Is it time to subscribe to a printer service from HP?

Ever since my dad brought home an...

What’s the best way of buying a phone today?

How did you buy your latest phone?...

MWC: What device highlights did you miss?

So, early last week I predicted that...

Another mobile operator in the UK?

A company called Mapesbury Communications Ltd has announced that it has signed a deal with Spectrum Interactive (UK) for the rights to broadcast a GSM service from payphone kiosks.

It says that this will be the start of a new mobile phone service called UK01. According to Magnus Kelly, the CEO of Mapesbury, the agreement is, “an important milestone as it accelerates our ability to launch the UK’s 6th mobile phone network.”

Can this really be the 6th mobile operator? Does having the ability to send out a signal from ‘hundreds’ of phone boxes really mean we can start talking about a national operator?

If you sign up with UK01 they will send you a new SIM card, which once inserted into your phone, and once you are close to a UK01 location, allows you to make calls. There’s not a lot of information on the website, but the advantages of signing up with UK01, are described as:

“When you begin using the UK01 service not only will you be able to make fantastic savings on the calls you make, you will also receive your very own UK01 phone number.”

However, I did notice one very big disadvantage too – “When you leave the UK01 location simply change SIM cards.”

This means no roaming between networks as yet and, from what we can see, a very small network to use. Anyone else want to join me hanging around phone boxes to get cheaper calls?

15 COMMENTS

  1. Anyone else fancy a spot of Rabbit hunting?

    They can't even afford to pay for stock images: http://www.uk01.mobi/images/1925940_celltower.jpg

    And “UK01 local mobile phone service is available in a growing number of locations, look for on site UK01 branding and introduction material.

    UK01 services are also available from any telephone even when outside UK01 coverage areas and offers excellent value with full messaging support for both voice and SMS.”

    So where can I buy one today, now? “Is Available” means what? It actually *Is Available* now, or in 12 months? or is this just another super example of the mobile industry taking words like Free, Unlimited, Open etc and applying their own definitions? Except UK01 have now redefined present & future.

    Oh, and here's a link to the veritable plethora of people clamouring to deal with the parent company.

    {tumbleweed} was never more appropriate.

    'nuff said.

    Next.

  2. This is fascinating… you have to wonder whether Mapesbury have some secret agenda in bringing this to market. If it were April 1st then I'd be convinced.

    Ignoring all the fucked-company signs from the outset (.mobi, the stock photo thing, missing pages, typo'd html, EMEI when they mean IMEI, etc etc etc) the service is clearly rubbish. Presumably with the hope to eventually be able to offer “poor” coverage (rather than none at all), from base stations located on an already diminishing number of vandalism-prone phone boxes. Then you've either got to muck about changing SIMs, or, if you don't want to do that you can instead mess around with the settings on the handset, which amounts to much the same thing; ignoring the fact that they presumably have NO WAY WHATSOEVER to authenticate the handset.

    Sure changing the IMEI of a handset is illegal; but it's also technically trivial.

    Who would fund such a thing?

  3. “Anyone else want to join me hanging around phone boxes to get cheaper calls?”

    Sorry, restraining orders and all that – stupid legal system.

    🙂

    M

  4. “Anyone else want to join me hanging around phone boxes to get cheaper calls?”

    Sorry, restraining orders and all that – stupid legal system.

    🙂

    M

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Recently Published

Is it time to subscribe to a printer service from HP?

Ever since my dad brought home an HP LaserJet printer (version 3, if memory serves), I have been printing with an HP. Over the...

What’s the best way of buying a phone today?

How did you buy your latest phone? I'm asking because I'm thinking about what I should be doing. When I was living in Oman, I...

MWC: What device highlights did you miss?

So, early last week I predicted that next to nothing from Mobile World Congress would break through into the mainstream media. I was right,...

How Wireless Will Pave the Path to Neobank Profitability

I'm delighted to bring you an opinion piece from Rafa Plantier at Gigs.com. I think it's particularly relevant given the recent eSIM news from...

An end of an era: Vodafone UK turns off 3G services

I thought it was worthwhile highlighting this one from the Vodafone UK team. For so long - for what feels like years, seeing the...

Mobile World Congress: Did the mainstream media notice?

I resolved this year to make sure I wrote something - anything - about Mobile World Congress, the huge mobile industry trade show taking...