November 15, 2001 - November 20, 2001
News - November 20,2001
BT Turns To Broadband Lasers
By:mark.j @ 3:45:PM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Having already sunk its teeth into wireless, R/ADSL, Satellite and narrowband connections, the debt laden Telco (BT) is now about to investigate the possible application of broadband lasers.
The technology is seen as a possible alternative to 3G masts that seem to have some local councils concerned about health:
Free space optical (FSO) technology is seen as an alternative to radio masts as a means of data transmission across short ranges - in LaserBit's case, up to five kilometres.
Bela Gyoeri, chief executive of LaserBit, confirmed that the two companies were in talks with both BT and Hull's Kingston Communications to provide last-mile broadband. Using a laser to transmit data does not require a licence as it does not operate in the radio spectrum.
LaserBit said that modern FSO technology can deliver transmission speeds ranging from 1.544Mbps to 155Mbps, including 10Mbps and 100Mbps Ethernet Protocol.
It's not clear whether or not BT will adopt the technology and if so then how it'd be implemented, no doubt we'll find out soon. More @ VNUNet. |
Broadband More Popular Than TV?
By:mark.j @ 3:38:PM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] According to the latest research released by Internet consultancy group Fletcher Advisory, those with broadband connections (200 surveyed) are reallocating time usually reserved for TV to surfing.
Apparently 34% of those interviewed answered yes to the above, making for an average cut in TV viewing time of 5 hours per week.
Stranger still is the fact that 61% of those surveyed would apparently prefer broadband to a TV, yet overall TV is still more popular - strange indeed. |
Cisco Hail Future Broadband Video
By:mark.j @ 3:30:PM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Cisco has today been busy boasting about the future of broadband technologies in the UK, particularly highlighting future improvements that could make their way into existing Video-On-Demand standards:
Longer term, Cisco sees a battle in the broadband market looming between VDSL technology (which offers 5-23Mbps of bandwidth) and switched 10Mbps Ethernet.
Ethernet is cheaper and offers service providers the opportunity to use higher density and more mature technology than is available with VDSL. Although quality of service improvements are making Ethernet more attractive, VDSL has the advantage of using ATM protocol extensions telco engineers will be more comfortable and familiar with.
Both technologies are dogged by concerns that they could interfere with the telephone spectrum, for now at least, but Cisco is confident that the approval of European regulators will come when chipset noise issues are resolved.
More @ The Register . |
ISPs Issue Wires-Only R/ADSL Prices
By:mark.j @ 3:14:PM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Today has also seen the first spate of ISPs to announce their consumer and business pricing for Wires-Only based R/ADSL broadband products and services.
ADSLGuide have more information, although we'll just highlight Zen, iomart and A&A's home broadband prices:
Andrews & Arnold
Home 500 Service: £60/month, install £95 after trial
iomart
CopperBurst 500 2Go £40/month, free activation during trial £45 post trial.
Zen Internet
Home 500 £40/month
The optional 'micro filters' (as explained last week) to lessen line interference are also to be supplied by some of the ISPs at between £12.50 and £15 per unit. Several ISPs will also supply their own R/ADSL modem adaptors, costing between £120 and £160.
While the prices may be more attractive, no doubt some people will be disappointed that they weren't quite what had been hoped. |
General ISP R/ADSL Service Outage
By:mark.j @ 10:58:AM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] UPDATE: It looks as if the problem has hit BTs entire broadband R/ADSL network, although most providers seem to be working again now. Apparently it stems from their Colossus IP backbone network that controls ADSL traffic.
The crash took place at roughly 10am and lasted for two hours+ causing disconnections for BT’s ADSL customers as well as those of other ISPs. Note that BT.net downtime is apparently unrelated.
Some users of Clara.net's broadband services have complained of strange connection problems this morning; Clara has now issued the following update:
We have been informed by BT that there is currently a network wide outage affecting all our ADSL customers' connections. Service was lost at approximately 9:30am.
We don't currently know the nature of the fault, or how long the outage will last. When we have more information we will make it available.
