September 7, 2000 - September 12, 2000

News - September 12,2000

BTInternet is Growing Fast

By:mark.j @ 7:00:PM - Comments (9) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Customer perception of the mighty ISP BTInternet and it's ADSL sister site BTOpenworld is varied to say the least. However a new report which can be explained in full @ Net4Nowt, claims they are still doing well:

BTopenworld's narrowband Internet access offering - BT Internet - is one of the most recognised ISPs in the UK (but not necessarily the best), second only to AOL and ahead of its main competitor Freeserve, according to new research.

The survey, conducted independently by NOP, revealed that BTopenworld has 95 per cent awareness as an Internet Service Provider, up from 76 per cent in June last year.

The study also highlights that the service provider boasts the second highest usage rates in the country, running just ahead of AOL and behind only Freeserve. Coupled with this, BT Internet has also more than doubled its customer base since February, signing its half-millionth subscriber this week.

BT Internet also scored high in customer satisfaction ratings with eight out of ten saying they were very pleased with the service.

"With hundreds of ISPs in the UK, all vying for the consumers' attention, it is important to note that we also fared well in the churn debate. Almost half of the BTopenworld respondents stated they switched from another ISP in the last year," said Ben Andradi, chief operating officer of BTopenworld.

They go on to claim that the 500,000 user mark has just been broken and that they will continue to expand and offer quality services. Some might dispute the 'quality' issues, but then others might dispute those that dispute and yadda yadda.

Still you can't say they haven't pushed ahead, perhaps it has something to do with advertising on TV? Yes of course it does. The moneys in the marketing, as they say. So how do all you BTInternet users feel about them? Good, bad, what?

Fuel Crisis & ISPreview

By:mark.j @ 6:46:PM - Comments (48) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

I've written this little news item about three times now; I can't quite decide how best to put it. So far I've wasted half the day trying to find fuel and with no luck. So sorry if updates have been short but it's effecting everybody.

In trying to find fuel I wasn't around to do news and the same can be said for those that actually run ISPs. As such there hasn't been any real news for the UK accept the fuel, we all want it and nobody can get it.

Despite my utter anger I still support the picketers, I couldn't afford the fuel anymore anyway, so who cares? Sure get the tankers to emergency services and those that need it, but if Tony doesn't at least listen to the people then he's going to be in trouble.

I'll coin the new phrase, "He's gone and done another Millennium Dome!". Nobody wanted it, but we got it didn't we, yet they are surprised when nobody wants to visit. So sorry if there hasn't been much news, don't worry as we'll be working all day tomorrow since I don't have fuel to get into work anyway =).

PLEASE TONY, LOWER THE PRICE OF FUEL!!! OR [Insert Statement Here] =). So what do all of you think about this fuel crisis, I'm talking to those that can drive. Post comments..

IBM Launches Net Speed-up chip

By:mark.j @ 2:58:PM - Comments (3) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

There's more than one way to skin a cat and by now you'd have thought methods of transferring data across networks might have improved, although the basics still remain. Thankfully a new piece of kit hopes to bring some order to the chaos of network traffic, quite literally in fact:

IBM has developed a chip that bundles together related data packets as they're crossing the Internet.

The processor, the PowerNP, is aimed at switches and routers, and contains a tiny chunk of code - IBM calls it "bandwidth allocation technology" - that synchronises related packets.

The Net's TCP/IP protocol family is designed to break data down into small chunks, called 'packets', which are then sent out across the Internet and reassembled at their destination. The idea is that individual packets can travel independently along what is the best route between source and destination at any given moment. As long as the packets all get there, the order in which they arrive shouldn't matter.

Of course, now the Net is host to more time-sensitive data than email or transferring files, this approach isn't always the most effective. Packets of video and e-commerce transaction data need to be synchronised rather better than do packets containing basic Web pages.

IBM's chip recognises the connection between such order-sensitive packets and ensures they are sent out in the correct order. Less order-sensitive data can be held back until the video stream data has passed through.

Quite clever and a more logical way of doing modern data transfers, something business networks could benefit from. You can read the rest over @ The Register, lets just hope it doesn't turn out to be another one of those dud technologies that nobody actually buys.

Did you know that two years ago a new standard for modems (64Kbps) was set out? Well nobody took it up for whatever reason (Put ISDN out of business?) and so it never came of age. You'd be amazed at some of the stuff that passes by over the years and yet we never see.

Future of ISDN Feedback & Views

By:mark.j @ 9:40:AM - Comments (14) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

We're currently doing an article on the future of ISDN (two or three years down the road), if you use ISDN and have some comments on the topic then post them here or E-Mail to me directly. We've asked BT and some other Telco’s what they plan to do with the technology as broadband takes over, yet none have replied.

Any ISPs, business or major organisations that don't mind being quoted should E-Mail me privately. Will ISDN be phased out, will it be made cheaper to hopefully replace modems or will nobody care?

