December 6, 2001 - December 11, 2001
News - December 11,2001
.co.uk Domains & Sites Unreliable?
By:mark.j @ 9:53:AM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] In a damning new research report from the web software company Men and Mice, it has been found that the UK has one of the most unreliable web networks in Europe. More than 50% of ‘co.uk’ domains exhibit slow or failed connections!
The research, which tested 2,500 randomly selected sites within the top-level domains associated with 14 European countries, found slow or unsuccessful connections with 53.6% of UK web addresses.
Greece came out worst, with 75.2%, followed by Denmark (65.9%), Ireland (64.1%) and Portugal (61.8%), while France’s results were the best with 31.1% of tests displaying errors. The Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, Austria, Finland, Italy and Spain also performed better than the UK.
More @ netimperative.com . |
BT & Hutchison’s 3G UK Deal
By:mark.j @ 9:46:AM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] BT & Hutchinson3G UK have both signed an important network leasing deal that'll help enable the roll-out of 3G networks three months ahead of the expected launch!
While the deal itself is good for both companies, there's still some obvious disagreement over handset availability:
Both operators said the deal, which will allow Hutchison subscribers to use BT Cellnet’s GSM network when they go outside 3G network coverage, would come into effect with the commercial launch of Hutchison’s services. Hutchison claims that this will take place in September next year.
However, BT Cellnet, said last week that it will not launch its own 3G services commercially until 2003 due to delays in the availability of ‘dual-mode handsets’; those compatible with 2G and 3G networks and which Hutchison subscribers will need to utilise the roaming agreement.
A BT Cellnet spokesperson admitted that “its all very confusing and incestuous”, and restated the company’s belief that the handsets would not be available in bulk until 2003. He added: “Hutchison obviously have a different view… if Hutchison want to think differently, it’s up to them”.
More @ netimperative.com . |
NTLs Network Improvements
By:mark.j @ 9:33:AM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Hopefully the following areas on NTLs network should now be seeing some improved stability and or speed following an upgrade this morning:
Aldershot
Belfast
Cwmbrwla
Flitwick
Guildford
Hartlepool
Kempstone
Middlesbrough
Reading
Stockton
Swindon
Warwick
Woking |
Ethernet RADSL Officially Live
By:mark.j @ 9:28:AM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] | As we heard several weeks ago and ADSLGuide today reminded us, Ethernet S500 (business) customers will now have the option of RADSL (Rate Adaptive) coverage from most ISPs, thus extending the range from 3.5km to 5.5km. |
News - December 10,2001
BT Respond - xDSL Price Rumour
By:mark.j @ 3:44:PM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] BT has been quick to respond to the last item, in a general statement they seem to show that The Inquirer did indeed get things crossed.
A spokesman for BTO said that trials of the self-install R/ADSL product started last week would have a wholesale monthly price of £25, but the standard broadband product price would remain unchanged.
"Our pricing is always under review, it's a competitive market," he said. "But there's no imminent price cut." |
BTO Prep £25 Jan 2002 xDSL Service?
By:mark.j @ 3:35:PM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] According to a HIGHLY speculative item @ The Inquirer, BTOpenworld will drop its HOME R/ADSL prices from £39.99 to £25 per month from January 2002.
We find this VERY hard to believe because BTO would actually be loosing money and openly seen as anti-competitive unless it were an industry wide change. Perhaps they're confused with the Wires-Only option?
Despite this and the mutual reservations by ADSLGuide, the site stick by their info, which they claim to be "entirely different":
The source suggested that the price drop is being forced on BT Openworld - called Openwoe by some unscrupulous hacks - because of a combination of pressure from high up .gov sources as well as the inevitable consequence of competition on the company.
Just as eggs is eggs, it seems almost inevitable that BT will also drop prices on its "business" DSL service too. No-one from the PR office right at the top of the Tower of BT's Babble could be contacted at press time for confirmation.
We can't help feeling that somebody somewhere has got their wires crossed; make of it what you will. |
Broadband Apps Created @ Home
By:mark.j @ 3:25:PM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] One of the government’s most senior broadband advisers has suggested that the best broadband applications (software) will be created by home users and not industry:
Erol Ziya warned telecoms firms not to use the absence of much compelling broadband content today as an excuse for lessening their commitment to technologies such as ADSL.
