Could mobile broadband help children achieve more at school? Broadband Genie offers advice.

PRLog (Press Release) – May 30, 2008 – It’s not the most obvious place to stumble upon important broadband news, but other than the teachers, who’s the most obvious person to know all about the ins and outs of school life – the caretaker of course! Creator and writer for the www.thecaretakers.net - a resource for school Caretakers has recently spurred on an interesting debate. Writing under the pseudonym TheCaretaker it was suggested on the site that an estimated 3500 pupils could find that their education has been affected by a lack of broadband speed in the Hastings and St. Leonard’s area.

Comparing the results to neighbouring schools whose pupils can happily surf the net at speeds of around 4-8Mbps, pupils who lived in the catchment areas of The Grove School, Filsham Valley School, West St. Leonard’s Primary School and Saxon Mount Schools are reported to only be able to achieve speeds of around .5-1Mbps.

Of course, if the connection between broadband ownership and school achievement is proven, children all over the country, if not the world could be affected by their access to the internet.

Although speed limitations of the Hasting area have been attributed to the problem around the Hastings and St. Leonard’s catchment areas, lack of interest and knowledge of broadband services has also been suggested to play a huge part in the trend.

For any family worried about forking out for a lengthy and costly broadband subscription, awareness of other options such as pay-as-you-go mobile broadband services could be just the answer that’s need to give a child the chance to study and broaden their knowledge online.

“For families on lower income, committing a household to an 18-month contract just isn’t an option,” explains Gillian Nightingale from Mobile Broadband Genie. “Unfortunately, what this also means is that they’re then at a disadvantage when it comes to being able to access information quickly and conveniently. This becomes an issue if a child has been set homework that relies on being able to research on the web.”

“Pay-as-you-go Mobile Broadband packages are an excellent alternative,” continues Gillian Nightingale. “Just like topping up your mobile you can top up your modem with data allowance. Once you have your new pay-as-you-go dongle you can top up it up with credit increments that range from around £10 to £25”

Those who are interested to learn more about Pay-As-You-Go Mobile broadband are encouraged to visit Mobile Broadband Genie (http://mobile.broadbandgenie.co.uk) where they will find useful articles on getting connected to mobile broadband and a full list of providers.

Notes to editors  

Mobile Broadband Genie allows users to compare mobile broadband online, and is part of Genie Group.  

Genie Group Ltd is a leading independent provider of internet comparison shopping services in the UK, and was set up in 2004 by Philip Wilkinson (co-founder of Kelkoo UK). Genie Group's unique selling point is 'the Genie', which makes personal recommendations to internet shoppers based on ground-breaking, intelligent technology. This gives Genie Group the ability to provide an enjoyable and satisfying internet shopping experience, and deliver an unmatched quality of sales leads to our affiliate merchants. Genie Group launched its flagship broadband comparison service Broadband Genie in January 2005.  

More information can be found at http://www.broadbandgenie.co.uk . Please direct all media enquiries to Gillian Nightingale. Interviews with Philip Wilkinson can be arranged on request.