March 11, 2001 - March 15, 2001
News - March 15,2001
Bulldog Comms Co-mingle LLU With BT
By:mark.j @ 3:36:PM -
Comments (1)
- SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]
Bulldog Communications has submitted a request to the Policy Forum (BT, Oftel and Operators) to ask for co-mingling within BT’s exchanges. They hope the request would speed up the process of LLU and DSL, allowing them to locate equipment within BT’s exchanges – potentially right next to BT’s own equipment:
According to Peter Hall, COO of Bulldog, this may allow the company to roll out its residential service nationwide more efficiently.
He said: “Co-mingling is the simplest and fastest way of doing it. It will enable the rapid roll out of broadband services.”
Bulldog sees co-mingling as the simplest of four possible scenarios for unbundling. Least popular is the idea that the company should distant co-locate or install its equipment within street cabinets because of potential security risks such as vandalism. Another realistic option, which was detailed in Oftel’s determination earlier this month, was that operators could distance co-locate in buildings within 100m of an exchange using copper tie cables to link exchanges. However distance co-location is geographically dependent – the longer the tie-cable, the smaller amount of users the operator can reach.
It's certainly a clever idea, although with problems over pricing and BT potentially not wanting its competitors so close, nobody knows whether it'll succeed. A full response to Bulldogs request is expected early next month, more @ netimperative.com.
|
ClaraNET Say 'Pants To Poverty'
By:mark.j @ 2:46:PM -
Comments (2)
- SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]
Unless your some kind of new life form indigenous to Jupiter’s moon, Europa (no not Europe =]), you can't have helped but notice this week is Comic Relief. Sadly it's not a time when we're allowed to escape poorly planned pub jokes from friends, but instead designed to raise funds for charities in the UK and Africa.
Today ClaraNET have sent out a quick editors press release to help spur things along:
We're saying 'Pants to Poverty' with Comic Relief!
You may have noticed a lot of pants on our website recently or flashy red banners with funny red noses. Well, don't worry, there's a perfectly reasonable explanation. We've joined with hundreds of other sites to support Red Nose Day 2001 and create what will hopefully be the biggest online network of all time to raise funds for Comic Relief.
It's not just because we like pants, either! By being part of Red Nose Day, we're hoping to make sure that Comic Relief raises as much money as possible.
For every single pound donated by the public, Comic Relief will spend a pound helping thousands of people in Africa and the UK to transform their lives. Join us in support for Comic Relief and do whatever you can to raise money and spread the word, whether it's making a donation, clicking on pants, getting sponsored to wear red clothes, or just buying a red nose.
For more information go to: http://www.comicrelief.com/donate/
It doesn’t take much to give a pound or two to charity and you can even do it online, so what are you waiting for?
|
ISPreview Monthly Site Updates
By:mark.j @ 1:13:PM -
- SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]
As usual we've gone through the site and done our usual monthly update to some of the slower areas. It's a little later this time due to loosing a large amount of important data, including most of early March's ISP complaints.
First up we have the ISP Top 10, which this month sees Connect25 and Telewest SurfUnlimited slip into the charts by popular demand. On the other hand we have the Readers Top 50 ISPs, which tells a slightly different story:
1) Connect25
2) Care4Free
3) SniffOut
4) IC24
5) Virgin.Net
6) Pipex Dial
7) LineOne
8) Games-World.Net
9) ClaraNet
10) Euphony
The Complaints page has also been update, with Freeserve being the most complained about ISP and thus the Worst ISP for March 2001. It seems there's no escape for Freeserve, readers keep complaining about them in their droves week after week. BTInternet narrowly escaped being added into the list itself and several others went out for having no complaints.
The unmetered list also saw an update, adding the last few days new ISPs and updating the pricing/data for some existing ones. Last months survey proved to be one of the largest we've ever had, the results of which are:
[What worries you most about the Internet?]
Pornography - 7.6%
Piracy - 1.5%
Security - 20.9%
Regulation (R.I.P etc.) - 59.9%
Advertising - 7.7%
Other... - 2.3%
Total votes: 724
This months new survey asks the question, How long do you spend online per 'session' (not day)?. In other words, it's asking how long you spend online with your ISP for each time you login and then logout (average).
|
Freeserves Frank Keeling Resigns
By:mark.j @ 11:40:AM -
Comments (0)
- SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]
One of the first casualties of Freeserves merger with French ISP/Telco, Wanadoo, chief operating officer Frank Keeling has chosen to tender his resignation. The Guardian Newspaper today reports:
Mr Keeling's resignation comes as a direct result of Freeserve introducing a new organisational structure now its operations have been integrated with those of Wanadoo.
His role will now be taken on by chief executive John Pluthero, who will take a more hands-on approach to business strategy now he has been freed up from corporate discussions.
"Since joining the company last June, Frank has had a remit over revenue, access, customer management and portals. With John now 'back in the business' after the corporate discussions that have been taking place since last June, he can assume the chief operating focus that he didn't have time to spend on for most of last year," said Paul Barker, communications and investor relations manager.
"Having discussed the new structure with Frank Keeling and in the absence of any alternative role commensurate with his significant skills and experience, it has been agreed that he will leave the company with immediate effect."