Ziya, a member of the Broadband Stakeholder Group, said that -- as with new technologies in the past -- it will be creative individuals who have the next Big Ideas. Speaking at the Last Mile Europe conference last week, Ziya urged home Internet users to tell operators to "deliver broadband to me, because only I can create compelling services using it".
He added that today's broadband scene is similar to the computer industry of decades ago. "With PCs, it was the end users who created the applications that spawned whole new industries", Ziya said, suggesting computer gaming as one activity that was too frivolous to be done on a mainframe, but one that is ideal for a home computer and has been a major driver for the industry.
It's true to say that content is one of the SMALLER reasons for a slow up-take next to others such as coverage and of course, price. However broadband isn’t as bandwidth friendly (cost) in the UK and his optimism for such things seems miss-placed, people need to HAVE broadband before they can develop for it =). More @ ZDNet. |
BT Predicts: Mass Market Broadband By 2006
By:mark.j @ 3:11:PM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] BTs chief executive, Sir Peter Bonfield, has today stated it'd be 2006 before 25% of the UKs population are using broadband services.
Apparently this can only be achieved if government, content developers and telecoms suppliers all start working together (what a revelation!):
More than two thirds of the country can get broadband, but few people are taking it up, he said.
While one part of government is happy to see BT reduce broadband prices, another part - Oftel - reacts by launching an investigation, Bonfield added. Each Oftel investigation costs BT around £1m, he claimed.
"We would like to reduce prices because broadband is price-elastic to a certain extent. But we are not allowed to cross-subsidise," he said. "The long term trend is that the price will come down and broadband will be a relatively inexpensive option."
Bonfield’s comments aren't likely to go down well with Oftel, although it does seem to be an increasing trend for the regulator to do what Bonfield states above (double standards?). Typically the VNUNet item itself isn't anything new. |
NTL To Cut 2,000 Jobs
By:mark.j @ 3:01:PM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Following on from BT, which last week announced a 5,000 strong cut in its work force, NTL is to follow a similar line with 2,000 of its own employees. It also plans to freeze managerial pay and review all operating and capital expenses as it seeks to cut costs.
On a day which has seen the telecom sector down across the board, this latest cut should slice NTLs total UK workforce down to 13,000. The cuts may be prudent in the current climate, although concerns that this would cause problems with customer service were denied.
Chief Operating Officer, Stephen Carter, said NTL, which is seeking to improve its customer service, would not get rid of any customer-serving employees. |
BT Suggest New Mobile Service?
By:mark.j @ 2:55:PM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Question, does it make any sense for BT to launch mobile phone services to existing fixed line subscribers having only just separated itself from mmO2? Apparently that's exactly what some recent reports have been saying:
A spokesperson for BT said that the divestment of its former mobile division had provided it with greater flexibility in providing services to its 21m fixed line subscribers and that the telco “was interested in developing a consumer mobile offering… and an increasing number of packages for our customers.”
However, the spokesperson described weekend reports linking BT to an deal with virtual network operator Virgin Mobile - which would pitch the company against mmO2 - as “very speculative”.
She admitted that BT’s “ongoing contractual relations” with mmO2 made its demerged wireless division a possible avenue to offering mobile services, but claimed that “it doesn’t stop us from speaking to other people”.
Considering most ordinary people will still see mmO2 as BT, does this really make any sense and might it not just confuse people? Seems to us as if somebody has been drinking from Santa's brown paper bag, more @ netimperative.com . |
Quick ISP Review Site Update
By:mark.j @ 11:24:AM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] | Our new Reader Top ISPs system has been reset this morning, from now on the public beta has ended and this will be open officially. |
COLT Telecom Raise £494Million
By:mark.j @ 9:34:AM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] | The backer for several UK ISPs, COLT Telecom, has issued some pleasing news by raising £494Million in a cut-price share issue backed by its biggest stakeholder, U.S. fund manager Fidelity. |
UKs Broadband Solution - Sewer Pipes?
