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March 1, 2001 - March 6, 2001

News - March 6,2001

Does Office E-Mail Stifle Productivity?

By:mark.j @ 10:18:AM - Comments (1) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

In recent weeks businesses around the UK have been discussing how office workers are becoming increasingly reliant on internal E-Mail communications. While some believe it improves internal efficiency between staff, others say it stifles productivity and have gone so far as to introduce a 'No-E-Mail Day':

Some companies fear that over-reliance on email may be reducing staff creativity and efficiency. Andrew Harrison, marketing director at Nestle Rowntree, told vnunet.com the firm has banned the use of email on Fridays.

"A no-email Friday does two things. It removes needless information flow across the organisation, and it forces people to talk face-to-face and agree plans mutually. An email ban begins to build a culture of designing and delivering ideas together," Harrison told the Sunday Times.

"People use emails to protect themselves as proof that they have thought about a problem, when often all they do is spend a second writing an email to cover themselves. You can't get away with that in a face-to-face meeting."


It's certainly true that in closed office environments, E-Mail can be no substitute for face-to-face communications. However if you're operating in a large tower block then it could take quite awhile just to see somebody, where a small message is much quicker. As usual, different businesses have different circumstances and more @ VNUNet.

Streaming Mobile Video Links On 3G Phones

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

One of the most anticipated uses for newer broadband mobile phone (3G) technologies is that of Video-To-Video communications. Today its been announced that PacketVideo, providers of a streaming video solution for PocketPCs (PDAs, we use this), is to be integrated into Sagems 3G WA350 phone for video-to-video comms:

According to Sagem, one of the largest UK phone suppliers, the GSM version of the phone will hit Europe by the end of March, while the GPRS-enabled model will arrive in the summer. A spokesperson said: “We have researched and planned for video capabilities for our GPRS phone, but not for the GSM version.

Although PacketVideo admits that picture quality will be low until GPRS is available to the consumer market, it is confident that 2.5G networks will launch video-streaming. A spokesperson for PacketVideo said: “GPRS phones will hit the European market in months – this should kick-start adoption. However, we won’t be seeing full VOD until 3G comes in.” Perodi also conceded that: “There may be a lag time between products and services rollouts.

This announcement comes in addition to the recently launched Trium Mondo GPRS phone from Mitsubishi, also PocketPC-based, which incorporates the same streaming technology from PacketVideo. Orange has the only currently available mobile video technology in the UK, through a phone built in-house. The Videophone runs on the Orange HSCSD service, and was launched in February.


Having used the technology ourselves by connecting a Nokia 7110 to the Internet (via PocketPC IrDA port) over a dual band (14,400Kbps) GSM ISP connection and then using a pocket camera, we know how effective the technology is. Before long most consumer phones will come with a built in camera for video communication and links, this is what 3rd generation phones are all about. More @ netimperative.com.

Demon Internet Upgrade To Hit Users

By:mark.j @ 9:44:AM - Comments (0) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Following the problems experience last week, Demon Internet has today warned customers to expect further service disruption for the next six to seven weeks while they upgrade:

The ISP claims the work is nearing completion with "migration and replacement work to establish all services across the new platform continuing through March, and expected to be completed several weeks later."

Demon claims that during this time there could be "periods when there may be unpredicted interactions between our old and new data platforms that affect the quality of service our customers' experience."


The Registers news item hypothesises that this could have been the reason for service failure last week. Hopefully any service disruption will not be too big, although you never can tell.

News - March 5,2001

Totalserves Consumer/Business Unmetered

By:mark.j @ 4:07:PM - Comments (0) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Sometime ago we posted news that the ISP and media site, Totalserve, were planning to offer an unmetered package. Today full details of the consumer and business options have been released:

Totalserve are proud to announce the launch of its Unmetered Internet Access for residential customers. In the spring we will be able to start rolling out a high quality Internet Connection Service.

We are already taking advanced orders, as numbers as limited. We do not ask for any payment now, just that you register your interest. Once we get closer to the launch date we will contact you to finalise matters. No payment will be taken until you are up and running and using the service.

Our first allocation is sold out. We will be able to complete orders for our next allocation, with availability starting in late April / Early May.


The details for each package are as follows:

Package One - Ultimate Surf Lite.

From just as little as £4.99 plus VAT per month (if paid as one annual installment) you could be connected to the Internet every evening and at weekends with no access charge and no telephone charges during these times*.

Evening 6pm-8am Mon-Fri
Weekend 6pm Fri 8am Mon

*For all Internet access outside of these hours you will be charged the price of a local call.

£59.88 plus VAT (or £5.99 per month plus VAT if paid monthly)


Package Two - Ultimate Surf Day.

From just as little as £4.99 plus VAT per month (if paid as one annual installment) you could be connected to the Internet during these times with no access charge and no telephone charges.*

Peak Hours 8am-6pm Mon-Fri

*For all Internet access outside of these hours you will be charged the price of a local call.

Now just £59.88 plus VAT (or £5.99 per month plus VAT if paid monthly)


Package Three - Ultimate Surf.

From just as little as £9.50 plus VAT per month (if paid as one annual installment) you could dial up to the Internet at any time, day or night and stay online, as long as you are using the Internet, with no access charge and no telephone charges.

£114 plus VAT (or £10.50 per month plus VAT if paid monthly)


Package Four - Ultimate Surf 500.

With Ultimate Surf 500 you will receive 500 minutes per month for free. If you use any more online time you will be charged just 1p per minute, whatever the time of day, seven days a week.

