September 12, 2000 - September 17, 2000

News - September 17,2000

ADSL & Radio Problems

By:mark.j @ 9:41:AM - Comments (11) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Looks like Net4Nowt have managed to get to the Sunday Newspaper stands faster then lighting and seen an article in The Times about ADSL screwing up radio:

Both the BBC and commercial radio wrote to the Government expressing concern with the planned rollout after testing by their engineers found that high-speed ADSL lines could cause interference.

The Radio Authority, the regulatory body for commercial radio, and the BBC have united to complain to the Government about the potential danger of interference.

Those with good memories may remember that earlier this year we had a news item about this being a potential problem. Just like it is now, nobody's clear exactly whether it would really do anything or not.

You can't look to America for help either; their system is very different. That doesn't change the fact it is a valid concern, could yet more delays be looming? As we are writing this one of our readers mentions http://www.news.com has a more detailed article:

The problem is most acute where an ADSL telephone wire comes into a home, potentially affecting AM radio services nearby. Engineers believe that people living nextdoor to a home with an ADSL line could also be affected.

Broadcasters, who insist they are not opposed to the spread of ADSL services, are particularly annoyed at the alleged attitude of BT.

They believe that the potential for interference could be removed at minimal cost by slightly reducing the power used for the ADSL service, or by fitting a simple "choke" to the wire, costing an estimated 30p each. BT, the broadcasters claim, is refusing to adopt either measure.

Kelvin MacKenzie, chairman of Talk Sport, yesterday said: "I think their position is wholly unreasonable. It is another case of the huge corporation kicking the little guy in the stomach. This could be a very big issue for us."

A senior BBC executive said: "I think this is a real issue. We are very concerned."

But BT said that it did not believe there was a problem. It said the ADSL equipment was manufactured to a world standard and that extensive market research after a commercial ADSL trial in West London had thrown up no evidence of interference.

We wonder just what 'extensive' means in the mighty book of BT?

News - September 16,2000

Net4Nowt on ISPr Freecall

By:mark.j @ 8:56:PM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Whilst passing by Net4Nowt we noticed they had kindly made a mention of our future ISPr Freecall offerings. Unfortunately they seem to have jumped to an unfair conclusion at the bottom and without asking us first:

A Net4nowt spokesman commented "Here at Net4nowt we have number of exciting developments in hand to bring exclusive offers to our visitors. We are different from ISP Review in that we have taken the view that we are better placed to comment by being an observer rather than a participant in the ISP market."

While it was slightly annoying to see, the view is perfectly understandable and requires an elegant response. They also mentioned we had a target audience of 1,000 to 2,000 - based on an older news item.

Most vigilant readers will be aware that we're actually aiming more @ 300 - 400. We'd also like to address some of the rather miss-informed and slightly SITE RACIST comments posted under the news item. Note: N4N are a good site and can't be held responsible for these:

"Personally, that doesn’t look good to me at all from ISPr. You would think, since they review ISP's, they would have an ISP where, you dont have to change your telco. I believe that will put a lot of people off.

Free local weekend calls? 15% off normal BT prices? Theres something new, hey! People are probably sick to death of changing telcos because of Internet packages by now. Dont they realise that!"
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"i was really looking forward to their offerings, but these are totally disappointing. If you're already signed to an isp that requires bt line then you are buggered with the first one, and the last news i read on friaco is that it will not now come online until 1st quarter 0f 2001 (if we are lucky-lol)"
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"I have Home Highway and it is very unlikely that they will be able to take over that line from BT."
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"Well! ISPr have got to do something, 'cos the news items they produce are all second hand, copied/pasted from this site or others like it."
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I'm now going to take a few moments to respond to anything because you can't blame people for being miss-informed and it's arrogant to do so.

Net4Nowts Comments:
Firstly we have N4N on a very good point, what we'd like to stress is we've also been running an 0845 NON PROFIT service (we make nothing, ask Vispa) for months now and such a service is never mentioned and only listed in the readers top 50, not official listings.

The same will be for the freecall system(s), it is for ISPreview readers only and will NOT be offered publicly like bigger ISPs broadcast around the place. It will not be listed in any relevant ISP listings and we'd ask N4N to do the same with their immaculate list. We will also avoid referring to it in a 'Join up - you'll love it' way that other ISPs do, in fact we'll do our best not to mention it at all in the news.

It will not be reviewed either, this is all for the very reason N4N sighted - that it could make you biased. As such we have been saying from the beginning that it'll remain and private service, like the 0845 one. Thanks to N4N for bringing an important question up and using it as political propaganda against us =) hehe.

Net4Nowts READER Comments:
There's always this dedicated set of people that stick to different sites, we have them, N4N has them and so do all the others. It's just another kind of 'group protection' think that physiologists tell you about all the time. Right before they turn you into a rabbit and make you believe you want to appear on TV with Paul McKenna =].

The thing is you can't ignore them because quite often they show you areas your supporters normally wouldn't. So now to address their concerns:

1) The Primary package is such because it'll be totally unique to us, however those not wanting to change Telco’s can wait for the FRIACO offers which will be simple hops to a main ISP and not directly related to us.

2) Changing Telco’s is something we didn't want to do, but what most don't understand is it's just one option of several for those who really want low cost access. £8 per month for the ISP itself would be impossible under a BT only network, maybe even FRIACO until it's widely available.

Don't forget at the weekends you'll also get freecalls all the time, so you could even use your local ISP, likely without any cut offs as far as I'm aware. So don't worry, we're just offering it to a MAX of 50% and YES people are interested. It won't be our only option, but for now it's the best we could do to maintain near 100% reliability and cheap costs.

3) Several bigger news sites have claimed FRIACO won't arrive until Q1-2001, this is not what BT have told us and the other ISPs we will offer through. FRIACO's next official launch date is 1st October, after that it's up to the ISP to implement it.