Hopefully that will be the last of the trouble for Freeserve, at least if you discount all their unhappy unmetered users.
|
BigBlueSky Change Subscription Length
By:mark.j @ 10:47:AM -
Comments (5)
- SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]
We've just noticed this older post and it may have been mentioned before, not sure, but BigBlueSkys page shows an interesting update:
LATEST NEWS
The BigBlueSky is live, but we are currently upgrading our registration software.
Due to the overwhelming response, our Introductory Offer of Un-metered Internet Access and Free Internet Call Charges for Life, for just £25 will expire on 1 March 2001. After this date all new subscriptions will £25 per year. So if you haven't registered yet, you better hurry!
Nobody with any sense was expecting BBS to keep up such an economic 'Lifetime' subscription structure in the first place. The new 'Per Year' basis has certainly brought the ISP a lot closer to realism, although we have yet to see such a cheap ISP go the distance.
If BBS are able to maintain the ISP without imposing any further limits or raising costs for another six months then this could be a landmark service. For an ISP that doesn't impose too many limits and costs so little, it's a wonder they've survived this far. Keep it up we say!
It does raise the question, why were BBS so unable to stop the obvious ‘Lifetime’ madness earlier on?
|
Government Paper Over Promotes Broadband
By:mark.j @ 9:59:AM -
Comments (0)
- SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]
Yesterday saw the latest report on the UKs broadband industry arrive from the government. In it they set up a working party - the UK Online Broadband Stakeholder Group - to report how Britain is doing in the broadband arena.
Not only that but the paper also highlights Britain’s future in the broadband industry and paints a more than rosy picture. In fact it's a picture so wonderful you could almost drink it like a fine wine:
You see, it's not all that bad. The Government is in control, knows what it's doing and has thought of everything. Sure, we're at an early stage with broadband - just chill out and relax...
Except, the mind-altering effects of this Government-peddled narcotic soon fade.
If everything is so rosy, why have nine operators pulled out of LLU? Why has the industry lodged complaints about the roll-out of ADSL? Why have AOL UK and Freeserve threatened legal action against BT? Why are so many consumers whinging about installation; technology failure; the ordering process.
Most people can accept the teething problems with such an early technology, although many are likely to be insulted by this latest paper. Typically the government, being so close to an election, have covered up all the problems and painted over it much like a forger of art.
The Register highlights this quite well, although whether the unknowing public will buy into it is another question entirely.
|
IC24 Sale Confirmation Expected
By:mark.j @ 9:48:AM -
Comments (0)
- SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]
In a move that could see the Off-Peak 0800 access come to a final close, Britain's largest newspaper publisher, Trinity Mirror, is expected to confirm plans to sell its ISP, IC24.
Included in the sale would be its business magazines and exhibitions arm, the Financial Times newspaper reported. Analysts estimated the service provider to be worth between 20 and 25 million pounds, while the business magazines arm could raise 50 million.
If the sale goes ahead then users of the IC24 ISP might well find the 0800 service ending, mainly because the buyers could be reluctant to keep such an offer online. Not to mention that many believe their interest to be more in the website than the ISP.
UPDATE
Trinity Mirror has confirmed that it will be spinning off its consumer ISP business ic24 from its IC Network of consumer websites in order to sell it off as a separate entity.
However, the group plans to retain its IC Network of internet ventures, which includes consumer sites such as icshowbiz and icsport, as well as its portfolio of more than eight regional portals including icBirmingham, icLiverpool and icScotland.
|
News - March 14,2001
BTOs Full Broadband Security PR
By:mark.j @ 4:57:PM -
Comments (0)
- SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]
We've just been sent the full press release about BTOpenworlds new security software; here it is in full for those that might wish to read it:
BTOPENWORLD LAUNCHES EXCLUSIVE TRIAL OF BROADBAND SECURITY SERVICE
Media information March 14, 2001
BTopenworld, BT's mass market Internet business, today launched an exclusive trial which will provide its broadband customers with improved security and privacy while online.
Online Scanner from Internet Security Systems (ISS) will, for the first time allow BTopenworld broadband customers to have their PC's security scanned while online to identify any potential security weaknesses and give recommendations on solutions to any problems or gaps found.
The free 90-day trial uses Online Scanner, the first commercially available online scanner product from market-leading provider ISS - which has more than one third of the UK market.
BTopenworld is leading the way in addressing increasing customer concerns about computer security and privacy when online. These concerns have been heightened with the advent of broadband Internet which, owing to its 'always on' nature, potentially places users at greater risk to hackers and viruses. Mindful of this issue and concerned to avoid it becoming a restraining force on the growth of e-commerce, BTopenworld is taking the initiative by providing its customers with a first-step solution to the problem.
Online Scanner is part of an integrated portfolio of security based services due for launch later this year, and is one of the first projects to emerge from BT's Broadband Applications Laboratory at Adastral Park, a technical incubator for new broadband applications.
The Online Scanner application can be downloaded by means of the Btopenworld site and will run from within Internet Explorer (IE) versions 4 and above. Once the scan is completed, normally within nine seconds, it provides the user with a list of potential security hazards with the software on their PC. These are ranked as high, medium and low, along with recommendations on how to tighten up security.