Thats a saving of up to 75% on BT standard local call rates. To qualify for this account you must have a BT phone line.

£4.99 plus VAT per month for the first 500 minutes. You subsciptions must be paid quarterly in advance. If you spend any more than 500 minutes each month you will be charged just 1 pence per minute paid quarterly in arrears.


Ultimate Surf Premium. £19.99 per month plus VAT

For just £19.99 plus VAT per month you could dial up to the Internet at any time, day or night and stay online, as long as you are using the Internet, with no access charge and no telephone charges.

4Hour Cut-Off / Business Usage / Low Modem-User Ratios


The residential packages (all but the last one) come with a 2 hourly cut-off and 10minutes inactivity cut. The Business one (bottom) has a 4 hourly cut-off and 20minutes inactivity cut. Neither the business nor residential options are designed for those wishing to stay connected around the clock.

Despite the 2hour cut off we're really quite impressed with the prices. It may not be the best ISP for heavy users (they clearly state that), but it does seem very affordable. The economics do seem borderline; although that remains to be seen in practice.

BTOpenworld Users In Shock After BTi E-Mail

By:mark.j @ 3:45:PM - Comments (0) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Until now one of the key selling points for ADSL wasn't just the speed, but the ability to have an Always-On service. So you can imagine their shock when a message intended for users of BTInternet and referring to a change in the T&C ended up mistakenly being sent to BTO users.

The shocking part was that it referred to the following T&C change:

"Your connection to the Internet via the Service, at any one given time, is on a timed session basis and accordingly we reserve the right to end your connection to the Internet after an extended period of time... you can re-connect back to the Internet by using your dial-up connection."

Obviously the BTO users affected were concerned that their always-on service could soon be a partly-on one. Thankfully the message was just an update to the BTInternet T&Cs and not the BTOpenworld broadband service, it'd been sent by mistake.

LineOnes Sale Value Drops Sharply

By:mark.j @ 2:31:PM - Comments (0) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

LineOne, the troubled dial-up ISP owned by BT and United Business Media, has today seen its sale value drop yet further in an effort to secure some kind of sale:

Internet service provider LineOne has seen its value fall sharply since it was put up for sale by owners BT and United Business Media in November, the Financial Times reported on Monday. The paper said the firm had hoped to raise around 400m euros (about £253m) but now 100m to 150m euros looked more likely.

The drop was due to a decline in Internet shares and the limited number of companies to have shown interest in the auction.


Despite this ZDNet news item not looking so rosy, the ISP is still rumoured to be planning a new 24/7 unmetered package for the near future.

Oftel Publishes Revised LLU Guidelines

By:mark.j @ 2:25:PM - Comments (0) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Following Oftels choice to ditch the 'bow-wave' process of managing local loop unbundling (LLU) last month, today they've issued the revised guidelines for the new process:

The draft determination, which defines details of co-location down to providing power, toilets and car-parking facilities, states that where BT owns land next to a co-location facility which is not being used, the incumbent should accept offers from new entrants to distance co-locate.

The guidelines also detail that BT will have access to three racks per exchange in a similar way to the operators, apart from exchanges where BT has already installed equipment or where BT needs to install non-DSL operational equipment.

Oftel has also recommended that BT publishes details of its co-location sites that are ready for operators to install their equipment on a website.


The news item from netimperative.com also mentions that Telco's and other related parties have until the 30th March 2001 to make any comments on the new proposals. We'll be waiting to see what Telco's that left or were still involved in the last process have to say.

UK Post Offices To Be Powered By Loudcloud

By:mark.j @ 9:54:AM - Comments (0) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

During the end of last year it was announced that the Internet would be spicing UK Post Offices up. At the time very little in the way of information and detail could be revealed, although late last week it was confirmed that Loudcloud would be helping to develop the infrastructure:

Loudcloud's software infrastructure services will allow The UK Post Office to more easily manage and scale its Internet operations. By leveraging Loudcloud's Internet infrastructure expertise, The UK Post Office can focus on its core competencies in providing customers with even greater flexibility and reliability in offering its vast range of products and services online. As The UK Post Office continues in its move to expand the combination of distribution services for the global businesses it serves, the Loudcloud infrastructure network provides a reliable platform to meet the evolving demands of its Internet operations.

"The UK Post Office selected Loudcloud to provide our web infrastructure, based on the company's operational expertise and comprehensive solutions," said Dick Wheelhouse, Managing Director of the e-enterprise Unit for The UK Post Office. "Loudcloud's technology and services model will provide us with a scalable, reliable, and flexible solution for our web infrastructure, which is an important part of servicing the essential needs of our customers."


The article @ Transport News doesn't mention exactly what systems our beloved Post Offices will see integrated, although better tracking is thought to be one such use.

ClaraNET AnyTime 24/7 Update

By:mark.j @ 9:47:AM - Comments (0) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

A typically slow Monday morning where any missed news is usually cleared, as such we were pleased to see the following from Steve (Group CTO @ ClaraNET) on his private tech update site:

Oftel have published a determination yesterday which reduces the price of FRIACO. It also instructs BT to make a FRIACO product availaible at the DMSU (regional exchange). Both these developments are good news and may well accelerate our FreeTime Anytime product.

Although posted during the latter half of last month, it's still good to know ClaraNET haven't forgotten about their unmetered 24/7 project.

