Technology ‘failing to empower older generation’

Just one in 20 of the over-65s owns a smartphone, new research suggests, compared to one in four of the total UK adult population

The advanced functions of the latest mobile phones are ‘of little or no interest’ to the over-65s, new research suggests.

Only one in 20 of the age group owns a smartphone, compared to 17 per cent of those aged between 55 and 64. Research from Ofcom indicated that there was no increase between 2010 and 2011 in those over 65 using their phones to access the internet.

Overall, smartphones now make up 67 per cent of all UK mobile phone sales. According to the latest figures from Ofcom, 91 per cent of UK adults of all ages currently own or use a mobile and one in four owns a smartphone.

Research conducted by Cambridge University indicated that more than half of the over-50s in the UK felt nervous using an electronic product they had not seen before. According to Ofcom, 39 per cent of the over 65s use a mobile purely for phone calls, and only 55 per cent use text messages.

Ian Hosking, Senior Research Associate, Cambridge University said, “It is critical that all manufacturers of electronics goods, particularly mobile phones, consider the needs of older users when designing new products. There is a real opportunity to address this anxiety and create something that is both stylish and easy to use.”

30.08.2011 – Telegraph  


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Millions missing out on cheaper mobile phone deals, says Which?

Almost 20 million Britons have never switched mobile phone provider and could be missing out on significant savings as a result, according to Which? Mobile. In a survey it also found that 5.3 million people said they spent less since switching mobile provider.


The organisation questioned 8,001 members of the public about their experiences when they switched provider. It found those who have been put off switching because they anticipate a lengthy and difficult process should think again, with nine out of 10 consumers finding it easy.

It said 44% of adults who own mobile phones have never switched provider, equating to about 20 million people, while 48% of adults who have switched in the past two years (about 6 million people) said they had spent less than they did with their previous provider.

Tom McLennan from Which? Mobile said: "If you have been with the same mobile provider for years, the chances are you could find a better deal elsewhere. With so many tariffs out there it pays to shop around, either through a comparison site or by checking out what different networks have to offer."


A quarter (26%) of those who switched provider did so for a more competitive tariff, Which? said, with only 16% switching for a better handset and 14% seeking a provider that offered improved coverage and reception.


Which? Mobile also found that for pay monthly customers phone features are the most important factor when choosing a new handset, with recommendations from retailers or providers of little significance. For pay-as-you-go customers the cost of the handset is the deciding factor.


The organisation also said a "surprising" statistic was that nine out of 10 people still go to a mobile phone store to choose a new phone rather than using online comparison sites – despite Which? also finding that most mobile salespeople push phone insurance – something it regularly flags as a waste of money because consumers' handsets are (or can be) covered by their home insurance.

Indeed, mobile phone insurance featured in Which?'s top 10 useless financial products last year.

25.08.2011 - Guardian

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Operator billing doubles app sales

Mobile phone users who pay for apps via their mobile phone bill buy twice as many as those who use credit cards, new data from Vodafone reveals.

The network, which has recently announced it will offer operator billing for Android, already offers it for Nokia and BlackBerry apps in the UK.

Tobin Ireland, Vodafone’s Group Commercial Development Director, said that since turning on operator billing for BlackBerry apps, customers had installed 100 per cent more and paid for 70 per cent more.

Mr Ireland said that he expected the Android Market to evolve as more customers became used to paying for applications. Currently, Apple apps are much more likely to cost money than Android apps, which are more typically free.

The high take-up of paid-for Apple apps is in part down to the convenience of users being able to buy apps via their iTunes account.

25/08/11 - Telegraph

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UK Homeowners Paying Too Much For Energy

By now, most people have noticed that energy bills are going up. However, what a lot of people do not know, is that their energy bills could be going up because they do not understand their bills. According to a new survey, some 40 percent of Brits are “clueless” when it comes to their energy bills and monthly usage.

16 percent of people have no idea how much they are spending on energy bills every year. A further 20 percent are clueless on how to read their energy bill. This is causing a lot of confusion among many homeowners. Experts say that this means that some homeowners could be paying higher bills because they are not really sure how their energy bills work. Numbers this year have been even worse since gas prices have jumped by 16 percent. Electricity prices have been on the rise as well, and there does not seem to be any relief in sight.

The message that they are trying to send to consumers is very clear. Medium energy users are paying too much for their utility bills if they are paying more than £37 for electricity or £51 for gas per month. The people who are paying over this should start thinking about switching to a better tariff.