If the ISS trial is successful the intention is to make the service available on both BTopenworld's broadband consumer and SME portals. Further security features, with links to the BTopenworld shop, are also planned such as anti-virus software and firewalls. A link to BTInternet will also enable the downloading of the filtering software CyberPatrol.
Marc Deschamps, chief operating officer, Broadband, BTopenworld, said: "With increasing customer concerns about security in the Internet, BTopenworld has taken the initiative with ISS to address these and provide a solution. We at BTopenworld are keen to ensure that e-commerce is successful and this is just the first step in a roll-out of an extensive security programme."
|
World Online Comes Under Fire
By:mark.j @ 4:43:PM -
Comments (1)
- SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]
Dutch shareholders' lobby, VEB, said it has served a summons against Internet service provider (ISP) World Online as well as other parties involved in its disastrous flotation last March.
Many shareholders were angry to learn that former chairwoman Nina Brink sold most of her holding prior to the IPO at only $6 per share, while they had paid 43 euros. The VEB claims World Online and the other participants did not fully disclose information that would have prevented many from buying shares.
World Online, now part of Italian telecom and Internet Company, Tiscali, confirmed it had received the summons.
"World Online is going to study the summons and our lawyers will consult with Tiscali about what to do," said spokeswoman Margaret van Kempen.
The VEB represents 10,305 World Online shareholders who bought shares in the ISP's offering.
In December World Online said the VEB had demanded 220 million guilders ($92.6 million) in compensation for their losses, but the company denied responsibility. As such the settlement discussions have broken down and VEB plans to file suit.
|
BTOpenworld Gets Hacker Defence
By:mark.j @ 3:39:PM -
Comments (3)
- SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]
ADSL users of BTOpenworld could be about to get a little extra ‘free’ security with their accounts, but all is not quite what it seems:
Customers using BT's broadband ADSL service will be provided with a 90-day trial of ISS's Online Scanner, which will automatically detect and alert them to potential security vulnerabilities. Such vulnerabilities could include out-of-date virus updates, the existence of Trojan horses and other backdoor programs such as SubSeven, which allow remote users to take control of a computer, and poorly configured Web browser settings.
However, the trial only lasts for 90 days, and Online Scanner does not allow users to print or save the reports that it generates.
The scanner is designed to detect vulnerabilities that could lead to security breaches and allow third parties to eavesdrop on online transactions. "It gives BTopenworld subscribers the ability to effectively determine which e-commerce Web sites protect their privacy and which ones don't," said Robin Dahlberg, managing director of ISS's UK and Ireland operations in a release. "Enabling them for the first time to make a truly informed decision about where to shop online."
Initially we thought the ZDNet article was referring to BTOpenworlds Firewall software, however it now sounds more like an advanced Virus Checker. Typically 'FREE' is once again proved to be time limited in the case of a commercial organisation.
|
UPDATE: Madasafish Respond To ISPr
By:mark.j @ 12:21:PM -
Comments (3)
- SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]
As many will have no doubt noticed, yesterday the popular gaming and unmetered ISP, Madasafish came under fire after it was revealed they had kicked users from their service for 'abuse'. Being an ISP to always keep a close eye on their public perception, they've today responded to our previous news item.
The Madasafish Product Manager, Forrest Duncan, revealed to us that only 100 people had been kicked from the service and that it, "was a difficult decision to make as you can imagine, but at the end of the day, it was one that had to be made for the benefit of the rest of our unmetered users.".
He went on to claim that, "the accounts affected were being used in a way wholly inconsistent with any definition of 'reasonable' or even 'way above average'.". There was no mention of exactly what kind of hourly usage per day this equated to.
Forrest finished up stating something we had sighted as a possible reason yesterday:
"We continue to strive to provide the best service available and if we had had access to truly unmetered access before now then things may be slightly different, but even then, it has to be said that even the current pricing models proposed under FRIACO (in any of its variations) still could not cope with port:user ratios of nearly 1:1."
True indeed, however we remained unhappy with the lack of any true definition for the usage those kicked had incurred. We chose to contact Forrest and quoted an example from Freeserve, where usage above 11Hours per day could be considered excessive, he replied:
"There is no shadow of a doubt that we are talking Freeserve levels here (and more in some cases).
I think that many of your readers will be able to confirm this from their own experiences with us."
In the case of Freeserve, who at the time charged £9.99 per month for 24/7 unmetered, we could agree that the usage was excessive. Madasafish is more difficult to gage because their expensive, yet use older/more expensive methods to spread 0800 services.
Since it was only 100 users out of thousands then the matter isn't so big, although hopefully they won't do it again. We only wish ISPs would have the intelligence to employ a 'usage warning' system before issuing ultimatums, fair or not.
|
Totalise Go FRIACO With £1.35M Deal
By:mark.j @ 12:01:PM -
Comments (0)
- SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]
Thanks to an exchange deal between Secure Browser Ltd (SBL) and Totalise, announced today, the share linked ISP could soon be offering a FRIACO unmetered product alongside its other services.
