Welcome to our News Archives page

October 31, 2001 - November 5, 2001

News - November 5,2001

Gov Calls For Broadband Backing

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

The government’s e-envoy, Andrew Pinder, has called upon business chiefs to embrace the broadband revolution if they want the Government to support its roll-out:

Pinder, addressing a CBI business breakfast this morning, said the Chancellor had previously shown scepticism about the format’s future after it had enjoyed a slow pick-up among smaller firms where the service is already available.

But while the roll-out had been slow, the e-envoy acknowledged, he told business leaders to get online and use broadband to show there was a commitment for the service within the industry community.


The news comes in the wake of a today's announcement that BT had officially halted the rollout of R/ADSL broadband services while it reviewed the situation. More @ netimperative.com.

UK Residential Internet Use Slows

By:mark.j @ 3:40:PM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

We had believed that the more obvious signs of market saturation for ISPs appealing to residential Internet users might not set in for another year, it now looks as if it'll be much sooner.

Oftels latest study has shown a dip of 1% for August 2001, which is in stark contrast to the rapid growth we've been seeing for most of the year:

According to the experts at the winged watchdog, it's too early to tell if this represents a change in the long-term upwards trend or whether this is just blip.

What's clear is that the role of flat-fee dial-up services has been vital in the growth of the UK's Internet market with just under half of those homes connected to the Net using some form of unmetered narrowband access.

This, Oftel reckons, is a key driver in getting lower income groups online and using the Net.


We can't help but wonder whether the uncountable number of disgruntled users from Nutshell or 08002Go will help to keep the next set of figures down. More @ The Register.

BTO Join Surfmonkey - Child Safety

By:mark.j @ 3:31:PM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Barely a handful of ISPs in the UK offer any kind of built-in filtering system to protect younger web surfers from offensive or adult content. Today BTOpenworld has issued a new press release covering their deal with Surfmonkey.

The deal will help kids in the UK explore the very best web content whilst allowing parents to manage what their children see, who they talk to and what Internet applications they use:

BTOPENWORLD JOINS WITH SURFMONKEY TO OFFER LEADING INTERNET SAFETY SERVICE FOR CHILDREN

BTopenworld, BT's mass marketing Internet division, has today announced it will work with SurfMonkey Inc., the family Internet technology company,* making BTopenworld the first ISP in Europe to offer this leading Internet browser and safety service for children.

Free for one month, the SurfMonkey kids browser and safety service elevates the whole Internet experience for children, helping them explore the very best web content and connect with parent-approved friends through email, chat, bulletin boards, instant messaging and their own personalized videophone.

SurfMonkey's advanced safety controls allow parents to manage what their children see, who they talk to and which Internet applications they use. SurfMonkey gives parents of younger children the option to restrict access to a directory of more than 15,000 pre-approved sites. Parents of older children or more experienced surfers may allow them to explore the whole worldwide web. Each web page goes through several automated checks before it reaches the child so that pornography, violence, racial hatred and other inappropriate content is filtered out.**

The safety controls are not restricted to the SurfMonkey browser -- Internet Explorer, Netscape and other browsers are filtered in the same way. Although the child may contact a parent-approved list of CyberFriends, communication with strangers is blocked.

Available to BTOpenworld members from November 19, 2001, parents can download the SurfMonkey browser for only £2.50*** per month (including VAT). A browser is then installed that is password protected. The browser itself is a fun tool for kids, with special effects that allow them to splash, slime and explode web pages.

"The Internet is a global library, rich of information readily available for the probing and inquisitive minds of children. SurfMonkey provides an introduction and stepping stone to the Internet, essentially opening the door to this library for children to surf, read and learn in a safer environment," said Duncan Ingram, senior vice president of BTopenworld.

"We're delighted to be working with a respected company such as BT to open up the very best of the Internet to kids in the U.K. This association is an important step in our overall goal of making the Internet more accessible to children worldwide. We've made our safety service available in eight different languages in order to reach kids around the globe," adds Charles Hart, chairman and CEO of SurfMonkey.


Some might say that BTOpenworlds current method for filtering Internet content on their dial-up network is already quite good, don't allow people to logon in the first place =).

