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August 29, 2001 - September 3, 2001

News - September 3,2001

Ugly-Cow 0800 Unmetered Deals

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

It would seem as if a rash of new ISPs are choosing ever questionable names for their services, so it's not surprising that today’s next entrant is called Ugly-Cow.

Not strictly an ISP and not a direct relative of Wonky-Pig =), the unmetered/PC provider offers several deals that combine PC and unmetered access. It would appear as if they're yet another VISP (Virtual ISP) for 'Nutshell' since the packages seem identical.

Either that or C&W are offering special wholesale unmetered ports combined with PC pages?:

£29.99 a month (36 months)
Personal Package

is our most affordable package available. It includes unlimited, unmetered Internet access, 24 hours a day and a C800 MHz Intel Celeron Brio computer from Hewlett Packard. It has everything you need to get started: memory, speed, software, Internet connection and a 15" Hewlett Packard Monitor. It comes loaded with Windows 98 and MS Works 2000 and includes speakers.

£39.99 a month (36 months)
Family Package

is a very affordable package with extra options to fit the family's needs. The package includes unlimited, unmetered Internet access, 24 hours a day, a C800 MHz Intel Celeron Brio computer from Hewlett Packard, a Hewlett Packard 840c colour printer, a Hewlett Packard 4300 flatbed scanner and a 17" Hewlett Packard monitor.

£49.99 a month (36 months)
Professional Package

is a very affordable package for the most demanding computer user. It includes unlimited, unmetered Internet access, 24 hours a day, a Pentium III 1 Ghz Brio computer from Hewlett Packard with high speed DVD drive, 64MB RAM and a 20GB Hard Drive. It also comes with a Hewlett Packard 4300 flatbed scanner, a Hewlett Packard 840c colour printer, and a 17" Hewlett Packard monitor. An optional Hewlett Packard G55 Officejet all in one copier/scanner/printer is available with this package.

£49.99 a month (36 months)
Laptop Package

is the best package solution for the mobile computer user. It includes unlimited, unmetered Internet access, 24 hours a day, a Pentium III 750 Omnibook XE3 laptop computer from Hewlett Packard with 128MB RAM and a 10GB Hard Drive. A hewlett-packard carrying case is also supplied with this package.


Whoever deals with Ugly-Cow for their unmetered services, one thing remains certain. Cable & Wireless (C&W) is becoming an extremely popular choice among new unmetered providers. Expect the usual forums and listings to be updated later today, including yesterday’s introduction.

News - September 2,2001

Fasthosts Launch Unmetered ISP

By:mark.j @ 6:15:PM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

No sooner back then.... Thanks to Richard and Roy for letting us know that the latest entrant into the unmetered ISP market is none other than Fasthosts, the 'kind of' popular NT (MS) hosting provider:

We are pleased to announce that we will be launching a Freephone Internet Access package on the 10th of September. Using the package you can:

+ Connect to the Internet using a freephone telephone number (no call charges);

+ Enjoy fully unmetered access.

The package has been designed for customers of Fasthosts Internet Limited and UKREG and is not available to the general public. Fasthosts intends to offer a high quality, business class freephone Internet access package for its customers. In order to ensure the service grows in a controlled manner the initial subscriber base will be limited to 1000 customers.

For more information about the service, or to register your interest, please visit http://www.fasthosts.co.uk/dialfree.html

Best Regards

Fasthosts Internet Limited


We also took the opportunity to look through the F.A.Q's and T&Cs to find the missing service details, as follows:

How much does the service cost ?

There are two versions of Fasthosts Dial Freephone available. The Home User service is £14.99 per month and includes unlimited Internet access but only from a nominated telephone line. The Business User service is £29.95 per month and you can dial in from any telephone line. The business service also has lower user to modem ratios and offers greater speed and reliability.

Will you disconnect users who use the service too frequently ?

Usage on the Fasthosts Dial Freephone service is monitored and users who use the service for more than 4 hours a day will be contacted and asked to justify their usage patterns. So long as users can show that their usage pattern is in the course of normal activities that do not violate the terms of service then Fasthosts will not terminate accounts based on high usage.


Fasthosts are a company know to be somewhat unstable with hosting solutions and clearly their usage policy demonstrates a poor understanding of the ISP market as well. 4 Hours max per day for at least £14.99 per month? We don't think so! It doesn't appear to be a cut-off.

ISP Review @ ECTS 2001

By:mark.j @ 5:49:PM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Just a brief update this week since I'll be trawling the 'European Computer Trade Show' @ London’s ExCeL through most of today. I've decided not to report on this year’s event unlike the last two and will instead be trying to enjoy the experience.

There's still 30mins to go on the train before we get close, so try to enjoy the seemingly damp Sunday. In case you're wondering, it's a PocketPC connected to my Nokia 7110 (IrDA), not the fastest, but it does the job.

Update: Well I'm back, ECTS 2001 was kind of disappointing (seems to get worse every year) and there wasn't much ISP related stuff. Thankfully some of the X-Box and GBA titles look promising, not to mention being able to meet one of the OFP (Operation Flashpoint) coders.

Another thing that took my eye was the ‘Final Fantasy’ demo being run in real-time (film) on a GeForce3 graphics card (I got one). Sadly all the really cool stuff has yet to be announced or was set behind closed doors.

News - September 1,2001

0800OnlineServe Gone For Good?

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

It looks as if the ex-hopeful unmetered ISP run by 'TheDogmaGroup' (0800Onlineserve), famous for once ticking off other ISPs with their 'you can't do unmetered like that' press releases, could have finally arrived in a similar position themselves.

Its been nearly two weeks since the ISPs customers were last able to dial-up and just over a week since the ISP itself claimed services wouldn't be suspended. Sadly despite many recent attempts to contact the troubled provider, all have failed.

The serious nature of the problems and lack of communication has begun sounding alarm bells in the ears of many customers. So much so that some have even begun spreading rumours of the ISPs impending death, as seems to be the tradition in such cases.

One of the ISPs users has also noticed an interesting parallel between 0800OnlineServe and Nutshell (ISP):

Hasn't worked for two weeks now. Also I am on nutshell and the dialup number is EXACTLY the same, with similar looking login and password too, so it obviously isn't a technical issue.

Hehe take the shortcut for the 0800online dialup on your desktop, alter 2 numbers in your login name and password to make it a nutshell account and you'll find it works fine.