From some other reports we've seen this could be hitting more than just Clara.net, although we can't confirm this. |
West LB Drops Out Of BT Bid
By:mark.j @ 9:30:AM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] The German investment bank West LB has opted to drop out of its £18-£20Billion bid for BTs fixed landline network, no direct reason has been given, although more 'promising' ventures were sighted elsewhere:
West LB's decision means that Earthlease - a consortium led by Babcock & Brown and Chancery Lane Capital - is free to pursue its bid for BT's local loop.
This coincided with claims that Earthlease was also preparing to increase its bid for the copper wires that link homes and businesses to the phone network.
However, ever since these bids for BT's networks were made public back in the summer BT has consistently said - in public at least - that it is not interested in flogging the family silver.
The last we heard Earthlease had decided to wait until after BTs de-merger, which has just got underway, before re-stating their £8-10Billion bid for PART of BTs fixed line business. It's unlikely BT will pay any attention. More @ The Register . |
NTL Reach 100,000 Users Early
By:mark.j @ 9:17:AM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Following on from Telewests recent announcement that they had 70,000 broadband cable modem customers on their service and hoped to have 100,000 by 2002, rival NTL has gone one step further.
The UKs biggest cable operator has today announced that they already have 100,000 cable modem customers, which is earlier than expected.
Based on its estimates, over 240,000 UK homes now have broadband Internet access with the cable industry providing over 70% of it, NTL said on Monday. A quick look at the figures shows that NTL only appears to be counting itself, Telewest and BTOpenworld, yet again ignoring the 40-50 other R/ADSL ISP out there. |
BTs R/ADSL Wires-Only Trial Update
By:mark.j @ 9:11:AM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] ADSLGuide has today published some interesting details related to BTs Wires-Only broadband R/ADSL installation trials due to start on 3rd December next month.
The item states that they expect the official live date to be almost directly after the trial, as previously report. Apparently a date of 15th January 2002 is widely expected to be agreed upon.
They also post a bit about the hardware choices (modems etc.) end users might get. |
NTLs Cable Modem UBR Upgrades
By:mark.j @ 8:59:AM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] As reported by DigitalSpy yesterday evening, NTL should be upgrading its Universal Broadband Routers (UBRs) through today "as part of an ongoing project". The following areas may see some troubles during the day because of the process:
Cambridge area: Cambridge, Papworth, Bishop's Stortford - resegmentation of hybrid fibre-coax (HFC) network
Oxford:: resegmentation of HFC network
Scunthorpe:: upgrade of existing UBR
Shepshed:: upgrade of existing UBR |
News - November 19,2001
BTO Launch Wireless Broadband
By:mark.j @ 3:38:PM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Not content with offering broadband R/ADSL, Satellite and Narrowband ISP services, BTOpenworld has today announced the launch of its first 'broadband wireless networking product'.
It's worth noting that this is a LAN technology and not a WAN (Wide Area Network) like Tele2 and NTL seem to be developing. Some paragraphs have been removed from the PR to save space:
BTopenworld, BT's mass market Internet business, and the UK's leading supplier of DSL broadband, today announced the launch of its Wireless Network broadband product, supplied and supported by Wireless Networking leader Linksys, providing further benefits to SMEs (small to medium businesses) and SoHos (small office, home office) by enabling workers to access high speed Internet on more than one computer simultaneously without the need for wires and cables.
With the number of people choosing to work from home increasing, Wireless Network is ideal for SoHo use. The home worker and family are able to use separate PCs and still enable more than one person to access the Internet and printers at the same time. Laptop users are no longer restricted to sitting within reach of the printer. Wireless Network allows people to work up to 100m of the wireless access point indoors and up to 500m (in line of sight) outdoors.
The Wireless Network Starter Pack connects two computers, and is designed for customers purchasing BTopenworld's Business 500 broadband product - ideal for small offices or homeworkers. The Wireless Network Starter Pack is based on two components of enabling technology: a 802.11b USB adapter (for desktop PCs) and a 802.11b PCMCIA card (for laptops) and costs between £157.45 to £194.89 depending on the "mix" of components chosen. By adding any mix of extra USB Adapters and Laptop Cards to the Starter Pack, it is possible to network up to 4 computers.
