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September 17, 2000 - September 21, 2000

News - September 21,2000

New Telco With UNMETERED LOCAL CALLS!

By:mark.j @ 10:39:AM - Comments (5) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]
There are very few Telco's out there that actually offer a fairly unrestricted unmetered local call system of any kind. So we were amazed by the Press Release that arrived in the mail today from the new Telco named Telecom GB. As is typical ISPreview fashion, here's the full and un-edited Press Release - sorry if it lacks some formatting:

PRESS RELEASE - 21st September 2000

UK Ground-Breaking News - For Immediate Release
NEW TELEPHONE SERVICE LAUNCHED TODAY

What you've been demanding for years.....

UNMETERED LOCAL CALLS
24 Hours a Day - 7 Days a Week
for a flat rate of £5.99 a month

Or

UNMETERED INTERNET
& LOCAL CALLS
24 Hours a Day - 7 Days a Week
for a flat rate of £9.99 a month

AND THAT'S NOT ALL.....

* Unmetered Local Calls cover a 35 mile radius
* National Daytime Calls are 3.95p a minute - (7.93p from BT)
* National Evening Calls are 1.95p a minute - (3.95p from BT)
* National Weekend Calls are 1.5p a minute - (2.00p from BT)
* Minimum call charge only 2p - (4.2p from BT)
* Per second billing
* Big savings on International calls to 369 destinations
* Keep your existing BT or Cable 'phone number
* Free itemised bills sent every month
* No fixed contract period
* Free 0800 number (particularly useful for children to keep in touch)


UNMETERED INTERNET CALLS INCLUDE.....
* All the above, plus
* Unmetered Internet access
* Unmetered surf time on the Internet
* 5 free e-mail addresses
* 10 MB of web space


ALL THIS FOR A FLAT RATE FEE OF £5.99 PER MONTH
PLUS £4.00 PER MONTH TO ADD UNMETERED INTERNET CALLS
(You could easily reduce your current phone bills by half)

APPLY NOW - 'Phone 08700 34 44 44 for an Application Form

Lines open between 9am-5pm Mon-Fri
New subscribers limited to 1000 per day

---------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------

WHAT YOU'VE BEEN DEMANDING FOR YEARS...
( Flat Rate Unmetered Internet & Local Calls )

This ground-breaking new service has been launched TODAY by Telecom GB.

Telecom GB, together with sister company Nationwide Telecom, has been in the telecommunications market since it was liberalised in 1984 and, in association with many of the world's leading network suppliers, specialise in the supply, installation and maintenance of telecommunication systems and services.

The UK headquarters of Telecom GB are based in Leicester, where the new switch is being installed, enabling interconnection with the world's largest providers. Calls are routed via a fully fibre-optic, fault-tolerant network of the highest quality.

Telecom GB are an ISP (Internet Service Provider) as well as a Carrier, licensed by the DTI (Department of Trade and Industry) and OFTEL (Office of Telecommunications), and are well positioned to offer and provide quality support to this new low-cost service for both voice and data calls, along with the necessary in-house Technical Advisers and Customer Care teams.

Also launched TODAY (latest tomorrow!) http://www.SurfingRabbit.com is Telecom GB's new Internet portal, where you can get more information and apply to subscribe for this unbeatable offer, (or 'phone 08700 34 44 44 for an Application Form).

Best regards

Mic**** C*****
Telecom (GB) Ltd


A quick glance through makes our eyes open so wide you could fit a small truck inside them. However things so cheap are rarely all they seem to be, we'll try and get some answers for the questions we know you already want to ask =).

If you happen to spot anything in the meantime then give us a bell and we'll add it into a later update. There must be some limits to justify such low prices, economically even under FRIACO the system shouldn't really be long-term workable.

Oftel Set-Up Ombudsman

By:mark.j @ 10:21:AM - Comments (1) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]
Most people know Oftel as the main Telco regulator for the UK and as such consumers often send complaints to them over Telco's. Yet a strange news item today seems to suggest that Oftel have only just worked out their own job?:

Oftel said the independent telecoms ombudsman will be set up to examine and respond quickly to complaints from consumers about telcos.

After a year of ongoing complaints between consumers and telcos, including BT, Telewest and NTL, the formation of the ombudsman will be welcome news for consumers.

David Edmonds, Oftel's director general of telecoms, said: "The appointment of an independent telecoms ombudsman would show that the UK telecoms industry is serious about taking on more responsibility for resolving issues with customers."


Funny, all this time and we thought Oftel as a Telco regulator could be complained to, we mean that's one reason they're there isn't it? Still, better late than never and for the full article checkout VNUNet.

WorldCom Pull Out of UK Broadband

By:mark.j @ 10:14:AM - Comments (0) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]
Most people forget that opening up local exchanges doesn’t just mean more competition and lower prices because of it. No, it also means that broadband services like ADSL could spread faster through the new exchange operators.

WorldCom recently signed on the dotted line with BT over FRIACO and were also in the running to bid over the local loop unbundling. Sadly they and their partners Global Crossing have now chosen to pull out for similar reasons to RSL just recently.

They had made plans to offer high-speed Internet access in Britain according to the Financial Times, although not anymore. Both U.S. Telco groups had been expected to begin a drive to bring broadband Internet services to homes and offices across the country, in direct competition with British Telecommunications.

The FT claims they are thought to have pulled out at the last minute because of frustration at the pace which BT phone exchanges are being opened to other operators. Their exit comes a day after Oftel admitted it should have acted sooner to break the deadlock between the British group and its rivals.

Seems as though a day can't go by without somebody making the headlines over broadband, FRIACO or the local loop.

C.U.T Update on FRIACO

By:mark.j @ 10:03:AM - Comments (1) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]
C.U.T (Campaign for Unmetered Telecommunications) are the original people we should thank for bringing FRIACO forward in the first place, although perhaps that's somewhat premature. With the recent launch of AOL's Unmetered option, it signalled the first ISP to physically make use of FRIACO.

