United Kingdom (UK) , Apart from this land border, the UK is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel and the Irish Sea. The largest island, Great Britain, is linked to France by the Channel Tunnel.
The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy and unitary state consisting of four countries: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. It is governed by a parliamentary system with its seat of government in London, the capital, but with three devolved national administrations in Belfast, Cardiff and Edinburgh, the capitals of Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland respectively. The Channel Island bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey, and the Isle of Man are Crown Dependencies and not part of the UK. The UK has fourteen overseas territories, all remnants of the British Empire, which at its height in 1922 encompassed almost a quarter of the world's land surface, the largest empire in history. British influence can continue to be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former colonies.
The UK is a developed country, with the world's sixth largest economy by nominal GDP and the seventh largest by purchasing power parity. It was the world's first industrialised country and the world's foremost power during the 19th and early 20th centuries, but the economic cost of two world wars and the decline of its empire in the latter half of the 20th century diminished its leading role in global affairs. The UK nevertheless remains a major power with strong economic, cultural, military, scientific and political influence. It is a nuclear power and has the fourth highest defence spending in the world. It is a Member State of the European Union, holds a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council, and is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, G8, OECD, NATO, and the World Trade Organization.. |
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United Kingdom Cellular Service and Coverage
If you are planning on going to the UK and need to stay in contact with home or your office, there are several cellular solutions available. You can rent a cell phone through a cell phone rental agency. Generally speaking, they will rent you the handset and then bill you for per minute usage fees. There are usually minimum daily fees that cell phone rental companies charge.
Another popular solution is to roam with your current cell phone provider, provided you have one. They will need to rent or sell you a handset that is compatible for overseas use in the likely possibility that your current phone is incompatible.
While both of these solutions work, not only are they expensive but you will inevitably come back home to an unexpectedly high cellular bill as it is difficult to monitor usage. By far, the least expensive method of obtaining cellular service for use in the UK is to go to the source and use a UK cellphone company. In the United Kingdom, as well as in most other countries in the world, cell phone users can purchase prepaid SIM cards.
A SIM card is a chip that contains such information as your phone number, call log, your address book and also, your call credit. SIM cards contain call credit that is easily "rechargeable." You can purchase recharge vouchers at convenience stores and gas stations and by revealing and then punching in a code, will give you additional call credit. Local UK rates, depending on the provider, are extremely convenient and many fractions less than the above "traditional" cellular service methods. At the time of this writing, to call the US is as little as 8 US cents per minute. With a prepaid SIM card, incoming calls are free. That means that you can make a call to the US or anywhere else in the world, have the caller call you back, and not incur any charges whatsoever for the incoming call. Are so-called conventional cell phone communication options for the United Kingdom obsolete? It would appear so.
With a UK rental package from Cellular Abroad, you'll get your choice of standard or deluxe rental phone plus a local UK prepaid SIM card. Frequent travelers or those going on an extended trip might want to consider a UK package, consisting of an unlocked tri-band GSM cell phone bundled with a UK SIM card. If you already have an unlocked GSM phone (with at least an 1800 MHz band), you'll simply need to purchase a UK SIM card, pop it in your phone, and you'll have a UK phone! Group rentals or group purchases for UK travelers are also available at significant discounts. Finally, a multi-country solution, known as the Talk AbroadT is a popular alternative for those traveling to multiple countries.
With all of these options, you'll enjoy excellent rates and have your UK phone number available to give out to friends, family and business colleagues before you travel.
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UK Internet and Mobile Internet Demographics
Inspite of the huge adoption of mobile internet among British internet users, the growth rate of internet has still surpassed WAP.
Internet:
Grew 11 percent from last year
70% of the population (35 million users) now use Internet
Male : Female ratio is 52:48
Mobile Internet:
Grew 9 percent from last year
25% of the population (12.9 million people) now use Internet on mobile
Male : Female ratio is 59:41.
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How Many SMS Sent Per Month in UK
6.5 Billion text messages are exchanged across UK every month. This is 60 million messages a DAY more than the figures last year. On a daily basis,
Number of Text messages sent : 217 Million
Number of Picture/Video messages sent : 1.5 million.
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Growth of MMS in Western Europe
Multimedia messaging is getting popular, slowly but steadily all over the world. Here is the percent increase in the number of mobile phone subscribers in EU-5 who have adopted to the MMS culture:
France : 15.2%
UK : 10.8%
Germany : 8.1%
Spain : 7.8%
Italy : 5%
Cumulative : 9.2%
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UK Cell Phone Rental
UK cell phone rental is becoming a popular option for travelers planning a trip to the United Kingdom. Since many cell phones from the U.S. or other companies may not work in the UK or will carry hefty roaming charges, UK cell phone rental is increasingly an appealing alternative. In the past many travelers have relied on calling cards to make their calls around town when traveling and back home, but of course calling cards still require travelers to find a phone. With cell phone rental in UK travelers have the convenience of communication at their fingertips, often for a fee that is much lower then other calling options.