Dial the number with nutshell details and all is fine, dial with onlineserve details and all is not, they have so obviously just pulled the plug without admitting it. Just a cancelled/unpaid service by them for which they continue to charge people.


Of course we already knew the problems lay with 0800OnlineServe's network and not the unmetered link, which is probably provided by C&W or BTIgnite. However we doubt they've forgotten to pay a bill because of the GLOBAL network instability with ALL their other services.

The question now is, will 0800OnlineServe ever resurface? Such a serious and lengthy downtime and lack of updates is almost unforgivable. Hopefully the ISP will see this and find some way of updating the websites ‘status’ page, which is ‘sometimes’ available.

Oftel Issue Internet Connectivity Review

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

A quick visit to THIS PAGE will find you at the front door to Oftels latest publication, entitled: 'Effective competition review of Internet connectivity'.

Typically the document covers all of BTs newer unmetered standards (no mention of BT Surftime?) such as BTSurfPort, SurfPort24, WebPort etc. It also looks at the 'relatively immature' broadband market and opts that this area doesn't need regulation, at least not yet.

As usual most of the document is full of the usual techno rubbish, so here's the one section that matters:

Chapter 4
Conclusions and level of regulation

Conclusions


4.1 Oftel’s initial view is that the market for Internet connectivity, as defined in Chapter 2, and based on the analysis in Chapter 3, is effectively competitive. It will however continue to monitor for significant increases in concentration or leverage from related markets.

Levels of regulation

4.2 Oftel’s strategy provides a framework to ensure appropriate regulation is achieved, adjusted to the level of competition in the market and focused on the area of concern. Although Oftel’s initial view is that Internet connectivity is effectively competitive, the conclusions of this review will not be sufficient on their own to reach a decision regarding BT’s request for de-regulation of wholesale dial-up Internet access services.

4.3 Therefore, Oftel intends to use responses to this review together with its review of dial-up Internet access, to inform its decision in respect of BT’s request. Depending on the conclusions of both reviews, Oftel may undertake a formal consultation on any changes that need to be made to BT’s licence to relax these and other regulatory obligations with respect to wholesale dial-up Internet access services.

4.4 Although Internet connectivity is an input to other forms of Internet access services, for example those using ADSL and leased line access, and web hosting (as discussed in Chapter 2), Oftel does not intend to consider levels of regulation with respect to Internet services other than dial-up Internet access. The relative immaturity of other access mechanisms such as xDSL and cable modems, and the need for ensuring consistency and depth of analysis mean that it is appropriate for this review to focus on dial-up access only.


In short, no official broadband regulation outside of work to help expand the technology and the unmetered market is now supposedly competitive, which is true.

It's only a pity Oftel didn't do such a lengthy report back in 1999 when people really needed it and before so much money was lost on various ISPs. We'll have to wait for the full 'Dial-Up' review later in the year for more details on ISP regulation etc. Such is the problem with this type of report, by the time its finished the problems have always passed, typical.

Ericsson Mobile Platforms Do 3G

By:mark.j @ 9:39:AM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Through continued efforts to restructure their company, Ericsson has decided to create an offshoot specifically for 3G broadband wireless mobile phone handsets - Ericsson Mobile Platforms:

The new company will speed up the wireless industry, the company claims, by offering its technology on a licence to other manufacturers. This means 2.5 and 3G platforms for both mobiles and PDAs etc. "The GSM handset market is transforming to the highly complex GPRS, EDGE and WCDMA technologies," the company said in a press release today.

It then goes on to say how great and state-of-the-art Ericsson is. It also repeats the philosophy that it is gaining greater acceptance in the market: that mobiles are going the way of PCs, in that the platforms they are built on will be standard and companies will compete on handsets, software etc.

The company will provide companies with component specs, circuit board layouts, software and technical support. "We will provide instant access to cutting-edge technology, making it possible for all mobile phone and wireless device manufacturers to bring new advanced products to the market quicker and more cost efficiently," said the new president of Ericsson Mobile Platforms Tord Wingren.


Hopefully this latest turn of events will finally allow Ericsson to come up with some original ideas for a change; they're usually associated with somewhat bland and smaller phones, yet reliable ones at that. More @ The Register.

Broadband Pay-Per-View Spreads

By:mark.j @ 9:35:AM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Although the prospect of broadband Pay-Per-View online TV is still a distant one in the UK where 'wide dispersal' is concerned, the rest of Europe seems to be grasping things quite well.

In fact many of the EU's top ISPs are now trying to lure couch potatoes away from the television onto broadband portals, which carry pay-per-view rock concerts and soap operas.

Terra Lycos launched a broadband portal for the Spanish market last month and plans to charge customers in the future. Other large European ISPs, including T-Online and Tiscali, have broadband portals in development with pay-for-view content.

"We're calling ourselves an Internet media network," said Dagmar Nielsen, a spokeswoman for T-Online said. T-Online, which launches T-Vision in the first quarter of next year, will unveil in the coming months a pricing scheme for the programming it will feature, she added.

The company describes T-Vision as the future of Internet entertainment; a service that could conceivably broadcast Britney Spears concerts and soccer matches.

The hype is a sign that broadband fever is beginning to catch on in Europe, particularly in France and Germany where more than a million customers have signed up to high-speed asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL) Internet services over the past 18 months.

Wanadoo has 267,000 ADSL and cable broadband subscribers, while T-Online has 335,000 ADSL subscribers. Sadly the UKs lack of broadband coverage and cost effective services still leave such prospects hanging in the air. Hopefully all should change within the coming years, hopefully.

BT Wireless Staff Threaten Strike

By:mark.j @ 9:26:AM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

While most agree that BT must de-merge its BTWireless wing into a separate body in order to grow and survive, yet invariably people’s jobs will be pushed into the middle:

The Communications Workers Union (CWU) is concerned that the separation of BT Wireless from the rest of the telco will result in job losses. It is lobbying both senior management and BT shareholders, and hopes to persuade the company to pause the demerger, and reconsider its options.

The CWU represents around 80,000 BT workers, and Jeannie Drake, general secretary of the CWU, warned on Thursday that it could call a strike if BT insisted on going ahead with the demerger. "We want to win this argument by open debate but there will come a point at which the union will have to protect its members in Wireless," Drake said, adding that the CWU would consider industrial action if it felt its members' interests could be threatened.

Admitting that such a strike would bring its business to a standstill, a BT spokeswoman told ZDNet that it wasn't taking the threat from the CWU very seriously. "If the union is really planning industrial action then they've got to contact us and let us know. We're in constant dialogue with the CWU, but they've not given us any formal warning about a possible strike," she said.