The news comes only weeks after the ISP was forced to kick the majority of its freecall ISP/share customers due to their economic condition at the time - The full press release follows:
Totalise plc sell rights to dial-up revenue for £2M
Totalise late yesterday exchanged contracts with a company called Secure Browser Ltd ("SBL") for the sale of its rights to the dial up revenue from Totalise's existing dial up user base. Totalise will receive cash consideration of £1.44 million, payable over a period of 6 months, and £40,000 under a loan stock agreement.
SBL has also agreed to subscribe for approximately 3.25 m shares in Totalise at a price of 16p per share (£520,000 total value). These shares will allotted upon completion.
The total effect of the overall transaction will be to increase the cash position of Totalise by £2m.
The deal will also give Totalise the opportunity to offer FRIACO (affordable unmetered Internet access) based products to its customers later on in the year. Totalise is entering into a joint agreement with SBL in relation to a web site that is personally customisable by individual users. This is in line with Totalise's aim of making the web easier to use for everyone. Contracts have been exchanged, and a deposit taken. Completion is expected to take place on or before April 2 2001.
New customers to Totalise will continue to generate call share revenue or equivalent for Totalise as they select Internet Access packages and facilities available through this relationship.
Peter Gregory CEO of Totalise said "With the future of 0845 Internet access under some debate, this is a great deal for us. Little will change as far as the customer is concerned. However, with this cash in the bank - we are now in an even stronger position."
Further information will be made available on the Totalise web site in the coming weeks, and fuller details of the contractual arrangements will be disclosed at completion.
|
IC24 Extent 0800 - 28th March
By:mark.j @ 11:50:AM -
Comments (6)
- SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]
People have already been expecting this to happen, but today IC24 have officially confirmed to Net4Nowt that they intend to extend the 0800 again until 28th March. As before this is a two-week extension; the 0800 applies between the off-peak hours of 8pm and midnight.
When will they stop extending in such short intervals? We don't know. It'd be nice to have some firm dates for once as this can get tedious for users of the service.
|
Combined GPRS Chip Cuts Costs
By:mark.j @ 10:01:AM -
Comments (0)
- SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]
Manufacturers of future mobile phones designed to use the new broadband wireless GPRS technology will be happy to see an integrated chip solution. Until now the production of the chips and software for such mobile handsets has been a split affair, but no longer:
According to the company, the chipset combines all hardware and software functions that are required to build a GSM/GPRS handset, also providing cost, power and weight savings because of the integration.
Rick Weber, Conexant Marcoms manager, wireless communications division, said: “This product is aimed specifically at the growing data market in Europe, and addressing the handset manufacturer’s needs for cost savings.”
Weber said: “This is a central plank of our strategy – I don’t believe that people will need much more bandwidth than GPRS will provide. Although the top tier of providers and users will be on 3G, there will be a huge market for GPRS throughout 2002 and beyond.”
We'd have to agree with the netimperative.com article, GPRS has the potential to grow into some very attractive speeds and may forgo the need for expensive 3G technologies. This latest innovation is also likely to help by cutting the development costs and ultimately how much the consumer has to pay. Mobile Internet just keeps getting cheaper.
|
News - March 13,2001
EXCLUSIVE:Madasafish KICKING Users!
By:mark.j @ 7:34:PM -
Comments (14)
- SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]
It's a sad day when the integrity of a not only expensive, but promising unmetered ISP ends up in this boat. However recent events have helped to prove that even the biggest and most expensive ISPs like PlusNET and 24-7FreeCall are not immune to this behaviour.
Today we've received word from several Madasafish (Iomart backed) unmetered gaming ISP customers that they've been kicked from the service. It's a shock to say the least, but the letter speaks for itself:
Subject: Important News about your TimeZone account
As a company, we continuously strive to provide a quality of service to our customers that can be rivaled by none and that is accessible to all those who subscribe to the services offered.
On occasions, we have to take steps to ensure this quality of service is maintained and one of these steps is to offer our high users the opportunity to upgrade their service to something that may be more suitable to their needs.
For this reason, we would like to make you aware of our high-speed Internet access product: ADSL.
ADSL provides an "Always on" connection and also allows you to make use of your telephone while you are online.
For more information about Madasafish ADSL visit: http://www.madasafish.com/DazzleFish/index.htm or call 0845 272 0052.
Sadly, this also means that we have to take steps to ensure that we maintain a high quality of service to all Madasafish users by discontinuing your Timezone account.
Unfortunately, this must happen with immediate effect (Under term 13 of the "Madasafish Timezone Conditions of Use") and we will be in contact soon to advise you of the amount and means of refund which we will credit to you for the unused portion of any pre-paid month's service.
We apologise for the inconvenience that this may cause you, but hope that you can make use of our ADSL service.
Yours Sincerely
Madasafish.
We weren't expecting an ISP with Madasafish’s structure to fall into the same category as ISPs such as TFI, 24-7FreeCall, PlusNET and Freeserve etc. What this says about the stability of even cheaper ISPs we dare not contemplate, although it does look somewhat bleak.
It's worth remembering that Madasafish may not be using the latest unmetered systems to deliver their service, perhaps this is a case of 'out with the old and in with the new'. ISPs adopting the likes of BTSurfPort24 seem to be doing somewhat better.
|
Broadband To Increase Cybercrime
By:mark.j @ 6:26:PM -
Comments (0)
- SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]
Due to a rather unexpected 'billing' loophole in the 1998 Data Protection Act, police believe Internet users making use of broadband/always-on connections could be allowed to get away with serious cybercrimes:
The take-up of broadband in Britain will remove the need for Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to hold personal data on their customers due to a simplified billing model, essentially removing important intelligence for police officers.