The survey found out, for many people in the UK, their gas and electricity costs are the second largest outgoing bill every month. The only bill that is more is mortgage or rent payments. The problem is, most people do not have to live this way if they would pay closer attention to their energy bills. People should not just assume that they are getting the best deal without researching their situation a bit further.

This survey comes on the heels of an ongoing investigation by Ofgem into the 

“Big Six” energy suppliers in the UK. There have been some growing concerns over price hikes. Some feel that these price hikes may be unnecessary. 

Currently, Ofgem is looking into how energy companies calculate their profits. Some think that the energy companies may be manipulating their profits to justify their price hikes.

25/08/11 - electric.co.uk 

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Cheaper version of iPhone 4 imminent

Apple is poised to release a cheaper version of its iPhone 4, which insiders believe will hit shelves at the same time as the iPhone 5.

Sources described as being 'familiar with the matter' told Reuters that suppliers in Asia had begun working on an iPhone 4 with a smaller 8GB flash drive.

It's hoped the cheaper device will help Apple compete with the likes of Nokia in China and similar emerging markets, where residents have much lower amounts of disposable income.

Pat Becker, portfolio manager at Becker Capital Management, said currently the Finnish manufacturer captures the lower end of the smartphone market – a segment which Apple hopes to access.

A cheaper version of the iPhone 4 has been rumoured to be on the cards since the device was first released in April.

Yuanta Securities analyst Bonnie Chang added: 'Apple may want to push into the emerging market segment, where customers want to switch to low- to mid-end smartphones from high-end feature phones.

'But I think for an 8-GB iPhone 4, the price is hard to go below $200 (£121), so Apple will still need a completely new phone with low specifications for the emerging markets.'

Speculation about when the iPhone 5 will be released is rife. A number of reports have suggested Apple is primed for a September launch date, however, 

9 To 5 Mac and TiPb have both independently claimed recently that October 7th is being considered by the tech giant.  

24/08/11 - Metro.co.uk 

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British Gas to suspend doorstep sales

British Gas has said it will end doorstep selling for three months, claiming the format is "outdated".

The company follows Scottish and Southern Energy in stopping the selling style, which was recently criticised by an influential committee of MPs.

The 400 agents employed by British Gas should continue to be employed in advisory roles, a spokesman said.

Watchdog Consumer Focus said many consumers switched to a worse deal after doorstep sales.

Changes

British Gas said that doorstep selling, in its current form, was an increasingly outdated way for energy companies to find new customers.

Those customers, the company said, no longer regarded it as a "preferred or trusted" way to consider their energy arrangements.

MPs were recently told that up to 40% of those who switched suppliers on the doorstep did not end up with a better deal, and that vulnerable customers were particularly targeted.

One firm stated that more than 70% of pre-payment customers who had recently switched to it had been won on the doorstep.

But British Gas said that it had reduced the number of sales agents from 1,300 in 2006 to 400 now.

"Doorstep selling, in its current form, is no longer a sustainable way to engage or build a relationship with customers," said Ian Peters of British Gas.

"We want the energy advice we give our customers to be trusted and delivered at a time and place that is convenient to them."

Richard Lloyd, executive director of the consumers' association Which?, said: 

"This will count for little if it is just a temporary suspension or if suppliers simply switch to other forms of cold calling for the hard sell.

"Energy companies must now focus on making it easy for everyone to get access to the best domestic deals, which is more important than ever at a time when people's personal finances are under so much pressure.

"They should make a start with the millions of people in the UK who have never used the internet and so miss out on the cheapest rates."

Prices

Consumer Focus has been campaigning for a ban on cold-calling by energy salesmen and recently called for suppliers to suspend doorstep selling and move to prearranged appointments instead.

"We know people strongly dislike doorstep sales, feel pressured to switch at the door and that energy firms do not offer their best rates face-to-face," said Adam Scorer of Consumer Focus.

It called on the other energy companies to follow the actions of SSE and British Gas and announce a three-month moratorium on cold-calling.

It wants the companies to inform customers of cheaper deals on offer, possibly on the internet, and outline independent advice that is available.

British Gas owner Centrica recently reported operating profits of £1.3bn in the six months to 30 June, down 19% on the same period last year.

It will increase its gas bills for domestic customers by an average of 18% and electricity bills by an average of 16% on 18 August.

12/08/11 - BBC.co.uk

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UK, German Android-ers can buy apps on phone bills

Vodafone will be the first operator in Europe to add the cost of apps to the phone bill, signing up with Google Marketplace to offer the service in the UK and Germany.