News - September 11,2000

Pre-Pay Credit Cards Reach U.K

By:Ross14 @ 6:55:PM - Comments (12) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

As we reported a few days ago on the "Hope Yet For Online Shopping" story about pre-pay online credit cards in the U.S - well, BT (who else) have finally brought them to the U.K.

Primarily, the pre-pay cards will be targeted at the teenager end of the market, and people without credit cards.

"The telco is planning to launch a nationwide network of ATMs, which customers can use to charge pre-paid internet credit cards.

Like similar offerings, BT Genie's Qdodge card is aimed at the 40 per cent of the UK population that does not have credit cards, primarily teenagers. The ATM machines will also allow users to top up their pre-paid mobile phones, regardless of operator. This facility will also be offered from the qdodge.com website.

More than 10,000 ATMs will be rolled out in October, targeting pubs, clubs, leisure centres, universities, train stations and petrol stations. Users simply tap in the amount they want credited and feed cash into the machine. BT Genie said the card will be accepted by the majority of large online retailers.

Kent Thexton, BT Genie's managing director, said the company is tapping into a market that would be worth at least £3bn by next year. "The Qdodge ATM network will have the ability to turn hard cash into 'e-cash' to make any online purchase," he said. "This means that people who do not have a debit or credit card have the option to purchase online."

Well, it is a much safer option for people who are scared of online shopping. And, much safer than giving your kid your credit card to buy an online gift =)

But, we wonder why BT has decided to launch this. Is it because this market is worth £3bn - probably!

Source: UK Internet

TV Net Access Becoming Favourable?

By:Ross14 @ 6:40:PM - Comments (0) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Forrester Research has published a report this week saying that with the growth of Digital TV, the main point of Net Acess will be through our TV's by 2005. So, are the PC's days numbered? No =) No Need to worry....yet.

"New research from Forrester Research states that, with the growth of pay TV set to drive a 50% increase in interactive digital television (iDTV), by 2005, TV will be the main point of online access for the public.

Forrester predicts that email will prove to be the key tool in driving the offline population online, with 66% of computer users stating that email is the reason they go online.

Pay TV will bring interactivity to 20m households across Europe this year and Forrester predicts that this rise will see the offline population using their TV rather than their computer to access email."

It certainly is a more relaxing option for families and couples - net access and email is much easier, maybe not quicker, but more comfortable with many folks.

Later this year also, we will start to see Integrated TV Boxes with Hard Disks so we can do almost all the same tasks that we do on our PC. It's really just a matter of time before TV catches up with "PC."

Source: Netimperative

LineOne ISPA Decision Update

By:mark.j @ 6:25:PM - Comments (0) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

As you all know the ISPA wasn't able to decide on Friday whether or not LineOne should be ejected from the group if ISPs. No timescale was given but today VNUNet have posted a short update:

However, almost two months later no decision has been made. ISPA confirmed today that its council has yet to decide what action to take against LineOne but said a decision will be made shortly.

"There is no decision to report as yet but there should be an announcement within a week's time," said a spokesman for the body.

ISPA, established in 1995, has created a regime of self-regulation among ISPs to avoid what it sees as a hindrance of unnecessary legislation. It has developed a code of practice for ISPs, which addresses service quality.

According to ISPA's guidelines, if LineOne is found to be in breach of the rules it could be ejected from the industry group. This would have little impact on LineOne, since ISPs are not required to be a member of ISPA to operate in the UK.

Nothing we didn't already know and another week to wait, but the delay does tell us there is an obvious split on what's the right thing to do. Ejecting LineOne doesn't exactly help anyone, so they have to juggle with morals and rules at the same time, what fun.

ISPreview Site Updates

By:mark.j @ 3:03:PM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Just to let everybody know we've updated the Complaints section, not much in the way of changes though. We've also added some ISPs (several nobody yet knows about) to our unmetered listings, taken the dead ones out and updated the old ones. You can also find a link to special comments sections for those who have an opinion.

The forum has also had some more changes, nothing big thou.

ISPr Freecall Feedback

By:mark.j @ 10:03:AM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Thanks to the 230+ people who replied to our ISPr Freecall Interest List questions. No need for anymore replies as we've got enough to form some final decisions now. Just to remind you, this is the kinder of Tiers we'll be offering:

End September/Early October:
-24/7 standard package with the usual limits, this one may require one line to switch Telco (only way we can do it for now). However it will have some good services such as a longer cut off (we hope), up to 128Kbps ISDN allowed (slightly more expensive) and compression support (as asked for).

The cost would also include line rental and so the ISP services themselves would be around £8 per month. We'll see, nothing set in stone so anything can happen. We expect this one to only appeal to 20% of interested sign ups.

Mid October/Early November:
-24/7 HEAVY USER package, for those that use Internet and nothing else and have a habit of using + 6 hours a day online. As people may remember it'd be very expensive but have no limits and provides a good stepping-stone to broadband. It would not require you to change Telco and would use the FRIACO system on a 1:1 ratio.

-General 24/7 & Off Peak options for older ISPr Online subscribers to our 0845 local call ISP services. This would also use FRIACO (hence delays) and no prices or service offers have yet been set.

