Welcome to our News Archives page

September 6, 2001 - September 11, 2001

News - September 11,2001

HUGE Terrorist Attack On USA!

By:mark.j @ 3:42:PM - Comments (8) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

What words could I possibly use to describe the devastation facing North America this afternoon? I've been watching the LIVE coverage ever since the first plane struct and can watch no longer..

If you're not already aware then key parts of North America have come under the most devastating Terrorist attacks imaginable. Myself having a friend in the 'World Trade' centre, it was impossible to continue watching after the part where he worked collapsed before my very eyes.

Nobody could claim to be a member of the human race if they couldn't feel deep sorrow and sympathy for what has happened. I'd ask that anybody reading this takes a quite moment and send a thought hope across the sea to our allies.

It's very difficult to continue the day normally having witnessed this, as such the following news items will be extremely short.

Clara.net Unmetered Update

By:mark.j @ 10:28:AM - Comments (0) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

We thought it was only fair to give an update following our concerns over Clara.net's unmetered billing and 'availability checker' issues.

Some may remember that we were concerned the prefix (unmetered number) wasn't working and that the 'availability checker' no longer saw previously authorised numbers.

Thankfully we now have the answers to our concerns, firstly if you check your BT bill online through the BT site then note that Clara.net's unmetered number WILL tally as an 0845. However when the bill is finally published these charges will be removed.

Clara.net were also kind enough to explain the problems with their availability checker:

With regard to why the availability checker is currently reading 'not available', this is because some telephone numbers have been temporarily removed because the exchange is full. This will only affect new customers, not existing customers, so you can continue using the account, or upgrade to Freetime Anytime Business if you wish to do so.

We've recommended Clara.net update their FTA FAQ's to include the BT issue since it also applies if you ask for a 'current' bill listing over the phone, can confuse.

C2Internet Reduce R/ADSL Prices

By:mark.j @ 9:40:AM - Comments (0) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

ADSLGuide have spotted that the lesser know broadband R/ADSL provider C2Internet, has also reduced its business broadband prices by £5:

S500 = £95+vat
S1000 = £145+vat
S2000 = £220+vat

European ISPs Still Looking Toward Porn

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

Following last months rumour that many of the portals associated with various European ISPs were looking to adopt porn into their mix, today further clarification of the subject has emerged:

Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein internet analyst Kai Kaufmann said: "It wouldn't be surprising if all the major portals moved into pornography, given the slowdown in advertising and the fact that e-commerce isn't really happening."

Kaufmann pointed out that the European internet industry was closely watching the performance of the pornography portal recently set up by Germany's top ISP, T-Online.

He said that the ISP's move with Barcelona-based Private Media Group - made through a Spanish subsidiary, ya.com, to keep the content separate from its own core brand - had the potential to set the agenda for other major internet players looking to supply paid-for content.

The VNUNet item goes on to investigate the advantage of using such material, although we're unlikely to see such a thing in the UK, at least not to the same scale.

Vodafone Fails To Convince Over 3G

By:mark.j @ 9:32:AM - Comments (0) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

It would seem as if the industry remain unconvinced as to Vodafone's 3G broadband wireless commitment when it comes to supporting highly sophisticated multimedia services from the outset.

Shares in mobile phone operators fell on Thursday after it was reported that Vodafone could only transmit data over its costly 3G networks at 64 kilobits per second (kb/s) (at launch), one sixth of the speed that had been expected.

The news cast further doubt over whether European operators will be able to offer services such as video downloads and generate the revenues needed to recoup their £68 Billion pound investment in 3G licences.

Vodafone, the world's biggest mobile phone operator, later issued a statement saying it would provide data services up to 384Kbs and that 64Kbs was a guaranteed minimum. Yet network experts claim it's the minimum speed that's was important, and that the statement had reduced there expectations of 3G's likely operating rate.

"Vodafone is resetting expectations," said Joe Cunningham, technical director of mobile networks at technology group Logica.

Vodafone is likely to restrict access to the higher bandwidth to premium-paying customers, and even they could see transmission speeds fall towards the minimum rate as the number of users increases, experts said. Most are likely to get service near the disappointingly slow minimum rate, they said.

