Wireless Federation

The Top Gear juggernaut rolls on. Once a humble but controversial BBC autos review show, BBC Worldwide is now cashing in on accidental US popularity with Australian and American spinoffs, bigger billing on BBC America and making topgear.com top amongst its new ” passion sites”.

Next is a mobile phone game, the broadcaster has announced. Players will get to race a lap on a virtual version of the test track driven weekly on TV by The Stig, with lap times logged like on the show and a range of stunts available (this is the show that played soccer on ice using Suzukis, for the uninitiated). Though the game is commissioned from Gameloft by the BBC’s overseas and profit-making wing BBC Worldwide, it will be available only in the UK.

Wireless Mobile Telecom Wireless News

 

 

 

Internet charges to be folded into monthly price plans; fair usage policy applies.
Vodafone Thursday announced it is to begin bundling unlimited Internet access with its existing monthly tariffs in a bid to reduce the confusion over mobile data charging.

Until now Vodafone’s contract customers paid an additional fee of £7.50 for Internet access, but now it will be included as part of its existing price plans, which start at £25.

“Customers who select a £40 or higher price plan will also for the first time have the choice of unlimited texts, unlimited landline calls or unlimited Vodafone to Vodafone calls,” said the operator.

Vodafone said a fair usage policy of 500 megabytes per month applies, but pointed out that browsing 50 Web pages would only use on average approximately 1 megabyte.

According to the operator, streaming three 90 second video clips from YouTube would be equivalent to 4.5 megabytes.

Confusion over data pricing in the U.K. market has long been seen as a key barrier to the uptake of mobile Internet services.

Still, all of the country’s major mobile network operators (MNOs) have been working to clear up the confusion by launching their respective flat-rate data tariffs.

In the same announcement, Vodafone said the top five most viewed sites on its mobile Internet service are Facebook, Google, BBC, MSN and Bebo.

“Favourites for customers include quick access to Facebook, MySpace or Bebo to share pictures and news, YouTube to check out videos on the move, and fast connections to eBay to make that last minute bid,” said Vodafone.

Meanwhile comparison site Broadband Expert this week revealed that mobile broadband access speeds experienced by consumers are still slower than those advertised by operators.

Download speeds ranged from 2.3 Mbps on Vodafone to 1.1 Mbps on T-Mobile, and 1 Mbps for 3UK customers, said Broadband Expert in a statement.

“Vodafone clocked by far the fastest download speeds, though advertising for their latest offering promises much faster speeds of up to 7.2 Mbps,” the firm said.

Wireless Mobile Telecom Wireless News
 

The BBC will launch a beta version of its on-demand TV service, iPlayer on 27 July. The online platform, available only to UK licence fee payers, will offer programmes from BBC TV channels to watch on the PC. Programmes will be available for up to a week after broadcast, without advertising; once a user downloads a programme, they have 30 days to watch it. After viewing, the file deletes itself from the computer. Later this year, iPlayer will become widely accessible across bbc.co.uk, as well as via links from YouTube. The BBC is also in talks with a wide range of potential distribution partners, including MSN, telegraph.co.uk, AOL, Tiscali, Yahoo!, MySpace, Blinkx and Bebo, and a launch with cable operator Virgin Media is planned for later this year. The BBC hopes to expand iPlayer to other TV platforms and eventually handheld devices like mobile phones. A full marketing launch for iPlayer is planned for the autumn. The iPlayer was developed by the BBC’s Future Media & Technology division in partnership with Siemens and Red Bee Media.

Wireless Mobile Telecom Wireless News

UK mobile operator Orange announced Thursday that the BBC will start providing content for its mobile TV service, Orange TV, beginning April.

The company said its customers will be able to watch part of the BBC’s portfolio, including BBC One, BBC Three and BBC News 24 on their mobiles. The move is part of a trial the BBC is undertaking into syndicating its content to mobile TV providers.

All BBC content will be streamed live over Orange’s 3G network, the company said in a statement.

Subscribers to the Orange TV service will also be able to listen to up to eight radio stations including Radio 1, 1Xtra, Radio 2, Radio 3, Radio 4, 6 Music, BBC 7 and Asian Network. Orange said the content will be ’simulcast’ to mobiles, so programs will appear as they do on TV or radio, in real time.

Deborah Tonroe, head of TV & Video at Orange said: “We are always looking to keep Orange TV vibrant, exciting and relevant and we are delighted to be working with the BBC to deliver the best sport, entertainment, drama and news available on mobile TV.”