Other than that BTO seems to have chosen one of the better filtering systems, although kids have a habit of out-doing their parents when it comes to technology.

BT Reviews Broadband Rollout

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

While BT often maintain that they're constantly reviewing the rollout of broadband services, today the Telco appears to have officially suspended the process:

Having made around 1,000 local exchanges ADSL-ready, BT has no immediate plans to make the technology available in other exchanges until it sees clear signs that customers will pay for it. It is instead concentrating on a nationwide advertising campaign.

"We guaranteed that we would have 1,000 exchanges enabled for ADSL by the end of September, and we achieved this target a couple of weeks early," a BT spokeswoman told ZDNet UK. "Beyond that, we're waiting for see evidence of demand in other areas," she added.

The decision means that those customers living in rural or sparsely populated areas have no immediate chance of being offered ADSL, unless an operator decides there is sufficient demand or the government gets more closely involved in the push towards Broadband Britain.


Exactly what the ZDNet item could mean for the future isn't clear, although it's likely to cause further anger among ISPs trying to offer residential services. If you want broadband in your area then now's a good time to pre-register and show BT you’re interested.

BTOpenworld Satellite ISP Update

By:mark.j @ 3:13:PM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

While we already covered the things you needed to know on Friday, BTOpenworlds latest press release regarding their new broadband Satellite ISP service details out the package(s) in better detail:

Business Satellite 500/1 - (single PC):

The service is compatible with most windows based PC's (not Apple Macintosh machines) and comprises the following features:-
* High speed, up to 500Kbps downloading ( approx. 10 times faster than an ordinary modem) , sending up to 150kbps.
* Access to a Dedicated Business Resource Centre with video rich content and extensive useful business information.
* 20 Email accounts & 20Mb web space.
* Business Hours Helpdesk at local call rates.
* Internet Explorer browser (optimised for BTopenworld)
* Outlook Express (email program)
* Windows Media Player (for playing audio-visual files)
* One Static Public IP Address
* Two part customer premises equipment - outdoor unit (dish) and indoor broadband unit
* Single 65cm x 90cms Satellite dish to be situated within 100 metre cable run of indoor broadband unit.
* Professional installation by accredited engineers.
* Welcome pack with necessary BTopenworld software CDROM.
* Roaming access to your BTopenworld account using a dial up modem service if not connected to your satellite service.
* USB or Ethernet connection

Business Satellite 500/4 - (up to 4 PCSs):

The service is compatible with most Windows, Apple Mac, Unix, Linux based PCs and Cisco routers (excluding the supplied software).
* High speeds, up to 500Kbps downloading ( approx. 10 times faster than an ordinary modem) , sending up to 150kbps.
* Access to a Dedicated Business Resource Centre with video rich content and extensive useful business information.
* 100 Email accounts & 20Mb web space.
* Business Hours Helpdesk at local call rates.
* Internet Explorer browser (optimised for BTopenworld)
* Outlook Express (email program)
* Windows Media Player (for playing audio-visual files)
* Five Static Public IP Address
* Two part customer premises equipment - outdoor unit (dish) and indoor broadband unit, single 65cm x 90cms Satellite dish to be situated within 100 metre cable run of indoor broadband unit.
* Professional installation by accredited engineers.
* Welcome pack with necessary BTopenworld software CDROM.
* Roaming access to your BTopenworld account using a dial up modem service if not connected to your satellite service

Additional information and FAQs can be found at http://www.btopenworld.com/satellite .

Orange Trials Broadband Wireless

By:mark.j @ 9:04:AM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

With Tele2 already operating a fixed broadband wireless service for home and business users and NTL running a trial, it's also good to see the mobile operator Orange getting in on the fun.

Apparently the well known mobile group has teamed up with PipingHot Networks, a UK developer of broadband fixed wireless (BBFW), to trial Internet access:

The two-month trial will deliver data rates of around 2Mbps to 10 subscribers from a single base station. Unlike higher frequencies – such as the 28GHz offered in the UK Government’s first fixed wireless auction – 3.4GHz transmissions are less vulnerable to ‘line-of-sight’ problems, offering a more robust delivery and a lower density of base stations. For Orange and PipingHot, the move is effectively a fact-finding mission in advance of the UK Government’s 3.4GHz auction, which is timetabled for November.