Nortel & BTs Wireless Internet Trials

By:mark.j @ 9:41:AM - Comments (0) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Just like WAP before it, the newer broadband technologies such as GPRS and its sequel, UMTS, require software to make the best use of their faster speeds. Thus it comes as no surprise that late last week BTCellnet and Nortel Networks entered into a mutual deal to develop a newer range of wireless Internet applications:

According to their plans, services will be delivered over General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) networks and adapted for use over Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) networks. Initially, the focus will be on mobile entertainment and business applications.

Peter MacKinnon, vice president and general manager of applications and devices for Nortel said, “This is an innovative example of how Nortel Networks helps its customers to create sustainable advantage in bringing Wireless Internet applications to market quickly and profitably.


Of course it's not just the software that's required, but the mobile phones to go with it. Unless the newer phones have bigger screens (PDA style) and easier ways to enter data then the technologies could easily flop just like WAP. More @ Daily News.

News - March 4,2001

BTInternet Web Space Petition

By:mark.j @ 8:55:PM - Comments (1) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

One of our readers was kind enough to point out that when BTi cut the current £9.99 Off-peak package, it's not only the price and service that's to change. Previously customers had been offered a seemingly impossible 2Gigabytes of web space, which is now to be reduced to a measly 10mb.

Whether the 2GB was realistic in the first place is not the issue, it's the fact that they offered a service and provided customers with NO real alternatives. Promoting such a large amount of web space was bound to attract lots of hosting fanatics, to take it all away and with minimal warning is quite simply, unfair.

As such one of our readers has set-up a petition to have it re-instated; you can find it here:

http://www.tygier.btinternet.co.uk/2gig.html

BT Openworld Success?

By:rich.p @ 6:58:PM - Comments (0) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Vince from BTOpenwoe has sent word of a success story for a user of BT Openworld. You can read it HERE.

Have you had any positive experiences with BT Openworld? Comments...

ISP Review Weekly Update

By:mark.j @ 10:51:AM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Yet another entertaining week passes us by, initially quite slow, some CloudNine news and new content helped cover the gaps. Despite all that we spent most of the time gawping at the new Doom3 movie from ID Software and viewing a similar thing from the 3DMark2001 benchmark (TBA Mid-March).

To most of you the above won't mean much of anything, but to the young and adult online and gaming fans it's very big news. Suffice to say that computer graphics have now reached real-time ToyStory2 and above quality.

On the ISP Review side of things and we've been busy testing some new and separate forums for our unmetered and broadband lists. The idea being that we'll have a forum for just about every ISP fitting into either class. This will not be made public until the final code arrives (sometime this month), although you'll be glad to know that existing members will not have to re-register.

We've also got the automated ISP 0845 & Subscription listings to finish, not much progress has been made due to time constraints, although we intend to get working next week. On top of all that we've got some other changes to implement, although they're nothing big and not worth mentioning.

Hopefully by next week some of the new changes will have been implemented, see you then.

The History Of BT - Channel4 - 8:00pm

By:mark.j @ 10:33:AM - Comments (11) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

If you fancy learning a little more about the troubled Telco, BT, then channel 4 is the station to turn to this evening @ 8pm. As spotted on ADSLGuide, the program will cover BT's rise from the gutter into a global mass of power and money. Recent share prices and debt changes could mean the opposite.

Demon Connectivity Issues Effect 200

By:mark.j @ 10:28:AM - Comments (1) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Thus Telecom backed consumer and business ISP, Demon Internet, have reportedly been suffering numerous connectivity issues over the past week. Until now those reports have been denied, although a recent release from Thus states otherwise:

A spokesperson for Thus's ISP initially denied that any such problems existed, but then conceded that: “Due to migration of new hardware, there may be pockets of connectivity loss.” However, the spokesperson could not clarify when the problem might be resolved, or how many companies are affected.

The company’s automatic helpline said that reports of connectivity loss were currently being investigated. A technical advisor said that the problem concerns the constant failure of Lucent-made routers, which should be resolved over the weekend by complete replacement of the faulty hardware. The advisor said that around two hundred UK businesses have been affected.


The problems now seem to be steadily dissipating and everything should be back to normal for next week, although time will tell. More @ netimperative.com.

LogicSurf Prepare Unmetered Details

By:mark.j @ 10:21:AM - Comments (0) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

LogicSurf, the seemingly rather bog standard 0845 (Local Call Rate) ISP as mentioned HERE, has today announced that they'll soon be revealing the details of their unmetered package:

Press release for LogicSurf Internet 0800.

At long last its arrived. Coming 1st April 2001 your phone bill will become non existent to internet calls when you signup with LogicSurf Internet. We are offering 0800 access to all users off peak access and 24/7 for a small monthly fee.

Prices will be released FIRST on the 13th march to ISPreview


Whether phone bills will really become non-existent remains to be seen, in the past smaller ISPs haven't stood the test of time. Hopefully LS has a more realistic package in mind, possibly one based on the newer FRIACO moulds.

News - March 3,2001

Microsoft Windows XP WPA Is Madness

By:mark.j @ 10:59:AM - Comments (11) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

This is not strictly an ISP related article, although it is linked in several ways. The main reason we're posting this is to keep you informed of yet another dominant company trying to screw users out of their online privacy and flexibility.

Chances are at least 80% of you reading this use some version of Microsoft Windows, likely from Win95 to Win2000, with the odd beta of Whistler (Windows XP) thrown in. XP is Microsofts next operating system, a combination of WindowsME and WindowsNT, much like 2000 was supposed to be.