Richard Halton, Controller of Business Strategy, BBC said “The mobile platform is a great opportunity for us to reach existing users in a new way and connect better with people who are not currently big users of the BBC.

“The BBC believes that mobile content is an important part of the broadcasting landscape and is looking at ways in which mobile devices will shape services of the future for licence fee payers. To this end, the BBC will be undertaking extensive and unique research into consumer behaviour and experience throughout the 3G mobile syndication trial. There’s been relatively little consumer research done into this area, and it will provide us with a detailed insight into consumer behaviour.”

Mediatrust writes….Media Trust has extended its services with the launch of a unique Youth Mentoring initiative, funded by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport(DCMS). The Youth Mentoring initiative, launched on 28th February, is the first of its kind in England and will bring together media professionals and young people aged 14-25 at risk of anti-social behaviour to work together on specific projects.

Tessa Jowell, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, Andy Duncan, Chairman of Media Trust and Chief Executive of Channel 4 and Robert Thomson, Editor of The Times launched the initiative at ITV. High profile media companies including BSkyB, ITV, BBC, Emap, Channel 4, Turner, Disney Channel UK, Warner Brothers, IPC Media, AOL and The Times have already joined up to the scheme, pledging to promote it among their staff and drive mentor sign-ups.

Organisations working with young people at risk are naturally placed to act as the gateway reaching this group and spreading the word about the Youth Mentoring opportunity. Barnardo’s, Foyer, The Prince’s Trust, YMCA England, Crime Concern, YCTV, Fairbridge, Dalston Youth Project, Live Magazine and UK Youth are among those already committed to the scheme.

The unique initiative will give young people access to a role model who will be able to offer a range of support including personal advice, encouragement, industry insights and guidance on specific projects. The vision of the initiative is to develop the skills and employability of young people and give them the chance to change their lives in a positive way.

Unlike many other mentoring schemes, Youth Mentoring will offer a “pick ‘n’ mix� range of programmes for mentors to choose from, including one to one and group mentoring with the option of a short or long term commitment. Youth Mentoring is open to anyone in the media industry, regardless of company, job title or department. All mentors will receive training before embarking on the programme.

Andy Duncan, Chairman of Media Trust said, “Media Trust’s Youth Mentoring is a fantastic way for the media industry to reach out to young people and ultimately help them to change the direction of their lives. I personally will be encouraging staff at Channel 4 to dedicate some time to this initiative, which will be enormously rewarding for both the mentor and the mentee.�

Robert Thomson, Editor, The Times said, “The Times is proud to be associated with Media Trust’s Youth Mentoring initiative. Those of us who are privileged to work in the media industry know that it is a creative, intelligent industry that has the ability to inspire and educate. We should seize this opportunity to work with young people to help them make informed decisions about their choice of career and to encourage people to find out more about what our industry has to offer.�

The initiative, funded by the DCMS, is part of the Government’s Respect Action Plan, aimed at tackling anti-social behaviour and creating a modern culture of respect. Youth Mentoring will initially concentrate on 14 key areas in England.

Tessa Jowell, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport said, “This initiative will allow professionals across the whole media landscape to demonstrate how much this industry has to offer. But more than that, the mentors will be helping young people to find a new passion, something that will rekindle their sense of self confidence and self worth. And with the right support some of these young people will end up being the journalists, broadcasters and technicians of tomorrow.�

Youth Mentoring will sit alongside Media Trust’s existing services, including Media Matching, where media professionals are matched with charities to provide pro-bono or low-cost communications support. The launch of Youth Mentoring coincided with an event to thank Media Trust’s bank of media volunteers.

Wireless Mobile Telecom Wireless News

FierceMobileContent writes…The British Broadcasting Corporation announced plans to trial mobile TV services in partnership with U.K. operators Orange, Vodafone and 3. The trial begins in April and will include the Beeb’s flagship channels BBC One, BBC News 24 and BBC Three; eight radio stations are also included in the service. “By making a range of television channels and radio networks available to 3G mobile phone subscribers, we hope to test not only the effectiveness of 3G as a means of distribution, but also how audiences respond to the BBC’s linear services on their mobiles,” said BBC director of future media and technology Ashley Highfield in a prepared statement. “The findings, combined with quantitative and qualitative consumer research, will inform the BBC’s future mobile strategy.”

Wireless Mobile Telecom