More @ ZDNet.

By's Half-Price Cable Modem Installation

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

Thanks to Peter for sending us Blueyonder's (Telewest) latest special offer plan for half-price cable modem installations in September:

blueyonder Announcement of 31 Aug 2001 17:45
Submitted by : John Orriss
Department : Marketing


We are pleased to announce a special half price installation offer for customers who subscribe to blueyonder broadband internet during September.

The standard installation price is reduced from £50 to £25. If in addition you require a NIC card the installation price reduces from £75 to £37.50.

To qualify for the offer you must subscribe to other Telewest services.

If you want to enjoy the internet nearly 10 times faster then give us a call today so you too can download web pages, MP3's and large files at lightning speed as well as being able to watch superior quality video and get a better gaming experience with super low ping rates.

You can call 0800 953 5000 or check availability and register online at http://info.blueyonder.co.uk

Regards

The team at blueyonder

News - August 31,2001

PlusNET Introduce 'ADSL NetStart'

By:mark.j @ 3:44:PM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

It looks as if PlusNET have introduced yet another broadband ADSL service, 'ADSL NetStart', to their range of business packages. Full press release follows:

What's the best way to get your business online? PlusNet have the answer.

More people than ever can now get the benefits of 'broadband for business'.



(Press Release 31st August 2001, Sheffield UK) - PlusNet, the popular UK ISP, today announced the launch of a new addition to their already comprehensive range of broadband Internet access packages for Home and Business. PlusNet's 'ADSL NetStart' product has been introduced specifically to bring the benefits of high-speed, 'always-on' Internet access to more business users than was previously possible.

Using the very latest 'Rate Adaptive' technology (RADSL), PlusNet have been able to extend the catchment area of ADSL availability, allowing many thousands of people who have previously tried to get connected and failed, the opportunity to benefit from the broadband revolution. Standard ADSL technology enables premises at a distance of up to 3.5km to be connected; RADSL effectively extends this range to a maximum of 5.5km, covering a much greater area.

Last month saw PlusNet add RADSL availability to its residential 'ADSL Home' service, a move that was warmly greeted by both customers and press alike. This, particularly taken with the subsequent news of a substantial price drop, has made 'ADSL Home' a popular alternative to traditional dial and unmetered services.

"Whilst our residential users have benefited directly from the recent availability improvement and price reduction, we have been waiting for BT to signal their support for business RADSL before launching our own service", stated Matt Grest, Product and Services Manager for PlusNet. "As we have recently seen, with BT set to start trials of further Rate Adaptive products in November, we feel that the time is right to launch ADSL NetStart".


PlusNet have designed ADSL NetStart to offer all the added-value benefits of their business-class services together with the extended reach of RADSL. Using a USB modem that plugs straight into your office PC, it couldn't be simpler to set up. ADSL NetStart offers a straightforward upgrade path for your business needs. As well as being suitable for a stand-alone office PC, this service can be used to create a simple Local Area Network.

"ADSL NetStart is the ideal option for business if you can't yet receive Ethernet DSL in your area", added Grest. "High-speed Internet connectivity at a respectable 500kbps is now available to business users at fixed-cost, and with a low cost install fee."

It's not hard to see why more businesses than ever are turning to PlusNet ADSL for their Internet solution. A fixed cost that often works out to be substantially cheaper than for standard dial up access, the ability to use the office phone at the same time as using the Internet, and not forgetting access at much faster speeds than most people have hitherto experienced.

ADSL NetStart costs just £70 +VAT per month with a one-off install fee of only £150 +VAT.

PlusNet's complete range of ADSL products can be seen at their web site http://www.plus.net.

NTL Broadband Wireless Trials - Update

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

Just as a reminder, NTL is still on target to begin rollout of their TRIAL broadband wireless service to 1,000 lucky Londoners this weekend and into next week.

NTLs BBW (Broadband Wireless) technology is ultimately designed to be directly competitive with the likes of Tele2's, although it'll be awhile before any true comparisons can be drawn.

Ideally they’d like the technology to compete with BTs R/ADSL, although they'll only be able to do that by installing it in areas where C-Modem and R/ADSL aren't already found. We should know more once the trials are complete.

Tiscali’s Unmetered ISP Update

By:mark.j @ 3:30:PM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Whoops we missed this off the early morning update. From next week Tiscali's set of pre-acquired ISPs (see previous update) will finally become one.

The official announcement has yet to be issued and is expected early next week, although Tiscali seem keen to press ahead. We've known for sometime that Tiscali intended to merge all their acquisitions into the central brand; it was only a question of when it'd finally be completed.

It still looks as if WorldOnline will form the now Tiscali owned central hub, albeit under their brand name. By way of a reminder, Tiscali will be offering the following three ISP packages:

Tiscali Classic - Standard Local Call Rate (FREE).
Tiscali AnyTime - 24/7 Unmetered @ £14.99 Per Month.
Tiscali OffPeak - Evenings & Weekends Unmetered @ £9.99 Per Month.


As previously stated, broadband xDSL (R/ADSL) and Satellite service will follow towards the end of the year and into early 2002. Once the official announcement is made our ISP listings will be updated to reflect Tiscali as one brand.

SurfAnytime Announce New Package

By:rich.p @ 1:00:PM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

SurfAnytime has announced an interesting new package; it allows access between 4:00pm and 8:00am for £9.99 per month. The full press release follows:

SurfAnytime Ltd., one of the UK’s fastest growing ISP’s, is proud to announce that from the 31st August 2001 a new Off-peak package will be available. Priced at only £9.99 per month, this package provides unmetered Internet access between the hours of 16:00 and 08:00 Monday through Friday and all weekend - ideal for schoolchildren, students or those working standard office hours.

Realising there are various levels of Internet access required by Customers, and with the variety of packages on offer, we believe we can address the needs of most businesses and individuals.

In addition to our Internet access packages, we are also pleased to announce our new ‘Anytime Complete’ website design and hosting packages which are now available. Very competitively priced and hosted on our Sun Cobalt RaQ4 servers, our rapidly deployed, highly professional website designs will allow both businesses and individuals alike to develop and grow with the Worldwide Web as it becomes increasingly important in everyday life.

In answer to customer demand, we are also in the process of developing a new referral scheme, which will offer our affiliates the opportunity to earn good old fashioned cash for referred users.