Fixed wireless is widely touted as an alternative to copper wire and cable-based last mile connections, but is also increasingly viewed as a competing delivery technology to 3G mobile networks. The mobile operators – still smarting after paying out £22.4bn for 3G licences – have kept any plans for fixed wireless securely under wraps until now.


The netimperative.com article is keen to suggest that Orange might be trialling the technology as a possible alternative to 3G, although we find that hard to believe due to the way 3.4GHz works (not ideal for roaming mobile phones).

BT To Loose More Senior Staff

By:mark.j @ 8:56:AM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Following last weeks announcement that Sir Peter Bonfield would indeed be leaving the company after its De-Merger, it now looks as if BT's finance director, Philip Hampton, is the next to go:

Hampton joined BT a year ago, and has done much to reduce the £30bn debt he inherited and has helped Bonfield restructure the company.

But now Bonfield has announced his retirement, Hampton has lost a valuable ally - and, with most of the restructuring complete, it's thought that he may feel his job is done.


More @ Silicon.

News - November 4,2001

ISP Review Weekly Update

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

There's a cosy Cat sitting atop of my monitor, seemingly doing her best to gather all the heat and wave her paws pointlessly at any passing particles of dust.

So far all attempts to remove the cat have failed, as such I'm doing my best to write this weeks update with most of the screen being blocked by a long tale and a couple of paws (LTCP).

The good news is that we've finished the two week long process of upgrading our forums and re-adding all the custom features. We've still got one or two smaller tweaks to make and perhaps a member list feature to add, although overall the process was a success.

On top of that the compression seems to be doing exactly what we'd hoped, even the bigger 100K topic threads have been reduced to 20 or 30K and load much faster because of it. Ultimately this means we can now progress on to other things.

In short all this means that we're now diverting all concentration to ISP Reviews new 'Readers Top ISPs' system, which will begin public testing (you get to use it) in under two weeks (possibly next week). We're also planning to re-do our reviews page(s) and change the sites overall colour theme.

Hopefully by the time we reach Christmas ISP Review will be back to the old routine of news, articles and reviews with a few extra interactive systems to boot.

WonkyPig's Cut-Off

By:mark.j @ 9:38:AM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Just a very brief update since one of our readers (Adrian) was able to gain a small update from the unmetered dialup ISP, WonkyPig, regarding their cut-off policy:

Here's a question I posed to Wonkypig yesterday :

Q: I notice in your FAQ's that the cut-off period is stated as being 4 hours. However, in the terms it states that during peak times this may be reduced to 1 hour. Is this being implemented at the moment?

A: Over the next week we will be adding more ports, increasing connectivity. Before these ports are added there will be a 1 hour cut off to ensure all users can log on. It will resume to a 4 hour cut off, in approximately 7 days.

ISP Review Survey/Mail System Bug

By:mark.j @ 9:28:AM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Our newsletter (mailing list) and survey system are technically offline while we try to track down the reasons with neither seem to be working properly.

UPDATE: The main page survey/poll system is now working again, no more strange ‘Cookie’ errors. We’re working on the mailing list now.

UPDATE 2:The mailing list should now be working fine again.

News - November 3,2001

BTs V21 Problems Infest WonkyPig

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

One of our own forum mods was quick to point out the similarities betweens WonkyPig's latest service update and V21/Free24-7's. Since both gain their services from BT then this shouldn't come as too much of a surprise:

1st November

We have traced the problem back to one of BT's ip network routers which by the look of things collapes as the traffic builds up at certain times causing invalid usernames and password errors. This fault WAS identified 2 days ago and we were told that it had been rectified !

All we can do at this point is apologise for this outrageous situation, it seems to also be affecting other major ISP's also.

We are expecting this fault to reoccur tonight for a short space of time, after which we can identify which router is causing our users this major inconvenience. For further details we shall post here to keep you up to date.

Telewest Leaves Mobiles To NTL

By:mark.j @ 9:27:AM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Since there's a good chance Telewest might merge into NTL sometime in the not so distant future then it wouldn't make much sense to launch their own mobile phone service, as per NTL yesterday.