The Wireless Network System package adds a 802.11b Wireless Access Point with the adapters and cards and costs between £297.02 to £331.91 depending on the mix of components chosen. The Wireless Networking System package is designed for SMEs using BTopenworld's Business 500 PLUS, 1000 PLUS, and 2000 PLUS products. By adding any mix of extra USB Adapters and Laptop Cards to the System Package, it is possible to network up to 15 computers.
All BTopenworld Wireless Network products use Linksys equipment and are designed to the Wi-Fi TM 802.11b Global standard. The signal rate is up to 11 megabits per second (Mbps) and 128 WEP encryption is included as an optional security feature which must be activated by the customer to function.
For further information please visit http://www.btopenworld.com/wirelesslan or call 0870 7292118 to place an order Mon-Fri 8.30am to 8.30pm, Sat 9am-1pm. |
Broadband Wireless Auction Update
By:mark.j @ 3:30:PM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Just as it was a month ago, the recently re-opened fixed broadband wireless action for 28GHz band licenses has STILL received no bids on any of its licenses. This time the research firm Ovum had a few things to say:
"The Government's priorities on fixed wireless are wrong. It is the lower end of the spectrum that is of more interest," said Tim Johnson, principal analyst at research firm Ovum.
It had been hoped 28GHz would give IT directors a low-cost alternative to leased lines for high-speed corporate internet connectivity that was as fast as or faster than DSL.
According to Johnson, interest in 28GHz waned following initial test results. "The 3.5GHz and 2.4GHz licences offer an immediate solution for running broadband services. We need a proper policy on releasing these," he said.
Either way the VNUNet item reports that the government and related groups are still hopeful of some improvements, although things continue to remain quite. |
LINX Predicts Internet Traffic Increase
By:mark.j @ 3:25:PM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] The London Internet Exchange (LINX) group has yet again restated their belief that Internet traffic in the UK will surge by ten times the existing amount in the next two years (2003):
Souter said his staff were having to update technology plans every three months, and its latest forecast has traffic growing ten-fold over the next 24 months.
He said: "The rollout of broadband, increasing business use of the internet and the development of new internet-based consumer services such as video on demand, will see more demand for bandwidth at the exchange."
"We see no reason to believe the rate of growth will drop, even given predictions of a slow-down in economic activity. Our peak traffic flows now are three times what they were at this time last year," he added.
Apparently LINX has earmarked £2Million for the next year alone on upgrades and is already investigating faster (10Gigabit) Ethernet connections and IPv6 technologies. Last months peak saw a colossal 11.5Gb/ps surge in traffic and this looks set to increase. More @ VNUNet. |
BCC Criticises UK Gov & Broadband
By:mark.j @ 3:19:PM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has today heavily criticised the governments handling of broadband in the UK. The report highlights an urgent need for legislation to reduce the cost of broadband and speed-up its roll-out:
It warns that continuing problems concerning cost and the lack of availability of high speed Internet access is "inhibiting the development of ecommerce and ebusiness" in the UK.
The report, BCC's priorities for E-Commerce 2001, by the BCC's E-Business Advisory Group, lists several issues voiced by small businesses concerning the Government's ecommerce policy.
Uppermost is a call for Government to scrap its obsession with setting targets and instead focus its resources on improving infrastructure, online security and consumer confidence.
The report was combined with the help of 135,000 small businesses and states a message we've heard repeated a number of times in the last year. More @ The Register . |
Tiscali UK & AOL EU Expand Portals
By:mark.j @ 9:32:AM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Both Tiscali UK and AOL EU have been busy expanding their portals today with the announcement of a few new deals.
Firstly Tiscali has struck a deal with the Press Association (PA) to offer entertainments listings (TV etc.) and technology news to visitors from PA’s wealth of information.
AOL Europe has also joined forces with Lastminute.com in order to completely integrate Lastminute.com's travel booking engine into its service. In addition Lastminute will offer exclusive deals to AOL members in Germany, Britain and France.