Vodafone customers with Android handsets will be able to have the cost of applications added to their bill, or deducted from their prepaid balance, with the intention of selling stuff to those without credit cards as well as increasing the barriers to entry for Marketplace competitors.

Vodafone started offering its own channel in the Android Marketplace last month, recommending the operator's top 25 Android applications. That runs alongside the Vodafone Shop, an online portal which is just about all that remains of the much-hyped "Vodafone 360" offering.

The billing relationship an operator has with its customers is still valuable, even if it's not as valuable as Vodaphone's CEO thought it was in 2007. Operator billing not only allows customers without credit cards to buy applications, and make purchases within applications, but it also discourages customers with credit cards from handing the details to Google and thus maintains the operator relationship.

For Google, operator billing encourages use of the platform, while making alternatives such as SlideMe or Amazon's app store more complicated to use.

The complexity is in the prepaid market, where credit has to be reserved during download, then deducted after installation. That complexity has discouraged operator billing in markets where credit card ownership is near universal, but now that Vodafone has started it seems likely the other operators will follow.

22/08/11 - theregister.co.uk

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EDF energy customers overcharged owing to system error

Some 100,000 EDF Energy customers have been overcharged owing to a seven-year fault on the company's automated telephone meter reading system.

The system charged customers for energy used before price rises at the new, higher rate, the company confirmed.

This led to £200,000 of overcharging, including one customer who was told to pay more than £500 more than they should.

EDF said that customers affected would be reimbursed, including interest.

Apology

The problems occurred at times when EDF changed its prices between October 2003 and May 2010.

Customers who received an estimated bill and then rang the automated system with the correct reading had all their additional units for the billing period charged at the new tariff rate.

This led to some customers being undercharged, although they will not be pursued for payment.

However, 100,000 people were overcharged, the company confirmed, although EDF said that the vast majority only involved amounts of less than £5.

It will automatically credit the accounts with any existing customers who were overcharged, with interest, by 30 September. For those who are no longer customers with EDF, the company will write to them, at the address it still holds, with details on how to claim.

"We would like to apologise to those customers impacted by this issue and reassure them that as soon as it was identified, corrective action was taken," a spokesman said.

'No excuse'

The company said that customers who spoke to an adviser to give a correct meter reading would not have been affected, and the error on the automated system had now been fixed.

Adam Scorer, of watchdog Consumer Focus, said there was no excuse for companies to get bills wrong.

"Customers clearly have a right to expect that if they take the time and effort to give a meter reading that their supplier will reflect this in their bill," he said.

"It is welcome that EDF Energy are doing the right thing and will be compensating their customers for the overcharging problems that their automated meter reading caused.

"We know that some customers are concerned about whether firms are charging them incorrectly around energy price changes."

A spokesman for regulator Ofgem, which investigated the incident, said that it did not have powers to fine the company because it did not break a specific condition of its licence.

Instead, it used consumer protection regulations to ensure that customers would be reimbursed for the errors if they had been overcharged.

He said the regulator was seeking an assurance from the other energy suppliers that this mistake had not been repeated elsewhere, although there was no grounds to suspect that it had.

Each energy company has a different automated telephone meter reading system. 

16/08/11 - BBC.co.uk

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Ofgem demands billing explanation from energy suppliers

The regulator Ofgem has asked energy firms to explain how they calculate bills that straddle a price increase.

Ofgem is concerned that some customers may have been overcharged when their bill covers a period before and after the introduction of a higher tariff.

The regulator is worried that firms may sometimes have applied their increased charges to too much of a customer's gas or electricity usage.

News of the enquiry comes on the day that British Gas puts up its prices.

Its average gas tariff is rising by 18% and its electricity prices by 16%. As a result its dual-fuel customers will be charged about £190 more a year.

Ensuring accuracy

The problem of bills being calculated on consumption before and after a tariff increase was highlighted earlier this week.

One of the big-six energy suppliers, EDF, admitted it had overcharged 100,000 customers between October 2003 and May 2010.

When they had rung in with correct meter readings after receiving estimated bills, EDF's automated system had charged all the additional units - if there were any - at its higher tariff rates following a general price rise.

An Ofgem spokesman told the Times newspaper it wanted to be sure customers were being billed properly where there had been a price rise.

"We have written to suppliers yesterday asking each of them to provide details of the approach they take to apportioning price increases and an explanation of the checks they employ to ensure accuracy."

"We also want to understand the way in which estimated and actual bills are reconciled.