By:mark.j @ 9:30:AM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] No, we're not going to put the government, BT and Oftel down in a sewer pipe until they find a solution, although the thought had crossed our minds. Instead a company called Citynet International is planning to run fibre optic cables around and outside of cities by using sewer pipes:
While there is no shortage of international and long distance bandwidth, so called "metro" networks are currently the bottleneck for service providers. Linking two cities is easy, but most of the cost of any data service is taken up by the "tails" which link to the user sites. These are expensive because of the cost and disruption of digging up roads and installing fibre in cities.
CityNet's answer is to use a wheeled robot to pull fibres along existing underground pipes -- the sewer network. The process includes a thorough clean-up of the pipework, and the fibres are held in place by expanding collars which actually strengthen the sewer pipe. In most cases, the company hopes to get rights to wire the sewers in exchange for a promise to maintain the pipes -- a win-win situation for city councils faced with spiralling maintenance bills for ageing sewer pipes.
The group hopes to have the permission it needs before Christmas, although we still prefer our BT + Oftel + Government 'in-a-sewer' plan better =). More @ ZDNet. |
News - December 9,2001
ISP Review Weekly Update
By:mark.j @ 11:24:AM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Expect the see the usual mass of spiky green trees and silly overweight people dressed in strange red and white fluffy suits from next week and onwards toward the big day. Of course this time of year isn't just about the hippies.
Regular readers will of noticed that we've been busy bee's this last week, what with the new Reader Top ISPs system and a re-vamp of our Broadband section. The Top ISPs system should finally be out of beta next week; we're just missing a couple of features and need to refine a few things.
Expect some extra forum functions and a new reviews layout along with some reviews before Christmas. We're also looking at a future re-design and sorting out some age-old continuity issues around the site.
One last thing before we go off for a restful Sunday, expect ISP Review to be almost without updates for the 7 days of Christmas from Saturday to the following Sunday after X-Mas. I'll leave it to any of the other news staff to fill in the gaps should they have time. |
Netscape v6.21 Released
By:mark.j @ 10:54:AM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Since Netscape's v6.2 release had more bugs than an early Microsoft operating system, the v6.21 update has now been released.
Download HERE. |
Internet Cookies Saved / SPAM Banned
By:mark.j @ 10:27:AM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Unless you're a webmaster then you probably won't care, however the European Union (EU) has voted on a compromise for Internet Cookies that means they won't be banned.
Instead webmasters must make visitors to websites using them (the majority) aware they exist, which should be fine for almost any site with a privacy policy or T&C (always look at the bottom for those).
On yet another brighter note, SPAM has been banned, yet sadly with the previously opt-out (you have to get the message before you can ask to be removed) clause intact. Opt-in would have been better, yet perhaps not quite workable. |
GWN Launch Unmetered ISP
By:mark.j @ 10:17:AM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Giacom World Networks, having already launched several unmetered ISPs (UK Fantastic, 0800Dial etc.), has today added yet another ISP offering the same style of service. Hull24 is in an area outside of BTs network coverage (yes they exist!) and is based on Kingston Communications Telco as per the 'about' page:
Within the Kingston Communications telephone area there are currently very few unmetered Internet options available to the home or business user. Because the area cannot be served by BT, most unmetered Internet packages available in the rest of the UK are not available in Hull.
The solution has been to build a dedicated POP (point-of-presence) at the Giacom network centre in Hull. Data links have been installed direct onto the UUNet Internet backbone in Leeds to ensure fast Internet availability, giving those in Hull and the surrounding areas an unmetered option using KC's unique 5.5p (+VAT) flat rate call plan.
Typically this means that both business & home plans are based on a questionable structure, which hasn't faired so well in the past for similar services. The packages are as follows:
Home - For only £12.99 per month, home users who use Kingston Communications as their telephone provider can now access the Internet through Hull24 using Hull's 5.5p(+VAT) unmetered tariff. There's no minimum contract and no set-up fees - 2hour cut-off.
Business - Again using Hull's 5.5p unmetered call tariff, business users can now access the Internet on a business-grade connection for £19.99+VAT per month. With no minimum contract and a 3 hour cut off.