Principles contained within the Data Protection Act 1998 require that customer information obtained by ISPs should only be processed for limited purposes such as billing. It also states that only non-excessive information can be held on an individual for a limited period of time, whilst it is required for legitimate business purposes.
"The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) is worried that that they may lose a valuable resource in the future -- some police would like ISPs to keep traffic data for policing, but that is bad data protection, and ISPs shouldn't be keeping this information," said Iain Bourne, strategic policy manager for the data protection commissioner.
Quite simply this is just another example of the contradictions new ACTs like R.I.P have caused, contradictions the government has a habit of ignoring consumer opinion over. The ZDNet article also fails to realise this latest discovery can just as easily be applied to every ISP as broadband technologies.
Sadly it's hardly going to stop the current governments continuing endeavours to sell our overall online privacy down the drain.
|
Cable & Wireless Issue Profit Warning
By:mark.j @ 6:17:PM -
Comments (0)
- SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]
C&W (Cable & Wireless), the global Telco/Cable group, have today issued a profit warning that's seen 20% wiped off their overall share price. In an attempt to curtail the impending financial doom, C&W have chosen to take the drastic action of cutting 4,000 jobs over a period of 12 months!
The loss is believed to be a result of recent reorganisation changes and its newer Global division missing its 15% revenue growth forecast. In recent months analysts have been warning investors to steer clear of the Telecom market, it's beginning to look like they were right. The question is, who will be hit next?
|
Iridium Satellites Back From The Dead
By:mark.j @ 4:44:PM -
Comments (0)
- SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]
One of the reasons we see so few Satellite Internet Access options comes down to the overall expense involved, this was one reason why the Iridium network failed - far too expensive. Today the network looks set to make a come back:
Satellite communications company Iridium Satellite said it has signed agreements with 13 service providers to offer voice and data services via its satellites when it launches its commercial service next month.
Under the nonexclusive agreements, the service providers, which include Eurocomm Industries, Fibertel, and Infosat Telecommunications, will be able to sell Iridium services to industrial and government markets, the company said.
Leesburg, Virginia-based Iridium Satellite had bought all of the assets from the failed Iridium, a $5.5bn satellite service, for $25m in December.
It's almost incomprehensible that a network costing $5.5Billion to set-up could be sold for $25Million, either that or they'd (Satellites) have ended up being destroyed. It's hoped the new $1.50 per minute airtime access charge will make the system more attractive then its previous $7 per minute one.
Don't expect to see any Iridium based services at the consumer level anytime in the near future; it'd be far too expensive. More @ ZDNet.
|
BTs GPRS Launch To Mirror Vodafones
By:mark.j @ 3:27:PM -
Comments (0)
- SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]
The Mobile arm of BT, BTCellnet, have today announced that their wireless GPRS (General Packet Radio Switching) technology is set to launch this summer, around the same time Vodafone have set aside for a similar launch.
The GPRS phones will provide permanent links to the Internet at similar speeds to home computers, which the industry believes will overcome disappointment with current WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) handsets.
Stuart Newstead, general manager for Cellnet's wireless data services, said on Tuesday it will extend its GPRS service from businesses to consumers once the choice of handsets widens.
"The information that we're getting from the handset manufacturers is that that will be mid- to end summer," he told Reuters in an interview. Cellnet has a few hundred business customers using GPRS services via laptop computers.
Vodafone also expects to offer GPRS to UK consumers in the summer, after launching to the corporate market on April 2. It expects to have handsets from at least six manufacturers by then.
GPRS is intended to provide a stepping-stone to even faster third generation (3G) services that will rolled-out globally starting this May in Japan. Many believe operators need not have invested billions in 3G as GPRS is likely to be all that's needed.
|
EXCLUSIVE:LogicSurf Unmetered Details
By:mark.j @ 11:49:AM -
Comments (3)
- SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]
As promised over a week ago, today we've been given the exclusive on LogicSurf Internet and their new unmetered package. Thank you kindly to the ISP for the following:
The prices for LogicSurf Internet when released 1st april 2001 are:
Off-peak - £9.99
24/7 - £15
(prices are yet to be confirmed)
Also 0845 comes active this week. So keep checking the website for details.
The packages seem well in-line with the current industry standard and for such a new ISP this is really quite good. We suspect they’ve made use of one of the VIP schemes provided by Affinity and BTOpenworld for SurfPort24, either that or the cut down WebPort one.
|
UK Net Traffic Passes 6Gbps Mark
By:mark.j @ 10:27:AM -
Comments (0)
- SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]
The UK's main peering centre for ISPs yesterday saw Internet traffic pass the 6 Gigabits per second milestone. Not unrelated to the previous article (below), the London Internet Exchange (LINX) has seen the bandwidth it handles more than treble in the last year:
Linx statistics, available here, show that it is now handling around 6.1Gbps at peak times of the day - which equates to 360,000 emails messages per second or more than 1,000 simultaneous broadcast-quality TV streams. Peak times are between 1400 and 1500 GMT.