So as you'd expect C.U.T have done an interesting update to highlight a few general issues, but is there more at work than first appears?:

Furthermore:

-AOL UK has rather stolen a march on all other Internet Service Providers: it is probably not until the end of November that FRIACO becomes available to all telephone exchanges.

-As there is no mention of geographical restrictions we presume that AOL UK will be picking up the excess - if not covered by the subscription fee - for BT subscribers signing up to the service who cannot benefit from FRIACO, either because their exchange does not support FRIACO at all or because AOL UK's telecommunications partners do not have the appropriate connections to the exchange even though it is enabled for FRIACO. Such subscribers will be using Internet connectivity which is metered.

-Unless separate agreements have been made with cable companies AOL UK will be in a similar position with their subscribers.


Of course it's what they don't say, or that which is lost in the context that interests us. Firstly, isn't it Anti-Competitive to allow such a major ISP early access to the FRIACO mould? Just like how BT gave Freeserve an ever so slightly cheaper version of Surftime.

Then we also have the second point, that one way or another it's likely to be into next year before ALL AOL (old AND new) subscribers can actually make use of FRIACO anyway. They may say November, but there are other things to take into consideration than just the exchanges.

At the bottom of the article C.U.T state:
"We will be meeting AOL UK soon to find out the fine detail of the offer"

We look forward to just how AOL will respond to these issues and should be asking them the same questions ourselves. It's one thing to offer the service early, but it's up to BT and Oftel to actually push FRIACO into the exchanges and that's global - not yet done!

Oftel Under Fire Over Local Loop

By:mark.j @ 9:49:AM - Comments (2) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]
Now there's a news subject we see just about everyday, Oftel does something and then the entire industry throws it in their faces. Well nothing new today as yet again another attack on the Telco Regulator is being held over their handling of the local loop affair.

RSL were the first to pull out just recently, but by no means the first to complain. Today an analyst from Yankee Group Europe explains that they may be right in doing so:

Analysts said RSL Com may be right. "If the majority of these locations are in rural exchanges then it would certainly give BT an unfair advantage," said Jonathan Doran, an analyst at the Yankee Group Europe.

Oftel said it chose the 361 exchanges based on how popular they were with the bidding telcos and how quickly equipment could be installed. It stressed that this was just the first allocation of places in a process that was a "logistical nightmare".


Not being a Telco ourselves it's not easy to speculate, we can't help but wonder just how 'POPULAR' these 361 exchanges really are? If you've missed all the rest then pay a trip to VNUNet.

Liberal Democrats vs RIP Bill

By:mark.j @ 9:40:AM - Comments (1) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]
The Liberal Democrats have never exactly been the most popular party due to their TAX-TAX-TAX stance, but in recent days that’s begun to change. Today they've also tried to strike a cord with business and net users over their opposition to the RIP Bill:

Trade and Industry Spokesman, Vincent Cable said that it was not just the huge cost of monitoring emails that should be ringing alarm bells, but the implications for civil liberties and the sheer logistics of the beast.

"This is a civil liberties issue," he said. "But we can't disregard that this will impose an enormous regulatory burden on what should be one of our high growth sectors, and is unnecessary and damaging."

He also drew attention to the huge cost of implementing the legislation. He said that current estimates put the cost for the equipment would total at £640 million over the next five years, and that the overall cost to the economy would be around £50 billion. These figure have previously been disputed by the government.


It's good to see that at least one party can see a small element of the overall problems with the bill. Sadly this isn't likely to appease big business and those with savings who are more concerned over taxes than anything else.

Considering the Lib Dem's conference is being held in our local Bournemouth area, we might pop down later to put in our own suggestions =). Checkout the rest @ The Register.

News - September 20,2000

RHA Price UP!

By:zeon @ 9:47:PM - Comments (3) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]
From the RedHotAnt front page:

"Important alteration to our services
With effect from 1st October 2000 RedHotAnt will be withdrawing the Advanced service, leaving the popular basic and superior service. There will also be a change in the pricing structure of the two services from the above-mentioned date which will be as follows:

Basic Service: £40 one-off joining fee and £30 annual fee.

Superior Service: £40 one-off joining fee and £90 annual fee.

So if you are thinking of joining RedHotAnt, think no more, join now to take advantage of the current lower rates!

Loyalty reward: RedHotAnt freezes annual subscriptions!
All customers who are currently subscribed to RedHotAnt will be invited to renew their annual subscription at their original subscription rate (i.e. If you signed up at the basic annual rate of £20 back in March you will be invited to renew your RedHotAnt annual subscription at just £20! This will obviously be a popular decision with our loyal customers who deserve to be rewarded for their patience and resolve while we constantly upgraded our service to the current excellent RedHotAnt service. Please note that only the annual subscription is required when RedHotAnt invite renewals next year, and you will be given the choice of whether to continue with the renewal or cancel your subscription prior to your renewal date."


Not really a surprise considering the World Online announcement yesterday.

AvantGO ISPreview

By:mark.j @ 3:58:PM - Comments (4) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]
More of a news post to test the comments system, but we noticed around 250 of you own PalmTops of some description. We ourselves have several devices and have been trying to develop an AvantGO channel for ISPr. At the moment there's only a test page for PocketPC/WinCE2.11 devices with browser access @:

http://www.ispreview.co.uk/avantgo.shtml

However it's not compatible enough for AvantGO yet, what we want to know is if you own a PalmTop, would you be interested in an AvantGO version? Of course you can import that URL as an AGO channel, but you'll need a browser that can fit content to the screen for PsPC devices (which most own).

General summary, if you want us to do one then we’ll do it.

ISPr Comments Problem

By:mark.j @ 3:35:PM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]
Well every new system has its bugs and of course so does ours =), for some reason the footer of several comment pages ended up vanishing, including several comment posts. Well we've made some changes and hope that it won't re-occur, please only post comments on news items after this one.