The service options with the packages seem rather basic, although that's to be expected given the basis for what they offer. Net4Nowt also has some comments from the MD. |
Peterborough Gains NTL Broadband
By:mark.j @ 9:59:AM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] | DigitalSpy sends word that ex-C&W area, Peterborough, has just entered the trial phase for NTLs broadband cable modem service. |
News - December 8,2001
Supanet & Pre-Paid ISP Vouchers
By:mark.j @ 10:21:AM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] It's not the first time we've seen an ISP adopt a pre-paid Internet voucher systems in order to coax more users online and make a little extra cash. Today Supanet seems to be the latest in a long list of providers to attempt the cursed.
Such systems seem to be jinxed because past ISPs trying it have fallen over several months after starting, although that's usually not related to the scheme itself:
Burnley-based Supanet started trialling the service at Preston College earlier this week and intends to introduce it to the rest of the country within the next couple of weeks.
To use the service, users simply buy a card up to a value of £5, £10 or £20 before scratching off a panel to reveal a unique identity number.
This number can then be entered into the supanet voucher Web site where it automatically tops-up a user's account. It means they can access the Net using an 0800 number so that the phone line they use incurs no charges.
Apparently the cards will be available in Time Computer stores and hopefully Supanet's stronger economical structure will succeed where others have failed, hopefully. More @ The Register. |
Oftels International ISP Price Comparison
By:mark.j @ 10:13:AM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] USA, France, Germany, Sweden and the UK have all found themselves mentioned in Oftels latest 'International Prices for Internet Access' research.
Typically the results will be familiar to most readers because they show nothing we didn't already know, the first part of Oftels press release sums things up nicely:
The UK compares favourably to other countries surveyed for residential narrowband Internet services. UK consumers benefit from good deals for both peak and off-peak use, including a wide range of unmetered dial-up packages.
Recent falls in the cost of cable modems mean that the UK comes out as one of the cheapest countries surveyed for residential broadband packages - only Sweden is cheaper. But DSL services in the UK are more expensive than elsewhere.
For business customers, unmetered narrowband packages for UK businesses compare well with other countries surveyed. Prices for DSL and cable modem services for business are broadly in line with prices elsewhere but metered dial-up prices are higher.
In short, we're competitive with all other aspects of ISP access aside from xDSL broadband. However this is subjective because the survey didn't cover enough in the way of Satellite, Wireless or even Powerline options.
The price comparison is as follows (broadband):
xDSL:
UK=£49 (Per Month)
France=£35
Germany=£30
USA=£28
Sweden=£23
Cable Modems:
Sweden=£19 (Per Month)
UK=£26
US=£28
Germany=£29
France=£34
Typically these represent the AVERAGE price a consumer would have to pay (per month) for a broadband xDSL or cable modem package. Not unexpectedly the UKs prices are horrendous for BTs xDSL, we'd like to see a price of £30-£35 being set by MOST ISPs in the UK (need BTs help first).
Thankfully we do better with cable modems, which isn't a huge surprise either. |
News - December 7,2001
Telewest Cabletime & blueyonder Tiered Services
By:Dan @ 5:47:PM - Comments (5) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] A few people have asked for an update to Telewests cabletime network, the following is a post by Gary Jennings in the newsgroup blueyonder.feedback:
Telewest will not be performing a full Digital upgrade to our Cabletime areas during 2002. The process is due to start in 2003 and will be completed before the end of 2004. The trial of 10 thousand homes will continue as we seek to provide the most cost effective way and least disruptive way to upgrade. As this affects our ability to offer HSI services in these regions, under great marketing pressure we are now investigating further how a partially upgraded network can be suited to provide these services in a shorter time frame. It would appear that Cabletime while offering impossible technical barriers to Digital Television does not hold the same problems for HSI. Telewests Technology and Engineering teams are now looking at the possibilities
of offering Cable modem services over Cabletime and will be reporting early in the New Year.
Cabletime areas are Birmingham, Liverpool, Preston & West London.
The trials will be in,
>Birmingham Kings Norton Hub, Woelly Castle area homes, which covers postcodes of B31 3xx..