Mike Hughes, head of network architecture at LINX, said that the bandwidth flowing through the exchange is growing by 1Gbps every 100 days or so, less than the doubling of traffic every three months seen in the late 1990s, but still impressive.
"The growth in unmetered and broadband Internet access is encouraging home use, and this linked to the growth in useful things to do online, such as buying train tickets, is spurring increased traffic on the Internet," said Hughes.
LINX are already planning to installed newer 10Gbps switches into their network, which should temporarily increase bandwidth over their fibre optic cable infrastructure.
With broadband expected to grow faster as coverage increases and general ISP usage still on the climb, it could be that the UKs networks may be unable to cope. As such major upgrades with networks from BT and LINX etc. will continue until the situation scales down, which may not be for several years. More @ The Register.
|
BT Choose Marconi To Update Network
By:mark.j @ 10:18:AM -
Comments (0)
- SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]
BTs networks are in desperate need of an update in order to cope with the overall growth of Internet access and newer broadband technologies. Today news has surfaced that BT has enlisted Marconi in order to aid its update, pushing Nortel Networks out of a very lucrative contract:
BT said it would be upgrading its UK network with SDH (Synchronous Digital Hierarchy) equipment, and Optical DWDM (Dense Wave Division Multiplexing) equipment, for ultra-high broadband delivery.
A spokesperson for BT said it had not yet signed the £800m contract for five years but had chosen Marconi over Nortel Networks. He explained; “We feel that buying Marconi [equipment] is the best value for BT.” He added that the reasons for chosing Marconi were a, “complex matrix of factors including price, quality, delivery and support.”
The spokesperson denied that BT had re-evaluated its sourcing options for the future supply of its UK core transmission network, saying that had announced last year that the contract would be awarded to either Marconi or to Nortel Networks.
The announcement is likely to place Nortel in a difficult position, having already cut 10,000 jobs as a result of the economic downturn; the company must now find another way to stay afloat. It's unlikely the proposed BT upgrades will be noticed for sometime to come, the project is a long-winded one. More @ netimperative.com.
|
BTs ADSL Rollout Plan For 2001/2002
By:mark.j @ 10:09:AM -
Comments (6)
- SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]
News - March 12,2001
NTL On Damaging Consumer Confidence
By:mark.j @ 4:14:PM -
Comments (2)
- SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]
Unless you've been housed in a small Egyptian asylum for the last few weeks then you can't have failed to notice the standoff between AOL, Freeserve and BT over broadband allocation.
However today NTL claims this stand off could be damaging consumer confidence in the broadband technologies. More damaged then they already are? We doubt it.
Jerry Roest, ntl's Group MD, Broadband, declined to comment directly on the dispute.
However, on a more general note he warned: "The worry is that people might start to think that there is something wrong with broadband."
Perhaps it's just as well, then, that according to ntl research few people understand the term broadband. If more did then the current row might really be doing some damage.
If anything is likely to damage the consumer confidence then it'll be the poor services, speed and quality provided by some ISPs, in some cases you could include NTL in this. Perhaps NTL aren't the best provider to comment on such a subject through The Register's article.
|
Singapore Students Get Net Addicted
By:mark.j @ 3:52:PM -
Comments (0)
- SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]
It's long been a worry of medics and psychiatrists that people can become addicted to the Internet, while many dispute this it does seem as if recent trouble in a Singapore school could be the evidence they need:
This virulent epidemic is causing worry in Singapore where three out of five people have Net access.
Medics warn that the disorder - caused by excessive Net usage - causes unsociable behaviour among teenagers affecting schoolwork and relationships. Symptoms include moods swings, sleep loss and can lead to violence.
The Straits Times reports that it can even lead to "isolation and suicidal thoughts".
After a moment of quite laughter brought on by reading this item from The Register we chose to take a more serious perspective. Sadly that didn't last, we just couldn't get around the fact that their description describes a typical teenager even without the net.
Now we'll admit, loosing a match of online Counterstrike can be frustrating, but we doubt anybody would contemplate suicide over it. If they did then the clan would need to find a replacement player, how selfish is that?
So if you feel you have a net addiction then post something about in our forums and we'll try to help =). Our expert group of recovering net addicts are always on hand to help – [cough], no really!
|
Affinity VIP Confirms Tiny Unmetered Deal
By:mark.j @ 3:40:PM -
Comments (2)
- SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]
It comes as no surprise following all the recent leaks that today Affinity Virtual Internet Provider (VIP) have made it official they're backing the new Tiny Online unmetered package with their re-sale of SurfPort24 from BT.
The product is still set to launch on 2nd April 2001 and will cost £14.99 per month, exactly like BTInternet, AOL and several other ISPs using similar technology.
As we predicted long ago, it's good to see ISPs setting a similar pricing structure because they will then be judged properly on performance and services - not whose the cheapest.
Of course this is a temporary situation, competition will grow and hopefully in another six months or we'll see ISPs offering dual channel ISDN options and services with less restrictions. Very few of those using the new structure have yet to abolish cut offs and the like. Hopefully future ISPs that become more economically adventurous won't loose sight of quality in an effort to grab more customers.
|
Site Update - Two New ISP Reviews
By:mark.j @ 12:35:PM -
- SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]
CloudNine Act Against SPAM
By:mark.j @ 10:19:AM -
Comments (4)
- SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]
This morning the popular CloudNine ISP have issued a new service status update that's important for ALL customers. Following a recent spate of spamming incidents they have now completed a review of their mail servers.