AOL UK Denies CompuServe Closure

By:mark.j @ 9:21:AM - Comments (0) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Feeling somewhat like the great 'Queen Elizabeth', AOL UK has denied it has any intentions to close/chop the CompuServe ISP (AOL owned), despite 50 jobs being axed:

The Internet company last week said that it planned to wind down its subscription-free ISP Netscape Online, while insisting that CompuServe would continue to operate.

However, Matt Peacock of AOL UK "categorically denies" that CompuServe is for the chop. "CompuServe is a subscription-based service that is fundamentally sound and enjoys strong customer loyalty," he said.

The Register doesn't go into much detail, although clearly AOL has the intention of keeping CompuServe alive, for how long remains to be seen.

AOL UK Closes Netscape Online ISP

By:mark.j @ 9:13:AM - Comments (0) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

AOL UK is to close its Local Call Rate / Pay-as-you-go free (0845) Internet service provider, Netscape Online. The move, which could result in the loss of 20 jobs, follows the launch of AOL's unmetered service last November 2000.

The company says the future lies in flat-rate subscriptions, rather than pay-as-you-go web access. Typically this has less to do with unmetered and more the fact that AOL wishes to devolve the Netscape brand into its own 'AOL TimeWarner' group.

ISP Review Server Goes NUTS

By:mark.j @ 8:00:AM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

My god - WE'VE DISCOVERED TIME TRAVEL! Yes that's correct, somehow ISP Review has managed to transport itself a whole day into the future and 'you', the readers, along with it!! WOW.

Well no, but we have had the worst !four! days of serious server problems EVER in our two and a half years of existence. While the FTP is working at top speed, it's Internet connection is in trouble.

Typically this has made almost all of the sites systems (forums etc.) unusable or at the very least, seriously out of sync. Typically we can keep the front page updated so long as you ignore the 'Time Travel' effect, however I feel it's best that forum users take a break until this is resolved.

If you can't reach the site then just STOP and try again in five minutes since it's up and down like a French prostitute. If the problem isn't fixed by Wednesday then we'll move to an alternative server.

We have been given some very kind offers and options for hosting our site and know of some good backups, although any move would be a colossal project and the current server problems make that impossible. Typically any host we go with will be Unix/Linux only (you couldn't bribe us onto an NT System =]) and from a stable company/ISP.

In short, we'll still be hear and the news will be updated despite the issues with speed and server instability / timing. Yet please try to avoid using the forums and other complex automated systems until we can safely say all is working.

Nildram Reduce Cost Of Network ADSL

By:mark.j @ 5:27:AM - Comments (0) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Business and SME broadband R/ADSL users will be extremely happy to learn that the popular UK ISP Nildram has reduced its 'Network ADSL' costs. Full press release follows:

Nildram reduce cost of Network ADSL!

10 September 2001
Release: Immediate

Nildram, one of the leading Broadband Access Providers in the UK, have announced further reductions to their ADSL prices with immediate effect.

The price reductions apply to the ethernet based "S" series range of ADSL services from Nildram and represent major savings. The S500/R Service is reduced from £110 per month to £99, S1000/R from £170 to £130 and S2000/R from £270 to £160 per month - all subject to VAT. These reductions represent significant savings - £1320 per year on the S2000 service! The prices will apply to all new Ethernet ADSL orders, as well as those for existing customers once they reach the end of their initial 12-month contract period.

Additionally, the MoveDSL package, recently launched by Nildram to help reduce the cost of the USB service for customers wishing to transfer from other ISPs, has been expanded and now applies to any customers wishing to convert to any of the Nildram ethernet ADSL services.

Iain Ogilvie, Nildram's marketing manager comments: "Nildram have gained a formidable reputation for high quality Broadband services, both in terms of performance and high levels of customer support." "With our success, improved economies of scale have enabled us to implement these major reductions and make higher specification ADSL services available to a far wider audience." He goes on to say: "With the expected implementation of Service Level Agreements by BT towards the end of the year, there has never been a better time for businesses to get ADSL."