Note that ISPreview considers any/all of these services to be stepping stones onto broadband. In a couple of years time we'll all be able to have broadband and hopefully by then we can even offer it. Right now broadband is limited by contentions, nasty port blocking, high prices and availability. Something that knowing BT - won't change for a while.

We’re very unhappy with the current cost of unmetered, but hopefully all prices can be dropped once the local loop is unbundled and FRIACO arrives.

Cable Supplier Statistics

By:mark.j @ 9:21:AM - Comments (4) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

The ITC have just released new figures showing the penetration of cable operators in the UK:

Worryingly cable television penetration has declined slightly, although it is likely to rise again after the Christmas period. This indicates clearly the importance of the digital services operators are slowly rolling out, which with good marketing have the potential to drastically increase penetration. With targets of 60% penetration in the long term set by ntl, new services, pricing, and most importantly marketing will be needed to propel future growth.

You can read the rest over @ CableNews.

News - September 10,2000

Visit to World Online

By:zeon @ 6:35:PM - Comments (1) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

On Friday some people from a site called The Scream! visited World Online:

"Yesterday a number of The Scream! forum members and other WOL customers attended a WOL customer forum, focusing on the options WOL has in continuing to provide un-metered ISP access while faced with increasing call costs and the delaying of FRIACO. Read what was discussed and add you views here."

A summary of the trip can be found HERE

24-7Freecall ISDN Update

By:mark.j @ 3:52:PM - Comments (21) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Well it looks like good old http://www.24-7freecall.co.uk have finally noticed there is a problem with ISDN:

PLEASE NOTE We are currently experiencing connection problems with Telia Networks ISDN lines. This is a priority issue and we are working with Telia to correct this as soon as we can. When signing up you should be aware of this.

How nice of them to tell us about it, well actually they didn't as Apex did. Still at least we know they are working to fix the problem, so all you getting those random disconnections might finally see them fixed soon!

ISPreview Weekly Update

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

It's been a pretty slow week since I had to attend ECTS'2000 from Sunday > Tuesday, the fruits of which can be found over @ http://www.speedy3d.com . That aside and we've still managed to get some work down and have our general meeting only a few minutes ago. Sadly not everybody turned up but we still managed to cover some important points, none of which need be publicly discussed just yet.

Right now concentration is on the ISPr Freecall system and so that's what we'll be focusing on internally for the next few weeks. As for ISPr, we're going to update the layout of some sections here and there. We'll also have the usual set of reviews and articles and plan to have an IRC chat session through our Java system sometime soon (can use normal IRC apps as well).

Also if anybody knows of a good comments system (CGI) that can be added directly (hopefully using SSI) into an article or review, then let us know. We've been looking for such a system for awhile and have found several, but none were actually easy to get. We're also working closer to having our hardware reviews come online, right now though the focus is on other things.

Watch for some interesting news either next week or the following one regarding ISPr Freecall, it's not far now. However half of anything we wanted to do has been delayed by BT (Yep, FRIACO) and so it's in their ballpark, not ours.

Affinity Loosing Money

By:mark.j @ 9:50:AM - Comments (7) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Our friends over @ Net4Nowt have got wind that the mighty ISP/Network Affinity, who supply BTSurftime to just about every ISP that needs it - accept the key 5 who get it directly, has had more losses:

Internet Service Provider Affinity Internet announced half year figures showing a fourfold increase in losses to £7m on sales, five times higher at £4.5m

As yet nobody anywhere has posted anything more about it, so we don't yet know why its had such huge losses. However it could be something to do with the almost invisible use of BTSurftime based ISP services.

If so then perhaps BT will start to listen and see that people want either less limits for their ££, or the same but for a drastically lower price. Nobody was ever expecting to pay £25 > £30 a month for cut off times, bandwidth limits, inactivity cut offs and port blocking etc.

FoxGlove Gets ADSL

By:mark.j @ 9:40:AM - Comments (6) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Possibly the most fake ISP in the entire world, next to that guy who said he could run an ISP server off 10,000 potatoes (though that was actually real), http://www.foxglove.co.uk have launched their ADSL services =).

As you might expect it's just a skit on the current problems faced by ADSL in the UK:

Frequently Asked Questions

What does the ADSL acronym stand for?

Always Delayed Slightly Longer

I thought it meant Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line, a kind of high speed Internet connection?

You're thinking of other countries - more developed countries with advanced telecom systems, like the USA, where it does indeed mean Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line. Here in the UK it means Always Delayed Slightly Longer.

So what's the deal?

We promise you a fast Internet connection next month. You can sign up and pay your subscription fees right now.

So it is a high speed Internet connection. Great! When can I get it installed?

Next month.

Well, hold on a moment. How can I know that for sure?

Just check out our history. It's always been next month.

So… that's what you said last month?

Exactly. And the month before that. That's how ADSL works.

No, I don't get this.

That's right. You don't get it. Not until next month.