For more information or to register for any of the SurfAnytime packages and for the chance to WIN A WEBSITE DESIGNED AND HOSTED BY SURFANYTIME AND ONE YEARS UNMETERED INTERNET ACCESS (VAL £600), visit http://www.surfanytime.co.uk for details.


The new package includes two extra hours that aren't usually classed (officially) as off-peak. The package is in line with similar offerings from several other ISPs around the Internet, although some of those are roughly £1 cheaper.

Tiscali Increase UK Presence

By:mark.j @ 9:46:AM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Not content with having taken over many of the UKs ISPs, WorldOnline, LibertySurf, X-Stream (LS), LineOne and Tiny Online etc., Tiscali (Italian provider) is now to further extend its services.

Both residential and business customers should benefit from their new deal with ipsaris, which will see Tiscali increase its presence in the UK market through broadband and hosting improvements:

According to Tiscali chief operating officer Stephane Huet, the company has a small number of UK customers using Tiscali’s core switching technology and BT leased lines, but the ipsaris deal will allow the company to reach more customers, offer broadband connectivity and market services that generate higher margins.

Huet identified three factors that persuaded Tiscali to partner with ipsaris - the first time the companies have done business together: “We looked at the existing network, the future plans and the financial backing – which has become more important recently,” he said.


The netimperative.com article reports on how Tiscali will venture less into broadband due to existing rollout problems, although will still make use of newer broadband satellite systems as well as DSL.

Freeserve Push AOL Over VAT - Third Time

By:mark.j @ 9:18:AM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Perhaps it's the fourth time; we've kind of lost track. Either way as the end of one month arrives (August) and a new one dawns (September), Freeserve has once again been quick to pickup the mark with AOLs latest income from avoiding V.A.T Tax.

Freeserve has been sending out regular releases about the issue, claiming that a 1997 Customs & Excise ruling gives AOL an unfair competitive advantage. Freeserve is currently challenging that ruling.

If it is successful Freeserve believes that AOL could end up paying at least £30Million more a year in V.A.T.

Of course no attack on AOL by Freeserve would be complete without the usual and often offensive practical example of how such money could better be spent; this time is no exception. Football fans may like to know that AOL has now saved enough cash over the past month to pay for David Beckham's services for 96 weeks.

Thanks for the offer Freeserve, although most of us rather buy a nice house or car over the services of Mr.Beckham, whom is currently needed on the field anyway. Having said that his lovely haircut would go well with our gardens flowerbed, lets just hope they win against Germany! – NO NOT THE FLOWERS!

EC To Push E-Government

By:mark.j @ 9:09:AM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Apparently the British government isn't quite sure what to do when the European Commission (EC) holds a conference on e-government in Brussels later this year.

Despite having already promoted the use of e-government facilities and more recently having signed a big deal with Microsoft, they still don't know whether to send a representative:

According to information distributed by the conference organisers, the commission is hoping to build "a framework to address eGovernment issues beyond the 2002 eEurope Action Plan." This plan was an agreement between member countries that they would work towards the construction of a cheaper, faster, more secure Internet, as well as stimulating Web use, and helping to educate the European public about the new knowledge-based economy.

British government ministers have repeatedly spoken of the importance of putting public services online, but no minister has yet agreed to attend the conference. "We're not sure who, if anyone, will be representing the UK government," a Cabinet Office spokeswoman told ZDNet. She added that they were encouraging local government bodies to send representatives along, to share practical experiences.


Apparently now that we have several different ministers involved with the governments 'e' side, they're finding it hard to select who's best to go. ZDNet's item makes you wonder whether they even know whom they're hiring?

News - August 30,2001

Xantic Broadband Satellite Prices

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

For those of you waiting on the prices for Xantic's Two-Way broadband satellite service, we've finally found them. Please remember that this ISP appears designed for business use, although the following still seems excessive:

High Speed Internet - Package 1
Monthly fee (200 MB per month included)
€ 85.00
Usage above 200 MB per month
€ 0.50 per MB

High Speed Internet - Package 2
Monthly fee (500 MB per month included)
€ 200.00
Usage above 500 MB per month
€ 0.45 per MB

High Speed Internet - Package 3
Monthly fee (1000 MB per month included)
€ 350.00
Usage above 1000 MB per month
€ 0.40 per MB


It would appear to use an older system and not follow in the same trend as forthcoming Digital Satellite ISPs of cheaper and less restrictive construction. More information can be found at the ISPs official site:
http://www.xanticbroadband.com

Breathe Update Unmetered Prices

By:mark.j @ 3:41:PM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

In July Affinity announced the re-launch of urban ISP, Breathe, with a new set of unmetered packages. Since then some people have already been using the service and found an ISP of mixed quality.

Strangely Affinity has, according to Net4Nowt, announced the re-launch of Breathe a second time. Although it would appear to be an announcement for some new unmetered prices and a re-vamped portal, not so much a re-launch:

breathe unlimited

Get two months free* when you subscribe to breathe's unlimited access package for just £12.99 per month inclusive of VAT, subscription and telephone costs.

FAQ Says: This is not intended to support continuous or unattended Internet access, and as a result there is a cut-off after 10 minutes of inactivity and after 2 hours of absolute use. This is necessary to allow all members to access the service.

breathe at home

Get one month free* subscription with the breathe at home package. For £8.99, inclusive of VAT, a month, this tariff gives you access to the internet from 4pm to 8am Mon - Fri and all weekend.

FAQ Says: During the off peak and weekend period this is not intended to support continuous or unattended Internet access, and as a result there is a cut-off after 10 minutes of inactivity and after 2 hours of absolute use. This is necessary to allow all members to access the service. During peak times when you are paying 2p per minute there is no disconnections and you can stay connect for as long as you like.


The new portal is as attractive and stylish as ever and the re-done unmetered pricing is somewhat more competitive than before. Whether or not this will be enough to entice the 650,000 dormant subscribers, many of whom have already switched ISP, remains to be seen.

Oftel Maintain Universal Service Obligation

By:mark.j @ 3:18:PM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Oftel has today confirmed the continuation of the universal service obligation. This ensures that basic telephone services are available to all UK consumers at affordable prices; press release follows:

Date: 30 August 2001

Following consultation on the level and scope of the universal service obligation Oftel has concluded that BT and, in Hull, Kingston Communications will continue to have an obligation to provide the following on reasonable demand:

* a basic connection to the fixed network;
* special tariff packages to help those people with special social needs and on low incomes;
* proportionate and non-discriminatory disconnection procedures which are made publicly available.