Oftel Aid Disabled Telco Users

By:mark.j @ 5:19:AM - Comments (0) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Oftel has today published a guide for telecom companies to help them communicate more effectively with their disabled customers. It's a fairly small press release and so here it is in full:

The guide sets out what fixed network operators must do to meet their licence obligations. It also details the measures that all telecoms service providers must take to meet the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act.

The guide also encourages good practice in making sure that information is accessible and meets the needs of people with specific impairments.

It includes advice about alternative information formats such as Braille and large print, customer contact by telephone and textphone and the communication requirements of customers with a wide range of disabilities.

David Edmonds, Director General of Telecommunications, said:

"It is very important that telecoms companies communicate effectively with all their disabled customers. All telecoms customers should be able to expect an equal standard of excellent service. This guide has been published with the support of the Disability Rights Commission and will help telecoms companies to achieve this aim."

Bob Twitchin, Chairman of the Advisory Committee on Telecommunications for Disabled and Elderly People (DIEL) said:

"I welcome publication of this guide. DIEL is pleased to have worked with Oftel to compile it and is grateful to all those who have contributed their expertise and examples of good practice."

News - September 10,2001

BTs Wireless 'o2' Network Sees 3G Delay

By:mark.j @ 7:46:PM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

BT has today confirmed that delays to the launch of its future broadband wireless UTMS/3G mobile phone network could be possible due to handset shortages:

"[3G] technology has slipped from when the licences were awarded," said Peter Erskine, chief executive of BT's wireless unit, who also announced a rebranding of BT's wireless division. The division, incorporating BT Cellnet, Genie, Viag Interkom and Digifone, will now be known as mmO2 and its brand will be O2 from spring 2002.

When they eventually appear in the UK, 3G mobile services will offer applications such as higher-speed Internet connections, messaging services and video conferencing to mobile phones. European carriers spent almost $100bn last year on buying 3G licences in countries across the continent, but BT anticipates that most customers will have to wait for a service. A trial of 3G services by BT subsidiary Manx Telecom was recently postponed due to technical hitches.

This now means that half of the UKs major future 3G networks have begun anticipating delays to the delivery of their services. The ZDNet item makes us wonder whether others will follow suit, all signs point to YES.

BTs Unmetered Congestion - Update

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

Following our brief report on the congestion problems (Saturday) with BTs unmetered dial-up related networks (affecting many ISPs), we've done a 'Trace Rout' to show a physical example.

Typically we're still barred from publishing the official information and so it remains 'rumour ware', but this should help fill the gap:

No.5 on the list is clearly most obvious, although it's worth pointing out that we haven't seen 6 and 7 (name wise) until recently. During extended 'Trace Routs' we've seen 5 jump from 60/80ms to 400/700ms and cause pauses and connection breaks.

We've only just done this and so it doesn't look as if BT have managed to fix the problem, the server may say 'fixed', yet testing still shows problems for BT linked ISPs (much of the market).

Web Surfers Get A Voice

By:mark.j @ 5:33:PM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Without people to surf the Internet it wouldn't be what it is today, yet it's something governments often forget in their continuing attempts to monitor and invade our online privacy.

Thankfully the 'Internet standards-setting body' ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) has plans to give ordinary surfers their own voice in official decisions.

If approved, the plan could lay to rest a charge that has haunted ICANN since it was first formed in 1998: that it does not allow input from the planet's 500 million Internet users.

But the plan may clash with an unrelated vision by a group of national domain-name managers. Disgruntled by what they see as under-representation within ICANN, "country code" domains such as France's ".fr" and Japan's ".jp" hope to establish a committee of their own and claim seats on the board of directors.

ICANN chairman Vint Cerf said on Sunday that the board might not be able to take action on either proposal in November if the two plans conflict. Not surprisingly ICANN could be facing yet another delay, which shouldn't be a problem since they're use to them.

Six New Internet Domain Suffixes

By:mark.j @ 4:04:PM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

For sometime now the Internet has been expecting to see six new domain name suffixes, the end part of a domain (.co.uk), yet the process has been long and packed with technical problems and lawsuits.

Thankfully ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) has finally announced the availability of the new suffixes for November 2001!