"We want suppliers to explain what mechanisms they use when prices are raised to ensure that consumers pay the higher price only for units consumed following the price increase," the spokesman added.

The British Gas tariff increase, announced in July, will affect about nine million households.

Scottish Power has already put up its tariffs, while Scottish & Southern Energy, Npower and E.On are doing so in the coming weeks.

Only EDF of the big-six has so far held off from announcing higher charges.

18/08/11 - BBC.co.uk

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RWE npower hikes gas, power prices by 12.2 percent from Oct 1

British electricity and gas supplier RWE npower will raise retail energy prices by 12.2 percent from October 1, ending a string of price hikes encompassing Britain's six dominant energy companies.

The increase, which applies to dual fuel prices, equates to an increase of 37 pence per day, and is the lowest increase of any other UK supplier, the utility said in a statement.

"With reduced quantities of North Sea gas, we are now forced to buy energy on the volatile global wholesale market. World events have pushed up prices and we believe this trend will continue," Kevin Miles, chief commercial officer at RWE npower, said.

16/08/11 - reuters.com

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Smaller rivals turn up the heat on energy’s ‘Big Six’

“The system is set up to favour the big players. But we still manage to compete on price and customer service.”

It’s a miracle that they do, since life is tough for smaller suppliers of gas and electricity, who jostle for space in about 5pc of the market against the “Big Six” - British Gas, Scottish & Southern (SSE), E.ON, EDF, Scottish Power and npower.

Small players have routinely found it difficult to buy enough energy in advance and struggle with credit.

And many people have never heard of Ovo, Good Energy, Utility Warehouse, Ecotricity and the others. But could this time of rising prices and disillusion with the giants provide an opportunity for small suppliers to shine?

While British Gas, SSE, Scottish Power and E.ON have all said they would lift gas prices by 18pc to 20pc and electricity prices by 10pc to 16pc this summer, many of the smaller suppliers are holding out against rises for as long as possible.

The companies that raised prices have blamed tensions in the Middle East for limiting gas supply and Japan’s earthquake for increasing gas demand.

But those who are not raising bills point out that although wholesale gas and power costs are higher than expected this summer, prices on the spot and forward markets have fallen since June and hit a low for the year last week.

Good Energy, a green supplier, has in the past been at the more expensive end of the market. However, it has not raised its electricity prices for three years and now finds it can boast an average bill cheaper than British Gas’s standard tariff.
Last week, it raised gas prices by just 9.4pc and said electricity would stay the same until at least 2012.

“The smaller players are getting a bit more confident in their ability to buy forward,” says Juliet Davenport, founder of Good Energy.

She also believes the company’s pledge to supply energy from only wind and other renewable sources has helped keep prices stable, since it is not exposed to volatile gas prices in the same way as its competitors.

Politics is also on the side of the minnows. Chris Huhne, the Energy Secretary, has promised to help new entrants challenge the six dominant players and Ofgem is preparing to sweep away hundreds of complex tariffs, allowing consumers to compare rates charged by their supplier more easily.

Consumers frequently complain in surveys that they are bamboozled by the 400 confusing tariffs currently available.

So small suppliers from Ebico to Co-op Energy have taken advantage of this by offering one simple rate that is cheaper than the standard offerings of most of the Big Six.

The smaller companies can rarely claim to be the very cheapest in the market because of cut-price online fixed deals offered by the Big Six, but not widely taken up.

This is because three-quarters of British households are paying the most basic “standard tariffs”, often provided by the incumbent company that used to have a supply monopoly on their area.

Experts point out that this is a way of getting the unengaged, complacent customer to pay the price for more savvy customers, who pose a greater risk of switching to another company.

However, the expensive standard tariffs are not hard to undercut. Co-op Energy, for example, launched in May with a single dual-fuel tariff that is £196 per year cheaper than British Gas’s standard offering, has no penalties for switching supplier and the option of paper bills.

“I think the market has ended up in the position where you have some consumers subsidising others and the majority are losing out against a few people who are very active managers of their bills, always switching,” says Ramsay Dunning, chief executive of Co-op Energy.

“Our customers won’t feel like that’s happening to them because we just have one simple tariff for everyone and we have no immediate plans to increase prices.”

Meanwhile, the most consistently cheap small supplier has been two-year-old Ovo Energy, run by former JP Morgan banker Stephen Fitzpatrick.

Its business model is simple – offering a small number of annual fixed-rate tariffs and increasing prices only for new customers when necessary. It is £168 per year less than British Gas’s standard tariff, making it cheaper even if it had to be cancelled with a £60 charge.