The result is that over the weekend they completed a mail security tightening exercise to deal with this problem once and for all. This has left some customers without incoming or outgoing email for hours at a time for the last few days, although they do apologise for the disruption:
Cloud Nine apologise if these changes are sudden and often complicated and apologise for any inconvenience caused by short notice. We have been meaning to make these changes in a more structured manner with longer notification but unfortunately the world does not stand still and the activities of spammers have become much more sophisticated.
We have tried to ensure that any disruption is minimised and we have tried to ensure that mail was re-routed wherever possible to minimise any actual loss of mail. We have been 99% successful in this objective but unfortunately with changes of this magnitude some loss and disruption was inevitable.
Not acting, however, could lead to greater inconvenience and more significant disruption than implementing these changes immediately!
It's important any customers go and read the FULL UPDATE in order to get details of their new mail servers. C9 aren't alone in taking stronger action against SPAM E-Mail, which continues to be a growing problem in the UK.
|
Security Concerns Over Broadband GPRS
By:mark.j @ 10:09:AM -
Comments (0)
- SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]
GPRS, the new broadband wireless technology destined to replace GSM, has today seen renewed worries over its security. Security on GSM networks was broken long ago; the problem is GPRS uses a similar system:
GPRS networks, like GSM, rely on an underlying encryption algorithm called GEA1/2, which offers 54-bit security. Despite the fact that this has already been compromised in the GSM case, but GPRS will also use the same algorithm. 3G networks should offer around 128-bit encryption, around the highest currently available for fixed line networks.
Andrew Peck, Idetica marketing director, said: “I believe that services such as financial management and similar high net worth individuals’ banking needs will be among the first GPRS services to be seriously launched.”
However, Sutherland believes that future versions of WAP hold the solution: “While WAP1.1 allows server side authentication, and 1.2 extends this to client side also, 2.0 allows for the implementation of a full Wireless PKI (WPKI) structure – this should go some way to solving any security concerns here.”
The netimperative.com article fails to realise that not everybody will use their GPRS phones for WAP v2. Many will use such phones as mobile modems that can be plugged into laptops and palmtops, thus presenting a security risk.
Tapping into mobile comms is almost as simple as doing the same thing with a standard landline, if you know how. It’s unlikely average everyday people will need to worry about this.
|
BTOpenworld In Talks With VISPs
By:mark.j @ 10:00:AM -
Comments (0)
- SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]
Following last weeks announcement that saw BTOpenworld launch its own private SurfPort24 offering, it has today been revealed that the ISP is indeed in talks with its VISPs (Virtual Internet Service Providers) and some new groups about using the cut-down services:
BT refused to discuss the progress of talks so far but confirmed it was in the process of discussing the service with its VISP clients. It manages the ISP businesses for all the major banks plus Tesco, handbag.com, WHSmith, and ONdigital’s ONnet iTV portal, as well as MSN.
Catharine Hawley, senior VP for BT Openworld, which now manages all BT’s own ISP brands, said: “We are in talks with existing customers and many new people, including existing ISPs who are now looking to focus on providing portals rather than managing access.”
The offer follows BT’s decision to make SurfPort24 available to smaller and virtual ISPs through BT Openworld after companies complained of the conditions applied to the wholesale package. Only Freeserve, AOL, and BT itself have so far been able to take SurfPort24 direct due to a 1500 minimum port order limit applied by BT.
The netimperative.com item is encouraging because it could lead to more competitive options in the ever-growing unmetered market. However we have yet to hear back from some of these ISPs on exactly what they think of the new offer from BTO, we should know more soon.
|
WorldOnline & LibertySurf Prep Unmetered
By:mark.j @ 9:49:AM -
Comments (0)
- SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]
In a move nobody was expecting just yet, Tiscali (Italian Telco/ISP Giant) plans to merge WorldOnline and LibertySurf providing its acquisition of French ISP LibertySurf goes ahead this week. Already owning WorldOnline, it would be able to bind the services from both and offer an unmetered solution:
He said (Quentin Birchall-Tiscali): “We will be offering unmetered in the short-term to business and consumers. We will move towards one set of products for the customer base.”
However, the company will make use of a FRIACO interconnect product – similar to the type used by AOL to offer its unmetered access product. AOL, with technology partner Viatel, pays an unmetered access charge for traffic taken from homes to the local exchange and then siphoned off traffic from the local exchange onto its IP network and then onto AOL’s network.
As a result, WorldOnline says it will buy neither BT’s wholesale SurfPort24 service nor opt for ST FRIACO (Single Tandem Flat Rate Internet Access Call Origination), which was formerly announced by Oftel last month. This would allow operators to buy a wholesale package from BT at a flat rate – taking traffic from the user, via the local exchange to BT’s regional exchanges or tandem layer and onto the operators’ networks.
