back to article Brit mobile firms in FOURPLAY TUSSLE – how very French of them

About 10 years ago, Faultline wrote a report on the economics of quad play. We hardly sold any (about 20), and the reason was, one of our resellers told us, was that “quad play” was old hat. The truth is that quad play is very much “new hat” and this report was perhaps a decade ahead of its time. People made the mistake of …

  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Oh good...

    Given how difficult it is to find a mobile service with the coverage I want, a fibre broadband service with the speed/reliability/data limits I need, or a TV service with the channels I want, then the chances of finding a decent "quad play" bundle from what will be a handful of providers seem slim to none.

  2. Charlie Clark Silver badge
    FAIL

    About 10 years ago, Faultline wrote a report on the economics of quad play. We hardly sold any

    Given the quality of the research – mainly PR for one company or another – is that any surprise.

    Convergence has a been an on-off buzzword for the telecommunications industry since the late 1990s. In the battle for Mannesmman it was was key concept: Mannesmann favoured convergence; Vodafone said the future would be mobile only.

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    MVNO

    what is it?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: MVNO

      Most Vile Network Operator (s)

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: MVNO

        Most Vile Network Operator (s)

        Try this one

        YAFI

    2. Steve Davies 3 Silver badge

      Re: MVNO

      Manager Virtual Network Operator

      or something like that

      Tesco Mobile is an MNVO in that it uses someones elses physical network.

      1. Phil O'Sophical Silver badge

        Re: MVNO

        Lots of people seem to be building offerings which rely on using "someone else's" network. Reminds me of the early days of the web when everyone expected their new service to be advertising-funded, only to find that there wasn't enough funding to go round.

        What happens when all but one supplier is an MVNO, and the real network they all use goes TITSUP?

        I suspect we'l get a foretaste this winter from the power companies, when they discover that assuming you can make up a domestic shortfall by buying electricity from a neighbouring country doesn't work when everyone wants to do it at the same time...

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: MVNO

        Hi

        thanks for the info

  4. captain veg Silver badge

    Free facts

    "Iliad’s Free offering cellular add-on purchases to customers for ridiculous prices, with deals going down to €2-a-month for cellular"

    Nope. That's the price for the basic cellular package as a standalone product. If you are an ADSL/fibre subscriber, it is free gratis. The Free/Iliad model is to keep adding new services while keeping the price the same, rather than entering a price war.

    "The device uses 802.11N WiFi, so it could follow down the precise same route as Free, offering Wi-Fi First handsets"

    Again this strange assertion. I'm a customer, so I should know -- there is no WiFi access to the Free Mobile network. And they don't "offer" handsets at all. They will sell you one, if you like, but at retail price, and they are just bog standard unlocked devices.

    -A.

    1. John Hughes

      Re: Free facts

      Free did try selling people Wifi/SIP handsets before they bought their 3G/4G license.

      Look up Freephonie.

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