“The increasing trend over the last six to eight months is that the Big Six were really heavily subsidising online tariffs at artificially low prices. With large increases to standard tariffs, it’s more and more difficult for them to justify having the really cheap ones on the market,” he says. 

Convinced that the Big Six are “charging more than they need to”, he is also sceptical about the need for price rises right now.

“Wholesale gas prices for the next 12 months have been unchanged since March,” he says. “We’ve had our price the same since then and we see no reason for it to go up at the moment.”

16/08/11 - Telegraph.co.uk

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Smartphones are 'worse' at making phone calls than older mobiles

People living in rural areas should avoid getting a smartphone if they want the best reception while making calls, according to research.

Older 2G mobile phones are often better for making calls because they allow more internal space for aerials, watchdog Ofcom said.

While newer, 3G smartphones such as Apple's iPhone are far more sophisticated and allows access to high-speed networks, email and the internet, they deliver a poorer performance when starting and completing a call.

Ofcom's report said: 'In the more rural areas that the phones were tested, entry-level phones generally returned somewhat better performance than smartphones for call completion and call set-up.

'This may be due to the reduced complexity of antenna on these devices and 2G phones not having issues in switching between 2G and 3G networks.'

Quality of sound was not found to differ between 2G and 3G devices, the regulator found.
It said: 'Performance differences are likely in practice to be modest, and not necessarily a factor that consumers should base their choice of phone on.'

A recent Ofcom report found that smartphones have turned Britain into a nation of mobile addicts.
The regulator found that 60 per cent of teenagers and more than a third of adults are ‘highly addicted’ to using their mobile phones.
And our addiction is taking its toll on manners - a quarter of adults and a third of teenagers said they used mobiles during meal times.
Around a fifth of teenagers and adults said they use their phones where they have been told not to, such as in libraries.

Even the bathroom and toilet are no longer off limits, with 22 per cent of adults and half the teenagers polled admitting they use their phones there.

Half of those now sold were smartphones, such as iPhones, BlackBerries or Androids.

These devices allow consumers to make calls, text, access their emails and use social networking sites and the internet on the move.

They can also be used to take, store and share pictures and videos and to download music and video clips.

12/08/11 - Dailymail.co.uk

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Samsung narrows the gap with Nokia for mobile phone sales in Q2

Global sales of all mobile devices reached a total of  428.7 million units in q2 2011, a 16.5% increase on the 367.9 million sold in Q2 2010, according the latest figures from analyst Gartner

Nokia remained the number one manufacturer. However, its 22.8% share of the market was down from 30.3% in Q2 2010 and was also lower than its 25.1% share in Q1 2011.

Gartner observed that Nokia’s sales into the channel in Q2 were low, partly due to a very competitive market and partly due to inventory management issues in Europe and China. It worked hard to reduce its stock, especially older products, destocking more than nine million units overall and five million smartphones.

Samsung achieved strong growth with the Galaxy S II doing especially well by chalking up five million sales by the end of July, helping it to become the world’s third largest smartphone vendor. However, its overall share dropped slightly year-on-year to 16.3% (up slightly on Q1 – 16.1%) from 17.8% a year ago.

LG kept hold of its number three position but its market share of 5.7% was down from 8.0% a year ago, although it was slightly up on Q1’s figure of 5.6%.

Despite still relying on the iPhone 4, Apple continued to expand in fourth place to take 4.6% of the market, up from just 2.4% a year ago and up from 3.9% in the previous quarter. Gartner said part of its growth came from the fact that it was signed up with 42 new carriers and 15 new countries. By the end of Q2 sales stood at 19.6 million units.

RIM saw itself leapfrogged by ZTE which moved ahead of it in fifth place with 3% of the global market, up from 1.8% a year ago and up 0.7% on Q1. RIM’s share of the smartphone market declined to 12% in Q2 from 19% a year ago. Gartner attributed its decline to an ageing portfolio and delays in shipping products.

HTC remained steady in seventh place having moved its share up from 1.6% a year ago to 2.6%. Motorola showed signs of clawing back some share in eighth place moving from 2.1% in Q1 to 2.4% in Q2, but still down on its 2.5% share a year ago.

Huawei overtook Sony Ericsson to take ninth place moving from a 1.4% share a year ago to 2.1% in Q2 2011. Sony Ericsson now sits at the bottom of the top 10 with a share of 1.7%, down from 3.0% in Q2 2010.