UK cell phone rental is available through most main cell phone companies in the U.S. and in the United Kingdom. With the advent of the worldwide GSM system (Global System for Mobile), a dominant international broadcasting signal, travelers are now able to take advantage of the globalization of cell phone companies. No matter which company you choose for your cell phone rental in UK, you"ll be required to either rent or purchase a phone that operates on the GSM system.
Depending on the length of your trip, it may be less expensive to purchase a GSM phone rather then renting. Once the GSM phone is purchased, you can use it again on future trips or lend it to friends who might also need a travel phone. Renting is a good idea for anyone who is planning a shorter trip and doesn"t plan to use the phone extensively. Cell phone rental in UK will usually require the purchase of a SIM card. A SIM card stores phone numbers and performs other tasks; in general, the SIM card is considered to be the ?brain? of the cell phone.
Rates for actual usage of cell phone rental UK will vary. Some companies charge on a weekly basis and usually you will receive unlimited minutes for this rate. If you rent a phone, there are also different prices for the quality of the phone you rent. Everything from a basic, no frills phone to a phone with all the bells and whistles can be obtained through most companies.
Some companies charge for cell phone rental UK based on talk-time. Rather then paying a weekly or monthly rate, these companies will generally offer a rate-per-minute and send you a bill later. While these plans can offer a great value and are especially popular among travelers who don"t plan to use their cell phone rental UK all that much, be sure you fully understand your per-minute rate. Some companies will offer a lower rate for the first few minutes, and then spike the price once you have capped out those initial minutes.
Whether your travel plans to the United Kingdom involve stops in London, Scotland, or Wales, renting a cell phone can be a smart decision. Rather then paying high fees to use a hotel phone, or searching through unfamiliar byways in search of a pay phone, having a cell phone handy can aid greatly in your vacation"s convenience and safety.
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How can Global Accés help you monetize United Kingdom's mobile and phone industry with its PREMIUM SMS BILLING and PHONE BILLING
Short messages may be used to provide premium rate services to subscribers of a telephone network.
Mobile terminated short messages can be used to deliver digital content such as news alerts, financial information, logos and ring tones. The first premium rate media content delivered via the SMS system, was the world's first paid downloadable ringing tones, as commercially launched by Saunalahti (later Jippii Group, now part of Elisa Group) in 1998. Initially in 1998 only Nokia branded phones could accept this type of external music installment. By 2002 the ringing tone business globally had exceeded one billion dollars of service revenues and in 2008 the 'basic ringing tone' industry was worth nearly 5 billion dollars.
The Value-added service provider (VASP) providing the content submits the message to the mobile operator's SMSC(s) using a TCP/IP protocol such as the short message peer-to-peer protocol (SMPP) or the External Machine Interface (EMI). The SMSC delivers the text using the normal Mobile Terminated delivery procedure. The subscribers are charged extra for receiving this premium content, and the amount is typically divided between the mobile network operator and the VASP either through revenue share or a fixed transport fee.
Mobile originated short messages may also be used in a premium-rated manner for services such as televoting. In this case, the VASP providing the service obtains a short code from the telephone network operator, and subscribers send texts to that number. The payouts to the carriers vary by carrier and the percentages paid are greatest on the lowest priced premium SMS services. Most information providers should expect to pay about 45% of the cost of the premium SMS up front to the carrier. The submission of the text to the SMSC is identical to a standard MO Short Message submission, but once the text is at the SMSC, the Service Centre identifies the Short Code as a premium service. The SC will then direct the content of the text message to the VASP, typically using an IP protocol such as SMPP or EMI. Subscribers are charged a premium for the sending of such messages, with the revenue typically shared between the network operator and the VASP. Limitations of short codes include the limitation to national borders (short codes have to be activated in each country where the campaign takes place), as well as being expensive to sign up together with mobile operators.
An alternative to inbound SMS is based on long numbers (international number format, e.g. +44 7624 805000),which can be used in place of short codes for SMS reception in several applications, such as TV voting, product promotions and campaigns. Long numbers are internationally available, as well as enabling businesses to have their own number, rather than short codes which are usually shared across a lot of brands. Additionally, long numbers are non-premium inbound numbers.
Global Accés has been in business since 2004 and offers solid solutions for your non credit card transactions. Based in Andorra, a small country between Spain and France, Global Accés specializes in monetizing your non US/CAN based traffic through SMS, Phone Billing, and EU Debit.
Global Accés' service is easy to integrate as a merchant and very simple to use for the surfer. With more than 200 countries covered by phone billing, 26 for SMS and Germany, United Kingdom, Spain, Netherlands and Austria for EU Debit, Global Accés is your one stop shop for alternative billing.
Phone Billing or Voice Billing works by making a phone call or sending a SMS enter their pin code issued by our system displayed in their native language. Surfers are then able to access the content area. Using our voice billing solution you will have true worldwide billing without the need to decline "high risk" countries or deny a user access because his credit card got declined.
Reasons why internet surfers do not spend as much money as they would like to do is very often related to the fact that a majority of the population in the world simply do not have a credit card. Many will not use it in fear of fraud or that their family will find out, for what they spend their money on. Using Global Accés S.L. you give your new customer the perfect opportunity to access your site without giving out any personal details, without filling out any forms and finally without risking any kind of association to the site.
to learn more, please visit Global Accés
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