>Hayes Hub, West Drayton area homes.
>Preston Hub, Frenchwood area homes.
>Liverpool Hub, Smithdown Road area homes.
Just a quick note of something else i found in the blueyonder newsgroups
We are planning to introduce further Cable modem service. There will be both a lite and a platinum service, which are likely to be running at speeds of 128K and 1Meg respectively, although we cannot confirm these speeds as yet. Released dates for these products have not yet
been confirmed although it is likely that these will begin in Q2 of next year.
There are also plans to begin utilising the in built Cable modem in the Set top Box, however the technical issues involved in making this a reality mean that it is unlikely that products released utilising this will be released before Q4 2002.
Fingers crossed as this is something we are looking forward to, as long as they can sort the network out. |
blueyonder's standby button
By:Dan @ 5:45:PM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] After a few months of pestering, blueyonder finally admitted the standby button on the SB4100 cable modem does not work correctly, the following is a statement by Stewart Dunn of blueyonder:
Some customers have recently asked what protection the standby switch on the 4100 Motorola cable modem offers. This came to light after customers complained that with the standby switch activated, they were still seeing requests from external sources "hitting" their firewall.
Motorola have confirmed that with the current level of firmware it allows inbound packets to pass through from the HFC/cable network but no packets outbound are allowed to pass
This situation will be resolved in the next firmware upgrade (4.0.12) to the 4100 cable modem which I am working on with the new CPE manager in our Engineering manager to be implemented as soon as possible.
Perhaps they should inform all users as customers are often led to believe that the standby button completely disconnects you from the Internet. |
WonkyPig Suspend Unmetered User(s)
By:mark.j @ 3:40:PM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Given the amount of complaints we've been getting regarding WonkyPig’s various bouts of downtime and support problems, it's amazing to think that anybody could overuse the service.
Despite this the small unmetered dialup ISP appears to have started booting customers again. On such reader and customer to WP received the following message:
We are writing to inform you that your wonkypig.com service has been terminated with immediate effect as you are in breach of our terms and conditions.
10.3 If you are a user of a flat rate service (as opposed to pay as you go), you should be aware that while this service is intended to provide you with 24 hour internet access availability, it is not intended to be an "always on" service during unmetered access periods. Accordingly, we can suspend your access to the service as explained in paragraphs 14 and 15 if we think that:
(i) you are leaving your internet connection online unattended (without limitation, being online for 4-6 hours or more in a 24 hour period will constitute unattended use); or
(ii) your computer is automatically redialling your internet connection in your absence.
No further charges will be made to your account, please do not attempt to re-apply for the service.
Central Administration
Wonkypig.com
0800 389 3540
Now they do clearly state a usage limit and while it may be far less than most ISPs who charge £14.99 per month and offer less limited services, it's still clear.
Yet no warning appears to have been given and those concerned will simply find themselves without a service. Please do ALWAYS read the T&Cs of any ISP you sign-up with, although at least in this case they state the limits, unlike some. |
ISPs Respond - BSG Report
By:mark.j @ 3:27:PM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Some ISPs (Freeserve and iomart) have issued brief responses to the week’s earlier report on broadband Internet access by the Broadband Stakeholders Group (BSG):
Paul Barker, of Freeserve, arguably one of those ISPs best placed to take broadband to the consumer mass-market, was more direct. "It is a pity that we find ourselves in this position having to play catch-up with the rest of the world," he said.
"Ultimately, it comes down to what customers think - how much it costs and whether it's easy to install. Whether the recommendations work remains to be seen."
Mr Barker's scepticism is echoed in part by Phil Worms of Scottish broadband ISP iomart. "The Government's response is great - everyone wants to see increased demand and competition. But when and how will it deliver?" he said. He believes the Government could do more - and quicker: "Aggregating public sector demand is something that should be a priority - something that could be done tomorrow."
We'd like to see iomart get BT and the government to aggregate public sector demand by tomorrow as well, but it isn't going to happen =). More @ The Register. |
Lords Stall Anti-Terrorism Bill
By:mark.j @ 3:22:PM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] In what could be seen as either good or bad news, the house of lords has managed to block PARTS of the highly controversial Anti-Terrorism Crime and Security Bill.