If they do not meet this latest deadline (yep, there have been several hehe) then ISPs legal threats will become reality. As such we're being told that provided FRIACO arrives on time, we should start to see ISPs with it by Mid-Late October.

4) Unlike any other third party Telco we are aware of, this one WILL ALLOW ISDN Home Highway user’s to join. In fact by purchasing a second account alah EzeSurf you can also get two ports for 128Kbps access. Line rental will either be the same as mentioned above or at the very most, BT standard rates.

5) Although not relevant it's an arrogant thing some people say to wind us up: "Well! ISPr have got to do something, 'cos the news items they produce are all second hand, copied/pasted from this site or others like it.". Whatever the reason people feel the need to lash out, it's still a worthy point.

Anybody who is involved with computer gaming and technology will likely read sites such as Voodooextreme.com and the like. These places make a living out of reporting on other peoples news posts. The problem is in the UK most people haven't been on the net long enough to penetrate into the USA sites and see this.

It's a perfectly standard practice and accepted so long as you give credit for the post and NEVER copy everything =) [We're cutting down on quotes from just recently]. ISPreview concentrates on reviews and interactive services and we only started any news items at all when YOU, the readers, asked for it.

Besides what is news, do you really think the majority of news on Net4Nowt isn't take from other general sources? Even sites like VNUNet and The Register often simply re-report items in their own fashion, it's rarely original and is nothing uncommon about it.

ISP news sites of course get a lot of site-specific news items, usually one every day. We post news the way we do because instead of just re-writing the same thing we, much like N4N, like to add our own viewpoints. In fact we often encourage people to chat in the comments and forums by inserting some interesting points of our own. Like it or not it's what happens with Internet sites and is a FACT - ACCEPT IT or go away.

-------------------------------- END

Well there you go, a ton of Interesting points brought up by N4N readers and even their own newsman, if not slightly disrespectful. Thanks to all those ISPreview readers who can understand and relate to the general comments we’ve made and for your support.

ISPr Freecall ISP Update

By:mark.j @ 9:54:AM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Just to let everybody know that two of the more important ISPr Freecall packages are now set in stone. We've sacrificed the web space and some other bits in order to get the actual dialup offer to have a 2hour 30mins cut off. It may be lifted to 3hours or more in the future if the Telco behind the first package looks into FRIACO, although time will tell.

We're also going to resell for another ISP using FRIACO that can appeal to the heavy users a little more. As you'd exact the heavy user ISP won't be live until early October'2000, provided BT gets moving.

Sadly the first option will require you to move Telco on one of your lines as the ISP service alone only costs around £8 per month. The other £10 is on line rental and there will be other benefits. Free local calls for the weekend (voice) and 15% less than BT in general for paid local calls with various other discounts.

The main package is also almost totally unique to ISPr, even the people supporting it have a different set of services to ours. Right now we're waiting to hear back from our sponsor on something that's delaying any launch but it shouldn't be long.

What is unmetered?

By:mark.j @ 9:42:AM - Comments (3) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

This morning everybody’s friends over @ C.U.T (Campaign for Unmetered Telecommunications) have put up an interesting article about the definition of unmetered:

Over time our use of 'unmetered' over 'free' has been taken up by the media and is now part of the language; in fact, we have even been asked to provide a corpus of 'unmetered' for the next edition of the Oxford English Dictionary.

Unfortunately, the advertising industry was less explicit, many people have complained about being misled, and the Advertising Standards Authority has recently made a number of rulings that Internet Service Providers must no longer use the word 'free' unless the service being provided actually costs nothing.

The article isn't actually that relevant, but they go on to sight an official image used to define unmetered from metered and then state:

-24-7 Freecall is a subscription unmetered ISP;

-Direct Connection is a subscription metered ISP;

-virgin.net is a subscription-free metered ISP;

-there is currently no subscription-free unmetered ISP.

Now what's interesting is that they state Virgin.Net as a subscription-free metered ISP? It's slightly confusing if you assume they know Virgin.NET offers an unmetered option as well. So they either don't know that or have their terminology confused, what do you call an ISP that offers services from both sides of the fence?

-ClaraNet is a subscription/no subscription-free metered unmetered ISP =).

It's confusing to say the least, but then who ever stuck to specifics, back to the pub for a beer..

News - September 15,2000

BT's Hypertext Claim Challenged

By:mark.j @ 7:31:PM - Comments (4) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Most people find it disgusting that any one group could possibly claim ownership over hypertext links (URLs), much like the guy who claims to own the universe (yeah... er.. ok). Yet BT maintains that they had the original idea, not so claims Augmentation Research Centre of 1968:

BT's tight-fisted grasp on the patent for hyperlinks could be about to slacken following an intriguing posting on Nerd site, Slashdot

Apparently, on December 9, 1968, Douglas C Engelbart and 17 researchers at the Augmentation Research Center, Stanford Research Institute, in Menlo Park, California presented a 90-minute live public demo in which hypertext was wheeled out for all to see.

The demo also included the first public appearance of the "mouse".

Considering BT's claim is based on an extremely flimsy line in a patent, this new evidence literally blows it away and can be viewed HERE (RealVideo form). Although we'd oppose anybody who claims rights and wants to abuse that for commercial purposes. Some things are just meant to be FREE. Read the rest @ The Register.

CallNet Problems Hit Government

By:mark.j @ 7:26:PM - Comments (12) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Well you'd think that the death of the 0845 service from CallNet would have effected too many people as very few used it anyway. Sadly that's not the case as The Register reports:

The Conservative Party is launching an investigation after its ISP, Tory.org, suffered a massive failure last night.

Loyal Tory voters - some 2,500 of them - were unable to access their email or the Web.