C.U.T On Broadband Coverage

By:mark.j @ 10:17:AM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]
Everybody’s friends over @ C.U.T (Campaign for Unmetered Telecommunications) have really pushed themselves and done yet another update. This time though they have one of the most interesting news items we've seen in awhile, it concerns the problems with ADSL coverage.

So many people will eventually have a choice - and, in densely populated areas, possibly quite a considerable choice - of narrowband (voice, telephone modem) and broadband (xDSL) telecommunications.

But there will be many people who will have no choice, and quite possibly no broadband access at all, in the foreseeable future. They include any or all of:

-those outside the distance range for ADSL (you must be roughly 3½ kilometres or less from the nearest exchange to receive services);

-those outside cable networks;

-those whose exchange is one of the three hundred BT has stated as incapable of holding any other telecommunications operator's equipment.


What can be done for such people? There are three medium-term possibilities:

-fixed wireless;

-two-way satellite IP;

-DIY.


The article is very detailed and well thought out, we suggest anybody who is interested in ADSL take a look before considering any future moves towards it. Personally we'd like to know exactly which are the 300 exchanges that can't be used for ADSL?

Level3 Get Destination Sensitive

By:mark.j @ 10:07:AM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]
Level3 are an IP network operator and help maintain some elements of commonly know UK ISPs. However they've decided to ditch the flat rate billing service to customers in an effort to drive down usage-based Internet traffic costs to its network.

According to Maria Farnon, senior director of IP services in Europe at Level 3, standard market rates can be priced up to £356 ($500) per mb of traffic. Level 3 plans to stop charging customers this global transit pricing for traffic travelling within its own network. It plans to bill at around £178.10 ($250) per mb for customers requiring 100mb networks.

It's not quite clear exactly how this will effect ISPs that use Level3 services, however we'd guess it wouldn't do much at all for end users. The article, which can be found on NetImperative, goes on to state:

The destination based costs, or "Destination Sensitive Billing" (DSB) will come into effect immediately, although UK customers, including ISPs Virtual Internet and x-stream, as well as energy company Enron and streaming media company Mediawave, will be billed in this way by next month. DSB code has been incorporated into Cisco routers throughout Level 3’s network including its 4,750-mile European intercity network, to enable the service.

Official ISP Rating Sceme

By:mark.j @ 9:59:AM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]
The company my sister works for, Arthur Anderson, has decided to offer their own personal assessment of European ISP performance. Yesterdays Financial Times also stated that the rating system will stick to strict criteria and should allow people to find which ISPs are the better ones. Sound Familiar? Hmmmm yes:

The details of Swedish ISPs have just been announced; British Net users will have to wait until next week to find out which service providers come up to scratch.

According to the FT ISPs will have to pay $20,000 a year for someone to tell them if they're crap or not.

One ISP, who asked to remain anonymous, said he would willingly pay double that amount for someone to tell him how bad his business was. Another ISP wasn't so sure.

"I'm not sure," he said. "I'll have to think about it."


Wow $20,000, it looks like we're going about this in utterly the wrong way! Most of the time we have to pay for the accounts ourselves and occasionally the odd ISP does actually send us the free/trial details. What we really should be doing is asking for $20,000? Somehow we don't think so!

How anybody can justify such a high cost is beyond us and for what? Take a trip to The Register as it gets even worse =).

Net4Nowt Launch N4N.Net

By:mark.j @ 9:40:AM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]
In stark contrast to recent happenings, our friends @ Net4Nowt have kindly forwarded some interesting information onto us. Although details are scarce and they plan to announce something shortly, a new commercial division going by http://www.N4N.Net is due to launch soon:

Commenting on today's announcement, Peter Harris, Managing Director of QiQ Limited, Co-owners of Net4nowt said "We've decided to launch n4n.net to keep our commercial activities as separate as possible from Net4nowt which we wish to keep as an unbiased resource for anyone seeking an ISP or has an interested in the ISP market place. We have a loyal band of fans and we feel they will be best served by keeping our commercial activities separate from our independent view of the ISP industry".

Paul Hillbeck will continue to be responsible for the content on Net4nowt, while Peter Harris will develop further commercial relationships on behalf of n4n.net. In a move not dissimilar to the BBC operating the 'Beeb' website as a commercial venture, n4n.net will provide content and offers of interest to Net4nowt visitors which represent good value for money. N4n.net will also be responsible for the placement of banner advertising on Net4nowt.com.

Paul Hillbeck, co-owner and founder of Net4nowt and content manager stated "Visitors to Net4nowt will already be aware of our high value content which is both clear and easy to understand. These attributes will also feature in n4n.net along with offers that offer both quality and value for money. At the same time, we will continue to expand our impartial consumer service at Net4nowt."


ISPreview wishes them the best of luck for the future and hopefully every success in whatever they plan to do.

24-7Freecall Working Again?

By:mark.j @ 9:34:AM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]
We had an interesting E-Mail from an official @ 24-7Freecall whom stated:

"Just a quick mail, as of Saturday 16th the modem problems with 24-7 seem to be resolved.

I have also had a beta release of their new log-in, it seems to work fine up till now.
"

However this does not seem to coincide with our complaints system that has been sending us new complaints right up until the 19th September. So can all you modem users let us know in the comments if the service has improved or not?

The guy also let slip about the new remote login process, not sure what's changed but let’s hope things are quicker.

World Online Prices UP! Customers Out...

By:zeon @ 7:47:AM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]
World Online have managed to shoot themselves in the foot with this announcement on The Scream!

"Dear (Customer)

World Online is committed to remaining a high quality, value for money, unmetered Internet Service Provider.

Many of our competitors, for example AltaVista and LineOne, have withdrawn their unmetered services. One of the main reasons for their withdrawal is that the UK telecommunications marketplace, regulated by Oftel, has been unable to deliver wholesale unmetered internet services to retail providers such as World Online. This means that although we charge our customers a fixed price, we are still charged on a ‘per minute’ basis by BT .