Oftel will continue to keep under review possible extension of the universal service obligation to include mobile and broadband services.

David Edmonds, Director General of Telecommunications said today:

"Everybody has a right to basic telephone services at affordable prices. Although around 99% of households now possess either fixed-line or a mobile phone, the universal service obligation still has major role to play in protecting consumers."

"It is vital that we continue to ensure that those on low incomes and in remote areas still have access to basic telephony services which is why we have concluded that these requirements should be maintained."

"Oftel will continue to keep under review the scope of the universal service obligation within the context of the European legislative framework."


This isn't especially big or shocking news since the USO has always been a recognised and fundamental part of most Telco's framework, which is good to know. Of course we’d like to know what Oftel considers to be an ‘affordable price’, especially for all those ISDN customers out there, you know what we mean =).

Xantic Launch Broadband Satellite

By:mark.j @ 10:46:AM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Yes that's correct, another broadband satellite ISP has today launched itself onto an ever-growing market. Full details of this particular ISP are not yet known, although we should have more soon:

29 August 2001

XANTIC LAUNCHES SATELLITE BROADBAND MULTIMEDIA SERVICES


Only solution of its kind to enable the efficient multicast of rich multimedia content from point-to-multipoint.

Xantic today launched its range of satellite broadband multimedia solutions. The new services are targeted at organisations - both large and small - demanding faster and more cost-effective access to the internet using the optimum performance benefits of satellite communications.

Xantic's Broadband Multimedia solutions are based on a combination of satellite and internet technology that enable the efficient delivery of multimedia content to multiple locations across a large geographical area. Xantic's new services have a distinct advantage over cable based solutions in its ability to simultaneously multicast of rich multimedia content from point to multipoint. Currently available across Europe, North Africa and the Middle East, the services will be eventually extended to the Asia Pacific region and the Americas.

Xantic has installed and deployed the SES Group's ASTRA-NET technology directly at its uplink and ground control premises in Hilversum. The new solutions are based on an ASTRA-NET IP-broadband platform and delivered through satellite capacity leased on the NSAB's SIRIUS satellite system.

The three services being launched are:

* High Speed Internet Access Service is the ideal solution for companies making the internet an ever-more integrated part of their business process. As the demand increases for premium quality broadband internet access, all too often, even in many metropolitan areas, neither cable or DSL are yet available. High speed internet access via satellite allows bottlenecks either in the local loop or the backbone service to be simply skipped over.

* A File Delivery Service, which enables large quantities of data to be sent in a fully controlled manner to any number of recipients. Examples of applications include the distribution of multimedia files and software, video wall remote control, promotional displays, and business portals (Intra/Extranet). Advantages over traditional cable-based solutions include its extremely high availability and quality, guaranteed delivery within an agreed time and cost efficiency.

* An IP Streaming Service, which enables multimedia content to be transmitted in real time to a virtually unlimited number of recipients via guaranteed bandwidth. Applications include real time audio, video, data or a combination of these, live video presentations, real time stock exchange information, business TV or radio, and distance learning. In addition to being highly cost effective, IP Streaming offers high availability and quality, plus a guaranteed ultra-high bandwidth.

Commented Knut Reed, CEO of Xantic: "We are responding to a real customer requirement of reaching the hard to reach with the launch of these services. The distinctiveness of Xantic's satellite-based solutions is our ability to communicate from point to multipoint, thus enabling businesses to reduce costs and improve efficiency. And best of all, Xantic's services are available here and now."

The launch of these services backed by Xantic's many years' of experience in the market and reputation for end-to-end solutions, will help reinforce Xantic's position as the complete one-stop shop for all satcom-based IT requirements.

For the future, Xantic is working with a number of partners across vertical markets, to enable them to offer their content delivery solutions via satellite to their customers.

For more information about Xantic, visit our corporate web site:
http://www.xantic.net


Despite searching we’ve been unable to find any further information on pricing, service speeds or availability. We have asked for this information and will make an update when it arrives.

Handset Delays To Cripple 3G

By:mark.j @ 10:35:AM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

While the first full 3G networks are still at least a year away from public launch (UK), concerns of a mass delay with 3G handsets have risen once again:

Writing in the latest issue of his Wireless Outlook, analyst Andrew Seybold said that it is possible that handset manufacturers might not have launched enough handsets by the time that 3G networks are rolled out. This could make it much harder for operators to sign up large numbers of customers quickly -- which could have devastating financial implications for an industry that is already looking towards 3G to save it from its current woes.

Seybold -- who has been analysing the wireless industry for over eight years -- warns that 3G is heading for a Catch 22-style dilemma. "While network operators rush to launch their networks, being first may not matter since the handsets aren't yet available," wrote Seybold. "The handset vendors, on the other hand, want to see the wireless networks widely launched before they spend a lot of money manufacturing handsets," he added.


Although not stated in the ZDNet item, we'd surmise that while this may mean trouble in North America, we Brits shouldn't be overly concerned. This is primarily because our market is already saturated with phones and if the slow and expensive uptake of GPRS is anything to go by, 3G will follow suit.

Home PC Hack Attacks Increase

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

Not unrelated to the smaller news item we did on Internet Security (HERE), the US-based CERT Coordination Centre has today published a report showing a significant rise in intruder attacks directed at home users:

Intruder attacks are defined as anything from packet sniffers, which capture data from plain text email and other information as they travel over the network, to email viruses -- not just hacking attacks.

PCs running Windows are particularly vulnerable. Unprotected Windows networking shares are singled out as one weakness often found in home PCs, allowing hackers to place tools on large numbers of Windows-based computers attached to the Internet. Windows is also singled out for its option to "Hide file extensions for known file types", which is enabled by default, making it difficult for many people to spot extensions such as .vbs on files. Many email viruses -- such as Love Letter -- arrive as Visual Basic files with .vbs extensions.

According to CERT, home users are particularly vulnerable to compromises of their PCs because "they do not keep them up to date with security patches and workarounds, do not run current anti-virus software, and do not exercise caution when handling email attachments."


The ZDNet item is the second such report to highlight the growing issues of online security, which MOST users take for granted. As before this is especially nasty for those on broadband connections, many of whom use Static IPs, which can easily be remembered by a hacker and checked.

We're currently working on a new section of ISP Review to cover all aspects of online security, although it's a complex process and will take time to surface.