The difference is that XP is a true consumer and business/server combination, with a totally new graphic user interface (GUI - Luna) and a much easier to use design. However it also has a very controversial security system known as WPA (Windows Product Activation).

The new WPA is designed to stop piracy by only allowing one copy to be installed on one PC and then requiring you to phone MS or via the Internet to activate that copy. Almost everybody has managed to voice their concern against this, although MS being like our very own BT, they simply don't listen.

Today things just got worse, it now turns out that if you change the hardware in your computer, something most of us tech savvy people do, then the O/S will need to be re-activated again:

The system will deactivate Windows XP on systems where the hardware has changed significantly, and could disadvantage many people in developing countries.

The engine is part of Microsoft's plan to tie each copy of Windows XP to one specific PC. By preventing installations on different PCs, Microsoft has said that it hopes to crack down on software piracy. Current Windows licences are valid for only one PC, but there is no way to actively prevent people installing a copy of Windows on more than one PC -- for instance a home-built system -- a serious concern to Microsoft.

Microsoft's solution -- called Windows Product Activation, or WPA -- will stop people installing a single copy of Windows XP on more than one PC. It will achieve this by using activation codes created from an image of the PCs hardware and settings. But the policy could also mean that users who upgrade, for instance, a graphics card and motherboard will almost certainly find that their Windows XP operating system will not boot when the PC is switched back on, it has now emerged.


Not only is this just plain inconvenient, it's also intrusive and extremely dumb. The whole reason PCs are so popular in the first place is because they're designed to be upgraded and changed, something console systems can't do. However changing a graphics or sound card is not MAJOR, it's general. We could perhaps understand a motherboard, but the buck stops there.

To us it looks as if Microsoft are going to shoot themselves in the foot, users don't want an intrusive operating system from a dominant market leader. Worse still is that if you do it more than four or five times then the O/S you paid so much for will become a dud, surely this is against trading standards?

You can understand Microsoft wanting to do this as mentioned in the ZDNet item, preventing piracy is very big business. However when it means sacrificing user freedom then they could be about to fall flat on their faces.

What do all of you think? This is an issue that may not seem important now, but in the next few years when upgrades are required then it'll be too late to start shouting. Voice your concern HERE under MICROSOFT Other Information/General Comments.

NTL Re-Brands Cable Modem Service

By:mark.j @ 10:25:AM - Comments (7) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

It seems as if all the major broadband players have recently begun a massive push of their associated technologies. First came Telewest and then yesterday BTOpenworld stepping into the fray and following that NTL has now joined up.

NTL has already rebranded its "ntlworld via cable modem" service to "ntl Broadband Internet", and launched a major marketing initiative using both online and offline advertising:

The ad campaign, costing in the region of ?5 million, follows the publication of worrying results from a recent survey commissioned by the cable giant. ntl found that 69% of the UK population had not heard of "broadband", and one third of those who had thought it referred to radio. Additionally, one half of those who recognised the term did not associate it with its benefits.

ntl also revealed that it is aiming for 100,000 broadband customers by the end of 2001, and stated that a residential service at 1Mbps is "under evaluation".

Details of trials in progress were given to the press. In Manchester, a trial involving the use of the cable modem embedded in the digital CATV set top box is in progress, while in London a fibre-to-the-home service offering ethernet speeds of up to 10Mbps is also underway.


The CableNews item goes into a lot of detail and shows us that the major companies are now ready to make a big push with newer technologies.

New Unmetered ISP - SurfAnyTime

By:rich.p @ 9:04:AM - Comments (7) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

A new ISP called SurfAnyTime is to launch a range of Unmetered packages on April 2nd. These include 24/7 and Off-Peak. Here is their press release:

Press Release

2nd of April 2001 sees the launch of www.surfanytime.co.uk , offering a variety of unmetered Internet packages suitable for all. Packages will be available from £4.99. Unmetered services will be offered from £12.99 (inc VAT) per month for a standard 24/7 unmetered Internet access service. A 'Gold' package with a 4 hour cut-off period will be available for £15.49 (inc VAT) per month.

"These packages are targeted against other ISPs such as BTInternet, AOL, Freeserve, etc. While the prices may be similar, cut offs still vary dramatically from provider to provider.
In an age when Internet access is being billed at unfeasible one-off charges, SurfAnytime will deliver quality, unmetered access packages at affordable, realistic prices! "

To sign up or for more information, visit www.surfanytime.co.uk

News - March 2,2001

LibertySurfs MD Steps Down

By:mark.j @ 3:46:PM - Comments (0) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

The MD (Managing Director), Paul Shalet, has today stepped down from his role at the British end of semi-popular ISP, LibertySurf. He follows several other recent senior staff departures from the company, which has been on a downward spiral for the last few months:

Italian telco, Tiscali, recently acquired LibetySurf and WorldOnline, and is now in the position of owning two ISPs within the UK.

It appears the game plan is to strip both its ISPs to the core and relaunch the lot under the Tiscali brand.


We guess they know what they're doing, but The Registers article gives very little in the way of detail. It'd be nice to see LibertySurf come back with a modern unmetered option, although only time will tell.

Australian Internet Censorship Gone MAD

By:mark.j @ 3:38:PM - Comments (3) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

According to the survey at the bottom right of this page (last nav table), people in the UK are most concerned about the RIP bill out of things such as pornography etc. So spare a thought for the Australians who've taken Internet censorship one-step too far.