Until better-priced unmetered wholesale telecommunications services are available to us, we are forced to make changes to our services and pricing. The vast majority of our customers will still receive unmetered internet access, those customers using the service more heavily will be asked to pay a little more.

New service and pricing structure*
The new pricing structure will consist of three elements. These are:

· Telephone Line Rental – the charge you pay each month for your telephone line
· Freedom Plan – a monthly flat charge you pay for internet access
· Free Time -Online – the number of hours of internet access included each month

There are three service options, Freedom 24, Freedom Lite and Telephone Line Only.

Freedom 24
This costs £14.99 a month on top of your telephone line rental and includes 100 hours of free internet calls to the World Online service which can be used any time, day or night. Any internet calls made to the service in excess of the 100 included hours will be charged at 1p per minute.

Freedom Lite
This costs just £2.99 a month on top of your telephone line rental and includes 50 hours of free off-peak internet calls to the World Online service. Any daytime internet calls to the service or internet calls to the service made in excess of the 50 included hours will be charged at 1p per minute.

Telephone Line Only
Customers who choose to only take a telephone line with no Freedom Plan can access the World Online internet service for 1p a minute, any time day or night. The line rental’s just £9.26 a month, that’s the same as BT (BT standard retail tariff is £27.77 a quarter).



Summary of services and pricing

Line Rental Freedom Plan FreeTime-Online Extra Minutes
Freedom 24 £9.26 £14.99 100 hrsanytime 1p per minute anytime
Freedom Lite £9.26 £2.99 50 hrsoff-peak 1p per minute anytime
Telephone only £9.26 N/A N/A 1p per minute anytime


Bonus Free Time-Online
You can transfer other BT lines that you may have to World Online Telecom on a ‘Line Rental Only’ basis for £9.26 a month. If you transfer one or more extra lines, you will gain an extra 20 bonus hours of Free Time-Online. So if you are Freedom 24 customer, your Free Time-Online will be increased to 120 hours or if you are Freedom Lite customer, your Free Time-Online will be increased to 70 hours.

Monitoring your time-online
So you can keep track of your time-online, we will be providing you with software that will record the time you spend using the internet. You will be able to download this from our web site by visiting www.worldonline.co.uk/downloads after 11 October 2000.

Changing your service option
If you want to stay with your existing package on the revised price structure you do not need to do anything, the changes will take place automatically from 11 October 2000.

If you want to change your service option or transfer additional lines to World Online, we have set up a web page www.worldonline.co.uk/changes to make it easy for you. You will need to provide your World Online Account number and your telephone number.

We will be making an announcement about the availability of our high-speed, ‘always on’ broadband services. We expect these services to be of particular interest to our higher use customers and provide better value for money than our unmetered services.

We appreciate that any price increase is unwelcome, however, to ensure that we can continue to deliver a good quality, good value internet service we have taken this action. The comparisons below clearly highlight that the Freedom services remain extremely competitive; we hope you think so too.

Yours sincerely

Jeremy Stokes
MD, Consumer Services


The initial reaction on The Scream! hasn't been good. This means WOL are now more expensive than BT and the same price as AOL for less hours. If WOL are aiming for ADSL then they have committed commercial suicide as all the heavy user will now leave, as ADSL will still be a long way off for a lot of people.

News - September 19,2000

Kingfisher sells LibertySurf

By:Daniel @ 11:49:PM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]
The company that owns liberty surf, Kingfisher, have decided to sell their share in Liberty surf because they want to clear their high debts.

Kingfisher, owns B&Q and Comet , wants to offload its 35 per cent stake in the ISP.

Lets hope they don't sell their share to the wrong sort of people like callnet did.

CUT Look @ ADSL Radio Interference

By:mark.j @ 5:19:PM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]
C.U.T (Campaign for Unmetered Telecommunications) have once again update their site on the recent media feeding frenzy concerning how AM Radio can be interfered with by ADSL Communications. The actual subject matter is ancient news and we've known about it for a long time, which is one reasons C.U.T stresses as interesting:

In any case, what equipment and frequencies are to be used has been common knowledge for some time, so why wait until after BTopenworld and other services are launched before complaining?

Furthermore, from Web searches, we can find a lack of documented instances of AM interference although it is recognised as a possible problem. Even the Radiocommunications Agency is casting around for concrete examples; a currently incomplete draft of its position is inconclusive. We wonder whether the engineering tests which supposedly demonstrate the AM radio problems were carried out in real homes or on a laboratory bench.

(In passing, it is worth noting that most references are to AM radio causing xDSL interference, not the other way round!)


Why wait indeed? Perhaps it's because Radio comms have an industry all of there own and as such ADSL is a threat? We suggest you visit CUT and have a read because the entire article does a good job of raising important issues; they finish with:

Frankly, the possibility ('engineers believe', 'potentially affecting') of interference to an AM radio next door at furthest seems a feeble reason to kick up a fuss.

Now obviously we're a little biased because we are a site about ISPs, either way, having read the article we'd still have to agree that Radio has it wrong.

08002go.com Update No. 2

By:Ross14 @ 5:17:PM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]
08002go have emailed all their customers again, with reassuring news that the service will go soon!

The email was quite large so we have cut a few pieces of interesting news from it:

"As soon as we go live you will receive an email from us inviting you to pay your monthly subscription and become a member. Your detailed information will stay open for 72 hours after this time. If you have not taken up the offer by then we will allocate your membership to another person or persons."

They also say "we have just 57,907 places to fill before we go ‘live.' We will close all membership when the remaining places have gone." “Anyone who has pre-registered with us so far; be assured you have been entered onto our system”.

So, basically 08002go are going to be launching pretty soon, probably before the end of the month or early October. There site actually says the 21st September - this Thursday, unlikely though.

We will though be keeping a close eye on 08002go over the next few months as it could be yet again another failed attempt to bring unmetered access to consumers like we've seen from Lineone and Ezesurf.

Yet, 08002go say that their ISP model is based on a Friaco Idea through a competitor of BT, so in concept it could turn out to be a success.

Why Can't We E-Mail The PM?