The battle of the super providers (super meaning size, not quality) continues.. |
Young Brains @ Risk - Mobile Phones
By:mark.j @ 9:25:AM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] That's correct, it's another 'Mobile Phone Health Scare'; this time the latest research from the University of Utah has shown that Young children absorb up to 50% more radiation than adults when using mobiles:
Radiation penetrates half-way through the brain of a five year-old, compared with 30 per cent for a 10 year-old. Penetration levels for adults are limited to a small area around the ear, the Sunday Times reported this weekend.
Om Gandhi, professor of electrical engineering at the university and the man in charge of the research, told the paper that the results suggest the international safety tests currently used to measure absorption levels are inadequate and should be changed to take account of the size and thickness of a child's skull.
The Silicon item also mentions a court case by a 34 year old man whom claims to have developed a brain tumour from using a Vodafone mobile. |
News - November 18,2001
ISP Review Weekly Update
By:mark.j @ 11:03:AM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Another short update this Sunday since I've got to start ordering all those Christmas presents, why so early? If you've ever used the Internet for ordering at this time of year then you shouldn't have to ask =).
Having said that it's been another busy week of news and we've been working on the new 'Reader Top ISPs' system. It was set to go live on Friday, although a few missing features mean it'll now be online sometime this coming week.
As we've said before, it'll be for public testing to start with and so results and lists could always be reset / changed over the next month or so. We'll also be re-designing our 'reviews' to work with it and contain more content from the forums.
More next week.. |
VoIP Problems & Faster Adoption
By:mark.j @ 10:18:AM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] VoIP (Voice Over IP) is the Internet based protocol that will ultimately start replacing our existing PSTN based phone lines in the future.
In the UK Cable & Wireless (C&W) have already set a date of 2005 for their services to be one of the first to switch, although it now looks as if this won't happen as quickly as many had hoped:
The use of voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology is set to become much more common over the next few years, according to analyst firm Frost & Sullivan.
But she warned that the disappointing technical performance of IP-based voice services in the past will prevent VoIP from replacing public switched telephone network (PSTN) traffic as quickly as was previously predicted, and VoIP adoption among firms will grow slowly as a consequence.
For the majority of those in the UK, VoIP is still likely to be awhile coming because of BTs pace at upgrading exchanges and reluctance to add further debt to their existing mountain. Cheaper calls and more interactive services are the name of the day with VoIP. |
MS's ‘How To’ Guide - Alcatel ADSL
By:mark.j @ 10:03:AM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] | As spotted by the broadband R/ADSL gurus from ADSLGuide, Microsoft have put THIS PAGE online for those running WindowsXP/2000 and seeking more information on 'How to Configure an Alcatel USB Modem from British Telecom for ADSL Connectivity'. It's not exactly rocket science, but if you're new to PCs then it could help. |
News - November 17,2001
Data Protection Safeguards
By:mark.j @ 10:08:AM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] A Parliamentary committee for human rights, worried that new antiterrorist measures could break European law, has called for safeguards to be set-up:
The measures are contained in the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Bill, now before Parliament. A Code of Practice connected to the bill obliges Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to retain communications data for law enforcement purposes. But this may be incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), said the House of Lords and House of Commons Joint Committee on Human Rights. The committee said safeguards are needed to prevent the government from compiling a stockpile of communications data on innocent citizens.
"We consider that measures should be put in place to ensure that the Code of Practice and any directions are compatible with the right to respect for private and family life, home and correspondence under Article 8 of the ECHR, and that those measures should be specified, so far as practicable, on the face of the legislation," the Committee concluded.
More @ ZDNet. |
The Broadband Refunds - Anderson
By:mark.j @ 10:01:AM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] The business consultancy firm, Anderson, has called for the government to refund all the companies behind Broadband Britain:
Chancellor Gordon Brown is expected to unveil a range of tax breaks in his seasonal pre-budget statement, to encourage innovation, but Anderson believes the breaks will bypass the companies working at the heart of Broadband Britain due to the narrow definition of what constitutes innovation for tax purposes. Instead, Anderson proposes cash refunds for companies that will carry start-up losses.
European broadband roll-out has progressed and been adopted at a faster pace than in the UK, possibly due to the more direct financial assistance pledged to broadband network operators by their governments.
