

International Rice Research Institute scientists have spent 18 years refining a computerized system to give farmers advice on just how much fertilizer to use...

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This week at The Fonecast: 22nd January 2011

Mark Bridge writes:

This week’s big news isn’t entirely mobile-related – but it is entirely worth mentioning. First we had Amazon snapping up the part of LOVEFiLM they didn’t already own. (Allow me to start the speculation about a video-streaming Kindle). And then Google CEO Eric Schmidt said he was leaving.

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What difference will the Amazon and LOVEFiLM deal make to the mobile industry?

Mark Bridge writes:

If you’ve read any of the tech press today you’ll have seen that Amazon.com is buying LOVEFiLM. Yes, that really is how the company writes its name. Amazon already had quite a collection of LOVEFiLM shares, so it’s really just buying the remainder.

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This week at The Fonecast: 15th January 2011

Mark Bridge writes:

It's been a funny old week. With the International CES behind us and Mobile World Congress less than a month away, you’d be forgiven for thinking there wouldn’t be much big news until the world’s mobile mavens start arriving in Barcelona.

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Why I'm predicting success for the BlackBerry PlayBook

Mark Bridge writes:

The RIM BlackBerry PlayBook. Embarrassment-in-waiting or soon-to-be-success in the increasingly crowded tablet market?

Just before Christmas I stuck my neck out and predicted the latter. But that’s not a position I’ve always held.

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Recent Podcasts

Reviewing our 2015 mobile industry predictions... and looking forward to 2016

Podcast - 15th January 2016

Iain Graham, James Rosewell and Mark Bridge return to review their mobile industry predictions from last year. Which mergers, partnerships and developments did they forecast correctly... and which didn’t work out as planned?

Later in the programme, the team anticipates some of the topics that will be hitting the headlines during 2016.

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Podcast from Mobile World Congress 2015

Podcast - 6th March 2015

Mark Bridge learns about the mobile technology trends at Mobile World Congress 2015 by chatting to James Rosewell of 51Degrees, Dr Kevin Curran from the IEEE and Chris Millington of Doro.

They talk about wearable devices, wireless charging, mobile operating systems and much more... including some of their favourite products from the exhibition.

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Looking back at February: from security scares to multiple MVNOs

Podcast - 27th February 2015

We're taking a look back at the biggest mobile industry news stories from February 2015, including allegations that the UK's security service tried to breach SIM card security by hacking into one of the world's biggest SIM producers.

We also talk about the planned BT and EE merger, the creation of two new UK virtual networks, some acquisitions in the mobile payment arena and a new Ubuntu smartphone.

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Interview with Chris Millington of Doro about mobile retailing, wearables and technology for older consumers

Podcast - 24th February 2015

In today's programme Mark Bridge talks to Chris Millington, who's Managing Director for Doro UK and Ireland.

They discuss the state of mobile retailing in the UK, the future of wearable devices and - as you might expect - smartphones for seniors.

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A month of mobile: O2 counts on 3, Microsoft counts to 10 and Apple counts its profits

Podcast - 30th January 2015

We're back with a month of mobile industry news, including takeover talks and takeover rumours. O2 and Three are said to be discussing a merger... but is there any truth in the suggestions that BlackBerry could be up for grabs?

We also discuss Apple's record-breaking quarterly figures, the highlights of CES and the launch of Microsoft Windows 10, as well as saying farewell to the current version of Google Glass.

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