By:mark.j @ 5:07:PM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]
SupaNet, a popular British network/ISP, have decided to have a bash at the government over peoples inability to send E-Mails to the Prime Minister:

The British Government's wired credentials took another rib-cracking blow to the midriff today after ISP, SupaNet, claimed Downing Street wouldn't accept letters to the Prime Minister via email.

This sorry state of affairs has been confirmed by a Downing Street spokesman who said that there simply wasn't the staff or resources to handle correspondence by email.

The spokesman added that such a service would be up-and-running "in the near future".


You can't really blame them can you, imagine how many people would want to air their opinions on the fuel crisis with the PM. Find more @ The Register.

NTL Pushes C&W Further Away

By:mark.j @ 5:00:PM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]
Ever since Cable & Wireless merged into NTL rumours have been ripe that NTL was refusing to extend its unmetered ISP service to C&W users. Today the rumours have been confirmed and NTL claims the reason is because C&W's local networks couldn't handle the demand:

Former C&W customers who have contacted vnunet.com have expressed anger that ntlworld is available to BT customers for a monthly charge but totally inaccessible to CWC customers - even though they are now NTL customers.

One customer said that after receiving the installation disk for ntlworld he was informed that the service would be available in September. However, after contacting NTL this month he was told that the service will not be available until next year.


The news, which can be found on good old VNUNet, goes on to ask NTL directly what they plan to do about the issues:

"We are currently surveying these networks in order to assess the situation. As our priority is to maintain the high quality of the ntlworld service, we would invest in network upgrades before making the service available,"

Such information is unlikely to help C&W subscribers overcome their disgust at the situation. Considering C&W customers are now NTL's, it's a bit like stabbing themselves in the back as many have promised to leave the service for BT.

CWC Customers Wait Continues

By:Ross14 @ 4:53:PM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]
If you are a Cable & Wireless customer and you are frustrated about the ntlworld service not being available too you although you are now NTL customers then there's more bad news, the waiting is going to continue:

"NTL is not extending its unmetered internet service to customers who used to be served by Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC), because it says their local networks could not handle the demand.

The telco, which completed its acquisition of CWC in May, said it would need to upgrade CWC's local networks before it could extend the ntlworld service to cable customers in those areas. NTL said this is unlikely to happen before at least spring 2001.

Launched in April, ntlworld offers unmetered internet access included in the price of phone rental for NTL customers. NTL acquired the consumer division of CWC on 30 May for £8.2bn. Although the two companies continue to officially run separately at present, both sets of customers are classed as NTL users."


After delayed promises we can't really rely on NTL keeping this one.

NTL say that they are going to survey the networks further in hope of an early solution.

Source: vnunet.com

IMPORTANT ISPreview Site Update

By:mark.j @ 4:48:PM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]
We have some important changes to bring to your attention today, important because we usually only make some of them once a month. Firstly the good news, our new comments system is now online and with a slightly different layout to speed up page loading.

Until our own abuse blocking code is ready there won't be anymore anonymous postings allowed due to previous misuse. You'll need to register a name, E-Mail and password in order to make a comment under a news item.

The complaints page has also been updated; we've been inundated with complaints about the once popular 24-7Freecall, Freeserve and a few for IC24 (added into the complaints section) and BTInternet. However by far the most important issue is that of 24-7Freecall, serious problems have now migrated to modem users from ISDN.

These problems started early into September and we recently asked one of their MD's just when they thought things would be fixed, no reply has been received. If modem users have it bad then spare a thought for ISDNers who've seen these problems since day one!

As such we've skipped the usual monthly rules and removed 24-7Freecall from our 'ISP of the month' spot. These problems may be very new, but we can't ignore them when they are so prominent.

We've also dropped them from No.2 to No.10 in our Top10. The Readers Top50 seems to have had a similar idea, if they can't fix things then they won't be in the Top10 of either come next month. That's about it, the current Top10 on the Readers Top 50 reads as:

1 - IGClick
2 - Freeserve
3 - RedHotant
4 - World Online & Associates
5 - 24-7Freecall
6 - BTInternet
7 - Totalise
8 - NTL
9 - Telewest (SU)
10 - Plus.NET

Don't ask us why Freeserve and BTInternet are in the Top10 when we still receive so many complaints about them. Certainly a surprise at the top since readers have voted IGClick in and the previous two leaders, 24-7FC & WOL, have dropped sharply.

UPDATE: Oh and our general mailing list (bottom left) is now TEXT only and maintained on a weekly basis by ROSS!

Freechariot Mend T&C's

By:Ross14 @ 11:37:AM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]
The Very Free ISP Freechariot has decided to change a part of their Terms and Conditions for the offer:

"Reasonable amount of phone calls to justify use of free internet calls are phone calls that are on monthly average total minutes not lower than a half of the monthly average free internet calls required and used by the you. If you make more than 2 :1 proportion of internet calls to phone calls - excluding local weekend calls - in average monthly total minutes over the period of a quarter, you will be charged the cumulative total minutes of internet calls over the allowed ratio at 0.85p per minute. The charge for the extra internet call minutes will be billed at the end of month terminating the quarter."

This was brought to our attention after someone named NC made a post in our forums saying:

"FreeChariot have now changed their T&C's twice in the last two weeks. I registered only three weeks ago for their unmetered 24/7 package and switched to them as a Telco.

They have now changed their T&C's to say that they only give free access to the 'net for twice the number of minutes that you spend on voice calls each month; i.e. spend 5 hours on voice, get 10 hours free web access. After that they now charge you 1.5p per minute. This is not the service I registered for.

I will be complaining to Oftel and I urge other users to do the same."


It was a very controversial business model anyway. Certainly there were going to be abusers of this service, free local weekend calls, free net access 24/7, cheaper calls..need we go on.

So Freechariot have made a stand and are trying to clean up their act, but customers will surely be angry with this move.

*UPDATE* NOW they have increased the minimum monthly national rate call spend to £8.99 month.