More @ netimperative.com . |
News - November 16,2001
Customs and Excise Meet AOL UK
By:mark.j @ 3:16:PM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] It’s today been revealed that AOL UK has been meeting with Customs and Excise during the past few days in an effort to resolve the ongoing ISP VAT dispute brought to light by Freeserve:
Representatives from the ISP met with Customs and Excise officers working on preparing a recommendation for the government over closing the loophole in the tax laws which allows non-EU content businesses to avoid paying VAT.
“We have received a number of representations from AOL on this matter over the last few months, and met with representatives from AOL last week in a very productive meeting, which we were very happy with,” a C&E spokeswoman said.
The meetings follow a bitter campaign from AOL’s ISP rival Freeserve which yesterday announced that it was ready to take the Government to court over the matter. However, it is unlikely any recommendation will be ready by the end of this year, since C&E admits it could slip beyond Christmas, by which it time it had hoped to have the situation resolved.
The netimperative.com item also reports that Customs and Excise have been meeting with OTHER ISPs in an effort to forge a wider opinion of how providers feel about the situation. |
CloudNine Abolish Cancellation Charge
By:mark.j @ 9:02:AM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] In a follow up to yesterday’s item where we brought some customer issues to the attention of unmetered and broadband ISP, CloudNine, today the provider has opted to abolish cancellation charges:
Following an internal review of contracts and terms, Cloud Nine have decided to abolish charges for cancelling monthly billed accounts held with CloudNine.
This means that Cloud Nine now have no annual contract for monthly billed accounts or any charges for cancellation. So give us a try now! You will only be billed for a maximum of one month and if you do not/cannot use your account within 7 days of signing up then we will give you your money back.
This applies with immediate effect.
Cancellation does still need to be in writing to our Basingstoke Head Office and we recommend recorded delivery.
It's also worth reminding people that the ISP is currently investigating the best method for doing its cancellation documents, after Adobe Acrobat proved less than popular with some ex-customers. |
BT Warns Of Higher DIY R/ADSL Costs
By:mark.j @ 8:57:AM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] In what's likely to come as another blow to the progress of R/ADSL broadband services in the UK, BT has begun warning its resellers that the costs of DIY-broadband will be higher than first thought.
Apparently the interference DIY connections cause on phone lines requires extra protection, at extra cost:
But users will have to install extra filters to protect each of their phone line extensions from suffering interference, claims BT.
The cost, around £10 per filter, would add up to an extra £30 for consumers with two extra phone lines and a fax machine.
A potential supply shortage of the filters, for which there is currently only one approved supplier, could also cause problems for the trials.
While the £10 per line is an extra cost, it's only required once per line, yet the delay in supply could lengthen the time taken to have such technology installed. ISPs have yet to see more details, something that'll no doubt change when the trial starts on December 3rd. The final product is expected sometime during January 2002. |
BT Loose UK Online Contract
By:mark.j @ 8:50:AM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] BT has officially lost at its attempt to regain the governments UK Online contract:
The telco was forced to re-tender for the contract after its original deal expired in September and renewal negotiations with the Cabinet Office broke down.
Stuart Hill, head of BT's government service Stepchange, told silicon.com last month that he had a "tiger team" working on the new bid. "We're re-thinking, re-shaping the contract," he said. "I'm still positive we can win it back."
But in a bitter blow the Cabinet Office announced today that it has chosen Loudcloud instead. A spokeswoman for the e-envoy's office said the US start-up was "newer and more cutting edge" than its rival.
More @ Silicon . |
Clara.net's Secret Broadband Offensive
By:mark.j @ 8:41:AM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Clara.net could be setting itself up for a head-to-head battle with BT itself following a secret 6 month xDSL trial in Clerkenwell, London. The service will apparently be run by making the best possible use of Local Loop Unbundling (LLU):
Clara.net's technical director Steve Rawlinson said: "The technology is great but the economics is very complicated, and we're still seeing whether we can make it work. But my own opinion is that it is a goer."
Clara.net hosts the DSL equipment in its own premises and leases a copper line from its premises to the customer from BT - a similar model to the one used by companies like Fibernet and Redstone.