The virtual ISP is operated by CallNet.

Hmm didn't somebody say the 0845 service only had around 2,000 subscribers left anyway? All Tory? The article goes on to state:

A spokesman at Conservative Central Office (CCO) confirmed that the service went down last night, although today it appears to be operational once again.

As we know, CallNet sprang back from the dead, so that explains the service going live again. However after a brief chuckle we couldn't help but wonder what the Tory’s would say if RedHotAnt had been their ISP a few months back =). One day seems pale by comparison to the length we’ve seen many unmetered ISPs stay down for.

BT DSL Decisions Fiasco

By:Ross14 @ 6:09:PM - Comments (6) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

BT today admitted than if more than one operator applies to roll-out DSL on the same site of the local loop, then the winner will be decided by the throw of a dice.

BT admitted this shameful scheme to uk.internet.com:

"BT admitted today to uk.internet.com that it plans to decide key elements of its long-awaited DSL (digital subscriber line) broadband internet rollout by the throw of a dice.

According to the telco, should more than one operator apply to roll out DSL on the same site of the local loop, then the winner will be decided by a throwing dice. Full details of the controversial plan, part of BTInterconnect's Bow Wave Administration Procedures, is available on the BTInterconnect site.

Oftel begins the process of working out which operators applied for which sites along the local loop today. There are 360 sites up for grabs and the telecoms watchdog should have worked out who wants what by 19 September. After that there will follow a trading and bartering round, where operators can swap sites with each other.

If, after the trading round there are still operators squabbling over one or more sections of the local loop (only one operator per site), then Oftel will break open the Monopoly box and the winner will be decided by the good old tradition of a game of dice.

"Should more than one operator tie in priority for a particular site and/or trading doesn't resolve the issue of space allocation, the operators involved in this process will be invited to throw a dice to establish which operator will gain the available space - the highest number thrown being the 'winner'," BT told uk.internet.com."

Well, it is a silly way of doing it and almost controversial, but it is fair, no doubt about it.

Let's just hope that we don't have all the same operators wanting the same area of local-loop or we probably won't get anywhere =(

Net Enabled Taxis

By:Ross14 @ 5:52:PM - Comments (1) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Some of the famous yellow-cab taxis in the Big Apple have had a make-over thanks to Yahoo!

"New Yorkers can now hail Internet-enabled taxicabs on the city streets. Yahoo has got into bed with Medallion Financial Corp and Team Systems Corp to kit out ten cabs with mounted Palm Pilot VIIs connected to the Web. The purple and yellow fleet, complete with Yahoo's name splashed on the outside and purple upholstery on the inside, will be hurtling round the city until March in a pilot programme. Passengers taking the cabs will be able to surf for news, weather, sports reports for free, AP reports. Access to Yahoo email and financial news is also in the pipeline."

If this trial goes well, it might not be long until a company like BT come over and cash in on this idea. It could take off in a big way, you just never know. But with many people already carrying Palm/Laptop's and net enabled mobile phones, it might not be such a success.

Source: The Register

Just another little note, while we were surfing we came across a cool website. It's an alternative (and often hilarious) view of the Olympic games.

You can check it out @ silly2000.com

24-7Freecall Problems Spread

By:mark.j @ 10:23:AM - Comments (28) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

While we already know there are ISDN issues @ 24-7Freecall and their Telia connection, we're also hearing the problems have started to effect Modem users as well. The good news is 24-7FC are already aware:

At the moment some users are still experiencing congestion problems with the BT Network. These problems include:- dead tones, engaged tones, failure to connect and frequent disconnections. BT have redistributed the majority of the traffic in order to ease the congestion. Our engineers are working around the clock with BT to resolve this issue as soon as possible. User are advised to call the Help Desk on 0870 0777 247 to report the fault. 24-7 Freecall would like to apologise for the inconvenience and would also like to thank users for their patience.

Some of the problems are also related to the Telia connection, but most important is that 24-7Freecall recognise there is a problem and are fixing it. Compared to most other unmetered ISPs, they still remain one of the best.

UK Behind with IPv6

By:mark.j @ 10:04:AM - Comments (3) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

You see that four digit set number at the bottom of ISPreview which say's who you are, well that's an IP. IPv6 is something we've been hearing about for nearly 5 years and as yet nobody has truly implemented it. It's considered as one of the founding blocks for Internet2, which is still some way off.

IPversion6 is a more advanced IP system designed for future broadband services and faster networking, it also expands current IPs in it's final form. It does this by adding one or two extra digit sets, sadly there is a big problem with its take up in the UK:

BT is currently running a number of IPv6 trials, but in an article in Nokia's corporate magazine, Link, the company says it is unlikely to be properly deployed for several years.

Peter Hovell, head of IPv6 trials at BT, and Steve Sim, head of BT's network research programme and member of the IPv6 Forum, wrote: "There will not be a sudden transition to IPv6. It will have to be integrated into current IPv4 networks over a period of several years."

"BT and several other operators are running pre-commercial trials to investigate which of the proposed interworking techniques should be used."

Ahead of the UK, Internet Initiative Japan (IIJ) has launched an IPv6 service in Tokyo. The rollout is based on a 'native' format for direct data transmission using IPv6. IIJ had previously offered an IPv6 service based on tunnelling technology, which sends IPv6 data over an IPv4 connection.

Users will be able to connect at 64Kbps, 128Kbps and 1.5Mbps using dedicated access lines, and the initial service area will be widened during next year.

Nokia has claimed that the existing mobile infrastructure in the UK would hamper the roll out of IPv6. It says that mobile phone operators will be compelled to overlay their third-generation (3G) networks on top of traditional circuit-switched technology rather than true IP.