Apparently seven parts of the bill, including the questionable retention of data (Internet) aspect have all be halted, at least for now:
The Lords passed by 228 votes to 133 votes to agree to Amendment No.11 which sought to insert the phrase "for the purposes of prevention or detection of crime or the prosecution of offenders which may relate directly or indirectly to national security" in relation to under what circumstances the government can insist on being handed over data held by ISPs and the like.
Basically, the police or security services will be restricted from using its powers of data seizure unless matters of national security are at stake. Without the amendment, the grounds are so vague as to justify almost any data request.
Then the Lords passed Amendment No.15 by 209 to 134, which restricted the Home Secretary's ability to change the code of practice on communications data - another essential safeguard if the new powers given in the bill are not to be open to abuse.
While The Register's item is great news for you and I, the government has now become extremely hostile and swears to get the bill through unchanged - ugg!
We'll know by next Thursday exactly what changes, if any, the governments opts to allow. |
NTL Discuss 2002 Broadband Rollout
By:mark.j @ 3:12:PM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] As the year draws to a close NTL has already begun thinking about the rollout for their broadband Cable Modem services during 2002. In a public statement to good old DigitalSpy, NTL had the following to say:
All the current rollout areas are part of the 2001 plan. We are nearing the end of this plan and are now looking at our options for 2002 Broadband rollout. Nothing beyond the current list is either in or out of scope. We are looking at how we can deliver as much as possible with reduced resources the economic climate has left us with.
The ntl:home STB Broadband team continues to be committed to deliver the best we can. It would be a great disappointment for us to be unable to rollout everywhere next year. It must be said, however, that full rollout is unlikely. We stress that nothing is in or out at the moment.
We will get as much information to you as soon as it is appropriate. Please note this years scarcity of information was due to the incredible rate of change we were experiencing, and a concern to inform not mislead.
On a related note they'll also be upgrading the following areas on the 11th December 2001 next week: Belfast, Guildford, Kempstone and Swindon. |
Quick ISP Review Site Update
By:mark.j @ 1:23:PM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] A brief site update to say that we've not only updated the ISP Complaints page as normal, but we've also re-vamped the whole Broadband section (not quite finished) and also integrated stat and SSI output into the new Reader Top ISPs index page.
Note that we removed the 9, 9.5 and 10 options (continuity) from the Reader Top ISPs 'rate' page and will likely reset it all on Saturday or Sunday for an official start (no more beta).
One other thing we did was to remove the old survey, which finished with the following results:
What connection do you use for the Internet?
Modem- 50.8%
ISDN- 22.8%
Cable Modem- 11.1%
R/ADSL- 12.8%
Satellite- 0.9%
Wireless- 0.5%
Leased Line- 1.0%
Total votes: 963
As expected the common modem is still the most used of all devices and ISDN, while limited, is still just ahead of broadband when taken on a by-type basis (not as a total).
We kick this month off with the start of what will later turn into a petition by asking you: What intermediate R/ADSL speed would you want? [DL/UL]. We believe BT could offer one or more intermediate speed options and thus cut the cost for those who don't need the full 512Kbps.
Note that this could also have the potential to extend the reach of pure RADSL services. |
Top Net Language (English) To Fall
By:mark.j @ 10:18:AM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] It's good to see that the old English empire still has some strong roots around the world, although the Internet may not be one of them for much longer.
Apparently a continued growth in the Internet's non-English speaking users could mean that we'll all be learning to speak Chinese by 2007!
Out of the 460Million Internet users, over half currently have English as their first language and by 2003 one third will be using a non-English language online. Most of them are predicted to be Chinese (new first language). |
EU Asked To Rethink e-Privacy Directive
By:mark.j @ 10:00:AM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] One of the most controversial and talked about directives relating to online privacy has suffered a blow today after privacy expert and MEP, Marco Cappato, asked the EC/EU to reconsider the legislation:
The directive on protection of privacy in electronic communications has had several recent amendments following the 11 September attacks. Retention of telephone and Internet data will now become compulsory.