There's plenty more nutty stuff @ FoxGlove if you really want, just remember DON'T sign up!! =)

News - September 9,2000

Unreal2 Pictures (EpicGames)

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

This is NOT ISP related news, but as many know I'm a keen online gaming fan and have been for many years since the days of Doom. I see it as a way of relaxing and releasing pent up pressure after a hard days work, as do several million others around the globe.

So when http://www.planetunreal.com exclusivly revealed the next generation of Unreal/Unreal Tournament titles I could hardly believe what I saw:

Checkout the new terrain engine as well by going to the links:

pic1, pic2, pic3

PlanetUnreal also have an exclusive 40mb video, boy this stuff makes Tribes2 look two years old and Halo look a full year out of date. I know it's not ISP related but you can't help but be swept away by how realistic games are starting to look!

High Speed Wireless Auctions

By:zeon @ 9:09:AM - Comments (0) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

BBC News has an article on radio based high-speed wireless auctions, which are due to take place in October:

"Auction Entrants

Atlas Communications
Broadnet
Chorus Communication
Energis Local Access
Faultbasic
FirstMark Communications
Formus Communications
Norweb Telecom
Orange Personal Communications Services
Priority Wireless
Templeco 489
Winstar Communications

Instead of selling licences that cover the nation, the Government has divided the UK into 14 regions covering England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Three licences are being offered in each region.

Reserve prices for the licences range from £4m for the right to offer services around London to £100,000 in Northern Ireland.

Companies are limited to bidding for one licence per region, but they can bid in as many regions as they want. Each licence lasts for 15 years.

Initially the Government is selling off licences covering the 28Ghz part of the spectrum. Later it is due to hold another auction to sell off licences to offer the same services but over a different, 42Ghz, radio band."

More Broadband Internet can only be a benefit and without BT it is even better.

News - September 8,2000

300m Online & Growing

By:mark.j @ 7:19:PM - Comments (9) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

NetRatings and Nielsen have combined forces in order to conduct a world survey and found that nearing 300million people around the globe are online!:

More than 295 million people across 20 countries in Europe, Asia Pacific and the US have internet access from a home PC, according to a recent global trends study by Nielsen/NetRatings.

Of the 295 million about 82 million European users have access to the internet from home with more than half, 56 per cent, living in the UK, Germany and Italy.

David Day, director of analytics at ACNielsen eRatings.com, said the US and Japan are widely recognised as having the largest internet populations in the world.

"We see a European penetration figure of 82 million people, which equates to one household in five. The UK, Germany and Italy are well worth watching in the coming months as they continue to emerge on the global scene," he said.

The report also showed that Japan, Australia, New Zealand and Singapore account for about 37 million people who have access to the internet from a home PC.

You can read the rest @ VNUNet although it's certainly a large figure, with Europe being a big contributor. The Internet continues to expand and likely so will those that want to exploit it (governments etc.).

ISPA Delay On Lineone Ruling

By:Ross14 @ 6:11:PM - Comments (0) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Council members of the ISPA - Internet Service Providers Association - met today to discuss whether Lineone should be kicked out of the group.

Well, as usual with these things, no decision has yet been made.

"An insider at LineOne said: "We still haven't heard anything. It'll either be later this afternoon or early next week."

The ISPA are deciding the fate of the ISP on claims that it acted against the rules of the association when it decided to pull-the-plug on it's £5 per month unmetered service.

As always, ISPr will keep you updated on any breaking news from this article.

Source: The Register

08002go.com Update

By:Ross14 @ 2:59:PM - Comments (27) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

The Friaco based ISP 08002go.com has sent an email to all pre-registered customers apologising for the delays in launching the service.

They mention that because BT have let-them-down they have found an alternative service to base the ISP infrastructure on:

"08002GO.COM would like to remind you that as you may have read recently in numerous National newspapers we are suing British Telecom for £37 millionfor breaking their contract with us.

Because British Telecom bullied us and showed absolutely no care and attention towards us as an ISP, they have forced us to find an alternative service. We are now pleased to announce to you all, that this infrastructure is almost completed.

We have had to do a lot of work this end loading all our members to our system, but we will not go "live" until the system is 99.9% perfect. (After all, we're only human.)

We passionately believe that the public have been messed around enough by the so called big players in the Internet business. We simply will not launch half a service or lower our standards just for commercial gain.

Remember that by us getting it right for you, YOU and we benefit in the long term.

With your help, you are going to have Britain's Best and Number One Internet Service Provider.

BT will not power the new system, but if you use BT’s lines no worries it still works perfectly well with the new system.
It looks like the launch for late September or at the latest, early October, should be ok."

They are also using a petition against their legal battle with BT. All pre-registered customers names will be added to the petition automatically, but if you wish to opt-out then you must contact 08002go.com

For only £5.82 per month for unmetered 24/7, it's a good offer from 08002go. You can also surf upto 128K ISDN. But you better hurry if you want to be a member, as they can only support 1,000,000 customers!

We thought we might just add this little bit in from the 08002go.com email:
"We are not FRIGHTENED of BT. or their size and enormous wealth." LOL

Online Shopping - Hope Yet!