AOL Goes 24/7 Unmetered - LIVE!

By:mark.j @ 10:33:AM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]
Yes its finally happened and thanks to all for reporting it to us, it was too late to mention last night, but here's the Press Release in full:

AOL rolls out unmetered AOL and Internet telephone access

We're delighted to announce the roll out of our all-new AOL FLAT RATE plan - a truly transparent unmetered Internet access plan for just £14.99 a month, including all subscription and Internet telephone charges as from today. There are no hidden charges and no more minute-by-minute phone costs - just one monthly charge to explore AOL and the Internet - with no more internet charges on your telephone bill*.

We're striving to release this as soon as possible to all our membership. After a long and hard battle, and thanks to an historic ruling from the telecoms regulator OFTEL acting on our calls for radical change in the UK's telephone pricing structure - we're beginning to deliver on our promise to you.

The AOL FLAT RATE plan will be offered to existing AOL members over the coming weeks. Members will become eligible for the £14.99 plan depending on the length of time they have been with the AOL service.

AOL's longest-standing customers will be able to request the AOL FLAT RATE plan immediately, to be followed in subsequent weeks by others who have joined the service more recently. Eligible members who switch to AOL FLAT RATE will be able to use the unmetered service from the date of their next monthly billing cycle.

Although you may not be immediately eligible for the AOL FLAT RATE, we anticipate offering you this exciting new price plan in the very near future as our telephone network providers bring more and more flat-rate capacity online. We really are doing as much as we can to satisfy the demand and believe this staged approach will help us to maintain a reliable, first-class online experience for all members, regardless of price plan, during this process.

We think this is a fair, honest and responsible way to reward AOL members for their loyalty and support throughout our long campaign. Once all of our existing members have been offered AOL FLAT RATE - and as our network providers bring more and more flat-rate capacity online in the coming weeks - we anticipate offering this revolutionary plan to new members also.

How do I know when I have access to the new AOL Flat Rate Plan?

When you become eligible for AOL FLAT RATE, you will be greeted by a message which pops up on your screen. We will also send you an email at the same time explaining the offer and what to do. You can also check Keyword: PRICING at any time, if you have access to AOL FLAT RATE you will be able to select the plan then.

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you for staying with us and hope that you can wait just a few more weeks. We value your membership and we are committed to providing you the best service available at the best possible price. All of us here at AOL look forward to seeing you online!

Regards,

Dominic Wells
Editorial Director AOL UK


Thanks to everybody that sent it in and AOL for finally launching a service at the price people really want it to be. Sadly all is not gold when it comes to AOL, no matter what the price. We still don't know for sure that there won't be any cut offs although AOL isn't likely to have them.

People also report that they have issues with ISDN, although full details are sparse at best. Not to mention that AOL tends to dominate all ISP activity once it's installed and kinder takes over your PC. It's for those reasons and many lasting grudges/image related issues that despite the price, many people will still avoid the offer.

Obviously the other issue is that of only allowing old time users to join up, which kinder means the rest could have to wait another month or two =(. That aside and AOL seems to have produced the first WORKING FRIACO system we know of.

http://www.aol.co.uk

OnNet Goes Live

By:mark.j @ 10:18:AM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]
If like us you've got Digital Terrestrial sitting on or under your TV and coming from OnDigital, then by now you must have been swamped in flyers. For the past couple of months OnDigital have been sending out all manor of advertising to tell people about their new Internet Set-Top-Box.

Why they couldn't build it into the current ones instead of making it separate is understandable but not really practical for home users (too many boxes!).

That aside and OnDigital have finally launched their Internet service today. Backed by the likes of 47 partners including ITN, BBC, QXL and WHSmiths, it plans to offer a foray of choice.

The services own portal site will offer content from all the TV channels it plays host to as well as others it doesn't. Costing £5 per month it may not seem that much, but if you have any of the extra sky channels then it's just another thorn in your side.

For the £5 you get a cordless keyboard, set-top box, video and voice email, which through a special BT deal will only cost you 1p per minute off-peak and 2p on-peak for the calls. Rumour has it that OnDigital plans to make use of BTSurftime or FRIACO in the future, rumour has it..

360 Exchanges Ready To Go

By:mark.j @ 10:04:AM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]
The end of this week should signal the first real bidding for 360 UK exchanges in the bigger local loop unbundling plans. However there are some interesting things to be read an examined first:

First-stage applications from around 30 operators are currently being sorted by Electoral Reform Services, in order to sort out which operators can have space in the exchanges, in order to install their own broadband services equipment.

A spokesperson for Oftel said: "ERS has come up with a system in order to not have every operator wanting to enter every exchange at the same time." According to her, the first 360 exchanges will be chosen for both their popularity and their accessibility. "We want to allocate those exchanges where operators can begin services quickly, as we want some availability [of competition] by the beginning of next year, rather than hold everyone up with the most complicated exchanges, where access may be limited."

Oftel has initially invited applications, which closed last week, for space in up to 1,500 of the most lucrative exchanges. The remainder will also go up for grabs on a managed rollout, with Oftel aiming to have the local loop fully unbundled by its long-standing deadline of July 2001.


Hold on a moment, yesterday RSL claimed that Oftel had said:
"regulator Oftel's decision that service providers could only apply for the least populated exchange.."

That's in stark contrast to today where the NetImperative article now claims:
"the first 360 exchanges will be chosen for both their popularity and their accessibility"

So either Oftel is lying or yet again we see a game of words being played, our guess is it's the latter. What they really mean is not the best OVERALL exchange, but the best of the first 360 and rather less lucrative (as a whole to the UK) ones.

360 Exchanges may not sound like a lot, but consider that one exchange often has to cover a 5 mile square area, then it's more than you think. Either way, unbundling of the local loop is finally starting, it's good news whatever happens - we think? Is it possible to have an even more anti-competitive operator than BT =)?