You can read the rest over @ VNUNet , but this is indeed a typical set back by British technology. In fact it's already two years late in implementation and the first I heard of it was around five or six years ago. Just goes to show that when you're working on a global scale, delays are often magnitudes above anything else.

Erratum to June 7th ADSLuk Article

By:mark.j @ 9:56:AM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

In an article published during early June we mistakenly miss-read a news item @ The Register which made it sound as though ADSLuk was an ADSL supplier and made a mistake in their supply.

This was incorrect as ADSLuk is, like ISPreview, a news and information service only. At the time we did not know this.

Telco's Fight Over Unbundled Space

By:mark.j @ 9:51:AM - Comments (1) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

With Local Loop unbundling set to start in January 2001 next year, the race for Telco's to get a share has already begun. However with no clear parameters defined, people are getting worried that it'll simply be a case of who offers the most money with the rest ending up with nothing:

The future of competitive telecom services in Britain could be reduced to little more than a crap shoot according to official documents from the Electoral Reform Services (ERS).

Some 30 telcos have submitted their applications to install equipment in local exchanges as part of local loop unbundling (ULL).

But if the allocation of limited space cannot be decided - and there is a complex system in place to ensure that it is - then those involved will be invited to throw a die to resolve the issue.

Whichever telco throws the highest number will be the "winner".

Joe Wadsworth of the independent body, ERS - which is scrutinising the allocation process - confirmed that this game of chance would be the last resort.

He said: "I think it's unlikely to happen."

The process for allocating which telcos get to install their equipment in which local exchanges in based on a complex electoral system of the single transferable vote.

Both Mr Wadsworth and a spokeswoman for regulator, OFTEL, declined to explain exactly how it worked.

The results of which companies have succeeded in winning space in local exchanges are due in tomorrow. A second tranche of allocations is due in December.

Of course this isn't actually a bad thing because lets face it, you'll only want the best Telco's on your exchange. Thus it stands to reason that those capable of offering the highest price should also be of the best quality, we hope.

Of course conspiracy theory’s come into play as well, BT could simply be using it as a way of dispatching unwanted competition, not that they have any. From a consumer point of view we still don't know exactly how things will change, all anybody cares about reading this is unmetered access =) - MAKE IT CHEAPER.

Source: The Register - Networks

VisualDepth Lies Continue

By:mark.j @ 9:41:AM - Comments (3) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Our vigilant friends over @ The Matrix noticed the following interesting post over on the VisualDepth ISP site today:

With Apologies...

Our 0800 Internet Access Service has been suspended due to many technical and communication problems between ourselves and our supplier. Please accept our apologies. A similar new service is being negotiated with some major telecommunication companies within the United Kingdom. As a small new Internet Service Provider we would ask that as many people support us as possible, our interests are in providing a good quality low priced service to the general public. However, with the many problems unmetered Internet Service Providers are having we feel we can succeed where others have failed.

The new service shall be intended for business and personal use and we shall impose the least restrictions as possible to the service enabling the British public an unmetered service which provides a 'real' unmetered service. We would ask that current customers and potential customers are patient whilst we negotiate a new service. Significant investment shall be used to create such a service and we are attempting to keep negotiations and communications with providers as fast as possible.

Like The Matrix said, anybody who read our investigation knows they illegally used EzeSurf for their dialup operation and admitted to us the truth not long ago. When EzeSurf died, interestingly so did they =), however if you still wish to stick with them then we do know a deal with Energis is currently trying to get the go ahead.

VD are playing a very difficult game, they assume that because only a small portion of ISP users read sites like Net4Nowt, ISPreview and The Matrix (although still significant in itself), that they can get away with it because the majority don't know we exist.

We did contact Trading Standards about this, their HQ, but have not heard a single word back from them as yet.

Kingston Set For Unbundled Broadband

By:mark.j @ 9:31:AM - Comments (0) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Kingston much like several other Telco's has decided to rollout it's broadband service during January 2001 to take advantage to BT's local loop unbundling:

Kingston has applied for access to 1,000 BT exchanges, and plans to extend its on-demand TV and internet services to customers across the country. BT will begin to open its local loop to other operators from the beginning of 2001, although widespread access is only expected to be available from July.

Currently, Kingston operates a broadband service, Kingston Interactive Television, in Hull in partnership with BSkyB, which brings digital TV and on-demand programming as well as the internet, email and telephony to customers. Kinsgton will roll this out nationally, alongside services from its broadband business network, Torch.

The service will be supported by a nationwide broadband network that Kingston is developing with Colt Telecom.

It's not entirely clear just what broadband method is in use, but by the sound of things it'll be under ADSL because local loop unbundling doesn't really effect fibre optic cable co's and C-Modems, they use a different system. You can read the rest @ NetImperative.

BTClick Changes To BTInternet

By:mark.j @ 9:13:AM - Comments (5) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Many people know BTClick has an alternative to the likes of mainstream ISPs by allowing you to login instantly and without authentication details. Well this morning John has informed us of the sad news that BTClick is merging into BTInternet:

http://www.btclickplus.com/excite/welcome/welcome.html

On the 17th of October your current btclick.com service will be replaced with BTinternet, a more competitive internet access package designed to save you money. Simply follow the steps on the right to register for BTinternet by this date.

BTinternet gives you:

-Cheaper access to the internet. Depending on the package you choose, you'll get internet calls evening and weekend either free or 1p per minute. Between 8am - 6pm Monday to Friday you'll pay just 2p per minute.

-Great new benefits such as free Web space, free text messaging and a 24-hour Helpdesk.

You'll still have access to your talk21 email service and can keep your personalised settings from Excite for things like Horoscopes and Chat.

To find out more about all the great BTinternet options, just click on these links:

-BTinternet Pay-as-you-go. Subscription-free option (no credit card required). Internet calls cost just 1p per minute every evening and weekend and 2p per minute 8am - 6pm Monday to Friday.