Vispa Internet Relax Unmetered Usage

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

Vispa Internet has today (technically yesterday, came after-hours) sent us another press release on the subject of usage limits, which has been an interesting subject of discussion with the ISPs customers.

The ISP was known to have one of the more restrictive daily-unmetered surfing hours, but not for much longer. Apparently a new daily average of 10hours seems to have been implemented, which brings the ISP in line with the likes of Freeserve.

It's worth pointing out that most new generation ISPs still don't declare their limits, full press release follows:

Vispa Relaxes Usage Limits

August 29th 2001


Feedback is something at Vispa we do take onboard, every email and letter is read and every key idea or improvement is highlighted at weekly management meetings. The recent key issues from current Vispa users and those raised by possible new customers have been about daily usage limits.

Vispa's Connect Lite 'Anytime' has without doubt settled down to become an excellent product, almost 100% non-engaged tone system; many technical issues have been overcome via committed staff doing days of unnecessary hard work due to supplier downfalls. However, rather than suspending services or running the operation until it killed us, we introduced some limits to ease the problem, knowing that weeks down the road this would pay off and provide users with an excellent service.

This level of quality has been reached to a point that the management team has taken the decision to relax daily usage limits to a more open-minded approach towards usage patterns. However Connect Lite 'Anytime' is not classed as an 'always on' package and still includes standard cut-offs and idle settings along with new port monitoring to ensure users are live and not taking up lines. We believe that this is the best solution for all, maintains the balance of usage against service quality, and one that other ISP's will find tough to compete against.

http://www.vispa.net
http://www.vispa.com
http://www.vispa.co.uk


This combined with their future service and capacity improvements should allow Vispa to expand and become increasingly competitive with others.

NetGamesUK Sees Trouble Ahead

By:mark.j @ 9:57:AM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Several of our readers have sent us the following statement taken from NGUK's forums a few days ago, apparently the news isn't good and clearly not much has improved since the ISP stopped its 0800 unmetered dial-up service:

As of Monday 20th august, Netgames-uk (www.nguk.net) the popular UK Gaming Service Provider has officially lost its primary service staff, leaving the games service without anyone to run the servers except for the voluntary admin staff. The group who founded the technology that runs NGUK left it in a state where it partially maintains itself, but further changes to the system (i.e. patches, updates, new maps and mods) would require access that current voluntary admins do not hold at this time.

Some Leagues and Tournaments currently hosted by NGUK are on temporary hold for the time being but there has been no indication that NGUK will stop hosting servers. Please check the respective league websites for more information. A total of 239 game ports serving thousands of gamers covering all game types from Quakeworld to Quake3, Half-life to Counterstrike, Unreal Tournament to Tribes 2 are still in somewhat full operation at this time. We would like to take this opportunity to thank all the Voluntary admins, and friends of NGUK for supporting the service over the past year, making it what we believe to be one of the very best gaming service providers in the UK, up there with the other GSPs such as Barrysworld , Wireplay and Jolt.

Senior admins (head game-type admins) are still available on the irc server irc.hashnet.org in their respective rooms, and will maintain the service for as long as possible until further information is available from the NGUK MD.

NGUK contact information is available from the website at http://www.nguk.net, and a more detailed transcript of the NGUK leave is at http://forums.nguk.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=6410

Thank you.
The voluntary admins of NGUK.


Many of our readers and NGUK's users were sad when the ISP dropped out of its unmetered dial-up status, which had initially been off to a good start. NGUK was one of the last 'old generation' unmetered ISPs to be in operation until that time.

Details surrounding this latest change of pace seem to be masked in confusion and contradictive information, so we'll only cover what's officially stated above until more is revealed. Clearly this puts serious doubt over any '0800 comeback', which had once been hoped for the future.

BTI Network Improvements

By:rich.p @ 9:56:AM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

BTI have sent an e-mail to customers informing them that they have undertaken a network review and will be asking a few customers to change numbers:

**BTinternet: network improvements**

Dear Customer,

We've good news for you and all our other BTinternet customers.

As part of our ongoing improvements to the service we offer you, we regularly review the network and monitor levels of service usage. How each customer actually uses the service affects the level of service everyone receives.

As a result of a recent review, you'll be pleased to hear that we're improving the network to accommodate all of our different customer usage patterns so that we can manage our service to cater for your needs more appropriately.

The BTinternet team will contact some of our customers in the next 21 days to take steps to adapt the service to cater for different usage patterns. These customers may be asked to use a new dial-up number. This will improve the service all our customers receive.

Meanwhile, we've more good news: thanks to our new Extended Reach Technology, more people across the country are now in broadband-active zones - so if you'd like to know more about broadband 'always on' access, please go to http://www.btopenworld.com/broadband

Once again, most of you will not have to do anything except sit back and look forward to using an improved network. However, if you do have any queries, please go to http://www.btopenworld.com/service

Thank you for your attention.

Best regards,

BTinternet team


BTI have told us the number that people will be asked to change over will still be free. If splitting the load between two numbers will help some people connect in the more congested areas of the country this can only be a good thing.

BTI have a small FAQ about this e-mail on their website.

BT Retail CEO Opposed To LLU Sale

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

Pierre Danon, the CEO of BT Retail and possible next in line after Sir Peter Bonfield, has officially proclaimed himself to be 'fiercely opposed' to any sale of their fixed line local loop network.

Mr.Danon has voiced his opinions before in such a way, but never said much beyond a few words. According to various newspaper reports he's now quoted as saying:

"I consider the local loop as absolutely the core business of BT, if there's one thing you don't do, you don't outsource your core business. That is the most stupid thing you can do. Of course, it generates an immense competitive advantage - which is why we have a regulator.

However, I just cannot deliver a customer experience if I don't have the integrated chain of the service delivery. I am fiercely opposed.
"

Clearly BT has some big changes planned for their long held fixed line business. With broadband getting faster over copper wires through the latest DSL standards and DigitalTV, Radio and wireless becoming more popular, now is not a time to loose the key to the whole market. However you can't help but wonder just what BTs price would be.

News - August 29,2001

BTOpenworld Launch SMS Service

By:mark.j @ 4:09:PM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Not content with extending their broadband and dial-up (BTI) networks, BTOpenworld has once again opted to improve portal services with their new PC To SMS service:

BTopenworld and 2SMS launch PC to mobile Broadcast SMS service

Businesses in the UK are now able to reduce costs, save time, and improve communication thanks to a new SMS service launched today by BTopenworld, BT's mass market Internet business, and 2SMS, the fixed line to mobile messaging solution provider.

