Yahoo Chief Executive Fired Over the Phone

Carol Bartz, the Chief Executive of Yahoo has been fired after two-and-a-half years in the top position. 

Ms. Bartz was hired to run Yahoo in early 2009, taking over from co-founder Jerry Yang.  To make her mark she made significant changes to the management team and cut jobs to save on costs. She also shifted the focus of the traditionally search-oriented firm towards more personalised content. 

However, in 2011, Yahoo is still struggling to increase its market share, as it faces increased competition from rivals such as Google and Facebook.  Without the internet company making significant strides in search or social networking, two of the most lucrative segments of the market, they are still a long way behind their rivals. 

Carol Bartz leadership came to an abrupt end as the Chairman of the board ended her term over the phone with immediate effect.  Larry Magid, a technology analyst at C-net, justified the move stating that the company has not seen enough of a turnaround under Ms. Bartz's leadership.

Tim Morse, Yahoo's chief financial officer, will take over from Ms Bartz. Yahoo shares jumped more than 6% in after-hours trading after news of the firing broke, indicating they would trade higher when Wall Street opened for business on Wednesday.

The Revolution of Mobile Broadband Rumbles On

Nearly half of the countries internet users are now accessing the web via mobile connections according the Office for National Statistics.

In 2010 only 31% of people surveyed were using their mobile devices to access the internet, that figure is now up to 45%.  The most significant increase affected 16 to 24-year-olds who use mobiles. 

The popularity of 3G broadband did not necessarily mean that more people were going online overall.  Most interestingly, the ONS survey also found a dramatic rise in the use of wifi hotspots - a seven-fold increase since 2011 - suggesting that the rise of 3G has done little to slow demand for free and paid-for wireless access.

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Three Mobile, The Robin Hood of Rural Broadband?

The cynics among us may say that it is a shameless attempt to lobby Westminster for the valuable wireless spectrum.  However, but Mobile operators, Three, claim that their 3G giveaway is for the greater good of rural broadband. 

Three are giving away 3G broadband to rural areas struggling to get fixed line services.  First to benefit will be residents of Gringley-on-the-Hill in North Nottinghamshire who will receive 30 dongles and free data access for a year.  It will also get public WIFI hotspots in the local pub and community centre.  They hope to roll similar packages out to 10 communities across the country in the next twelve months.

In their commitment to isolated communities, Three has formed a working group with the Countryside Alliance and Race Online, the government-backed group that is trying to get more people using the net.

The company has made no secret of their desire to purchase the lower-frequency spectrum which can cover a much wider area and offers better indoor coverage than their current high-frequency spectrum.    

Jeremy Green, analyst with research firm Ovum, remains skeptical of Three’s true motivation. "It is not as if Three is concerned about lack of access. It wants to show off how good its network is and lobby for more spectrum."

What do you think?  Does Three’s motivation truly matter if the digital divide becomes less significant?

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3G Switchover May Cause Unfair Advantage

After a long period of deliberation Ofcom has finally given the go-ahead for mobile operators to use their 2G spectrum for 3G mobile broadband.

The result will help mobile operators to "increase mobile broadband speeds" as well as offer more mobile broadband coverage in rural areas, meaning that consumers will receive a better service. 

Currently the 2G spectrum is used for making phone calls and sending texts, but this decision could ease some of the pressure on current 3G services.  They are feeling the strain due to the massive increase in the use of smart phones and mobile internet.

However, not all UK mobile phone operators were happy with the decision; Kevin Russell, chief executive of Three UK said the decision would give "unfair competitive advantage" to the operators that hold 2G licences.

Ofcom’s verdict comes ahead of the Digital Dividend auction planned before 2012, in which we will see the government sell off frequencies for next-generation mobile services, which will offer speeds faster than today's 3G networks.

It was the issue of “competition” that delayed Ofcom’s decision for so long.  Mr. Russell called on Ofcom to ensure the 2012 auction would create a market where all operators could compete on a level playing field.

Blackberry Playbook verses the Apple iPad

The latest player in a highly competitive computer tablet market is the Blackberry Playbook, and is set to be a long-awaited rival the Apple iPad.



It is one of the first business-centric devices in the tablet market with Bluetooth and wi-fi included; BlackBerry users can also tether their phone for a 3G connection, making internet on the move easy. RIM is pushing the angle that it will be ideal for enterprise and business and that security will be at the heart of everything it does. However, they have also made it very clear that it will appeal to the everyday user aswell.


A full list of specs is yet to be published but it features a 7-inch screen, two video cameras and will not use Blackberry's latest operating system, instead relying on that of QNX; a company RIM recently acquired.
The Playbook was unveiled after much anticipation at the Blackberry developer conference in San Francisco. It is set for release in early 2011, and whilst they have been reluctant to comment on the comparisons made with the iPad, it is creating a real buzz in the tablet market.

In 2008 pricing for mobile broadband was slashed, and since then the market has expanded from purely business to individual consumers. Sales have soared so much, that according to the experts, mobile broadband is set to overtake its fixed line cousin by the end of this year.



There has been speculation that the popularity of mobile broadband could lead to customers ditching their home broadband lines completely, in favour of a mobile wireless broadband connection instead. However, we think that there is a long way to go before mobile broadband becomes the first choice for connecting to the web and here’s why:

Reliability: The networks are still not very reliable


Backhaul: The network backhaul is not good enough. Operators have been too cautious to upgrade their backhaul as it costs good money.


Suitability: Mobile Web will never be stable enough for large and medium business and it does not cater for heavy data use.


Mobile Broadband does however, offer great freedom as you can get online with average advertised speeds of up to 3.2Mb no matter where you are. It is also very easy to use, with devices that you can simply “plug and play” and finally with pricing now on a par with some fixed line deals, it is certainly cost effective.


However, one thing to watch out for is the download limits. If you exceed your limits which are usually much lower than fixed line services, you will have to pay for the excess.


We may still have a while to go in becoming entirely mobile but the shift in trends is as significant as the one we saw in the mid nineties, when consumers began to choose mobile phones over land lines. So watch this space.