-BTinternet for SurfTime. £9.99 a month charged to your BT phone bill, giving free internet access from 6pm to 8am weekdays and all weekend. 2p per minute at all other times.

-BTinternet by Credit Card. £9.99 a month charged to your credit card, giving free internet access from 6pm to midnight weekdays and all weekend. 2p per minute at all other times.

This doesn't make much sense as BTClick was never designed to be competitive anyway and BTInternet is a very different ISP. Worse still is the fact that many Internet TV Set-Top-Box and Internet Telephone makers use BTClick for their connections, what will happen to them?

This again disproves BT's claims that systems such as BTInternet and BTOpenworld have nothing to do with BT directly. It's that BT bit that slightly gives the game away and then the self-advertising for each on the other services =). Still we'll have to wait and see what happens, one way or another BTClick is no great loss.

News - September 14,2000

Viatel to Offer FRIACO

By:zeon @ 6:51:PM - Comments (7) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Net4Nowt have reported that Viatel is to offer a FRIACO service to ISP's. It is unclear how much they are charging ISPs and what kind of deal they got from BT. Here is the press release:

"Viatel is able to offer the flat-rate service as a result of an agreement it reached and signed with British Telecom (BT). Viatel is among the first providers in the UK to have reached such an agreement, known in UK telecom circles as FRIACO (Flat Rate Internet Access Call Origination). Until FRIACO, service providers were finding it unprofitable to offer un-metered access that did not involve customers paying any usage-based fees.

ISP Dial, as the service will be known, will allow ISPs to offer un-metered pricing to their subscriber base and provide them with cost certainty when launching those services. The roll out of ISP Dial is the latest addition to a wide range of IP services that Viatel provides to ISPs, corporations and consumers across Western Europe.

Bill Murphy, President Viatel, Inc. explains: "Internet users are increasingly demanding flat rate offers and we are providing ISPs with the ability to meet those requirements, control their costs and ultimately improve their bottom lines. An un-metered dial-up access offering meets end-customer needs and eliminates the commercial risk to the ISP associated with such an offering. Roll out of services will begin as soon as possible and, as regulations change across Western Europe, we will expand our offer set into that new space."

Viatel owns and operates Western Europe's largest fresh-dig, multi-duct, pan-European network and is now one of the few telecommunications providers that can offer borderless narrow and broadband access to ISPs and ASPs across Europe. Viatel already has a significant customer base in the UK, ranging from ISPs and resellers to corporate and residential customers."

We aren't sure which ISPs use Viatel the only one we have heard of is Itdoesntmatteronline who claimed they were talking to Viatel.

CallNet Back Up! - Emergency Talks

By:zeon @ 6:28:PM - Comments (2) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

After some emergency talks it looks like C&W will reconnect CallNet. This report is from ZDNet:

"We have reconnected CallNet," says a Cable & Wireless spokesman. "Having held further discussions we've come to a commercial agreement." The spokesman estimates that CallNet's Internet service will be up and running again, "definitely today, probably within the hour."

CallNet's recently appointed chief executive Gerard Farley says disconnecting the service was regrettable but is delighted to be back in business. "Obviously it is very upsetting and concerning. The good news is that the service will be resuming."

So now they decide to pay the bills... Is it a good idea to use this company as an ISP? Comments...

More CallNet Info

By:zeon @ 6:04:PM - Comments (0) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

We have received this e-mail that explains some of what is happening with CallNet. From news around other sites it seems C&W and a few other creditors are trying to claim back large amounts of money from CallNet:

"I will confirm that Cable & Wireless has pulled the plug on all services that it provides to CallNet. Both its London and Milton Keynes offices are without telephones or internet connections (Which means that there engineers have no access to the servers). Also all the 0845 numbers for both CallNet and some 40 VISP's have been pulled, including tory.org, sniffout.com, and connect4free to name a few. http://www.world-callnet.com/visp for a full list.

You are aware that CallNet was taken over (Hostile) on August the 1st led by a group of Australian shareholders, firing the founders and senior management.

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/000801/world_call.html

It is the NEW management who pulled CallNet0800, and who have also it seems decided not to pay any of the bills. I can't confirm but I think you will find that all suppliers were being paid up to the time of the takeover. The people behind the takeover (Mr Peter Boonan, Mr Gerard Farley, and Mr David Peters) have a string of failed public companies behind them, and seem to have a way of upsetting other shareholders, staff and management of there companies.

MDM Group -
http://www.ragingbull.altavista.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=MDDM Key Club, Inc -
http://www.ragingbull.altavista.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=KEYK
Key Capital, Inc -
http://www.ragingbull.altavista.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=KCAP
Select Corporate Services, Inc
Cherokee Leisure plc (A UK chain of Strip Joints)

I understand from my sources that CallNet was NOT in any major financial difficulty prior to the hostile takeover, although they had made significant losses due to the 0800 promotion, things looked bright with the introduction of SurfTime and FRIACO."

We cannot verify the truth of this e-mail but it seems that Callnet has had alot of trouble since the takeover. It also now looks likely that these VISP's will go under.

Confirmed - CallNet Has 0845 CutOff

By:mark.j @ 2:57:PM - Comments (5) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

As we rumoured earlier this morning, CallNet, once popular for their freecall 0808 access, has also had their 0845 connection cut. The details were leaked out to ZDNet this morning:

CallNet's business model always looked shaky and evidence mounts that the company is in serious trouble

A former darling of the free Internet access model, CallNet, has had its 0845 lines cut and is being sued by its former public relations agency, ZDNet can reveal.