In terms of operating systems, Android claimed top place with 43.4% of the global market (up from 17.2% a year ago); Symbian clung on to second place with 22.1% hotly pursued by Apple’s iOS with 18.2%. RIM was fourth with 11.7%, followed by Samsung’s Bada OS with 1.9% and Microsoft’s Windows Phone with 1.6%.

11/08/11 - mobiletoday.co.uk

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Facebook pitches mobile messaging app

Social networking giant Facebook has taken the wraps off Facebook Messenger, a dedicated mobile messaging application which will compete with Blackberry Messenger and over the top offerings like WhatsApp, as well as SMS.

The offering was developed in-house by Beluga, which was acquired by Facebook back in March, and integrates with Facebook Messages and the phone address book, giving it something of an edge, although it should be noted that as a standalone app, users will need to download it even if they already have Facebook mobile.

According to Facebook, it has more than 250 million active mobile users, and these users are twice as active as non-mobile users of Facebook. In addition, the company has partnerships with 200 mobile operators in 60 countries
.
Pamela Clark-Dickson, senior analyst for messaging at Informa Telecoms & Media, notes that Facebook Messenger will have the edge over both RIM’s Blackberry Messenger and Apple’s forthcoming iMessage in that it can provide a cross-platform messaging application, specifically for the iPhone and Android mobile operating systems, although not yet on Blackberry, and non-smartphone users can also reply to Facebook messages via text.

“Assuming that Facebook Messenger provides a compelling messaging experience, it has the potential to achieve a greater reach than BBM, WhatsApp, KakaoTalk or the as-yet-unlaunched iMessage,” said Clark-Dickson.

“Facebook Messenger’s integration with the phone address book may also be a key factor in inducing either churn among the existing users of other, similar applications, or in encouraging adoption by new users. However, Facebook Messenger is a separate application, and so it is possible that mobile Facebook users may not see enough additional value in Facebook Messenger that they would download and use it,” she adds.

With regards to Facebook’s mobile operator partners, these will likely also benefit, in that messages will continue to be delivered via texts, so mobile operators will still generate data and SMS traffic, and revenues.
Survey findings published this week by analyst firm CCS Insight highlight a dramatic change in how consumers use their mobile phones, noting that Facebook’s Messages, Chat and Photos are some of the most popular mobile services across Europe, with the social network now one of the top three providers for messaging and in a prime position to be a major destination for watching video clips too.

“Facebook is fast becoming the default destination for all things mobile,” said Paolo Pescatore, director of applications and content, CCS Insight.

11/08/11 - Telecoms.com

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Mobile market surges 65.4 per cent

The worldwide market for mobile phones rose 65.4 per cent year-on-year in the second quarter of 2011, new research has found.

According to the Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker report by the International Data Corporation, 106.5 million units were shipped in the three months to the end of June, up from 64.4 million during the same period a year earlier.

The survey found that Apple is the market leader thanks to the success of its iPhone, with Samsung, Nokia, Research in Motion and HTC the other dominant players.

Ramon Llamas, senior research analyst with IDC's Mobile Phone Technology and Trends team, said that Apple's dominance looks set to continue.

"Demand has been so strong that even models that have been out for one or two years are still being sought out. With an expected refresh later this year, volumes are set to reach higher levels," he added.

Nicholas McQuire, research director at the IDC, told the Financial Times Connected Business podcast recently that smartphones will surpass PCs in the coming years.

10/08/11 - telappliant.co.uk
 
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E:ON becomes latest energy giant to hike prices with an 18% increase on gas

E:ON has become the latest energy company to announce a massive price hike for British customers.

The cost of electricity will rise by 11.4 per cent from September 13 while gas prices will increase by 18.1 per cent.

The company said the move was forced by rising wholesale energy costs.

The energy supplier is the fourth of the ‘big six’ to announce a price rise turning up the heat on 4.4million of its 5million customers by adding £170 to the average E.ON bill.

It last raised prices in February this year by 3.3 per cent for gas and 9.3 per cent for electricity – in total its customers will have seen their bills increase by £232 or 22 per cent this year.
In a bid to pacify some customers E:ON has promised not to increase the price of its Age UK 

Energy tariffs - a social tariff that the supplier is obligated to supply to vulnerable customers - until at least September next year.

Earlier this year energy regulator, Ofgem announced an investigation into the market after finding evidence that there are in fact large differences between what suppliers pay for wholesale energy.
But energy firms continue to raise blaming their own rising costs. They often cite Ofgem figures which show that wholesale prices have gone up by around 30 per cent since last winter.

Graham Bartlett, managing director of E.ON’s energy solutions business, blamed world events for pushing up energy prices.