Plus.NET Go Broadband ADSL

By:mark.j @ 9:54:AM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]
This morning yet another ISP has chosen the broadband rout and taken up BT's offer of ADSL. They offer three products, a Home option, Professional and Business specific one:

PlusNet have a DSL product designed just for you.

We have two packages specifically designed to connect single PCs to the Internet at high speed. Whether you're at Home or in the Office, the benefits of ADSL will soon make you wonder how you ever got by without it. For Home use you'll find that ADSL Home will provide the ultimate Internet connection for the whole family without tying up your phone line!

Are you in Business but worried that most ADSL products are aimed at the Network market? You'll find that the ADSL Professional option will give you the low-contention, super-fast connection you need, together with all the online office and eCommerce features of PlusNet. Stay connected with PlusNet DSL.

For the connected Business Network, DSL Business will provide your high-speed, eCommerce-enabled solution.


The prices range from an acceptable £45 per month / £150 home installation for the residential option to £150 per month / £260 installation for the business ones. In total there are technically 5 products built into the three groups and http://www.Plus.NET claims to have 300,000 pre-subscribers already.

So compared to ClaraNETs residential option you save £5 and can save a further £5 by going with the slightly port limited BTOpenworld (per month/residential).

News - September 18,2000

Another Unmetered ISP Bites the Dust?

By:mark.j @ 9:28:PM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]
Last month saw a rather interesting deal between NTL and Virgin.NET take place, it was hoped this would improve Virgins unmetered option, but instead it seems to have had the opposite effect. 10,000 users of an estimated 1.5Million are currently helping to trial the unmetered service, which now looks to be in stasis:

Under the deal, Virgin will hand over management of the estimated 1.5m users of the Virgin.net ISP to ntl in return for exclusive access for Virgin content to the cable company’s interactive platforms.

The service was intended to launch this month following the trial, which Virgin in the past has admitted has hit problems. It was first revealed in the week that AltaVista announced it was to launch its own unmetered access product; an announcement that has since proven an embarrassment to the US-owned search engine.

A spokesman said: "The trial goes on and we will use the data from that to decide what our next step will be, depending on what happens with ntl."


Of course many people often forget that a trial is just that, a beta test for future offerings that could change before the final form. It may be suspended, but then NTL already have an established unmetered power and the two joined could make for some interesting changes. NetImperative have the rest.

Problems Hit NTL Cable Modems

By:mark.j @ 9:08:PM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]
Having finally got back online after one of my cats somehow managed to cause a system wide shut down of the LAN, I find ISPr hasn't been the only one hit with problems today. CableNews is reporting that users of NTLs Broadband service are experiencing rather more serious issues:

A quick glance at ntl.support.cablemodems on the ntlworld Usenet server reveals all. A recent thread called for readers of the newsgroup to vote for the deactivation of ntl's Traffic Servers (also known as transparent caches and several other more descriptive terms). The response was massive; and everyone was keen to see the back of them if it meant improved access to the web. Although the problems with out-of-date pages being served have now (for the majority of the time) been rectified, web access can sometimes slow to - as one newsgroup reader put it - "treacle". "Server Hangup" and "Connection Timed Out" messages also appear frequently at peak times. The worst hit areas appear to be Cambridge and Hertfordshire - although I must stress that situations change constantly and that the problems seem able to hop from region to region in a matter of minutes.

Packet loss and poor ping times to games servers are also frequently reported, causing tempers to become a tad frayed at times.


The good news is that NTL are aware of the problems and continue to do their best in resolving them. They also said sorry for the delays but it shouldn't be long now.

ClaraNet Go ClaraDSL Broadband

By:mark.j @ 4:17:PM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]
Several weeks ago ClaraNet announced their business ADSL options and today their consumer/SOHO ones have finally been sprung. As usual with ISPr we've attached the full and un-edited Press Release:

Claranet launches ClaraDSL Solo to complete its ADSL portfolio

Claranet, the UK’s largest independent Internet Service Provider (ISP), has today announced plans to launch ClaraDSL Solo, its high speed broadband Internet service aimed at single users, including individual consumers, SOHO (small office/home office) users and SMEs.

Using BT’s ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) technology, ClaraDSL Solo will be available from the end of September, priced at £49.99 (including VAT) per month, with a one-off installation charge of £150 + VAT.

ClaraDSL Solo has a contention ratio of 50:1, and incorporates all the usual Claranet features, including 50 Mb web space, unlimited email addresses, access to Claranet’s 50,000 news groups, access to IRC and gaming servers and 24 hour support at local call rates.

The new product completes the company’s portfolio of broadband services, which includes three packages aimed at business customers. ClaraDSL 500, 1000 and 2000, offer varying bandwidths for receiving information depending upon how many users require simultaneous connection and the speed of access required. In addition, each package is available as part of a Domain Solution with the added benefit of 80 Mb commercial web space, 15 POP boxes or SMTP, a premium dial up account and domain name registration and hosting.

Nick Wells, Claranet’s marketing manager, said: “We have had a great deal of interest in our existing ADSL packages targeted at our larger business customers, and we’re delighted to now be able to offer permanent high speed Internet access to all our customers."

In the last few weeks we have seen a huge amount of interest for broadband access – which in itself is a demonstration of the popularity of ADSL among UK consumers. The majority of our customers can expect to have broadband access within 24hours of the BT installation.

Formed in 1996, Claranet is the UK’s largest independent ISP servicing over 350,000 users in the UK. Providing reliable and effective Internet solutions for both home and business users throughout the UK and France, it is one of the most successful ISPs in Europe and has established its credentials as one of the most innovative and fastest growing companies in the sector.

ENDS


Some are likely to be wondering about the high price tag of £49.99, especially when several have set a tag of £45 and BTOpenworld have stuck firmly with around £40. That said and ClaraNet are a strong ISP, so at least you know quality is behind it and prices will eventually come down - we hope!