Reports sent to ZDNet by a reader claim the 0845 service was not accepting calls Wednesday and that all calls to the company's head office went unanswered. A former spokesman for the company says "CallNet is being wound up by Mulberry [its former PR agency] because no assurances had been given that our bills would be paid."

We've been getting more reports along the same line today and as such would have to agree. So not only have they lost their 0808 freecall but also now their 0845 local call service, sponsors won't be happy. Without the 0845 they aren't even an ISP anyway, although CallNet was technically doomed from day one thanks to the freecall service.

Latest Rumour - CallNet Problems

By:mark.j @ 10:36:AM - Comments (0) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

A new rumour has just surfaced and as yet very few have reported anything, but it seems as though CallNet's 0845 number has been taken off-line. This does not affect CallNets 0808 number because that's run by WorldCom and is due to go offline soon anyway.

According to rumour the CallNet 0845 (Local Call) number is dead because they couldn't pay the bill? Seems strange since 0845's pay for themselves, can anybody confirm or deny this? E-Mail us.

The A to Z of ADSL

By:mark.j @ 10:29:AM - Comments (0) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

While browsing around the net this morning we noticed Net4Nowt had a link to the online version of the Telegraph, the dotcom.telegraph, where they have an interest Questions and Answers style look at ADSL:

Can anyone get ADSL?

That would be too easy.
You can only get it if your local telephone exchange has been ADSL-enabled. You also have to live near the exchange, because ADSL has distance restrictions. You need to be around 2km to 3km from the exchange, measured by the cabling, not the crow. BT claims it can now service about 35pc of the population, but, of course, you also require a BT telephone line.

RHA Test New Dial-Up Number

By:mark.j @ 10:23:AM - Comments (19) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

If you're one of those people having even worse problems after RedHotAnt's upgrade or nothing has changed at all, then this latest RHA post might be of interest:

We have a new dial-up access number, however it is undergoing beta testing. By dialling this new dial-up number you will be connecting via an alternative communications backbone provider. If you are experiencing any problems connecting to our 0808 1050003 dial-up number then please try this new dial-up number which is 0808 1050010

The new number supports K56 flex, V90 and ISDN 64K Single Channel, however it does not currently support Dual Channel ISDN, reverse DNS or Multilink PPP.

It would greatly assist our technical team if you can email any problems, faults, or bugs regarding this beta test to: betatest@redhotant.com

Like we stated yesterday and before the following update, while most of the ISDN issues are slowly getting resolved, some do remain:

13th September 2000 19:30
Some users connecting via ISDN have been experiencing constant Engaged tones when trying to connect to RedHotAnt, the main areas that appear to be affected by this problem are Blackpool, Manchester, and London. If you are using ISDN and are experiencing this problem then please could you email isdn@internet-support.net stating your userid, the phone number you are dialling from (including area code) Number you are dialling, type of ISDN TA/Modem and type of ISDN connection you are using (ISDN2, Home Highway, Business Highway)

We will forward this information onto our Telecommunications Provider to help them diagnose and resolve the problem.

We apologise for any inconvenience caused.

It's good to see they are actually getting things done, hopefully those few having problems will finally be up and running again shortly.

Madasafish LIVE!

By:mark.j @ 10:17:AM - Comments (11) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Ok so we reported this on the 23rd August 2000 and the E-Mail(s) we're getting sent look the same, except now at the bottom it says:

Please make sure you have your Madasafish Username and Password handy as you'll need these to sign-up. If you don't already have your user name and password, sign-up today at http://signup.madasafish.com/

Next, choose which TimeZone you want then click on the link below and follow the instructions. Please make sure you have a credit/debit card to hand before proceeding:

Sign-up for TimeZone at http://www.madasafish.com/TimeZone_signup.htm

Once you've signed yourself up, we will process your payment, activate your account and then send you an email with the new details you will need to activate your TimeZone service. Please note, due to current demand this can take a few days, so please be patient.

If you have any questions or should you have any problems with configuring your service, please contact the Madasafish NetCentre on our usual number - 01851 777727.

Search our news for the full and original E-Mail, it's basically the same from August 23rd, but with slightly different wording. The difference is that the service is now physically live and anybody else wanting on should do it now.

There are two TimeZones for you to choose from:

- TimeZone Total, which gives you unmetered access 24 hours a day, every day for £27.99 (inc. VAT) per month

- TimeZone Lite, which gives you unmetered access at evenings and weekends for £11.99 (inc. VAT) per month

FRIACO Update

By:mark.j @ 9:59:AM - Comments (0) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

After talking with three ISPs and a Telco planning to host an ISP service and all wanting to use FRIACO, we've now got some idea of when it'll finally hit the consumer market. If, as inside sources claim, FRIACO is ready to go from October 1st - 2000, then it'll be between the 20th'Oct and 15th'Nov before any ISPs make use of it.

Of course this all depends on the 1st October date being met and BT supplying hardware fast enough. As yet nobody is sure what the final product will be, clearly Telco's and ISPs were unhappy with the last offer in August.

The August one would have disadvantaged ISPs offering services outside of urban areas (rural) and also incurred an additional metered charge. Hopefully the final one being penned by CUT, Oftel, BT and whoever else is involved should fix this.

Internet Caused The Fuel Crisis

By:mark.j @ 9:47:AM - Comments (8) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Seems as though Tony’s pledge to get things rolling (quite literally) in the next 24hours has gone tits-up since it's exactly the opposite. However the eager beavers of the Internet and @ The Register have found the reason these protesters are so organised:

Well, two tankers complete with whirring police escort have gone down Regent Street in the last hour, Tony Blair's pledge to have it all sorted within 24 hours is blown, the petrol pumps are still dry and it looks like we've got a top-notch crisis on our hands. And we love it.