By:Ross14 @ 11:50:AM - Comments (1) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

For all you people out there who are scared of giving your credit/debit card numbers over the net, well there is a light at the end of the tunnel!

American Express have teamed up with financial institutions to launch a "disposable" credit card. How such a system will work is explained in more detail below:

"Financial services provider American Express said it will offer disposable credit card numbers to make web purchases more secure.

As part of a new service called Private Payments, consumers will use random, unique numbers for each online purchase so they would not have to send their card account number over the web. The random number expires after the transaction.

Private Payments will be available free in the next month to American Express consumer and small business cardholders in the US. Cardholders can register at the company's website by filling out an online form for the service.

Each time a Private Payments card number is used, the purchase is billed to the cardholder's actual American Express card and appears on the monthly billing statement.

Alfred Kelly, group president of US consumer and small business services at American Express, said while the internet has dramatically eased the way consumers research and buy products, it has also increased concern for protecting privacy and security."

It looks like a good idea to tackle net fraud in the long-term. It's just like the pre-pay mobile phones: People weren't all keen on them @ first but then started buying them - and a market boom was created!

There are no dates yet for a service like this in the U.K, but hopefully it won't be that long =)

Source: vnunet.com

CUT On Conservative Manifesto

By:mark.j @ 10:05:AM - Comments (27) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

As always the keen team over @ C.U.T (Campaign for Unmetered Telecommunications) have put up their response to the Conservative Party’s pre-election manifesto and very interesting it is too:

The Conservative Party has issued its pre-election manifesto, Believing in Britain. Of its hundred or so suggested policies there are half a dozen on telecommunications and information technology.

Some of those (such as proposed reviews of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act and IR35) are clearly opportunistic, exploiting perceived Government errors, but the most surprising of all is:

Asking the Competition Commission to review BT's market power in local internet connections, and looking for other ways of reducing costs to industry and the consumer of accessing the Internet.

As ever with manifestos the wording is loose - and it is not clear how such a review would fit in with, for example, the implementation of local loop unbundling, assuming a General Election in early 2001 and a Conservative victory - but the fact that an "anti-BT" policy proposal appears in an important Conservative Party document would have been barely conceivable even three years ago.

Well at least they haven't said the opposite, which is a good thing, as you can never tell with economics, politicians will say anything. Of course they are also (as with all the others) in favour of Oftel, despite the recent doubt over their abilities to properly regulate BT.

FRIACO - Not Until October!

By:mark.j @ 9:55:AM - Comments (0) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

According to several newspapers we've seen recently, BT Officials and some people inside Oftel have claimed that FRIACO won't be available until October'2000. Even then nobody’s sure exactly what form the FRIACO system is going to take. Will there also be a totally unmetered option like before (the one Telco's actually want), or will it be the partly metered one that has everybody up in arms?

Either way it's claimed that FRIACO won't be available to Telco's and thus ISPs until 1st October at the earliest. Obviously this means that many ISPs and Telco's are being further delayed and continually loosing money. Once again making nonsense of BT's own live TV claim that FRIACO was physically available from May of this year, yet we hear the opposite from Telco's that tried to join.

So it's back to the waiting cycle because three of our own ISP services will be based on FRIACO. Hopefully come October Oftel will finally get their heads out of the sand and release something that consumers and Telco/ISPs alike actually want.

25% of UK will never go online

By:mark.j @ 9:43:AM - Comments (8) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

There are around 13Million (unlucky number) people surfing the net from Britain every day, that's quite a percentage. However nearly 25% of our country still claims they will NEVER use the Internet:

According to a Which? Report published this week, one in four people claim that mistrust of the internet through a lack of understanding, the cost of net access, and the image that the web is a sordid hotbed of fraud and pornography are factors keeping them from ever logging on.

The report said this sizeable portion of the community is something the UK government and internet businesses cannot afford to ignore.

"If 15 million people never intend to go online and the government moves to electronic voting and banks put all their business online the question is: will there be an alternative?" asked the report.

"In the rush towards the digital nation there will always be some people who don't want to take part. It is a problem that remains to be cracked. There is disenfranchisement going on," the report added.

On the other side of the scale, however, the report found that 13 million people in the UK access the internet an average of six to seven hours a week. This is coupled with the fact that six million have recently shopped online, producing 1.5 million regular online shoppers.

UKInternet has the rest of the details, but it's easy to see there is a problem. Of course as usual with any survey, it's based on a limited number of people asked and also a straightforward question.

The Internet is technically hooked into just about everything from cash machines to modern telephones and nuclear weaponry. So saying you'll NEVER use the Internet is somewhat broad because the chances are these people have already, they just never knew it.

What we have here is a simple case of mistaken identity, when we think of the NET we think of websites and surfing. However the Internet itself is vast and as we said above, it's in just about everything.

Of course the Internet is far from secure and so people have a right to be wary, but those not willing to move with the times may find it hard to get a job. Simple point, the report failed to see the broad scope of the Internet in its questioning. Perhaps they should have asked them whether they'd ever be SURFING around websites?

