O2 UK is launching its Tu Go app the operator said will enable its
users to make and receive calls, texts and voicemail via the Internet
using their existing telephone number.
The service, available on all Apple and Android devices, is free to
download for O2 contract customers, with the calls and texts taken from
their existing bundle.
The aim of Tu Go is to free customers from being locked to a single handset, O2 UK product manager Caroline Dundas told BBC News.
"Customers can now take their mobile number wherever they like, even away from their mobiles," she said.
O2 UK customers can be logged into the Tu Go service on up to five
devices at once, said the operator. Incoming calls will ring all
logged-in devices, including handsets using SIM cards associated with
different networks and Internet-enabled gadgets such as iPods, according
to BBC News.
Commenting on the launch of Tu Go, Ovum telco analyst Jeremy Green
said that the app is more than just another "me too" VoIP app by an
operator. "It delivers tangible differentiation for Telefónica and is a
lesson for its peers in integration with carrier telephony services."
"Only available to O2 UK's postpaid customers, it is a cloud-based
telephony service, allowing the user to register multiple devices and
make and receive calls and messages from all of these as if from their
telephone number. Any usage comes from the user's postpaid inclusive
bundle. TuGo can therefore be used regardless of physical location over
Wi-Fi using the user's home contract. This also makes it an FMC
solution, because it will work indoors on Wi-Fi at places where mobile
coverage is poor," said the Ovum analyst.
O2 UK CEO Ronan Dunne told Mobile News the operator was able to offer the service thanks to its acquisition of VoIP service provider Jajah in 2009.
The app is notable since a number of European operators have
complained of "over the top" (OTT) apps like Skype and WhatsApp cutting
into their voice and messaging revenues.
Showing posts with label UK. Show all posts
Showing posts with label UK. Show all posts
Tuesday, 5 March 2013
Sunday, 27 January 2013
Report: LTE access will save UK consumers £20B over next decade
The wide-scale deployment of LTE in the UK will save consumers £20 billion by providing them with access to high-speed mobile services, according to a report from telecoms regulator Ofcom.
Ofcom maintains the advantage access to LTE will bring to the UK public and the economy will "very significantly" exceed the immediate financial windfall raised by the auction, according to the Financial Times.
"Ofcom's LTE auction is designed to deliver the maximum benefit to the UK," Ofcom chief Ed Richards told the FT. "We believe that this is likely to be at least £20 billion over the next 10 years for consumers alone who will be able to access new digital services across the country."
"It will also make a very significant contribution to the UK GDP through new mobile revenues, employment opportunities and software development," he said.
Asked how Ofcom had calculated this huge saving, its economists told the FT they had used a "consumer surplus" figure--a measure of the benefit that consumers gain from purchasing goods and services, a method often used when evaluating the market impact of government intervention.
Bidding has started for the UK's LTE spectrum auction, which will see the companies bidding for frequencies in the 800 MHz and 2.6 GHz bands. EE, Vodafone, Telefónica's O2 UK and 3UK are all bidding, as is BT, Hong Kong's PCCW and managed networks firm MLL Telecom. While the UK government has publicly said the auction is expected to produce £3.5 billion in revenue, analysts have estimated that the amounts raised could be between £2 billion and £4 billion.
Ofcom, which is running the auction process, would not confirm the £3.5 billion figure, but added that the aim was for at least four different operators to win adequate spectrum to operate national LTE networks.
EE, Vodafone, O2 and 3UK are most likely to compete fiercely to secure the prime lower frequency bands better able to carry mobile internet services. The other three bidders--BT, PCCW and MLL--are expected to vie for higher frequencies more suitable for local area mobile broadband.
According to Ofcom, bids are being placed online over secure connections, using software that has been developed specifically for the auction. The bidding will continue over several rounds and is expected to take a number of weeks until the final winners are announced.
For more:
- see this FT article (sub. req.)
Source: http://www.fiercewireless.com/europe/story/report-lte-access-will-save-uk-consumers-20b-over-next-decade/2013-01-25?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss
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