Apparently it's an offence for anyone to post information deemed offensive to children anywhere on the Internet and the police get to decide what's offensive:

In what is clearly politicians gone barking mad, fines of up to $10,000 can be levied against any individual that posts material seen as unsuitable for minors. The country's film certification system will be used to rate how strong material is - but the police will NOT have to go through an independent adjudicator, they can decide themselves whether the posting breaks the law.

It is expected that the Bill will be pulled into all other Australian states' legislation in the future.

The basic premise of the legislation appears to be that since kids are able to access Internet sites at any time, then everything on the Internet ought to be acceptable to children. This is clearly bonkers thinking seeing as Australia's laws will have no effect on the rest of the world - which contains more than its fair share of "unsuitable" material. Unless of course Australia is thinking of going China's route and running ISPs through the government and blocking any sites outside the country.


This is a typical example of censorship and governments gone mad by persecuting all people and using children as an excuse to do it. Especially since it's usually the children that post any offensive content, but then they never considered that did they?

Of course it gets worse, just as we'd finished removing our battered foreheads from the wall it turns out that whether you remove the content or not, you'll still be charged [continues smashing head against yonder wall..].

Is this a sign of things to come for the UK? We certainly hope not. It's regulation taken to the extreme and freedom of speech online obliterated, this is where censorship always falls flat on its face. More @ The Register.

BTOpenworld Start Multi-Million £ Campaign

By:mark.j @ 11:21:AM - Comments (6) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

BTopenworld today announced the launch of the first phase of its multi-million pound broadband Internet for business campaign. The campaign, to run throughout March and April, will target SMEs through print, direct mail and online media and is designed to position BTopenworld as a major player in the broadband market. As usual we have the full press release:

BTOPENWORLD ANNOUNCES LAUNCH OF MULTI-MILLION POUND BROADBAND INTERNET CAMPAIGN


March 2, 2001

BTopenworld, BT's international mass market Internet business, today announced the launch of the first phase of its multi-million pound broadband Internet for business campaign.

The campaign, to run throughout March and April, will target SMEs through print, direct mail and online media and is designed to position Btopenworld as a major player in the broadband market.

Andrew Grant, head of broadband marketing at BTopenworld said, "The potential benefits to SMEs of high-speed broadband Internet are immense - the availability of bandwidth at such relatively low cost represents for many the first real opportunity for them to join the e-commerce revolution. This campaign is the start of our vision to make e-business the dominant force in UK business."

The theme of the campaign is 'How fast can your business be?' and aims to drive orders by educating businesses about the benefits of high speed Internet and to position BTopenworld broadband as an essential, cost-effective and time-saving business tool."

Above-the-line campaign elements have been designed by AMV BBDO, online banners by OD Consultancy, direct mail by Clarke Hooper Momentum, with media managed by New PHD and Zenith.

- ENDS -

BTOpenworld Hits 20,000 ADSL Customers!

By:mark.j @ 10:33:AM - Comments (4) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

No we don't mean they got out a leather glove and began slapping the simple-minded punters, instead they actually reached 20,000 ADSL subscribers. Considering they had 12,000 at the end of 2000, the numbers aren't too bad; although BTO claims they're less than they should be.

All this is likely to anger AOL and Freeserve further, who yesterday saw a ruling on their official complaint about BTO's potentially anti-competitive nature, delayed.

An article at The Register went one step further with a small survey of the service to find out what people think of BTO:

According to the study, released to El Reg, 89 per cent of broadband customers were satisfied with the speed of the service and 78 per cent of customers were satisfied with the BTopenworld service overall.

Some 20 per cent of BTopenworld users describe themselves as gamers. And half of all users have recommended the service to someone else.

That's some endorsement. Who knows - BTopenworld might even splash out on a bag of humbugs to dish out to its satisfied punters.


Clearly the problems with customer support, service instability and fluctuating speeds that come and go haven't swayed people’s opinion of the service. Perhaps people are still shocked by the sheer speed and unmetered nature of the product to see the gaps in quality. That said and BTO intend to target those unhappy by making a more reliable service, good for them!

IP VPNs To Replace WANs - Contradictive?

By:mark.j @ 10:21:AM - Comments (0) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Apparently 4 out of 10 UK businesses seem to think Wide Area Networks (WANs) are reaching their capacity and that IP VPNs (Virtual Private Networks) are the way forward in data communications. So says a recent survey of 400 UK and Dutch businesses:

Only one in ten respondents to the survey use IP VPNs today, while around two in three use WANs to cover their telecoms needs. However this balance will change as companies upgrade the capacity of their networks and replace traditional WAN technologies such as Frame Relay with IP VPNs and other Internet technologies.

The survey, commissioned by managed IP services firm ipulsy, indicates that firms see IP VPNs as a middle ground between the insecurities and low bandwidth of the public Internet, and the dedicated pipes at premium prices used in conventional Wans.

Eric Owen, research director at IDC, said: "IP-based services offer more flexibility from both a cost and capacity perspective. Given the abundance of IP already in the enterprise, the transition to IP VPNs should be a relatively easy one."


It all sounds a bit contradictive to us, considering WANs aren't so much a specific technology as a definition of large internal and external networks. The Internet is a WAN, two business blocks connected together are WANS etc. Read more @ The Register.

Broadband Through Your Powerline

By:mark.j @ 10:09:AM - Comments (3) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

When ISP Review first launched nearly two years ago, one of our first news items was about a technology known as Powerline (broadband through your power cable). Initially tested during 1995 and publicised on TV programs such as tomorrows world, the once highly billed technology disappeared during the end of 1999.

However according to sources, power utilities might steal a march on telecommunications companies in future markets for Internet access and telephone services, the developers and customers of a new technology believe.