Telewest has thus given some politically correct reasons for not joining the mobile race:

While NTL will begin a co-marketing programme with mobile operator Orange next week and has broadened its portfolio to provide bundled, ‘all-purpose’ communications packages to its customers, Telewest will base its strategy on its core, fixed communications services for the foreseeable future.

A spokesperson stated: “Telewest is concentrating on our core task of growing penetration of our existing broadband services. While we remain interested in developing our range of products and services we do not currently believe that a mobile offering sufficiently enhances the power of our present range of broadband services.


More @ netimperative.com .

News - November 2,2001

V21 & Free24-7 Respond To Complaints

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

While chasing up the obvious increase in official complaints made against the unmetered dialup ISP, V21 (Free24-7), the director was kind enough to issue a statement in our forum:

Our technical team are to be on hand this evening until midnight so that we can rectify this time dependant fault in the BT network. We will be joined by numerous BT net engineers to ensure we can identify the problem and instantly replace or repair the faultly equipment.

We have traced the problems back to one of BT's ip network routers which by the look of things collapes as the traffic builds up at certain times. I will add that this fault WAS identified 2 days ago and we were told that it had been rectified !

All we can do at this point is apologise for this outrageous situation and confirm that we have escalated this official complaint to CEO level within BT.

We are expecting this fault to reoccur tonight for a short space of time, after which we can identify which router is causing our users this major inconvenience. For further details we shall post to our system status pages and i shall also post back to this forum tomorrow.

Thank you for your patience


Since actions tend to speak louder than words then we'll just have to bite the bullet and wait to see if things improve.

We’re currently investigating BTs conduct toward several ISPs ourselves, if any providers out there wish to publicly or privately share their experiences then please do get in touch.

BTOpenworlds Latency Problems

By:mark.j @ 3:49:PM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

It looks as if one of our readers was able to get a response from BTOpenworld regarding the long standing latency problems on their broadband network, especially apparent for multiplayer fans:

I have contacted BT Openworld technical help on this and they said, "aware of the problem", and "upgrading the gateways to fix this problem", and finally, "may take a few weeks".

We've heard a few things regarding BTOs Gateway issues recently, although the news itself seems somewhat mixed. In other words, it'll be fixed, just not for a little while. Hands up if you're surprised by this?

FRIACO - The British Success

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

Let’s face it, Surftime was a flop and the initial versions of FRIACO weren't much cop either, yet things did eventually improve. These days FRIACO is sold to third part Telco's as a service they can pass onto ISPs after competitive unmetered options, BTs own Surf/WebPort24 technologies are based off it.

In fact a new report by Analysys has hyped the systems achievements, although there's no mention of all those who worked to make it a reality:

FRIACO is almost uniquely a British institution, brought about by a thriving technology industry and market in the UK, a stubborn incumbent supplier (BT) and a weak-willed telecoms watchdog (Oftel).

BT has been effectively forced to cap the cost of telecoms access for ISPs. This enables the ISPs to charge consumers a flat-rate monthly fee for dial-up Internet access, instead of according to the length of time spent online (which intrinsically restricts the time that people spend on the Internet).

It's a good thing and for around £15 a month you can have "unlimited" Internet access. Other European countries have been asking for it. As the report says: "Continued lobbying by leading Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and online operators (OLOs) [that's a new one on us] has meant that FRIACO has been firmly placed on the regulators' agendas in ten other Western European countries."


While we're happy for FRIACOs achievements, in all its forms, we can't help but wonder what might have happened in the rest of Europe had quality unmetered come before broadband instead of the opposite.

Sadly the rest of The Register's item descends into the usual 'effect on broadband' arguments, thanks, but we've heard it all a million times before.

BT Turns To Television

By:mark.j @ 3:32:PM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Given the obvious popularity of multi-operators such as NTL and Telewest, it shouldn't come as any surprise that BT is now looking to follow the same path.

The debt laden Telco is now busy attempting to turn itself into a broadcaster of television services over the Internet:

The telco has applied to the Independent Television Commission (ITC) for a licence permitting it to provide video and other programming directly to its customers. It hopes to stream the content over its ADSL network. Around 60 percent of the population currently has access to ADSL, but only 90,000 end users have subscribed so far.