They've acknowledged that the slow progress on ".pro," ".museum," ".coop" and three other new domains have frustrated many who would have liked to see the domains made available to Internet surfers earlier.

While all seven (six by November) domains approved in November 2000 could be online by January of next year, ICANN is not likely to approve another set of new domains for at least a year after that, participants at ICANN's quarterly meeting here said.

Guidelines to evaluate new domain proposals will not be in place until March at the earliest, according to a committee set up to look at the problem. Managers of the new domains said they had expected to complete the rollout process earlier, but did not realise how much work would be involved.

BTOpenwoe Facelift Uploaded

By:mark.j @ 3:43:PM - Comments (2) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Thought it might be worth mentioning that the broadband R/ADSL groupies over at BTOpenwoe, BTOpenworld customer news/experiences and info. site, have uploaded a nice new design for their project. We also like the way there's a big advert for 'blueyonder' on the front page =).

http://www.btopenwoe.org.uk

News - September 9,2001

V21 Unmetered Trial Update

By:mark.j @ 3:05:PM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Just a reminder that V21's special unmetered trial (one week) for ISP Review readers will end on the 14th September 2001, so if you're planning to test it then do so now.

In case you're wondering how to make use of this trial and missed the update to our original post last week, here's what V21 say:

Go to our site (v21) and click on the animated banner for signing up a new account. When asked for a promo / start up code enter ISPR. This will then give you a weeks free trial.

ISP Review Weekly Update

By:mark.j @ 3:00:PM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Oh thank god, I had half expected to see another mountain of E-Mails and news this morning, but nothing! You'd understand what it's like if you had to report on it every single day and deal with peoples complaints and problems, tiresome stuff.

So it looks as if the ISP Gods have spared me this day, a day I intend to rest. It'll certainly be a welcome relief given the week of problems we've had. Firstly my knee is shatter in an accident, then the cat gets hit by a car (fourth time lucky!) and finally the server goes nuts.

Back to the ISP news and as you're no doubt aware the site has been in turmoil for the last two days, slightly better today. While the server was actually fine, for some reason it'd 'PAUSE' the Internet connection at random intervals. This combined with problems on BTs network made surfing our site difficult.

In response we're working on an update to the existing forums that won't corrupt data when such 'pauses' occur, which slows them to a crawl while date is auto-rebuilt and also causes server errors. ETA for this is two weeks, we've done our best to minimise load until then (main page [this one] no longer logged with “who’s online” system etc.).

On top of all that the site has seen a lot of smaller and cosmetic changes, before the problems began, although I doubt they could all be listed. As usual the new 'Readers Top ISPs' system is still late and we're very angry with the author, whom has promised to complete it in the next week.

I'm off to take a break from it all in the last few days of summer we have left..

News - September 8,2001

CloudNine Service Update

By:mark.j @ 3:39:PM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

The small, yet strong, unmetered and broadband ISP, CloudNine, has been kind enough to send us a service update. We've cut out some of the update since it's not all relevant; users of the service might find this interesting:

1) Our dial-up and hosting services has now been running fairly stably for the last month. We have re-opened ports as requested and have obviously not yet hit the port that was causing denial of service problems.

We would strongly commend Telewest for the action they have taken against Code Red II infected customers - we just wish BT Openworld would do the same! We are also planning to implement a port scanning service for worms and trojans and will obviously inform affected customers.

As we said previously - users connecting for long periods (or always on) have a responsibility to ensure that they protect themselves since their failure to do so can impact on others as well as themselves.

At the end of the day ISP's also have a responsibility for ensuring that the actions of their users do not impact on others - this is accepted where spam mail is concerned but must now also extended to their involvement, even if inadvertently, in distributed denial of service attacks agains others!

2) The only 2 issues we have had since the denial of service attack have been problems connecting from a small number of exchanges around the country and the DNS cache corruption/pollution issue that forced us to change our dial-up DNS server software (as per announcement on our support site yesterday).

The big improvement has been in Customer Support. The introduction of the new easier to use Help Desk software and our premium rate emergency support backup has meant that we are not missing any calls/requests for assistance and 98% of customers are now getting a response in less than 2 hours. We have seen a 95% drop in complaints about lack of response, not yet perfect but getting better.