So-called powerline communications may beat TV cable modems and broadband wireless technologies by providing cheaper and faster Internet access through electricity sockets, they say.

"The cards in telecommunications would be dealt anew if this technology succeeds," Roland Hartung, the Chief Executive Officer of German utility MVV told journalists.

"Powerline could enable utilities to become complete service providers for end customers, which would generate additional value and profits at a time of deregulating power markets."

Hartung spoke during a visit to MVV's partner company Main.net Ltd., one of the leading companies in powerline technology -- the generic term for the process -- in Israel.

Powerline technology transmits voice and data signals over normal low voltage lines without the need to dial up. The customer attaches a modem to his home computer and connects this to any wall socket to surf the Internet at many times the speed of present telecommunications options.

Main.net is also working on telephone access via powerline and on home remote control and security devices. Other upgrades may enable powerline users to download videos, music and e-books -- perhaps within five years claimed Main.net's sales & marketing chief, Rafi Ben-Atar.

The technology is due to go commercial in Germany for 3,000 households, provided it can overcome some nasty regulatory hurdles. There was no guarantee that a wide-spread powerline system would work well without interfering with electrical appliances or radio frequencies needed for emergency and military services. This obviouslly poses a serious problem for the technology, one that can't be overlooked.

Ironically we leave a technology first invented by a British powerline engineer in exactly the same state the UK had it over two years ago. It was the problem with interference and service quality that killed it hear, despite successful trials. Perhaps the EU and USA can do better?

News - March 1,2001

EXCLUSIVE:CloudNines Official Response

By:mark.j @ 5:38:PM - Comments (10) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

CloudNine have sent us their official responce to Oftels conclusion of their complaint, we shouldn't have to explain it and so here's the response in full:

Cloud Nine are obviously upset by the Oftel decision. It is our opinion that:

1) The investigation was conducted in an incompetent, unthorough and one-side manner i.e. our requests for a meeting were refused and Oftel made no attempt whatsover to contact us to investigate our claims or ask for any kind of supporting information. Their statement makes it quite clear that they extensively consulted BT but we were given no opportunity at all to respond or comment beyond our original submission.

2) The case officer actually showed great reluctance in initial exchanges to even take the case

3) They have shown either an incredible ignorance of the realities of the market place (or otherwise have no wish to acquaint themselves with such realities).

The following statements in particular are quite unbelievable:

"As it appears that there is likely in the short to medium term to be an adequate number of operators able to meet the requirements of smaller ISPs in one or more of the ways identified above, Oftel does not consider that BT's minimum requirements for its SurfPort24 product are anti competitive."

"If SurfPort24 is sold with unreasonable terms and conditions, and at unreasonably high prices as Cloud Nine also alleged, this is a clear signal for market entry by a competing operator, at more affordable terms."

The same thing can be said of almost any existing monopoly situation. There is nothing to stop another provider entering any monopoly situation! The same can be said of Microsoft, anyone can produce an operating system can't they?? However, the reality is that until such a situation ACTUALLY occurs then there is a de-facto monopoly and as such the behaviour of that de-facto monopoly has to be regulated. It is Oftel's job to do that and quite frankly in our opinion with this ruling they have failed to do so and we will appeal this to the highest levels.

Cloud Nine would have expected to see a detailed analysis of the rather spurious cost justifications put by BT in support of their blatantly anti-competitive practices. The absence of such detailed analysis and a thorough examination of the existence of a de-facto monopoly means that, in our opinion, Oftel have not properly discharged their duties in their primary function.

We are quite astonished when we hear an inferior BT alternative put forward by a regulator as justification of a practice which has not been properly investigated. If that is not a monopoly situation then I don't know what is.

Cloud Nine will be appealing this decision all the way to the Prime Minister's office if necessary. We had the support of our local MP in our submission to Oftel and intend to make other influential persons aware of the situation and Oftel's poor guardianship of the trust that is placed within them. Today they have done YET ANOTHER massive disservice to the UK Internet services marketplace!

Best Regards
****** ******
Cloud Nine


We think it pretty much speaks for itself, no comment from us and we'll let you draw your own conclusions.

EXCLUSIVE:CloudNine Receive SP24 Verdict

By:mark.j @ 4:40:PM - Comments (4) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

You may remember the on-going saga of the business and unmetered ISP CloudNine, who we've been exclusively covering. CloudNine claimed BT was acting in an anti-competitive way by economically restricting SurfPort24's sale so that only the larger ISPs could make use of it.

Following that they issued a formal complaint and Oftel began an investigation, today we've once again got the exclusive details on Oftels findings. The following is the initial letter sent to CloudNine, personal details have been removed for security reasons:

Dear J***

Alleged anti competitive minimum qualifying requirements for Surfport24

I refer to previous correspondence in connection with the above complaint.

Oftel has conducted a detailed investigation, in the course of which BT has provided considerable technical and financial information in support of its decision to apply a minimum requirement of 1500 ports for its new product, SurfPort24.

Oftel’s economic analysis has, meanwhile, concluded that BT does not have market power in Internet call termination, and is therefore unable to exploit its position in order to materially distort competition between Internet Service Providers. If the terms and conditions for SurfPort24 are unreasonable (and Oftel has no evidence to support this allegation), then it would give a clear signal for market entry by a competing operator, at more affordable terms.

Other alternatives which Oftel believes are or will shortly be available to Internet Service Providers are identified in the attached case closure summary, which sets out the main facts of the case in more detail.