He said: ‘Uncertain times have had a huge effect on wholesale prices, with events in Japan and Libya all having a dramatic effect on gas and power prices in a relatively short period of time.
Last month, Scottish Power was the first supplier to order an increase, adding 19 per cent to electricity and 10 per cent to gas bills

Next, British Gas announced the biggest increase so far: 18 per cent on gas and 16 per cent on electricity. Then Scottish and Southern Energy followed with an 18 per cent rise for gas and 11 per cent rise for electricity.

Mike O’Connor, chief executive of Consumer Focus, said: ‘Yet another price rise will leave the average energy bill weighing in at £1,250 a year.  Customers need to know whether these increases are warranted.'

'Customers will feel they didn’t get the benefit when wholesale costs were low. Wholesale costs are around a third lower than their 2008 peak yet consumer prices have reached an all-time high.’
‘Ofgem has said it is prepared to refer the energy market to the Competition Commission if necessary. That is welcome but the regulator must be prepared to act if it can’t say for certain whether prices are fair.’

05/08/11 - Dailymail.co.uk

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Which is cheaper, gas or electric central heating?

I am trying to decide between gas or electric central heating – which is the most efficient, and cheapest, option?

A home energy expert, from not-for-profit energy group Ebico, replies: Let’s start with the rough costs – electricity is about three times the price of gas per kWh (using standard rates) so, with an efficient modern condensing boiler, gas is the cheapest fuel to heat our homes today.  

Against this, unless you already have a gas supply, there will be a cost associated with bringing the gas pipe to your home if it is at all possible. 

In addition, installing a boiler and room radiators will cost several thousand pounds (the average charge is in the region of £2,000 - £2,500). You will also be advised to have it checked periodically to ensure it is operating well.

If you go for room electric storage heaters, you will find that purchase and installation costs are much lower and they require very little servicing. Heat is stored in electric storage heaters overnight. 

The main advantage of natural gas systems over electric storage is that of control, as the heat does not have to be stored and emitted. Also the older storage heaters tend to lose their heat later in the day which will require the use of on-peak electric (which is charged at a higher rate than that of standard charge) to top it up.

This is how electric can be much more expensive than natural gas, as gas will remain the same throughout the day.

Alternatively, you may qualify for heating and insulation improvements from the Warm Front scheme. Under this scheme, qualifying households can get improvements worth up to £3,500. However, it is a means tested scheme and requires customers to meet certain criteria.

04/08/11 - Thisismoney.co.uk 

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Eco-friendly company Good Energy freezes electricity prices until 2012

Its electricity tariff has not risen since August 2008 and the move contrasts starkly with double-digit price increases announced by three of the ‘Big Six’ energy firms in recent weeks.

British Gas is increasing electricity bills by 16 per cent on average, while Scottish Power is pushing its prices up by ten per cent and Southern Energy by 11 per cent.

Analysts said the larger suppliers should ‘take note’ because the savings  associated with renewable energy firms would become increasingly attractive to hard-pressed households.

Good Energy serves 26,000 homes and businesses across Britain, using 3,000 renewable generators powered by wind, small-scale hydro and solar power.

While it is not one of the best buys, the company said it was becoming more competitive. Its main electricity tariff now costs only 26p a week more than the British average.

‘As global wholesale prices continue to be blamed for increasing costs, the future is bright for innovative utility companies and their customers,’ said Lisa Greenfield, analyst at Confused.com.

Good Energy said it was able to hold  prices as it had improved its weather forecasting techniques and developed a wind farm in Cornwall.

However, the company is raising gas prices by 9.4 per cent.

03/08/11-Metro

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British Gas ramps up communications to repair brand reputation

British Gas is stepping up its marketing activity in a bid to arrest its haemorrhaging brand reputation after coming under fire from both the energy regulator and consumers in recent weeks.

Ofgem fined British Gas a massive £2.5m last week for the way it had mishandled complaints.

The utilities company also received a backlash from customers after it reported a £1.26bn profit in the six months to June but also announced a double digit percentage hike in the cost of bills.

British Gas' "buzz" - the measure of positive of negative things said about the brand - was at -51.28 yesterday (1 August), down 9.03 points from the previous week, according to YouGov's Brand Index, which scores brands' public perception.

At its highest point this year, the company's buzz was at just -4.3 - still below its rivals - in March.

British Gas' buzz has now dropped to twice as low as rival Scottish Power, which became the first utilities company this year to announce a major bill price rise. Scottish Power's buzz was at -22.68 yesterday, up slightly (0.31) on the previous week.