If BT is successful, then it would be in a much more powerful position to compete with cable companies such as ntl and Telewest, which already offer both high-speed Internet access and television packages.

A ban that preventing BT from bundling television services with its telecoms package was lifted earlier this year. The ITC is expected to give its answer within a few weeks.


Obviously it's far too early to speculate on the intricacies of any possible plans BT may have. We can't help but wonder whether 'ITV Digital' might help out, especially considering their recent close co-operation. More @ ZDNet.

Congestion Forces LINX Upgrade

By:mark.j @ 3:25:PM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

The ever growing number of Internet connections in the UK and subsequent usage increases look to be the reason behind the London Internet Exchanges (LINX) latest upgrades initiative.

The growing popularity of unmetered and broadband connections in the UK is apparently helping to force the issue:

LINX statistics, available here, show that it handles around 11.5Gbps at peak times of the day - which equates to 690,000 emails messages per second or almost 2,000 simultaneous broadcast-quality TV streams. Peak times are between 1400 and 1500 GMT. Average traffic flow is 8Gbps.

LINX chief executive John Souter said the slowdown in economic activity is unlikely to curtail the growth and he predicts traffic will at least double over the course of the next year, and could grow ten-fold over the next two years.

As well as expanding the use of existing technology to cope with the expected demand, LINX is deploying new technologies such as 10 gigabit Ethernet and IPv6. It is also promoting 'private peering' to give direct connections between the networks of participating ISPs.


None of this should come as any great surprise, major backbone providers such as BT and UUNet etc. have also noticed similar problems.

Hopefully in two years time or less when the effects of market saturation start to slip through then it’ll begin to slow down. More @ The Register.

Irish ISP HEAnet Expands

By:mark.j @ 3:16:PM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

HEAnet, an Irish ISP for educational institutions, has continued its expansion process with the introduction of a 1GB Ethernet service from Esat.

The deal will expand capacity for traffic from HEAnet's Dublin point of presence (POP) at Shelbourne Road to its POP at Citywest. HEAnet said that it hopes to add another 1GB pipe in 2002, but this upgrade will depend on securing funding for it.

HEAnet provides over 140,000 staff and students at Ireland's universities and other educational and research organisations with Internet access and the new upgrade will ensure greater capacity as the traffic runs through exchanges in Dublin and Citywest. The deal with Esat Business, for an undisclosed amount, is renewable on an annual basis.

Quick ISP Review Site Update

By:mark.j @ 2:10:PM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Sorry for the brief forum outage this morning, we took it offline so that the member files could be stripped of any old code left over since the upgrade.

On another note we've also updated the unmetered ISP listings, complaints and Satellite ISP list pages. We also changed the survey on the front page; the results for the last one are as follows:

How do you feel about BTs new ISDN HH price reduction?
Perfect - 1.5%
Good - 5.4%
It's Ok - 15.8%
Not enough! - 77.2%
Total votes: 259


Much as was predicted, 77% of ISDN users weren't too pleased with BTs latest excuse for a reduction in its price. The new survey simply asks, What connection do you use for the Internet?.

08002Go Set To Re-launch TODAY

By:mark.j @ 11:46:AM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Just in case anybody forgot or missed the HUGE banner text on 08002Go's suspended unmetered dialup ISP site, the service is set to re-launch sometime today. So far it's nearly mid day and we haven't heard anything new yet..

WonkyPig Explain Unmetered Problems

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

It looks as if the recently re-designed unmetered dialup ISP, WonkyPig, could have bitten off more than they could chew in their latest service update:

Over the last few days two 0800 Internet service providers, have suspended there service (08002go & Nutshell) which means that we have had a huge increase, in customers joining us over that period.

Due to large numbers of E-mails with customers details, being sent at one time to these new customers they have all connected at once, causing unusually high usage on our network at one time.

During these times users get the occasional 'invalid password' or the service can not be connected However if you keep redialling you will get though.

By next week this problem will be solved, with customers being able to connect first time.

Our fixed customer to port ratio, is stated on our website as 10 customers to on 1 port. However at the moment its is 6 customers to 1 Port, which is good in comparison to other rival larger ISPs who connect up to 100 customers to 1 Port.