BTIgnites Unmetered Congestion

By:mark.j @ 3:24:PM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

For those that don't already know, BTs SurfPort24 and WebPort24 unmetered products power a large portion of the UKs ISPs. The rest are covered by wholesale FRIACO from third party Telco's (C&W), independent cable dialup and a small fraction still use BT Surftime.

Interestingly we've been leaked some official information, from sources that can't be identified, regarding current congestion problems. Sadly we're barred from publishing the details, although that doesn't mean to say we can't 'rumour' what we've seen.

In short, BT Ignite has admitted (something they don't usually do) that some regions of the UK are indeed suffering congestion problems related to the above (Web/SurfPort24) products. This is linked directly with BTs side of the network and not the ISPs.

Typically Off-Peak hours are most affected and Ignite hopes to see improvements for mid-September 2001. We'll try to publish something official when we're allowed to do so, until then this is best considered a 'rumour'.

BTInternets Unmetered Number

By:mark.j @ 3:10:PM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Users on BTInternets troubled unmetered dialup service might like to try ending the number they dial with '***' instead of '***'.

While most users will already be aware of this, apparently it's still not completely common knowledge and could improve things?

Update
Only users who have received the e-mail are allowed to use the new number.

BT Fails To Inform ISPs - R/ADSL Costs

By:mark.j @ 3:06:PM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Over the past month the prices for BTs broadband R/ADSL services have been reduced and more recently a special 'installation' offer was also added to the mix.

Despite this we've received several complaints from readers whom have contacted their ISPs regarding the reductions and asked why they haven't reduced any prices. Typically and as expected, many feel R/ADSL still isn't cost effective enough to make such changes, but that's only half the problem.

From the three ISPs highlighted, all claimed that BTWholesale (Ignite) has so far failed to inform them of any changes. One such ISP, clara.net, was quick to respond:

I've had a chat with ***** ******** about the issues covered in your email, and no we weren't told by BT that there would be wholesale price changes, but we were made aware of them by the press.

We have no current plans to drop our prices because the difference between the wholesale and retail prices are so slim that it is not worth our while attracting more customers to this service until the Local Loop Unbundling has taken place and there is more than one source for the product.

Typically this is a problem because nothings ever official until you hear it from the horses mouth and 'Press Releases' do not count as 'Official/Legal Notification' for ISPs. We can't help but wonder why such important information hasn't officially been clarified with the providers?

Clara.net Launch Business Unmetered

By:mark.j @ 2:54:PM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Originally due to go live during the end of July 2001 and now somewhat late, Clara.net has now finally announced the launch of their new business unmetered package:

From mid September 2001 we will be launching a trial of Freetime Anytime Business. This will be a new 24/7 unmetered access account priced at £24.99 and suited to the home worker or SoHo user. The service has a user-to-modem ratio of 5:1 (i.e 1 modem for every 5 users). This minimises the chance of a busy tone and maximises your time online.

As with all our other Freetime accounts you must have a BT phone line in order to qualify for this account.

Freetime Anytime Business has initially been launched as a trial product that will be evaluated after 3 months.

Freetime Anytime Business is currently not available nation-wide, however we are hoping to offer national coverage very soon. To see whether Freetime Anytime Business is available in your area go to:
http://www.clara.net/homeaccess/options/anyclidcheck.phtml

If you are interested in changing your existing account to a Freetime
Anytime Business account please click on the ACCOUNT CHANGE option at
http://www.clara.net/members/

For full details go to:
http://www.clara.net/homeaccess/options/ftanytime_business.phtml

Typically no details have changed since information regarding the service first slipped out during the spring.

IMPORTANT: We'd also advise anybody whom previously signed up to the 'home' Freetime Anytime package to use their 'availability checker' (above) again.

We had been approved, yet today after testing our number again it claimed the unmetered system wasn't available in our area. In other words there's a huge BT phone bill coming our way, something we complained of very publicly once before, yet clara.net said there wasn’t a problem - grrrrr =).

No Streaming Video For Uefa

By:mark.j @ 2:34:PM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Uefa is a name that almost everybody will be able to recognise in some form or another, primarily due to their 'football related' stature.