The service, developed by 2SMS and available on the BTopenworld portal, will enable Internet users to send broadcast SMS messages from their PCs to any number of mobile phones globally. Businesses will be able to use their own databases to communicate via SMS messages to customers, suppliers and employees. This makes it ideal for businesses wishing to communicate more rapidly and cost-efficiently.

The service offers a tracking system on the website, where messages are recorded. The user can access and produce reports on messages sent, received and delivered, to whom and when.

Users only pay for the cost of the SMS messages they send. There is no additional set-up cost or monthly rental. SMS messages are pre-paid in advance online using credit card or invoice via Netbanx, and are charged on a sliding scale, with volume discounts available - the more messages bought, the greater the discount.

A valuable business tool, the service can be set up to automatically distribute key information via text message. For example, 2SMS can be used to automatically cascade current share price information to relevant parties; it can also be used as an internal company messaging tool to automatically alert employees of system completions or failures.

SMS can be used as a targeted permission marketing tool, allowing businesses to send personalised messages to individuals, via SMS rather than mail shot or traditional email. SMS is already being used to sell unsold concert and theatre seats and tickets.

The service uses 2SMS software, downloaded from the website to the user's PC, laptop or server. SMS messages are sent using Excel spreadsheets, Outlook 2000 or other Microsoft desktop database applications. The 2SMS software integrates the SMS network with MS Windows 98, NT4, 2000 and ME. 2SMS can also provide programming code (e.g. Java applets, com+ objects for Microsoft desktops and servers, ASP code, e-mail to SMS and FTP solutions), so advanced users or programmers can build personalised applications around the service.

The service is open to users of all Internet Service Providers and mobile networks. Registration for the service is free of charge via the BTopenworld/2SMS website ( http://www.btopenworld2sms.com ). 2SMS support is available from 8.00 am to 8.00 pm Monday to Friday on 0800 083 4530 (free call from UK land lines).

Powergen Launches Unmetered ISP

By:mark.j @ 4:02:PM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Net4Nowt have spotted that the latest entrant into the unmetered dial-up ISP market, the second this week, is none other than Powergen.

Normally known for supplying 'metered' power, the popular electricity provider has now dipped its hand into unmetered Internet access thanks to 'Affinity VIP' (backers):

With Powergen as your Internet Service Provider, you not only get fast, reliable Internet access, but also free private email, free web space and loads of other goodies!

Evenings and Weekends - £9.99 Per Month
Surfing between 4pm and 8am weekdays and all weekend, just the time the kids are home! 2 Pence Per Minute charge applies out of unmetered hours. 2Hourly cut off and 10 minute inactivity cut.

Daytime - £9.99 Per Month
Cheap, unmetered access at peak times featuring free surfing between 6am and 6pm weekdays. 1 Pence Per Minute charge applies out of unmetered hours. Auto 6pm cut off, no other cuts apply.

Anytime - £13.99
This product allows unmetered access 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. 2Hourly cut off and 10 minute inactivity cut.


Compared to many of the other offers now reaching into a similarly competitive market, Powergen's package seems every so slightly lacking. However such packages can often be the best for stability, only time will tell.

UPDATE: Unmetered ISP List and associated forums updated accordingly.

V21 Complete Service Improvements

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

The popular 'child-friendly' unmetered dial-up ISP, V21, have sent us yet another update; this time informing everybody that they've completed the promised service extensions:

V21 have now completed their expansions and all users will now enjoy an extended cut off period of 4 hours. There are also no restrictions in place to disallow reconnection.

ISPs Forced To Monitor Customers

By:mark.j @ 3:42:PM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Warnings signs for British ISPs have once again started to flow from our Australian cousins.

Not content with banning the population from posting any Internet content that might be offensive to children, new recommendations could see ISPs recording customers' online activities:

The group retaliated to a report by the Parliamentary Joint Committee on the National Crime Authority, which looks to combat the problem of law enforcement agencies falling behind the wave of crimes committed using new technology.

The recommendation that triggered the most concern would force ISPs to record customers' online activities, according to EFA's Greg Taylor.

"They're very cautious with words but they're basically saying they want ISPs to be forced to keep records of the activities of their customers," Taylor said. According to Taylor the report wasn't "very specific" about what information should be recorded, "but reading between the lines they're looking for as much information as they can get."


ZDNet's item is worrying because the UK is embarking on a similar path and Australia's government is, like the UKs, not best known for listening to civil liberty groups and activists. In other words, if the recommendations are passed then they could also follow the same rout here.

CBI Calls For Gov Action On CyberCrime

By:mark.j @ 3:35:PM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Apparently The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has called for more government action after finding that fear of Internet crime is stopping businesses expanding onto the Internet:

In a report released on Wednesday, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) warned that the growth of e-commerce in the UK is suffering because of these worries. The CBI has carried out a survey of British companies and discovered that two-thirds of the firms that responded had suffered a "serious cybercrime attack" -- which the CBI defines as having experienced hacking, credit card fraud or a virus attack -- in the last year.

The CBI wants to see the government taking more action against this threats. It recommends that a "UK Centre for Cybercrime Complaints" is set up, where firms could report incidents. The CBI also wants the Computer Misuse Act 1990 to be updated to cover attacks on IT systems, and suggests that the government takes a greater role in the fight against cross-border cybercrime.


It's obviously a very serious problem if what's contained within ZDNet's item turns out to be true. However proving it is only part of the problem, getting the government to actually do something is a completely different ball game.

Internet Security & Microsoft's PSA

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

Following the recent problems with Internet worms such as Code Red etc., Microsoft have offered up a 'Personal Security Advisor' (MPSA) system:

Microsoft Personal Security Advisor (MPSA) is an easy to use web application that will help you secure your Windows NT™ 4.0 or Windows 2000™ personal computer system.

MPSA will scan your system and build a customized report on items such as - missing security patches, weak passwords, Internet Explorer and Outlook Express security settings, and Office macro protection settings.

For each weakness identified on your computer, MPSA provides easy to understand information on the security issue at hand, how to fix it, and links to additional information about the issue. Once you correct a reported deficiency, you can run the scan again and see the results of the change. Running MPSA on a regular basis will help ensure that your system stays up to date and secure.


The online system/tool can be found HERE and is a very relevant tool for those of you on broadband connections. If you don't run a fully functional firewall then this should be a requirement for always-on connections.