The reason for not adopting ST-FRIACO was given as the same almost every other ISP has stated thus far, untenable issues of overflow would prevent it from readily meeting unmetered access demand. Oftel and B need to learn that ISPs are independent companies requiring a self-managed interface into telecommunications for their access.
We’d predict a similar line of pricing to AOL, BTInternet and Freeserve for any unmetered solution, more @ netimperative.com.
|
New Charity ISP - ItsGoodToGive.co.uk
By:mark.j @ 9:39:AM -
Comments (2)
- SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]
There are quite a few charity ISPs out there, almost all earn money from call commission and that gets sent to a chosen fund. The new charity ISP is slightly different, offering support for groups such as The British Heart Foundation, The Blue Cross, The Children’s Society and Arthritis Care.
They offer some basic E-Mail (five addresses), web space and the ability to manage this from the website as well as via external programs. Plus the first 100,000 to signup will get a free Nokia 7110 WAP phone, kind of a strange thing for a charity ISP to offer.
http://wwww.itsgoodtogive.co.uk is also in partnership with Iceland, Interflora, Amazon, BOL, Haburi, ebookers, Lastminute.com and CDNow. Unlike other charity ISPs this one plans to donate 50% of revenue from e-commerce sales and 10% of its ISP revenue to partnership charities.
So if you're not already with a group such as Care4Free, then try this out.
|
FRIACOs Influence Spreads To Portugal
By:mark.j @ 9:28:AM -
Comments (0)
- SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]
There's an interesting little item over @ the C.U.T (Campaign for Unmetered Telecommunications), it looks at how FRIACO has been cloned outside of the UK and the way events mirror our own unmetered evolution:
The next country to mandate a flavour of FRIACO is Portugal, The sequence of events, as outlined by an excellent campaign site, is strangely familiar:
1) Portugal Telecom, in December 2000, releases an unmetered wholesale product;
2) Everyone else finds it unsatisfactory;
3) In early 2001 meetings take place with the object of developing a workable product;
4) This succeeds and a direction from the regulator follows.
It's a pity Portugal couldn't have looked to the UK earlier and thus missed out stages 1 and 2. Then again even now the UKs own FRIACO products are still regarded as somewhat unsatisfactory by many Telco and ISPs.
|
News - March 11,2001
ISP Review Weekly Update
By:mark.j @ 11:22:AM -
- SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]
While for many of you this last week has been rather flat, for us it’s been nothing but constant work behind the scenes. We’re now approaching mid-month and as such you can expect next week to bring a couple of new reviews and a nice article or two.
We'd also like to mention that from now on we no longer review FREE 0845/Local Call Rate style ISPs. We only review ISPs offering lower cost call rates, subscription based ISPs (0845 or Unmetered) and broadband ones. This is because the FREE 0845 industry is far too unstable and nobody seems interested in them. As such we feel our focus is better directed to covering mainstream ISPs.
The good news is our 0845/LCR FREE listings will now carry a more detailed 'service/comments' field, while existing FREE ISP reviews will remain.
We've also managed to finish up the new automated ISP listings layout and pages for the 0845FREE and 0845PAY/Subscription listings, although they're not yet linked in as we've yet to insert all the relevant data (being done now).
The last thing we hope to have done for the end of this month/early April are the new forums. We plan to have separate forum pages for all the unmetered and broadband ISPs, how this is implemented depends on the final software revision since it's currently in beta.
The new forums will not replace the ones we have now, instead acting as a kind of sister project. We may replace the existing ones further down the line when we're happy with our implementation of the technology. In other words the old forums will remain for general topic/conversation, where as the new ones will act as ISP specific discussion.
Neither will be directly linked, although we will swap the member files for existing users, so if you plan to register then now is the time - saves you having to do it twice. Full details of this will not be revealed until we have the final code operational and tested.
In short, you can expect a lot of changes from ISPreview in the next few weeks, all of which should expand our coverage to the point many have been requesting. More next week..
|
BTOpenworld On 'Heavy' Broadband Merits
By:mark.j @ 10:53:AM -
Comments (0)
- SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]
It's a well known fact that UK broadband technologies have as yet barely got off the ground and as such only a few places are trying to take advantage of it. This hasn't stopped BTOpenworld promoting just what the technology can do:
In the UK, BTopenworld has only got about 20,000 subscribers signed up to its broadband service. And, service provision issues aside, this can only be due to the fact that the concept isn’t compelling enough for punters to choose to shell out the £39.99 a month that it costs.
So how is BTopenworld going to change this perception? Well, last night it held an industry event to evangelise broadband – an event that was interesting in a number of ways, not least in that it barely said anything about BT itself. Instead, the event showcased the funky New York-based website and online marketing company, Heavy.com – it was ‘heavy on Heavy’, as one delegate said afterwards.
And it’s not that I’m complaining, because Heavy’s website is great – so long as you’ve broadband access, which you need to have in order to enjoy it properly. But I guess that was the point of the show – BT was hoping that by keeping a low profile itself and pushing Heavy to centre-stage it would be able to get across the idea that broadband is a compelling proposition.
The netimperative.com article looks at where broadband (in this case, ADSL) is at in the UK and discusses some of the merits and problems with the technology. Most of this articles focus is on BTOpenworlds presentation, rather than a 'broad' summary, no pun intended.
|
|