Sadly broadband users will find their hopes of being able to watch live matches (streaming video) online dashed after the group decided the technology just wasn't ready:

Alexandre Fourtoy, chief executive of Uefa.com, told The Register that the "technology was not yet ready" for live streaming video because the user experience of pictures in a little Window failes to match what football fans look for in coverage of games.

Uef.com will offer comprehensive coverage of all Uefa competitions, including the Uefa Champions League, Uefa Cup, youth and women's competitions. Competition coverage will include live audio streaming of matches, audio round up shows, video clips of footage, photo galleries, match reports and news of the competitions.

Perhaps when we've all got 2Mbit broadband connections then they'll reconsider? See you in 2010 then. More @ The Register.

Vodafone Deny 3G Speed Reductions

By:mark.j @ 2:19:PM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

It had previously been reported by several newspapers that technical problems with Vodafone and Ericsson’s future 3G broadband wireless networks were to cause a speed reduction to 64Kbps.

Thankfully it would appear as if the reports were incorrect, which is extremely good news since they did seem kind of ridiculous:

However, the reports were denied today by both Vodafone and Ericsson - which is providing the infrastructure for Vodafone’s networks. A Vodafone spokesperson claimed “nothing has changed. We will deliver 3G exactly to standard”.

A speed of 64 Kbps would be far lower than that required for multimedia applications, such as live video and music clips, and would not meet internationally defined 3G standards. According to the International Telecommunications Union, 3G networks are defined as those that can provide at least 144 Kbps and, in certain situations, up to 2Mbps.

Considering the billions operators have paid for 3G licenses, data rates as slow as 64 Kbps would seriously impair operators’ chances of raising a profit from next-generation mobile networks.

Good news then? Yes, but we'd still have been interested to see what might have happened had it been true, considering 3G is defined as 144Kbps+. More @ netimperative.com.

News - September 7,2001

BTI Issues Final Abuse Warning

By:mark.j @ 7:45:PM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Not unrelated to their recent (temporary?) system changes for cut-off times and usage, BTInternet have today issued a final warning to 270 users whom it claims are abusing the service.

Apparently the individuals concerned could, after two weeks, be kicked off the service if their usage patterns aren't changed. This follows a similar set of warnings issued over a month ago:

Customers are not permitted to leave their internet connection maintained whilst not using the service. Our records have identified that your account continues to be used in this manner.

We wish to advise that should this practice continue, we reserve our right to suspend or terminate your account without further notice.

Typically this refers to 'ping' or 'stay-alive' software and is often related to hanging around in IRC chat rooms, thus making it difficult for others to get a connection. There's a much wider ‘congestion’ problem with BTIs services and we'd prefer to see them add some extra modem terminals.

BTs Leeds Radius Server - Down

By:mark.j @ 7:21:PM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

ADSLGuide is reporting some very serious news regarding BTs Leeds 'Radius' (authentication) server:

I have been informed that BT's radius server in Leeds has fallen over. Fix time is estimated at 17:00. Users may experience problems logging on to all service providers.

This is also likely to affect some unmetered providers, although those providers not linked into the Leeds one should be fine.

BT & ISPs Prep Broadband Campaign

By:mark.j @ 10:30:AM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

As was revealed when BTWholesale introduced a special 3-month R/ADSL installation charge reduction, the operator is planning to work with ISPs and further promote broadband in the UK.

Now more information has surfaced from the mouths of BT regarding their plans to push the technology:

BT claims that until now the idea of broadband Britain has been held back by a lack of awareness of what broadband technology is available and what it can offer consumers.

Clair Hannah, marketing and PR manager of BT Wholesale Broadband, said the telco planned to fix this with a major marketing push in partnership with its customers.

"People don't know what broadband means," she said. "We're now talking to customers about launching two campaigns, one nationwide and one regional, to show the public what's available in their area." The marketing will kick off in September and is part of ongoing efforts by BT to repair its broadband strategy, which has faced much criticism for holding back the roll-out of high-speed access.

The NewMediaAge article also mentions how this follows a similar advertising push by both NTL & Telewest for their cable modem services.