Needless to say bare with us for a few more days, while new customers connect in droves and the service will be back to normal. Our helpdesk is open 24 hours on 0870 840 7981, should you need any more assistance.


Interestingly we know of no unmetered ISPs running a 100:1 ratio, it may be true for some 'Local Call Rate' providers, but that's hardly a fair or realistic comparison.

Seemingly another ISP unable to resist the influx of customers and money rather than suspend subscriptions until the service is working properly again. Hopefully it'll work again soon as stated above.

Robin Cook Slams BTs Bonfield

By:mark.j @ 9:12:AM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

You'd be forgiven for mistaking that subject as something from a WWF match, although it's not far off, politically speaking. The Leader of the House of Commons has condemned Sir.Bonfield and others for being paid off (bonus) without having earned it in merit:

Speaking in the House of Commons, Cook agreed that it wasn't acceptable for top bosses to receive generous financial settlements at a time when the slowing economy is hitting both workers and shareholders. As well as receiving £1.4m in cash, Bonfield's will also be paid an extra £350,000 of pension payments and £1.3 million in deferred share awards.

"At a time when workers are losing their jobs and shareholders are losing their money, we would expect executives to share some of the pain," said Cook, who was appointed Leader of the Commons after this summer's general election.


Couldn't agree more - ZDNet.

E-Mail With A 3D Face

By:mark.j @ 8:59:AM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Sending pictures, HTML and file attachments through E-Mail isn't anything new, but what if you could send a 3D real-time rendering of your own face? While it's a scary prospect, that's exactly what Digimask is hoping to do.

"This has been extremely well received by many potential partners, and we are looking forward to making announcements over the coming weeks as deals come to fruition," Digimask Chief Executive David Burdett said on Thursday.

The less-than-perfect but recognisable "phizz" rendering of a person's head can move, talk and make faces, and is created in about 10 minutes from two digital camera pictures taken from the front and profile.

Burdett, who has wireless telecoms industry experience, said in an interview that while "phizz" had business applications, it would be aimed at the same youth market that has driven the popularity of mobile phone ring tones and graphics.

For £9.99 pounds a head, the "phizz" can be included with e-mails, online greeting cards, compatible text messages, and can also be pasted on to the player's image on Activision's Quake III computer game.

Somehow paying £9.99 for the opportunity to show people a 3D rendering of your own head in an E-Mail is slightly insulting. We'll use pictures, thanks all the same guys =).

News - November 1,2001

ECOSSETEL Raise Unmetered Prices

By:mark.j @ 4:13:PM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

EcosseTel seem to increase the price of their unmetered services at least once every six months and today is no exception for the Off-Peak package.

The ISP has issued us with their latest press release, which contains what some might deem as unwelcome news:

ECOSSETEL INTERNET UNMETERED ACCESS PRICE RISES

From Monday 12th November the cost of the Vroom2 internet access package for 'Off Peak' use will rise from £69.99 a year to £79.99 a year. This package gives internet access for no call charges (BT customers only) between the hours of 18:00 and 08:00 Mon - Fri and at all times at the weekend, subject to a maximum usage of 200 hours in any one calendar month. Users receive PoP3 email boxes, newsgroup access and access to the web. Prices for EcosseTel's other packages remain unchanged.

In an effort to be able to supply customers with cost effective internet access we re having to introduce a charge for technical support which is 'going live' from the 12th November 2001. Technical support will only be available via a premium rate telephone number 0906 759 0300 and will be charged at 75p a minute. Support will be available between 09:00 - 18:00 Monday to Friday. This service has been licenced by ICSTIS.

An alternative solution to out 'pay as you go' internet support is to pay a fee of £20 per annum at the time of registration, and this will give you 0800 access for technical support.

Please note support is limited to technical problems solely related to the services provided by EcossseTel Internet, i.e. internet access, newsgroups and email services. We have online access to our main servers and should be able to sort out any problems i.e. logons and such like quickly. No technical support call will last more than five minutes in normal circumstances. Free technical support for all customers is still available by fax or email on a continuing basis. Email techsupport@ecossetel.com or fax 0141 332 9444.

We regret having to introduce a charge for technical support but too much time was being spent by our staff dealing with irrelevant queries concerning customers' general computer set ups and crashed hard disks!