The investigation has, therefore, now been closed, and I attach a complainant satisfaction questionnaire which I would be grateful if you could complete and return to me in the enclosed prepaid envelope. A summary of this complaint will appear in the next issue of Oftel’s Competition Bulletin. If you wish to discuss this matter further please contact ********** directly on (020) **** ****.

Yours sincerely,

J*** *****
Programme Manager


This has clearly hasn’t pleased CloudNine and other ISPs whom had hoped the complaint would be upheld by Oftel and thus a smaller SP24 allocation offered (WebPort is NOT a smaller SP24, it has limited flexibility). This news has only just fallen fresh from the branches and so at present one of the seniors @ CloudNine could only say the following:

Too stunned at the moment to think up a proper release on this, will do so within the next 24 hours, but:

We had the support of other ISP's.
We also had the support of our local MP who backed up our complaint. He will be bringing this up on the floor of the House of Commons.
It totally vindicates our opinion that Oftel are in BT's back pocket.


We've also gone one step further and put the FULL and official Oftel response to the complaint into our articles template, it's too big for the news page:

http://ispreview.co.uk/articles/c9/

We'll post CloudNines official response either this evening or tomorrow morning.

Vandals Cut SETI@Home Cable

By:mark.j @ 4:11:PM - Comments (6) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

SETI@Home is the name for one of the biggest searches for extraterrestrial intelligence; it works by distributing radio telescope signals from space to members' PCs for mathematical analysis. However today saw the project take a rather unusual turn as Vandals chose to cut SETIs main link to the Internet:

Participants helping to analyse data for signs of alien life as part of the SETI@Home project have been unable to access the project's servers after vandals cut its fibre optic cable.

According to a notice on the SETI@Home Web site, the fibre optic cable was cut by "vandals trying to 'salvage' copper from other nearby cables". The broken fibre carries data and voice connections between the University of California Berkeley campus and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and its Space Sciences Lab, which houses SETI@Home's servers.

Contractors are putting in fresh cable and connectivity for the SETI@Home is expected to be restored tomorrow.


It brings to light the whole issue of how easy it would be for people to break into remote exchanges and network hubs. In a technological age this kind of hardware could become increasingly valuable and prone to theft. More @ The Register.

Vodafone Preps April GPRS Launch

By:mark.j @ 4:03:PM - Comments (1) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

GPRS, a broadband wireless technology designed to replace WAP and GSM (sort of) with higher speed connections, looks like it'll get centre stage with mobile giant Vodafone this April. However don't put any pre-orders in just yet because the initial batch will only be for business use:

First among Britain's four mobile operators to set a commercial launch date for the new technology, the company said the General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) -- which allows customers to surf the Internet at about four times the speed of existing mobile telephones -- would not be available to the general public until the summer.

"We believe that we will have sufficient quantities of the phones available to meet early demand," a spokesman told the paper.

The first telephones, supplied by US-based Motorola, are expected to be priced at around £100. The world's largest mobile manufacturer Nokia is not expected to release its models in large quantities until the final quarter of this year.


The ZDNet item signals the start of what is likely to be a slow revolution in the way we see and access the Internet. Until now only WAP and GSM have been available, as it matures GPRS should improve speeds and thus quality of output.

ClaraNET Calls For R.I.P Clarification - Update

By:mark.j @ 3:56:PM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

This news item was first reported by us on February 15th (see it HERE), today VNUNet have re-iterated that and also put an update from the LibDems and RIP side of things:

"ISPs need clear guidance on what defence for interception is available and what kind of contracts they should draw up with customers," he (LibDem MP Richard Allan) said. "A duty falls on the Home Office and the Department of Trade and Industry to provide guidance."

Tim Snape, council member of the ISP Association, said that ISPs needed a business reason for interception and should tell customers about the situation to limit the chance of falling foul of the Act. "The concern is a valid one. Claranet may have technically breached RIP, but it did what it should have done."

The Home Office said it had ensured the clarity of RIP by publishing the Act on its website together with explanatory notes. "The implementation team is happy to answer questions," a spokesperson said.


Considering the clarification was originally asked for roughly three weeks ago, we're surprised nobody has given ClaraNET a full response yet.

C.U.T Turns 3 Years Old

By:mark.j @ 3:45:PM - Comments (1) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

You may not realise it but the C.U.T (Campaign for Unmetered Telecommunications) are at least partly responsible for getting ISPs, Telco's and the Internet to the unmetered point it's at now. Without them we'd probably still be paying £50 per month for limited access and selling our family into slavery in order to pay for it =).

So please raise a hand, or even glass, to the group who've chosen today to be their 3rd Birthday. Happy Birthday to you.. happy birthday to...

The Campaign goes one better than the Queen in having three birth dates: 25 February 1998, when the meeting that set us up was called; 31 March, when our first event, the Festival of Free Calls, happened; and 10 July, when this Web site went up and we started campaigning in earnest. So, like the monarch, we choose another date as our official birthday, namely 1 March.

Three years on, we have won the argument over unmetered Internet access; really, it was won a year ago but the implementation took a long time.

What still astonishes us, even after countless meetings and events, is that we are listened to. Why should a group of seven people who are voluntary part-time workers, running a campaign in odd corners of the day, be listened to? We suggest several reasons..


They go on to list a large amount of things that we couldn't be bothered to read and likely neither will you =). Happy Birthday guys and E-Mail us some virtual beer from the celebrations.