Heavy Users Beware

By:mark.j @ 9:30:AM - Comments (13) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

UK Internet have just published an interesting article on the problem of Heavy unmetered users. Otherwise know as 'ABUSERS' to most ISPs, such consumers have apparently been the reason for the likes of LineOne dyeing, among others:

Unmetered ISPs have admitted that they are stuck between a rock and a hard place when dealing with 'heavy users' of their service.
Some ISPs have ejected users that they feel are outstaying their welcome, but others claim that they are the type of users that an ISP needs.

In July, LineOne's unmetered service went under. Spokesman Martin Jackson blamed "certain users" who he claimed took advantage of 'unlimited access'. He said that a small number of users spent as long online per day as the company had budgeted for - 24 hours a day rather than six hours.

Breathe also kicked 500 heavy users off its service, after chief operating officer Sean Gardner said: "When we said unmetered, we didn't mean that people could leave their PCs on seven days a week, 24 hours a day."

Although the unmetered offers claim 24/7 free access, ISPs clearly have a much lower number in mind. "There is a spirit to this agreement and it is quite plain that six hours a day is a maximum," said Gardner.

But ISPs may be shooting themselves in the foot by clamping down on heavy users. David Watson of World Online admitted that these people were prime broadband targets, and were more than likely to be the first customers for the service.

He claimed that two percent of World Online's user base log on for more than ten hours a day. "We charge the customer £14.99 a month, but a heavy-user connection costs us £700 a month."

Along with that you might also want to check out our Cost of Unmetered article, which also shows the high prices ISPs have to endure for our 24/7 unmetered. However the consumer argument is that if you offer unmetered then that's what consumers expect to get, nothing more/nothing less.

In economical terms 24/7Unmetered access for these heavy users is difficult, that's one of the reasons ISPreview will be offering a 1:1 ratio 24/7 unmetered service in the next couple of months. The service will cost a little more, but you won't have any limits and details will be published very soon.

Alongside those we'll of course offer smaller packages for the average users and such. Hopefully we can even give people the ability to simply swap over to broadband when it becomes available in their areas. Either way the article highlights the biggest reason for unmetered ISPs failing to deliver a service.

News - September 7,2000

Callnet Subscriber Woes

By:Ross14 @ 5:59:PM - Comments (2) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Callnet ceased it's unmetered "Callnet0800" on Tuesday night, and already The Register are wondering just how many customers have signed up to the new service:

"The new head of World CallNet has refused to comment on allegations that only a handful of its unmetered punters have signed up to its new unmetered service.

On Tuesday CallNet ceased offering unmetered Net access to its 100,000 punters. Industry insiders have claimed that only 2,000 people have opted for Callnet's new 1p a minute metered service.

"I can't confirm or deny anything," said Gerard Farley, president of World CallNet.

Asked whether the ISP was effectively being run down in favour of World CallNet's other major asset, the text-based email and information service, M@ilTV, he said: " Not at all. It [the ISP] is a very valuable business."

"The 0845 business is as strong as it has ever been and we're delighted with its performance," he said."

We wouldn't be surprised if these figures were actually true. There are better and cheaper offers out there.

World Online Merger Confirmed

By:Ross14 @ 5:51:PM - Comments (1) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

On an update to this morning's news about the possibility of a merger between World Online and Italian firm Tiscali, it has been confirmed that Tiscali will buy WO for £3.6 Billion!

The deal will create Europe's second largest ISP. It will also allow Tiscali and WO to have strongholds in the United Kingdom, Spain, France & Germany:

"Renato Soru, Chairman of Tiscali, said; “I am very proud that the major shareholders and the management of World Online have agreed to join forces with Tiscali to pursue the challenge of developing the leading Internet network company in Europe. I am also proud that this network, which already serves more than 6 million people across 15 countries, will further contribute to bringing together the people of Europe.”

James Kinsella, Chairman of the Executive Board of World Online, was quoted as saying; “This is a great deal for World Online Shareholders, allowing them to benefit from the long-term growth of the Enlarged Company. It is not an end in itself, but rather a platform for further expansion as together we build Europe’s leading Internet network company."

Source: Net4Nowt

Connect25 Update

By:Ross14 @ 3:14:PM - Comments (15) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Connect25 - the "pretty fake" ISP has replied to myself (Ross) today after I sent my £25 cheque. You may say that I am stupid, but, I really didn't have anything to lose - £25 is not that much anyway =)

"Dear Ross

We have pleasure in confirming that your application for 0800 internet access has been accepted and is now being processed.

It takes an average of 14 days to process each application and a further 14 days for your 0800 internet access connection to be made.

We anticipate that your 0800 internet access will be available to you within the next fourteen days. We will be confirming this in writing to you very shortly."

We @ ISPr are still not convinced though, as I never sent them my address, only my email addy. Still, we'll see what happens.

