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Great, now something may get done about slow and problematical mobile network service.
Trouble is, it’s not our Premier who said it, it’s China’s Premier.
What’s more the Premier’s remarks stung China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom into action – they are now trialling a technology which is 10x faster than 4G. The Chinese call it ‘pre-5G’.
When David Cameron complained about the mobile service in Cornwall recently I don’t recall Vodafone, O2 et al leaping to improve the quality of their networks.
But when the majority of your Cabinet are engineers, and you preside over a communist dictatorship, it’s surprising what a barbed remark can do.
China has 668 million internet users and 700 million non-users, according to the China Internet Network Information Centre (CINIC).
But only 186 million people in rural China use the internet.
In 2012, the number of urban dwellers passed the number of rural dwellers so there are now some 690 million urban Chinese and some 620 million rural Chinese.
Of the 668 million internet users, 584 million access the internet through smartphones, says CINIC.
So there’s huge potential in the China market, and the tech-savvy Chinese political elite are piling resources into mobile technology realising that it is a catalyst for transforming China’s economy.
This accelerated move to ‘pre-5G’ and then, presumably, to full 5G, could wipe out the West’s mobile industry pretty quickly.
I didn’t know that Mike I thought the pull-out of the NTL/France Telecom bid was the move which ended the bidding process. The market value of all the winning bidders has reduced dramatically since 2000 – and the UK was able to reduce its National Debt by $35bn! GB plucked these guys when they were at their richest. Good timing. Would we have got a decent network if they’d paid less? Don’t bet your mortgage on it – look at the far shittier mobile service in the USA.
I think you’re forgetting the UK Govt ‘persauded’ NTL and France Telecom to remain in the auction despite the price going well past their own valuations early on. If they had pulled out at that time the companies who needed the licences would have paid a reasonable price for them.
The companies were so stupid Mike, victims of hubris – they thought they could do no wrong. And, as you say, the money they paid crippled them for years to come. But all GB did was prepare the noose. The companies stuck their silly necks in it.
I think that’s only fair if you also do the same to the person who ripped off these companies for their 3G licences which they are still trying to pay back.
Yes SEPAM, clearly an example has to be made. The CEO of Vodafone must be paraded round the Wembley pitch with a placard round his neck saying: “I am responsible for shitty signals” and then shot in the back of the head. Then we’ll all have 4G in a matter of weeks.
Well, the Chinese authorities have some rather drastic means for persuasion at their disposal so the telecom heads knows that if they want to keep their heads on their shoulders they’d better comply. Much as the PM would like I doubt he can do the same.
Supposedly Mussolini took the same approach to train staff that were delayed though recently I hear it was just a myth. I am sure he wasn’t equally restrained by law so I still wonder what happened really.
It’s 020 7925 0918, 5c0tt, kick his ass.
Happy to help out, now where did I put Dave’s landline number. …?
Crikey. Shows we need an engineer or maybe half a dozen engineers in the Cabinet
And El Camerooni was complaining about 2G !!