Sadly a lack of coverage could see many interested customers left with angry faces. Hopefully BT will get enough new subscribers to improve their economics and allow for a wider rollout of the technology.

ISP Review Site Problems

By:mark.j @ 10:15:AM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

If you're finding ISP Review incredibly slow to load today then it's an issue affecting a small number of ISPs. We're not sure whether it's firewall related or just a bad network link, perhaps a combination of the two.

As I write this the server seems to be responding normally, although most shouldn't have noticed any problems.

UPDATE: ISP Complaints page was just updated.

Motorola Sees GPRS Taking Off

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

Despite industry analysts pointing to a poor uptake of GPRS this Christmas, Motorola (handset manufacturer) has somehow managed to remain upbeat and ignore the signs pointing to troubled waters:

Wireless technology giant Motorola expects the sale of high-speed mobile Web phones to pick up during the Christmas season, an executive said on Thursday.

"We're going to see GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) really start to roll out in the fourth quarter this year," Coombes said. "Motorola has introduced a number of new subscriber units (mobile phones). We expect Christmas sales to really launch that."

GPRS is a stepping stone to third-generation technology which promises high-speed always-on Internet access with picture-perfect video and audio. Current digital wireless networks are considered second generation.

Nokia have also followed suit and said a similar thing, despite others all choosing to disagree. Ultimately it's the consumers who'll have the last say, more @ ZDNet.

Atlantic Telecom Goes On-Sale

By:mark.j @ 9:49:AM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

The once popular telecommunications provider, Atlantic Telecom, has opted to put itself up for sale and admit its shares might be worthless. The Telco's failure to succeed has been placed with the industry's failed gamble on high-speed (broadband) Internet services.

Atlantic, which operates business telecoms networks in the UK, Germany and the Netherlands, said it believed its business would best be developed as part of a larger entity with access to greater capital resources or with the support of a significant new investor.

The company's shares slumped another 33% to just 4-1/2pence in early trading, barely even close to their original peak price of 1,305p last year.

Its collapse has been a fresh disaster for the troubled telecoms equipment maker Marconi, which owns about 19% of Atlantic. Marconi fell 5% to a new low of 27-1/4p.

Atlantic said its financial flexibility was particularly constrained by the terms of debt notes amounting to 200Million Euros and £75 Million pounds. It said it was holding talks with an informal committee of debt holders about restructuring the borrowings.

Supanet ISP Develops e-Learning Site

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

It wouldn't be the first time British education has expanded onto the Internet, yet the Supanet ISP has plans of its own for a similar endeavour.

Apparently they hope to establish an interactive learning portal offering users access to more than 800 educational courses from around the world:

The new deal means courses from high-profile providers such as the Harvard Business School, BBC for Business and PriceWaterhouseCoopers will be available on-line in real-time through the Supanet portal.

"We see online learning as a key area for our users,” said Supanet editor Micheal Wignall.

A year’s membership to http://www.supalearning.com, giving unlimited access to over 850 courses will cost £250, spreadable over 10 months. Users who qualify for an Individual Learning Account (ILA) - a government grant to promote lifelong learning - will be able to claim £200 towards the cost of their training.

More @ netimperative.com .

News - September 6,2001

Quick ISP Review Site Update

By:mark.j @ 4:10:PM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Just a quick update to say that we removed/updated and or merged 10+ ISPs from our unmetered listings and related forums today. Much of this was related to WorldOnline, LineOne, LibertySurf and Tiny Online etc. officially changing to the Tiscali brand.

LogicSurf Solve Service Problems

By:mark.j @ 4:05:PM - Comments (4) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

It's rare you hear of congestion problems with 0845 (Local Call Rate) ISPs, yet this seems to be exactly the case with LogicSurf Internet.

Thankfully the ISP, which previously failed to bring an unmetered service to life, has already planned some upgrades (thanks Richard):

This is a general message to explain recent issues regarding problems with 0845 dial-up and continuing engaged tones.

LogicSurf have been overwhelmed with the amount of localcall 0845 subscriptions in this early stage of logicsurf's life, to a point that our current phone capacity at peak evening time can't handle the incoming calls. LogicSurf is simply becoming very popular as an ISP.