RSL Vent @ Oftel over Local Loop

By:mark.j @ 1:20:PM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]
Late last week BT confirmed that invariably the bidding for the Local Loop could well end up as a 'luck of the draw/roll of the dice' affair. Today sees the first casualty of such a policy as telecom company RSL Communications withdrew from the first phase of bidding for a portion of Britain's telephone exchanges:

RSL, which provides voice and data services to small and medium-sized businesses, said regulator Oftel's decision that service providers could only apply for the least populated exchanges gave BT a free ride to market new broadband Internet technology in the prime residential and business markets.

"Oftel had the chance to create real competition to BT in the local exchanges, but it wasted the opportunity," RSL said in a statement.

It said Oftel's bidding process meant only 360 exchanges would be available to newcomers and BT would not have to bid to receive space for its own retail offerings.


It seems Oftel just can't get anything right these days, surely local loop unbundling means EVERYTHING and not just the least populated exchanges? When will they finally get their heads out of the sand and stop working against competition alongside BT? You can find the rest @ http://www.zdnet.co.uk .

New Article @ ISPreview

By:mark.j @ 1:03:PM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]
There have recently been mounting questions over ISDNs place in an increasingly broadband market. Many people have asked ISPreview just what the future holds for ISDN and to help answer this we've done a new article called The Future of ISDN:

"It compared much like business ADSL does today with 56Kbps modems. At speeds of up to 128Kbps, ISDN was a far cry from the savage transfer rates of 9,600Kbps modems, which were the very best for the time. Since then a lot has changed and in 1997 BT was able to migrate leased line ISDN to copper wires and home connections."

http://ispreview.co.uk/articles/isdn/

Mobile E-Mail On The Move

By:mark.j @ 10:29:AM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]
We've never understood the need for having E-Mail on Mobile Phones and according to internal statistics not many people use it anyway. The keys are too small to type anything meaningful and it's an extremely time consuming task, that said and Microsoft along with Ericsson have a different idea.

According to http://www.zdnet.co.uk they plan to deliver Exchange-based email solutions for mobiles phones by the end of the year:

Solutions based on Microsoft and Ericsson technologies will be sold to network operators which will provide services to corporate and consumer customers.

"The aim is to make mobile email as easy to use as talking over a mobile phone," said Ulf Avrin, president of the joint venture. Avrin added that he accepted the need to build an end-to-end system for mobile access to corporate data.

Solutions will also include calendar, to-do list and other personal information management tools, and will provide professional users with full mobile access to corporate data. The first solutions are expected to be commercially available for mobile operators by the end of 2000.


So there you have it, we're all destined to spend the rest of our days punching tiny messages into our Mobiles. Would it really be so difficult to include a more realistic system for actually typing the E-Mails?

Internet Helps To Build Jobs

By:mark.j @ 10:18:AM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]
A growing number of people blame the Internet for losing their job(s), apparently the automated systems used and combined with high online sales are giving employers the ability to cut staff. However Anderson Consulting have today proven that the net helps make MORE jobs and not the opposite.

The US continues to have the world’s most advanced digital economy, but Europe is starting to close the gap as the Internet continues to create new jobs both directly and across other industries. The findings show that the Internet is creating more jobs than it is eliminating.

It finds that more established businesses are investing in added Internet operations to their already existing businesses. Viewed as a line of business itself, the Internet will have directly created 5.8 million jobs in the United States and 3 million jobs in the six European countries surveyed by 2002.

These jobs are defined as those created by Internet pure-play companies, portals, software consultants, Web designers, and telecommunications and Internet service providers offering Internet access.

However, when Internet-related jobs in other industries are factored into the forecasts, the total number of jobs created in the United States and European countries jump from 8.8 million to more than 10 million.

The report examines the impact of the Internet on the economies of the United States, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Spain and the UK.

News - September 17,2000

ISPreview Weekly Update

By:mark.j @ 10:43:AM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]
It's been a pretty busy week and so many news items have made it hard to get any real work done. The rest of the week was spent in numerous online chat sessions and E-Mail handlings surrounding peoples view of ISDNs Future. An article that will finally be published next week.

That aside and I also had to help several people get delayed refunds from some ISPs and address other ISP related issues people wanted us to on the forums. I'll tell you something, it's not easy doing this job and no matter how much you try to help people it ends up coming back in your face.

Much like Net4Nowt, a good site that we've known and been friends with for a while, posted a news item on our ISPr Freecall service. We made the fatal mistake of not making it more obvious that this was to be a private and un-listed/none competitive service and they didn't realise that. They also didn't realise we've had another none profit ISP running for ages and that hasn't changed us a bit.

You can't blame people for not reading ISPr everyday and keeping up to date, but then N4N weren't at fault. What we didn't like was the news comments made under the item and so kindly addressed them. Of course you should know, the minute you try to do something right there's always some who throw it back in your face.

I asked the question: "Why are some people like this?" and nobody could really say for sure. It's very different when you run a large website and deal with several hundred things each morning, afternoon and night. You see the whole ISP industry in a much broader perspective, so sometimes you get abuse from people who simply can't see what you do. Either through jealousy or simple miss understanding.

Still that's part of being in the public eye, but it has made us decide to remove news comments as requested by some readers. Several people make a habit of being racists, abusive to our female readers and down right rude. This is a site where all people of all ages come to ponder a specific issue; they don't want to read childish abuse when they look for help.

We try to help people from all walks of life, those who are disabled, those who are a lot older (we have one guy that's in his 90's and is nice to chat with). All we ask is that to maintain an open comments system you respect that adults read this site and be kind to fellow readers and those who make it.

Many of us have given up a lot to keep ISPr alive and for next to nothing in our spare time. The same can be said for Net4Nowt, who if you asked, would say they have the same problem in their own comments from time to time. As such we'll likely take them offline sometime next week until we can get the new and protected system installed.

Thanks to those thousands of readers that respect what we do and post kind comments around the place. You guys are what make ISPr what it is and help us to keep going and introduce the systems YOU want to see. It's a pity some people have nothing better to do with their lives than throw abuse around just to wind us up, but they will always exist and you just have to ignore them. Talking to them never works, we've tried.

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