Half a dozen customers connected to Clara.net's premises in Clerkenwell receive a 2Mbps symmetrical DSL service from Clara.net.
If you haven't already guessed by the wording used in Silicon's item, this is NOT for residential broadband R/ADSL use, which seems to follow a trend set by any broadband medium based on LLU. |
Chocolate Alcatel R/ADSL USB Modem
By:mark.j @ 8:29:AM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Environmentalists are always screaming at the technology sector to do something that improves the environment, today ADSLGuide has found that something - picture speaks for itself HERE.
Now all we need are some smaller versions to hang on the tree, mass production anybody? |
News - November 15,2001
ISPs Question Anti-Terrorism Bill
By:mark.j @ 3:34:PM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] The government appears to be moving so fast with their new Anti-Terrorism directives that they're failing to update other laws alongside, making for a potentially very dangerous situation.
In a sign of early troubles the Internet Service Provider Association (ISPA) has hit back at the government by highlighting contradictions with the 1998 Data Protection Act (DPA):
"This bill allows us to keep data that we wouldn't otherwise be able to, so what are our liabilities? What parts of the DPA apply and what parts don't, and under what circumstances? The words are very vague and woolly," said Tim Snape, ISPA member and managing director of West Dorset Internet.
This could lead to ISPs being fined or prosecuted for misusing customer data, said Roland Perry, director of public policy at LINX.
"If someone takes civil action against you under the Data Protection or Human Rights Act, for keeping their data too long or for misuse of data, how watertight is this exemption in the Bill?"
Several ISPs have echoed similar concern to us over the past week and it's becoming clear that the government isn't doing enough to clarify things - surprise! More @ VNUNet. |
Oftel Confirm LLU Fines - BT Liable?
By:mark.j @ 3:27:PM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] In past publications Oftel has stated its intention to fine BT should they obstruct the process of local loop unbundling (LLU), something the regulator has today finalised:
The rules, laid out in Oftel's "service level agreement" dictate the financial penalties BT will face if it fails to give other operators adequate access to its local loop -- the last mile of BT's network between local exchanges and individual homes and offices.
BT must pay compensation of £80 per working day if it is slow in allowing another operator to install equipment within an exchange. Once an operator has this access, BT must pay £10 for every working day that a local loop is unavailable.
With at least five operators still interested in LLU, and LLU potentially available from each of BT's 5,500 local exchanges, the fines could reach hundreds of thousands of pounds per day if BT was hit by a swarm of LLU operators simultaneously demanding access to large swathes of its network.
Given the current state of things we doubt a 'swarm' of new operators at the same time is likely to happen, although whether this will improve things remains to be seen. More @ ZDNet. |
TW blueyonder & Massive Growth
By:mark.j @ 3:18:PM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] DigitalSpy is reporting that following Telewest's recent announcement of expecting to achieve 100,000 broadband cable modem customers by the end of the year, their growth has rocketed:
Philip Jansen, MD of Telewest's consumer division, said: "We're dispelling any notion of apathy among UK consumers - our booming sales show there is plenty of life in the broadband bulldog."
"Our delivery of broadband is leading the country, challenging traditions and competitors while engaging consumers. And, our customers are telling us that once connected to broadband, they never want to look back."
The company was rated the best ISP by a recent survey in Internet Magazine. 100% of those surveyed were satisfied with the service received, and the company outperformed in every category.
Apparently shares in Telewest's broadband wing have jumped a staggering 23.28% since the announcement; hopefully this will provide BT with some more incentive to get their rollout moving. |
Ethernet RADSL Exchange Upgrades
By:mark.j @ 3:13:PM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] We recently reported on BTs decision to expand the use of RADSL (Rate Adaptive) broadband services to Ethernet 512Kbps users. Today ADSLGuide has done it again by issuing some dates and information on when the physical exchanges will be upgraded:
Weekend of 17th/18th November 2001
Upgrades to the management software for both Fujitsu and Alcatel DSLAM's – fairly painless as there should be no outage for users.