It takes time to bring new lines online, especially in such a short period, but 2 weeks ago we have placed an order with our Telco for 2400 new phone lines based on a new "state of the art" platform, the final testing of which is well under way.

The planned switch on is this Saturday when we will issue users with a new secondary 0845 number to use.

- Website Update
Check out as from Fri 07 September 2001 for a brand new improved website with many extras for members. http://www.logicsurf.net

Many Thanks

LogicSurf Internet
http://www.logicsurf.net

Telewest Suspend CodeRed Infected Users

By:mark.j @ 3:59:PM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Telewest have taken the unusual and tough line of suspending any accounts on their broadband services should they be infected with the CodeRed Internet worm. The full announcement follows:

On August 13, we mailed all users informing them of the Code Red and Sircam viruses, and the effect these are having on our service currently. For further information of the impact on our service, see the status page open tickets on these two issues:

Code Red | Sircam

Of these, Code Red offers the most significant risk of failure of service and it has at times resulted in poor performance for our users. Code Red is not infecting our machines, it is customers whose own machines are infected with the Code Red worm that are damaging the service.

For further explanation on what Code Red is and how to know if you are infected [and how to get the patch to cure yourself], you should see Microsoft's website on this: CodeRed Info. & Patch

We are currently scanning our cache logfiles to identify customers who are infected with Code Red.

As of today customers found to be infected with the Code Red virus will be suspended immediately and have their accounts suspended until they have patched their machines accordingly.

These customers will still be able to access their e-mail remotely via our Webmail interface at http://webmail.blueyonder.co.uk or via remote access from another ISP or mail service.

All customers who are infected and suspended accordingly will get an e-mail and with instructions on how to get reconnected as well as a letter to this effect. If you are infected and unable to resolve your problem, you should contact our technical support team immediately.

We appreciate your co-operation and trust that you see why we must take such severe action immediately. Thousands of Sircam virus mails are still being submitted to our mail servers every hour, and we urge users to check their systems for this worm also at the Anti Virus Research Center: AV Centre

Thank you for your assistance.

The team at blueyonder

Despite it's potentially questionable actions, we can understand Telewests move to suspend accounts. People need to be made aware of the risks they pose to themselves and others, CodeRed can easily damage whole networks and should NOT be underestimated.

Users of any broadband connection owe it to themselves, their hosts and other users to check for such worms, viruses and other security related problems. It's a bit like giving somebody a driving license without first teaching them how to drive.

Vodafone Cuts Future 3G Speeds

By:mark.j @ 3:47:PM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

For reasons we can't even begin to fathom, especially given how important high-speed (144Kbps and up) services are to 3Gs (broadband wireless) success, Vodafone have opted to downgrade their future speed rating.

The world's biggest mobile phone operator has decided to run its European 3G networks at 64Kbps when it launches the new mobile Internet service from 2002. The move would simplify its network construction and save money.

Analysts had been expecting data rates of 144-384kb/s, and predicted ever-faster speeds last year when operators spent £73.3Million buying European 3G licences. Vodafone is still aiming for 384kb/s, but may not get there until 2005/6. Vodafone declined to comment.

The lower speed means the networks will be suitable mainly for business applications, such as travelling salespeople accessing their corporate Intranet via their laptop computers, rather than some promised consumer services like downloading video clips onto pocket-sized devices.

It also raises fresh questions over how operators will make a profit on what is the most expensive bet on a new technology in corporate history.

"This is just one more piece of news that reaffirms our view that 3G was never going to be about things like video," said Declan Lonergan, head of European mobile phone research at the Yankee Group consultancy.

"Speeds are coming down and down and down and it's getting less and less exciting from a consumer point of view. It's going to be much more difficult for the operators to show what's different about 3G services and why the average consumer should upgrade from a GPRS phone."

Considering that existing systems can get pretty close to 64Kbps and the recently introduced GPRS services are similarly capable, downgrading 3G to such an extent seems like madness. Not just that, but the fact that mobile phones designed for the standard are devised with higher speeds in-mind. We see problems ahead, BIG problems.