Top10 Subscribed ISPs

By:mark.j @ 10:21:AM - Comments (3) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Thanks again to Net4Nowt for showing us the way to ISP Planet who have actually put up some UK content. Normally they only do USA related content, however today they have put up a Top10 list that is based on subscriber numbers.

We know several people will be interested in this, so here it is:

Rank - ISP - Subscribers
1 - Freeserve - 2 million active
2 - World Online - 1.4 million
3 - AOL multiple brands - 1.2 million (est.)
4 - LineOne - 1.1 million
5 - Virgin Net - 500,000
6 - Genie - 450,000
7 - BT Click - 440,000
8 - BT Internet - 425,000
9 - Claranet - 350,000
10 - Thus - 246,000

As you can see Freeserve still hold the fort, although the recent WOL merger will likely push them above FS very quickly.

Demon Go WAP

By:mark.j @ 10:02:AM - Comments (0) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

According to our friends over @ Net4Nowt, the might Demon ISP have now taken up WAP and will be offering their own services for it:

Demon, the Internet brand of Thus, have today rolled out their new WAP service for existing customers. Demon Now, has been designed to give mobile users access to particular content for WAP and real-time information, as well as send and receive email. Demon customers can now access Demon content whenever and wherever they are.

"There's been a lot of interest in WAP and what it can and cannot do," said Cynthia Gordon, brand marketing director at Thus plc. "Our emphasis is not on surfing the Internet, it's about providing specific, focused services, such as access to the emails our customers have not read since they were last on their PC, or finding out the football score when out shopping on a Saturday. WAP is about delivering specific, relevant and concise information."

"We see that by adding this type of mobile functionality to the Demon services, we are offering value with more targeted content, which will meet our customers' needs without raising unrealistic expectations. The service fits with our overall strategy of delivering services over a variety of platforms, enabling the business user access to email and other particular WAP content while on the road, and in a timely manner."

To be honest, I don't like WAP, it's a tedious thing and you simply can't see the content on a mobile phone. Either way it's still an important stepping-stone for those concept phones of the future (PalmTop/Mobile hybrids etc.).

Lets hope Demon can help to make the WAP system a little more interesting than the others.

WorldOnline Review Unmetered Service

By:mark.j @ 9:56:AM - Comments (1) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

WorldOnline recently sent out a letter regarding their statement made not long ago about a possible change to their 24/7 Unmetered ISP package. Thanks to Les for giving us the details in full:

The metered charging by BT was due to change under a system called Flat Rate Internet Access Origination (FRIACO). This was to result in an ISP being charged a flat price per annum to have internet traffic delivered to "ports" in BT exchanges. Other Licensed Operators (OLOs) like MCI Worldcom, Energis and Colt could then pick up that traffic and route the calls to an ISP for a flat rate.

The FRIACO system was due to be implemented in June of this year but still, due to "the ironing out of details" between Oftel, BT and the OLOs, there is no viable wholesale flat rate package currently available to ISPs. In addition, there is no definite date as to when FRIACO will be commercially available.

World Online is committed to delivering unmetered internet access to it's customers. In light of the delays in the availability of FRIACO, World Online is currently having to review its products and pricing. We are consulting widely with our customers before any plans are finalised.

If any changes need to be made in the near future, they will be reviewed once a FRIACO product is available to us. In the event of there being any changes we will be giving all our customers twenty one days notice. In the meantime, if you have any comments on this matter please send them to:

unmetered@uk.worldonline.com

Considering that BT are toying with their monopoly and Oftel along side, thus causing huge delays in FRIACOs availability, we think it might be awhile before WOL starts looking at real changes.

Either way we now know of several ISPs that are waiting on FRIACO and have become quite angry with BT and even their Telco's. ISPs pressure Telco's, Telco's pressure BT and then Oftel, BT and Oftel sing songs, but don't do anything; what fun.

LineOne\Quip Termination Details

By:mark.j @ 9:45:AM - Comments (1) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

In an E-Mail sent to customers last night, LineOne outlined a few more details on the Quip deal termination that might be of use (thanks John):

TERMINATION OF THE LINEONE QUIP OFFER

Q. If I am using the LineOne Quip free Internet offer, what will happen to my LineOne account on the 30th September 2000?

A. As of the 30th September 2000, the free Internet calls offer will be terminated. The number used to get free Internet calls will be disconnected at midnight.

Q. How will I be able to access the Internet after this time?

A. LineOne members who are BT customers can either switch to the LineOne SurfTime offer, or LineOne's standard pay-as-you-go package*. Non BT customers can switch to the LineOne's standard pay-as-you-go package only.

Full instructions on how to switch to other packages and change your dial up networking settings will be emailed to you before the end of September 2000.

* Internet calls are charged at standard local rate by your telephone company

Q. What will happen with my Quip! account?

A. Your Quip! account will remain active and you can continue to make great savings on national and international phone calls. You will not be able to get any more free Internet calls by using your Quip! account from 1st October 2000.

From 30th September, the minimum monthly £5 commitment will be removed, so you will only have to pay for the phone calls you actually make through Quip!