EcosseTel is now in it's fifth year of operation as a telco and ISP and is currently installing a new nationwide FRIACO based internet access platform.

Website: http://www.ecossetel.net


While the increase is only a mere £10 extra per year (less than £1 per month extra), we have little doubt that some will be frustrated. Having said that it's still one of the cheaper off-peak options around, whether it’s worth the increase is up to the customers.

Education - Broadbands Key

By:mark.j @ 4:06:PM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Datamonitors latest report claims that incumbent ISPs are responsible for the fact that most European consumers believe broadband connections only bring higher speeds. It's the second such report we've seen today:

Datamonitor analyst Caroline Bryan believes that education of consumers will be a key factor in the uptake of broadband, According to Bryan, to attract a wider residential subscriber base, providers need to improve their marketing message to ensure that European consumers understand the added value that broadband can provide.

Bryan also joins other analysts and the UK government in urging companies to accelerate DSL roll-out, with just 6% of Western European web-enabled households having broadband access.


What added values would that be then? Aside from the high-speed connection, broadband in UK is still infantile in coverage and 'application' support (streaming media etc.).

It's all very well suggesting that ISPs advertise and educated more, but highlighting its other advantages would be premature due to lack of support in such areas. Get the coverage, build the applications and then you can start pushing things further.

Home Highway (BT ISDN) Goes USB

By:mark.j @ 3:55:PM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

While not related to R/ADSL broadband, ADSLGuide has spotted a few interesting changes over at BTs Home Highway ISDN wing, although most of them don't seem to make much sense:

As of 1st November 2001 the HH box will have a USB socket included in it for direct connection to a PC - this means that essentially the box now includes the ISDN Terminal adapter. The socket arrangement on the front of the box remains identical and all existing hardware will still work - but for new HH subscribers they can save some money by not been forced to buy a Terminal Adapter for their computer.

The prices on Home Highway on the BTtogether package are £74.99 for the install and then £26 a month which includes £2.80 of calls, a BT Surf Together (i.e. Surftime) package costs £30/month and has unmetered off peak access.


ADSLGuide rightly highlights the unusual nature of BTs latest move, making it somewhat difficult for people to choose their own ISDN card, or so we'd assume.

We also note that the 'standard' monthly rental hasn't dropped to the £25 per month BT revealed to us recently (from £27), rather £24. It's hardly a big deal, but worth mentioning.

It's another very sad fact that BT hasn't managed to drop the 'standard' price to £20 as one BT analyst had suggested in a leaked document. It's also sad that they're still using a 'Surftime' based system for Internet call discounts, which is bad because MOST ISPs don't use this anymore.

ISDN may not be the most popular technology these days, but since the majority of the geographic population still have no other choice then we believe BT could have done one heck of a lot more with it!

NTL Gain Mobile Phone Network

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

Perhaps going someway to prove the almost infinite potential of cable networks, NTL and Orange have today announced their "tailor-made" mobile service.

The new service will launch on 4th November (good thing it's not the 5th) and is being touted as NTLs fourth service after their telephone, television and broadband internet systems:

The monthly rental will be £9.99. Calls between ntl/Orange mobiles cost 10p/minute at all times; calls to other mobile networks will be charged at 40p/minute. To make the package more appealing to ntl telephony subscribers, calls from an ntl:home telephone line to an ntl:home mobile are discounted by 30% compared to the usual ntl:home to Orange call rate.

Stephen Carter, MD ntl said: "This is the beginning of an important and long-term alliance between NTL and Orange UK. Once again, NTL is leading the industry. We first launched our great value television, telephone and internet proposition in 1999, and from Monday we go one step further to provide the complete NTL connected home. Now you can get all the communication products you need from us, including mobile."


We find it hard to see how NTL could proclaim they're leading the industry since the new network doesn't seem to be offering anything new; in fact it's technically behind the GPRS and future 3G merits of others.

Quite how NTL plans to position itself in the 'mobile data' market isn't clear, although they'll probably follow whatever rout Orange choose to take. More @ DigitalSpy.