A spokeswoman for British Gas says the company is "not surprised" events of the past few weeks have dented its brand reputation.

She adds: "We [recognise] that, as a British company serving almost half the homes in Britain, we have a responsibility and an opportunity to help customers understand the issues around energy now and in the future.

"That's why we're at the forefront of getting energy technologies and efficiency measures into our customers' homes - and we'll continue to deliver communications that help people understand what's on offer, what British Gas can do to help, and how customers can keep control of energy use in their homes and businesses."

When British Gas reported a 24% rise in its full-year profit in February, the company took out full-page press ads across the tabloids and broadsheets in an attempt to reassure its customers that its record profits were "good for Britain."

02/08/11 - Marketingweek.co.uk

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Winter of Vodafone’s discontent: 375k customers lost

Vodafone today revealed its total customer base declined by 375,000 over the past six months, with the besieged mobile telco still struggling to shake off poor customer sentiment stemming from its disastrous series of network outages in late 2010 and earlier this year, and a rash of re-classified customer numbers also taking their toll.

Speaking in a teleconference held today associated with the financial results of its part-owner Hutchison Telecommunications Australia (HTA), Vodafone (VHA) chief executive Nigel Dews said the past six months had been “challenging”.

Most of the decline in customer numbers had come from a sharp drop of 347,000 prepaid customers over the period, he said, with Vodafone’s underlying post-paid (plan) customers remaining unchanged. However, some of the numbers are not directly comparable, as Vodafone changed the way it accounted for certain types of customers in the quarter — for example, prepaid customers — to focus on how many are truly active.

“The net decline in total customer base includes adjustments contributing 110,000 to the overall decline, which were due to reporting improvements. This comprised a 32,000 reduction in the post-paid base and 78,000 reduction in the prepaid base,” said Dews.

The news confirms a report last week by the Financial Review which stated the telco could have lost as many of 378,000 customers in the six months to the end of June. The telco now has about 7.2 million customers in total — with about 61.4 percent of Vodafone’s own customers on post-paid plans (excluding customers of other mobile telcos which resell Vodafone’s services).

The loss in customers also played out in the company’s financial results, with HTA’s 50 percent share of Vodafone’s finances delivering it a loss of $78.2 million in the first half of 2011, compared with a profit of $17.9 million in the same period in 2010. This means Vodafone’s loss as a whole for the period would be expected to be about $156.4 million for the period.

Some of that decline in profitability was driven by a $15.6 million decrease in interest income — but 

Vodafone today acknowledged most of it was due to its network and customer service issues experienced late last year and early this year.

Turning Vodafone around
 
To address its issues, Vodafone has embarked on a series of rolling network improvements, deploying new hardware using the 850MHz spectrum band also used by Telstra, as well as replacing a large number of other sites with new radio equipment from Chinese vendor Huawei.

Today, Dews said more than half of the 3G 850MHz rollout was now complete, with 788 new sites added to Vodafone’s network, and a total of 1,000 new 850MHz sites slated to be built by the end of the year. 815 sites have been upgraded in general on the existing 2G and 3G networks, while a further 515 sites will have been upgraded by the end of the year, and 500 more built.

The Huawei radio replacement has kicked off in Canberra, Perth, Northern NSW and Tasmania, after it was tested in the Newcastle/Hunter and Central Coast regions north of Sydney. The Huawei rollout will be completed during 2012, and there are also other core network and transmission upgraded underway.

The company has also invested heavily in customer service, adding more than 300 customer service staff and introducing 24×7 support, as well as a number of other measures. As a result, complaints to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman had been “trending downward”, Dews said, with total TIO complaints falling 36 percent between the first and second quarters of the year.

The integration of the Vodafone and HTA systems is more than half-way done, following the pair’s merger to form VHA (which primarily trades using the Vodafone brand), and the retail store consolidation is now “largely completed”, according to Dews. The telco is two thirds of the way through its program to refit and upgrade the Vodafone retail stores.

Despite all the improvements, Vodafone still expects to make a loss in its full year results, which will be announced in January 2012. However, it expects to improve its profitability in the second half of this year, and Dews was up-beat about the telco’s outlook when asked about the issue of re-establishing trust.

“I think we’re well on our way to doing that,” he told media and analysts. He noted Vodafone had to respond responsibly to customers, have “no surprises” in its service delivery and “delight” customers with its offerings. “I think we’re well on our way to achieving that,” he said.

 02/08/11 - Delimiter.co.uk

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