Martian Based 1Mbps Net Connections

By:mark.j @ 11:16:AM - Comments (3) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

If there are aliens on Mars, perhaps living underground (yeah ok.. sure), then they'd be happy to know that by 2007 we could have them surfing the net at speeds of 1Mbps. At least that's what the American news channel CNN is reporting, not that it'll do us any good, but it will help future explorers:

This year, the Mars Odyssey orbiter will carry, in addition to its suite of science instruments, a telecommunications relay package that will provide support for a 2003 mission that will land two rovers to roam Mars' surface. The rovers will perform sophisticated scientific experiments, such as collecting soil samples and analyzing them at the scene. A second mission planned for 2005 calls for a Mars reconnaissance orbiter that will include a camera capable of capturing images on the planet's surface that are only 20 centimeters wide. Then, in 2007, NASA will collaborate with the Italian space agency to send an orbiter that will be the first to have telecommunications as its primary function.

Ultimately, we could see a spaceborne Internet that could revolutionize how people work in outer space, just as the Internet is changing our more prosaic Earth-bound life. Chad Edwards, manager of the Mars Network Office, talks about taking a major step forward in space exploration that could also have implications for how we use the data gathered from interplanetary visits on Earth.

CIO: What are your long-range plans in terms of telecommunications?

Edwards: We'll get our first experience using relay links with the 2003 rovers, and for 2007, we have proposed a dedicated telecom orbiter that would be a partnership between Italy and NASA. That will be the first time we'll have a dedicated orbiter, so we'll be spending a lot of time during the coming year with our Italian colleagues trying to decide the best way to use that capability. We have studied a number of potential mission concepts for dedicated telecom relay orbiters with capabilities up to 1Mbps continuous data rate from the surface of the planet back to Earth, or about 85 gigabits of data per martian day. That represents a more than three orders of magnitude increase in data return relative to the Mars Pathfinder mission. A gigabit will give you a pretty decent panorama or allow you to send streaming video back to Earth with very good fidelity.


While the speed (Mbits vs MBytes) terminology seems a little off, we guess its been adjusted for the mathematics of interplanetary communications. So good news all round, we'll have explorers landing come 2025 and they'll be able to download porn instantly - uh oh.

Faster NTL Cable Modems - 1Mbps

By:mark.j @ 10:47:AM - Comments (4) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

While reading through the ZDNet item below, we also noticed an interesting bit of information at the bottom that warrants its own news item. NTL are planning to increase the speed of their current broadband service from 512Kbit/s to 1Mbit/s!

In London they're already trailing an Ethernet connection that provides speeds up to 10Mbit/s. If they can just get their networks up to scratch then we can see NTL being a very tough opponent for BT in the broadband stakes.

This will also mean they have affordable broadband options for just about everybody. It'd be nice to see Telewest show a similar flexibility in speed and prices.

Broadband, What's That Then?

By:mark.j @ 10:44:AM - Comments (5) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

A new survey out today from NTL shows that three quarters of the population have never heard the term "broadband", while the 30% that had thought it referred to radio.

It's certainly an interesting thing to note as broadband technologies haven't exactly been advertised with the media yet, which isn't surprising given their limited spread:

As a result, ntl is planing a £5m advertising campaign to educate the public about the benefits of high-speed always-on Internet access, hoping that it can increase the 13,000 customers of its own broadband service to 100,000 by the end of the year.

Cable modem services account for just 15 percent of the broadband market, with BT's ADSL service making up the rest. Cable was originally seen as a way of creating much-needed competition in both voice and Internet markets, but that strategy is now regarded by many as a failure. Local loop unbundling, in which operators gain access to BT's exchanges, is now being put forward by telecoms regulator Oftel as the best way of creating competition in the broadband market although the rollout has been beset with problems.

The government, meanwhile, remains convinced that it can create a broadband Britain and has set itself the bold target of making the UK the best place in the G7 for broadband by 2005. Despite this, whole swathes of the country currently, and for the foreseeable future, have no access to any broadband services.


Cable Modems may not be as flexible as their xDSL counterparts in services, speed and packages, but they're certainly cheap. Cost tends to be the deciding factor for the miss-informed and this seems to be what NTL are planning to target. More @ ZDNet.

Thus Telecom Fails On Paedophile Pledge

By:mark.j @ 10:31:AM - Comments (0) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Thus, owners of Demon Internet, have today been slammed by industry officials who claim that despite their crackdown, the unlawful content can still be found on their servers:

One week into its ambitious crackdown on Internet paedophiles, reports have branded the decision "unworkable", claiming that two offending newsgroups are still available on their servers.

Thus, owner of Demon Internet, is playing down criticism, claiming that it has removed 30 newsgroups from its servers in the last seven days, accounting for 90 percent of all paedophile content reported to the company by the IWF (Internet Watch Foundation). "The important thing is to catch perpetrators and while we will never be able to remove all paedophilic content from the Web, at least we are making a start," said Keith Monserrat, director of legal and regulation at Thus.

The IWF has confirmed that Thus is continuing to carry two offending newsgroups it alerted them to last September, but is defending the telco's right to self-regulation. "We are supporting Demon against the allegation that they are flouting the rules by carrying these two newsgroups," argued David Kerr, chief executive of IWF. "They reserve the right to make a decision about whether a particular group is a bad one...we are satisfied that it is legitimate for ISP's to do checks later on," he added.


Why Demon have chosen not to remove the two offending newsgroups is not yet known, although they must think they're no longer a danger, despite the IWF saying otherwise. More @ ZDNet.

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