We'd also like to point out the following system for those on any other operating system:

https://grc.com/x/ne.dll?bh0bkyd2

It's somewhat less complex and should be ideal for Windows 9x/ME and Linux etc. users trying to find security holes / gaps in their systems that need to be plugged. Every reader to this site would be well informed to try either or both.

Another Blueyonder Promotion

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

Our friends over in the Barrysworld camp have been kind enough to send us a copy of blueyonders (Telewest) latest broadband cable modem promotion.

It's by far one of the most unusual attempts we've seen and starts out with the picture of a strange circus manager pointing at you with the words :-

UNCLE SPAM WANTS YOU
For the battle of broadband Britain


The promotion then descends into several poorly written paragraphs (do they really think gamers speak this way?) before turning into the usual promotion. Well at least it's not another 'speeding ticket':

Getcha hands up where I can see 'em sonny - this is your old Uncle Spam (watch out where you leave your data trails in future, sucka!)

Now i8 has finished and the clan are sat around twiddling their fingers, you want more multiplayer action, Right?

Your old Uncle Spam has the perfect solution to keep you and your clan from spilling like lemmings into the nearest deep water, so listen up!

Uncle Spam has acquired some, er...unusual photographic material, featuring the top bods at blueyonder and when I offered to make them public they generously offered FREE installation to blueyonder Broadband for the first 4,000 users to sign up before 31st August 2001!

Whaddya know? There's no underestimating some people's generosity.

But you gotta call 0800 953 0735 and quote i8 to take advantage of this good 'un!

So commencing September 27, you and your clan could be gaming 24/7/365 over a hyper-fast broadband network offering the first, best, and only gaming experience of its' kind in the UK. Courtesy of Uncle Spam!

So spam your clan before they trace those negatives! The Battle of Broadband Britain is about to commence!

See you there! Wham! Bam!
Thank-you Spam!


While the previous 'speeding ticket' advert might have been innovative and understandable, this one is just plain ugly and almost insulting (hence the ‘SPAM’ element). Still if you're quite happy to see the English language deconstructed and destroyed in such a way then here's the official part:

Telewest blueyounder Broadband is available in certain areas. Call 0800 953 0735 to check your availability.

Terms and conditions: Offer limited to the first 4000 respondents and ends on 11.30pm 31st August 2001. Offer only available by calling 0800 953 0735 and quoting i8.

Customers are required to commit to a minimum service period of 12 months at £33 per month, or £25 per month for customers who subscribe to other Telewest services. Normal installation fee £50.

If you require a NIC, this will be installed free of charge if you sign up to this offer - Normal charge £25.

For full terms and conditions of blueyonder Broadband, see THIS PAGE. Offer subject to status and local availability.

BTs Online Digital Divide Debate

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

It would appear as if BT is now attempting to reach out to 'ordinary' people by offering an open online debate into the digital divide. This is the barrier that separates technology in the have and have-not's of society (rich and poor?).

As such BT have been kind enough to contact us with the following message for all to read:

This is an open invitation from BT for people to comment, challenge and influence BT's social and environmental performance. We thought that members of your egroup (ISP Review) might be interested in participating in this initiative. It would be appreciated if you could pass this news on to them. Please note that BT does not make profit from visits to "Betterworld" website, all proceeds go to charity.

A Joint Invitation from BT and AccountAbility

BT and The Institute for Social and Ethical Accountability would like you to join us in an open discussion on BTand the the digital divide.

The term digital divide - gap between the technological 'haves' and 'have-nots - has become widely used to embrace issues of social and economic exclusion caused by the lack of access to telecommunications technology. Some see the digital age as a source of hope that will deliver a safe natural environment, innovations in work opportunities and a democratic renaissance. Others argue that it will bring increased social exclusion, the collapse of geographic communities and the loss of privacy.

How important do you think the digital divide is?

Do you think BT is doing enough to close the digital divide?

BT is seeking to utilise the power of the internet to develop its understanding of the digital divide and other social and environmental issues by opening up the debate to all its stakeholders. You are invited to discuss, challenge and influence BT's approach to the digital divide. Senior BT staff as well as experts from outside the company will also take part in the discussion.

The Digital Divide was featured as a Hot Topic in BT's recent Social Report.

You can read it at http://www.bt.com/betterworld

The discussion will kick off on September 17th with a two week email discussion leading up to a live online debate on October 10th with Patricia Hewitt, Secretary of State for Trade and Industry and Pierre Dannon, CEO of BT Retail.

Of course, the very fact that you are reading this email means that you are on the 'right side' of the digital divide. However, we hope that this debate will engage as wide a range of people as possible and ultimately enhance BT' s social impact.

We are sending this invitation out as widely as possible, but if there are others who you think might be interested please send it on to them.
Both BT and AccountAbility agree that where there are controversial issues, serious debate is desirable, rather than something to avoid. We have chosen The Digital Divide as the basis for the first dialogue, but future discussions will examine other aspects of BT's social and environmental performance as suggested by discussion participants themselves (that's you!). Your views are crucial, both in guiding BT's future thinking and practice, but also informing how other companies can utilise communications technology to take stakeholders' views into account. We look forward to hearing from you.

Registration is open now for the first discussion, which starts on September17th

Visit http://www.groupbt.com/society/yourviews.htm to register or to suggest issues for future discussion.


You can bet your bottom dollar that we’ll be engaging in the discussion come September 17th, if anybody else would like to join and share more views then you know where to click (above).

Survey Shuns Commercial Web Music

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

It looks as if the commercial giants of the music world could have once again made a serious blunder. That of believing a once 'FREE' system like Napster (example) could still attract people if they were to pay for the downloaded music.

Consumers have not accepted purchasing and downloading music via the Web and are not likely to change with the new services being developed by the recording industry, according to a survey by research firm GartnerG2.

The survey of 4000 adults on the Internet found that nearly 50% of those polled listened to CDs on their PCs; whereas only 25% listen to music downloads from the Internet on their PCs.

In the same GarterG2 survey, it was reported that only 6% of the same demographic purchased digital music downloads in the last 3 months.

"The percentage of Internet music buyers is not likely to increase with new Internet services being developed by the big five music companies unless they make their copyright protection systems more flexible to entice consumers," said GartnerG2 analyst PJ McNealy in discussing the survey.

The report reflects a contrarian view to many other research reports projecting huge spikes in online music sales in coming years.

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