Cappato points out that this decision goes against human rights legislation passed on 13 November which prohibited any form of generalised and mass surveillance, and asks that constituent countries are instead given the freedom to decide their own approach.
Cappato also refers to communication between George Bush and the European Parliament in which the US President urged a change in the directive to remove the requirement for people to delete data once it no longer has a practical billing use. There remains no such law in the US, Cappato points out, and also argues that data retention is not analogous to tackling terrorism.
It seems to us that Cappato is the only man talking sense and following the law right now, but then unlike the others he's probably not corrupted yet =). More @ The Register. |
Orange Join Logica - GPRS
By:mark.j @ 9:50:AM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Right now GPRS (2.5G) is still a very limited mobile phone data service due to lack of applications, however a new partnership between Orange & Logica could bring multimedia messaging closer:
The technology, based on Logica’s Multimedia Messaging Service Centre, enables audio, pictures, animations and real-time video to be integrated into mobile messages. Orange UK will use the trial to test a range of messaging services and evaluate market opportunities.
Sadly the netimperative.com seems to suggest that the operator is using this to test technology that could be better used under 3G, leaving doubt that we'd ever see it for GPRS. |
News - December 6,2001
Online Gambling To Boost Broadband
By:mark.j @ 3:35:PM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Despite the UK already having one of the highest Internet penetration rates in the EU, broadband remains infantile. Today Schema Consulting has suggested this situation could be improved by pushing the country’s relaxed attitude toward gambling:
Online gambling will be the largest sector, says Schema, making up 39 percent of the total, with multimedia second at 29 percent and games providing 13 percent.
Surprisingly, the UK will take 35 percent of the overall spend, said Brown, because it is more accepting of gambling -- other countries are more likely to have laws restricting it. Germany will take 15 percent and France 14 percent.
It is also worth pointing out that in Schema's projections, fixed Internet makes up the greatest part (41 percent) but not the overall majority of interactive media. Mobile applications will take 26 percent, and digital TV will take 33 percent, they expect.
More @ ZDNet. |
Microsoft Criticise Broadband Roll-out
By:mark.j @ 3:30:PM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] The Microsoft Chairman, Bill Gates, has lashed out at broadband stating that the slow adoption of broadband access into homes has depressed consumers' use of the Internet.
"If it's there and on all the time," Gates said of Internet access, "you would use it quite extensively."
He added that it should become a priority for political and corporate leaders to make broadband access products more available to home users. "That's the element that will drive forward," Gates said.
While he's probably only thinking of increasing his already massive personal wealth, the man does have a point. Unfortunately he doesn't tell us anything that we haven't heard a thousand times before, how about some truly constructive ideas bill? Why don't YOU help fund the rollout? |
75% of Government Sites Outdated
By:mark.j @ 3:24:PM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Research by Visual Insights conducted of 100 government web sites has found that 75% of them are out of date or incorrect, which is the highest incidence so far:
Compared to retail sites, where 55% of those surveyed were out of date, along with 50% of travel sites, and 70% of financial sites.
"The internet is one of the first places people go for information and government departments are missing out on the opportunity to analyse and understand the needs of their audience and see shortcomings in their web sites,” said Visual Insights vice president Scott Cotter.
"When the Government is investing so much to promote ‘UK Online 2005’, it’s disappointing that its own departments’ internet offerings are not properly managed."
More @ netimperative.com . |
BTOpenworlds New Warning
By:mark.j @ 3:18:PM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] In case any of you were wondering, BTOpenworld will now show the following line with any advert for their unmetered dialup ISP service:
Please note that online session limitations apply. See our terms and conditions for details.
This obviously follows the recent Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ruling (see yesterday’s news). |
VDSL Broadband - End 2002
By:mark.j @ 3:04:PM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] ADSLGuide has spotted a small snippet of information in The Guardian newspapers technology supplement (online) regarding future the VDSL broadband (DSL) standard.
Apparently BT expects to be able to offer VDSL by the end of next year at speeds of between 14 to 50Mbps (Theoretical Max), they’ll most likely limit it to the middle of major cities for bigger businesses due to its limited 1Mile reach and high cost. |
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