A good percentage of the UK never lived through the Blitz but that mentality has permeated the collective British subconscious. The chips are down and secretly we're all dying for some hardship. If this goes on for another two days, pianos will start appearing in local pubs and we'll all be having a right old knees-up. Talk to your granny now - she's got the inside track.

What has this all to do with IT? Everything. If it weren't for mobile phones and the Internet it seems unlikely that such a protest would ever have happened. Old-style protests consisted of getting as many people together in one place as possible. This would never have worked for this petrol crisis. Instead, by communicating and organising over the Internet, anyone anywhere is able to keep up to date and the accumulation of knowledge enabled smaller groups to protest outside depots and effectively cut off the petrol lifeline.

Quite right, although if they are so organised why haven't they had the intellect to appoint a general representative? You can't expect MPs to drive up to random fuel depots and ask to talk to somebody, it wouldn't work.

You'd think that with such a far reach over the Net they could have had the intellect to find somebody with economic knowledge outside of cow numbering =). Ah well it' still proof that the Internet as a global information source is certainly working, but it takes intelligent people to use it properly? Who knows..

Internet Hotels?

By:mark.j @ 9:38:AM - Comments (0) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Well it's only a matter of time before we see computer screens in just about all shops, houses and even in-car E-Mail. Of course that's just it, nobody actually knows how long it'll be, but at least BT is making a step in the right direction.

Apparently they plan to build 44 Internet Hotels, something that The Sunday Times claimed to be false several months back. Seems as though they were wrong since BT has just confirmed the 1.25Billion pound deal.

Questions have arisen over whether this is a good investment and if so then what exactly does an Internet Hotel do? BT's current set of debts and recent downgrading by credit raters could mean they are getting desperate.

The 44 hotels will be built in 16 country’s (several in the UK) over a period of three years and are designed to meet luxury with technology. The group helping out, Ignite, have already built 20 such hotels of their own and have proven them to work.

Each centre will house computers belonging to corporate customers, which run Web sites, Internet service providers' services and software applications. Less of an Internet hotel and more of a place for big business to run their companies from while abroad.

The official announcement is scheduled to be made on Thursday this week and since it's a profit making investment they'll be on time =). We wonder whether it'll have BTSurftime unmetered? Nope that'd be too expensive!

News - September 13,2000

Blairs "UK Is Cheapest" Claim Doubted

By:Ross14 @ 7:54:PM - Comments (24) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

The Consumers Association has cast doubt on Tony Blair's claim that the UK has the least expensive off-peak internet access in the world.

"Local Phone calls in the U.S are free - how do you get cheaper than that?" asked Alan Stevens, Head Of Digital Services.

"It's true that the cost has fallen and we're among the cheapest in Europe - but I'm not sure how he's worked out those figures."

Figures used by the Government to claim the UK has the world's cheapest off-peak internet access have met sceptical response from experts.

"Until we have widespread unmetered access it's impossible to make a fair comparison," said Trevor Merriden, editor-in-chief of Internet Business Magazine.

"It strikes me they're making selective use of figures. I'd be surprised if it were true."

The Department of Trade and Industry though says Tony Blair's claim is supported by statistics.

A spokeswoman said a March survey by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development backed the claim.

She added that while the UK is not the cheapest in all categories surveyed it was, on average, the least expensive country.

Thanks to Tina for the email.

BT Issue Emergency Fuel Orders

By:mark.j @ 5:12:PM - Comments (10) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Well BT haven't just delayed the installation of ADSL longer, they've now just issued a statement that goes one step further:

As a result of the current fuel shortage BT are conserving all fuel stocks and as a priority are safe guarding the operation of the network e.g. exchanges, radio stations and emergency services.

With regard to our Field Operations the priority is maintaining the Business Repair Service.

A National Control Centre lead by John Dunn, Network Operations Director, is being set up to monitor and control the ongoing issues.

BT are also investigating ways to exploit the stocks of fuel set aside to operate the exchange standby power generators.

I will provide further updates as information becomes available but in the meantime can you ensure that our customers are aware of the situation and actions being taken by BT to manage the current fuel shortage.

The fuel crisis is really starting to hit big business now; since the protestors haven't actually got a representative then they might as well stop. It's annoying, but economically lowering fuel costs is next to impossible, we only have about 30years left of it anyway =).

We're still behind the protestors, but even under another government they still wouldn't be able to change the prices. Still at least our government could say sorry and explain to people the issues instead of just assuming we are too dumb to understand. You can see The Register ‘s view on the same PR as well.

RHA Warming Up Again

By:mark.j @ 12:42:PM - Comments (33) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

In the last seven to ten days RedHotAnt has finally begun to improve yet further. While for some reason there are still people have serious problems, the majority are now finding it to be a much better ISP. Recent issues with ISDN have now all but been resolved and 90% of users are quite happy with the service they are getting.

Of course we can't ignore that other 10%, but as yet have no explanation for why they can't login has been given. Hopefully RHA won't fall into the old trap of adding more subscribers and going down the hill again, only time will tell.

We wouldn't be surprised if they made use of FRIACO once available to help lower costs. Some issues with packet loss do still exist, but they are minor compared to what it was like over two weeks ago. Generally the waters around RHA are warming up and it's good to see an ISP that was on the brink of death leap back to life.

If you are still having problems then contact RHA and tell them your exact location (could be a DLE BT issue), phone number, username and describe the problem. Also tell them what modem or ISDN type you are using and what Telco you’re on, that should help narrow things down.

The Revolutionary Network

By:mark.j @ 10:20:AM - Comments (0) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could bypass BT and modern day networks by building our own system and thus avoiding the added cost? Well yes, but whatever people say, if you're going to offer a Dial-Up system then it'll go through BT one way or another, not according to this news item @ The Matrix:

A group of enthusiasts have started to develop their own backbone network, bypassing the Internet Service Provider (and more importantly the telephone company's expensive local loop) as we know it.