Saturday 24th November and 1st December
A short 2 to 3 second outage as BTwholesale move exisiting IPstream S500 (ethernet) service customers to the RADSL profiles. The work is scheduled to happen between midnight and 8am.
8th December 2001
An upgrade on the Alcatel DSLAM's resulting in around a 15 minute outage, details of exchange schedules will be released later.
The use of RADSL on Ethernet will allow customers previously out of the 3.5KM coverage range to receive ADSL quality (64Kbps upstream minimum limit) services up to 5.5KM away. |
PlusNETs Referral Scheme Success
By:mark.j @ 2:36:PM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] PlusNET have today issued a new press release in which they tout the success of their ISP service referrals scheme. 'My Referrals' allows PlusNet's customers to receive discounts from their subscriptions and even money back, in return for business brought by recommending their family, friends and colleagues.
Several readers have suggested we avoid publishing such press releases in full due to the high level of propaganda often contained within, thus we'll only quote a small amount:
Unlike most referral schemes, My Referrals provides customers with a genuine impetus to keep on recommending. Applying to a range of PlusNet's unmetered 'Connect' and broadband ADSL products, a discount is offered against a customer's subscription for every signup generated upon referral, enabling a customer to effectively get free Internet access when they recommend enough people.
"Unusually for such a scheme, our discount is no 'one-off' payment but continues for as long as the referred individual remains a paying customer", explained Alistair Wyse, PlusNet's Product and Service Development Director. "So, rather than just getting a free month's subscription for example, with My Referrals you have the opportunity for long-term, sustainable free Internet access. And once the total amount of discount generated through referrals becomes greater than the cost of your subscription, the difference is credited to you," he added.
Schemes like this always seem to be successful at first, although some providers found they had to remove the offer for fear of it biting into their profits.
Typically this is still a good idea for average customers, hopefully it won’t generate the same levels of SPAM we saw with a certain cable co’s attempt =). |
Freeserve Sue Government - AOL
By:mark.j @ 9:38:AM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] According to THIS ITEM in The Times online version of today’s newspaper, Freeserve may sue the government unless it acts to resolve a tax dispute it has with AOL UK:
Freeserve has written to Paul Boateng, the Customs Minister, to give warning that it will be forced to pursue legal action if “the position is allowed to drag on much further”. Freeserve is concerned that AOL Time Warner is exempt from charging its customers VAT because it is based outside the European Union.
The UK-based company, which includes VAT in its Internet access charges, claims the current rules are saving AOL and depriving the Treasury of at least £30 million a year. It has threatened to move its head office overseas if the tax discrepancy is not removed.
In a letter to Mr Boateng, seen by The Times, David Melville, Freeserve’s company secretary, said that he had been led to believe from HM Customs and Excise that its review had been completed and “passed to ministers”. But Freeserve, now owned by France’s Wanadoo, is still awaiting a ruling from Customs, which had been expected at the end of September. Mr Melville has said that if there was no recommendation, Freeserve would “have no option but to pursue a remedy against the UK Government before the European Commission”. |
CharityDAYS Pre-Launch Press Release
By:mark.j @ 9:31:AM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] In case some of you had forgotten, the new charity supporting unmetered dialup ISP, CharityDAYS, is still set to go live on Monday 19th November next week.
Today the ISP has sent its final pre-launch press release our way:
CharityDAYS creates new solution for UK Internet surfers
CharityDays, Donate As You Surf, the UK Internet Service Provider that donates 60% of its turnover to UK charities, launches a new range of 11 products on Monday 19th November. The new ISP that intends to help raise up to £1 million for UK charities in its first year has acted swiftly to new research undertaken by OFTEL.
The recent report, published last week, stated that the average UK Internet user surfs the net for only five hours per week and that the majority of people were now moving towards ‘fixed access’ accounts, where you pay a fixed monthly subscription but no call charges. However, as the average user was only using these packages for 20 hours per month they were not necessarily getting the full value for money they would have expected from their average £15 per month fixed access account.
Therefore, CharityDays has developed an £8.99 fixed access account that is designed to be used by users surfing 10 to 20 hours per week, anytime of the day. This account, which is called ‘Donate At Home Lite’, also donates over £1 per month to charity, so everyone is a winner.