Your Quip! account will be credited with £20 worth of calls which you can spend on national and international phone calls between 1st October 2000 and 31st January 2001. The free calls will appear on your bill statements from October onwards.

As of 1st October 2000, the rate you pay for international call charges will be reduced further and you can save up to 80% on international calls. The prices for international calls will be in line with our current Quip! Rate customers who do not have unlimited free internet access.

Either way people still aren't happy and the new BTSurftime Off-Peak offer is just likely to add insult to injury. We await ISPA's ruling on Friday to see what their verdict on the whole situation is, although nothing they say is likely to change things for consumers.

First FILE STREAM Windows 2000 Virus

By:mark.j @ 9:37:AM - Comments (0) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Well it was only a matter of time before some clever nod discovered how to exploit one of Window2000's key features, the FILE STREAM. It's a bit complicated to explain, but according to VNUNet it goes something like this:

The discovery of the first virus to exploit the file stream feature of Windows 2000 to infect PCs has provoked a fierce debate about the adequacy of antivirus software in combating such infection.

The W2K/Streams virus, an executable file virus that only affects Windows 2000 systems, has been described by antivirus vendors as more of interest as a 'proof of concept' than a threat. Antivirus vendors have, however, updated their software to detect the virus.

While it is not spreading, the virus is the first to take advantage of the NT File System alternative data streams (ADS) feature, which allows the division of a file into several sub-files or streams.

The virus uses alternative data streams to hide part of its code, and some security experts, such as the respected Sans Institute, have said that antivirus software does not adequately check this area of the file system.

"This deficiency [of virus scanners] can be leveraged in order to hide malicious code or even cause the virus scanner itself to destroy critical system files," said the Sans Institute in a security alert.

Antivirus vendors said the criticism is misplaced because viruses such as W2K/Streams still have a portion of their code within the default area, and this will be found by any good access scanner.

Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at Sophos, said: "W2K/Streams uses ADS to hide the real binary data and place itself before it in the execution chain. The virus per se makes no use of ADS, and that some people have chosen to hype the ADS angle is somewhat unfortunate."

"To execute code in an ADS you have to call the code from a non-ADS stream. So far we have not seen evidence that the code can be executed directly."

Essentially you have a new and very risky loophole that nobody is quite sure how to tackle. We may not like Viruses but despite their destructive nature they do serve a very important sub-purpose. Without them systems simply wouldn't as secure as they are now, even if that security isn't 100% (never will be), at least it's more than none at all.

User virus checkers, backup your software and keep private information on a computer NOT connected to the Internet - simple.

World Online Merger = SuperISP

By:mark.j @ 9:27:AM - Comments (3) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

According to both Tiscali (Italian ISP/Telco) and WorldOnline a merger deal is now close at hand. Last we heard nearly a month ago the discussions had just started; yet now both officially claim that a deal is close.

Cleverly shares in both companies have been suspending pending the official announcement and so everything looks set. "Expectation is justified that agreement can be reached on a proposed combination of the two companies," World Online stated.

Tiscali is expected to buy World Online in a share swap deal, creating the company with a market capitalisation of about 7.5 billion pounds. Tiscali has a market cap of almost eight billion euros and about 2.3 million subscribers. While WorldOnline has a market cap of around 4.5 billion euros and 4 million subscribers.

The combined ISP would capture second place in Europe in terms of subscribers after Deutsche Telekom's T-Online, who recently pulled out of Freeserve talks. The eventual company will likely be run day-to-day by World Online's Chairman James Kinsella, while Tiscali's Renato Soru is likely to direct the board of the newly formed company/ISP.

Both men have recently explained the rationale for the merger, saying they need scale in order to effectively compete with former national monopolies. Of course by increasing their size in such a manor they also risk becoming a monopoly, not that it's any concern for them. This new merger may or may not affect their UK ISP, we’ll have to wait and see.

Self Regulate Your SPAM

By:mark.j @ 9:16:AM - Comments (0) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Up until recently the UK Government has been working on a way to make SPAM (Unwanted commercial/port etc. E-Mails) illegal in the UK. This would be a good thing, although we doubt it would stop the most determined of serial spammers.

However as, The Register reports, a simple outright ban on SPAM wouldn't work. Instead the UK Gov will give rights to ISPs for dealing with it in their own manor:

The British Government has bottled out of plans to ban spam and has, instead, opted for a system of self-regulation.

News of the Government's decision has been welcomed by some industry insiders who believe that the self-regulatory approach already employed by ISPs is effective in combating spam..

Hard-liners, on the other hand, claim this is further evidence of the Government's wishy-washy approach to the Net and further erodes its credentials as a champion of ecommerce.

A spokesman for the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said: "The Government has decided that the most effective way to control unsolicited commercial e-mail (spam) is through self regulation by the industry."

He said ISPs would co-operate both nationally and internationally to combat spam, with agreements in place to pull the plug on serial spammers.

Despite chuckling all the way through the entire post, we'd still have to agree, it's about time somebody did something to prevent E-Mail spam. Just about every single user on the Internet has a problem with it.