By building a network themselves, they can aggregate their bandwidth usage, and make a deal for a leased line or other connection as a 'bulk buyer'. They hope to extend this open network to the level of peering with ISPs, and in essence becoming an ISP of their own.

You can find more info here: http://www.consume.net/

Sadly while this model is a good idea, its been done before some time ago and never quite made it. The reason wasn't so much a problem with the network, but the fact those who designed it didn't understand how businesses worked together.

Invariably the system failed, but with the unbundling of the local loop it's not sure how this would benefit ISPs further anyway. It's not likely to be around before unbundling either, but it does have interesting applications in other areas that could work.

When is FREE, Not FREE? NTL Knows

By:mark.j @ 10:07:AM - Comments (2) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

How many of you remember our campaign from long ago about ISPs claiming to offer 100% FREE services, when they actually weren't? If not then take a loot at 'What is FREE?' to refresh your memories. The good news is that this morning VNUNet have posted word that the ASA finally listened:

NTL has been found guilty of misleading customers over the availability of its unmetered internet service.

Nearly 170 customers have complained to UK advertising watchdog the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) about NTL's advertising for the service, which promised "no more waiting", after many were left unable to receive it.

NTL began advertising its ntlworld unmetered internet service when it launched on 17 April. The ads claimed: "No more waiting... everybody can get on the internet.. day or night, thanks to ntlworld." But many customers complained that the campaign was misleading as they were unable to sign up immediately and were not warned about delays.

So to those ISPs offering 0845 or call charged services, or services with any charge and calling them FREE, your days are numbered. Remember if you advertise something then you're expecting to deliver what's advertised. They go on to state:

NTL said it would not comment until later today on the ASA's finding, but did confirm that advertising for the ntlworld service has not restarted. A spokeswoman for NTL said the company is "delighted" that more than quarter of a million users are already using the service and that the queue for the service had been reduced.

Reduced but not cleared, so much for NTL restarting their advertising campaign as recently reported.

BTInternets New Site Design

By:mark.j @ 10:01:AM - Comments (2) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

The rather quite Matrix team have got an exclusive link to the new web design for BTInternet, apparently.

http://www.vpwsys.co.uk/images/btinternet.gif

Another BT ADSL Delay

By:mark.j @ 9:54:AM - Comments (8) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

It's almost as though BT will do anything to delay the installation of ADSL, that's now supposedly live. Well thanks to the current fuel crisis ADSLuk is reporting that it's going to give them just that excuse:

ADSLuk have learnt that BT are likely to suspend ADSL installations and repairs as emergency conditions kick in within BT caused by the current fuel shortages. Nothing is known of how long this will last after the shortages end or whether existing install dates will be honoured.

Still at least it's an honest excuse; the fuel crisis may be essential for eventual lowering of the petrol costs, although it's anything but well managed. Where's the groups representatives? Still until it clears expect BT to play out the delay for a whole month, this taking us all into next year, hurray! =(.

News - September 12,2000

The Domain Trade

By:mark.j @ 7:20:PM - Comments (0) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

These days a good domain name can be almost as valuable as a medium sized business and in the not so distant future more domain suffixes will become available. However it seems as though some people are getting in on the act early:

Legal experts today exclusively warned uk.internet.com of the growing danger posed by internet entrepreneurs selling names to top level domains (TLDs) that don't yet exist.

In what is being dubbed the next Internet land-grab, companies have started selling domains on TLDs that Icann has not rolled out.

A number of US based registrars, including Image Online Designs, Name Space and Alternative Domains, are allowing punters to pre-register basically any domain suffix they can think of, such as .sex, .news or even .consulting.

David Engel, an internet lawyer at Theodore Goddard, said that it was "a cheeky" way of operating and that the registrars could well be taking advantage of people's ignorance of the domain name system. But he said that "there's nothing unlawful about it" and that if people are willing to give up $40 for a name that will probably will never exist "then that's up to them".

It's certainly a risk as some initial suffixes to go live in the future have already been leaked; none of those mentioned above are included. On top of that it's likely that future extensions will be no longer than four letters.

The people who have to decide what new suffixes to include have already stated that they want to maintain a familiar and common Internet. The fear is that if a ton of new suffixes were released then that would simply confuse people.

You can read the rest over @ UKInternet, although it's almost as radical as the man who claims to own the universe (legally as well) and is now selling off pieces of the moon. Nobody may have detested this, but I think some aliens and possibly even a god might object to such a claim =).

ClaraNet Competition & ADSL

By:mark.j @ 7:06:PM - Comments (2) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

ClaraNET, one of the UKs best loved ISPs (apparently), has just sent out their usual newsletter with some interesting news of a competition and residential ADSL availability:

1. customer.survey

In order to further improve our service, we have put together a series of short customer surveys. The questionnaires should take less than 3 minutes to fill out and all those that complete the survey by 22nd September will be entered into a prize draw to win £50 worth of vouchers to spend at one of 30,000 leading high street retailers.

To complete the survey click on: http://www.clara.net/dialup/members/ For any comments on the survey please email csurvey@clara.net

3. claranet.update

As we mentioned in the last newsletter, we have now launched our ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) package for our business customers. Later this month we will be offering ADSL to all our customers, giving you permanent high speed Internet access and the ability to view real-time audio and video, as well as keep your telephone line free to make and receive normal phone calls.

To register your interest click on http://www.clara.net/adsl/interest.html and if you want more information about ADSL, visit our new look business web site at http://www.clara.net/adsl/

Still, don't expect to actually get an ADSL system installed until the end of the year, be your exchange upgraded or not. BT's cleverly timed delays are just a way of saying the service is live but not actually producing one, clever eh?