The service, which commenced on October 22nd, has already attracted hundreds of users and many charities to use the service. The service can be used by any UK registered charity as a fund raising tool where they receive 100% of the donations generated by their supporters. The service is being adopted by charities all over the UK and costs nothing to join. Ten top 100 UK charities will be rolling out the scheme in the New Year, giving exposure to over 10 million potential users of the service.
Other products being launched on the 19th include ADSL broadband accounts for both home and business users. All details regarding the products and CharityDays can be found at http://www.charitydays.net
CharityDAYS probably won't be ideal for heavy users, but should suffice for anybody with standard/average surfing patterns as stated above. |
Site Update - ‘Reader Top ISPs’
By:mark.j @ 9:26:AM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Just to let everybody know that we may begin public testing of our new 'Reader Top ISPs' system sometime today or tomorrow, early next week at the latest. We're currently squashing a few bugs and getting ready to replace the existing one.
The new system will use E-Mail verification along with other more standard methods to make for a more honest result. We may also block the use of some Free E-Mail providers should such a feature be needed, thus allowing votes ONLY by specific ISP users (per ISP listed).
Initially the system will only be for limited use, although we'll expand it more into the sites various sections as time passes. |
Vispa Launch 'Connect Hometime' Package
By:mark.j @ 9:18:AM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Perhaps done in order to better compete with the launch of PlusNET's recent £6.99 per month unmetered package, Vispa has today done the same, only with a small twist in the tail - it uses BTSurftime!:
VISPA LAUNCHES CONNECT HOMETIME
November 15th 2001
Vispa Connect Hometime package allows you to use the Internet between 6pm - 8am weekdays and all weekend for a flat rate fee starting at £6.99pm. This package is built using BT Surftime technology, which offers excellent quality and value for money.
Connect Hometime is also operated at lower contentions than current touted freecall services. Running at 6:1 along with 3 hour cut offs, this gives users excellent quality that is desperately needed in the UK market place at the moment.
Users are also provided with unlimited email addresses, free personal webspace, which can host unlimited domain names if required, comprehensive webmail system and usenet access and a host of other features and options such as our Tucows mirror. 128k ISDN support and static IP options are also in development, currently been tested by a handful of our current users, with 64k support already active.
Looking around the ISP market ourselves, if you already use Surftime via another ISP there is a good chance we could save you money or offer a number of key features others don't.
For further detailed information and Connect Hometime terms and conditions visit http://www.vispa.com/products-hometime.php or email your questions to sales@vispa.net
Why Surftime and not FRIACO?
For nearly 6 months we have been providing packages, such as our Connect Anytime package based on FRIACO technology. Being one of the first into the market place, we have gained lots of feedback, test data and seen how others have failed attempting the impossible via unworkable business plans. However one underlining problem with FRIACO, even though the concept is ideal, the network it's currently built upon is not.
Since August 6th we have seen regular problems with FRIACO at Local
Exchange/IP Cluster Level before it even tries to authenticate with our equipment. This situation has since escalated from the middle of October to regular repetitive problems every other day. A similar situation to that expressed by other ISP's in recent days/weeks.
We have been beta testing accounts based on Surftime for 6 weeks, calls been delivered direct to our own tried and tested equipment, rather than one of BT's IP Clusters as is with FRIACO. During this time we suffered one planned small outage during the early hours, that lasted just over 10 minutes, the same unfortunately can't be said with FRIACO.
The UK Internet market is in dire need of stability at the moment. Surftime based packages, especially in peak time access, seriously seem to be the only all round contender that have remained stable with current industry ups and downs.
The package itself looks good on the surface and if they introduce a future 128Kbps option (difficult under Surftime) then it'll be even better. However it's worth noting that Surftime is very much regarded as a dead duck, you also have to pay more than just the £6.99 ISP fee (BTSurftime is separate).
In short when you take into account the BTSurftime fee it starts to look somewhat less attractive. Another thing of note is Vispa's apparent support for CloudNine's recent statement and the problems experienced through BTs FRIACO networking by other ISPs. |
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