BTOpenworlds Satellite ISP Details

By:mark.j @ 3:34:PM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Barely 24 hours ago had we mentioned the imminent availability of more info. regarding BTOpenworlds broadband Satellite ISP service, today it finally arrived, slightly sooner than expected.

Today BTO has finally launched THIS PAGE to the public, it outlines the prices (ex VAT) for their business broadband Satellite services. On top of that you can also browse the details of the service itself:

We have created two broadband satellite options for you to choose from. The Business Satellite 500/1 is ideal is you have a small or home office and a requirement to connect one PC to the internet. The Business Satellite 500/4 is ideal for SMEs which require simultaneous connections for up to four PCs.

Whichever Business Satellite service you choose, you will realise the benefits of access to the BTopenworld Connect to Business portal.

Business Satellite 500/1:
Monthly=£69.99 / Setup=£649 / Install=£250
Business Satellite 500/4:
Monthly=£139.99 / Setup=£1049 / Install=£250


We also spied the following information, note that we've only included the bits that are of more interest. Details on static IP addresses, web space, domains etc. have been excluded - visit the site for the rest:

Speed
Up to 500Kbps peak downloading (which is up to ten times faster than an ordinary modem), sending up to 150Kbps peak

Roaming connection
Roaming access to your BTopenworld account using a dial up modem service if not connected to your satellite service

Portal
Access to a Dedicated Business Resource Centre with video content and extensive useful business information

Customer Equipment
Gilat Skyblaster 360 Satellite Modem
Gilat Skystar Advantage 180 Satellite Router

Dish
Single 65cm x 90cm Satellite dish to be situated within 100 metre cable run of indoor unit

Installation
Professional installation by accredited engineers


It's not clear whether those more familiar with Satellite hardware and software will be allowed to use their existing technology or opt to install the kit themselves. We'd certainly find it somewhat unrealistic if they couldn't, but then this is BT we're talking about.

Typically the prices are similar to original predicts and if you missed the recent info. on release dates, here it is again:

It will be available on a restricted basis to some customers in Northern Ireland and the Highlands and Islands of Scotland from November 2001. Customers in Wales and the South West of England will be offered the service from January 2002 and the full roll out to the rest of the UK will begin in Spring 2002. This is being rolled out in this way to ensure that we can deliver the best service to everyone.

How Long Ago? - BTs ADSL

By:mark.j @ 3:19:PM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

In case you didn't already know how long it's taken BT to publicly launch ADSL broadband services, today's ZDNet '5 Years Ago news highlight makes for an entertaining read:

BT has played down speculation that it will shortly make an announcement about the fast communications technology ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) which sends files at up to 6 megabits per second over conventional twisted copper pair wires.

"There's been a lot of press speculation recently," said a BT spokesman. "I don't know why, since the technology's been around for some time. It's a very competitive market but we've reached no decisions yet."

BT recently ran a set of ADSL video distribution trials in Ipswich, Suffolk.


We particularly liked the last quote: the technology's been around for some time. - THIS WAS FIVE YEARS AGO and coming from BTs own mouth =).

ISPs Fail To Promote Broadband

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

According to Telecoms analyst group, Analysys, ISPs are still failing to encourage the use of broadband technologies. It had been hoped that the use of unmetered ISPs would help to promote the benefits of broadband, although a new report shows otherwise:

But report author Rupert Wood told vnunet.com that only cable users were showing signs of making the switch in the UK and, even with cable, costs were high.

"There are very specific UK reasons holding back the migration of users from Friaco to broadband: high costs and difficulties with provision, particularly with ADSL," he said. "At around £40 a month, ADSL is both expensive [£150] and time-consuming to install. The plug and play promise of self-installed ADSL will help, but £75 is still higher than most countries."

Wood added that a higher proportion of cable customers, who pay less, had upgraded. As of June, 11 per cent of Telewest internet subscribers and five per cent of NTL customers used broadband.


Much as you'd expect the blame is once again placed with BT for not lowering the price of broadband (namely R/ADSL) to more realistic levels. Another problem sighted in the report is a lack of understanding, although this is nothing we haven't heard a thousand times before.

One thing we ourselves find a continuing puzzle is the fact that ISPs and Telco's should ASSUME customers actually want broadband. Unless you download hundreds of Mb or want to spend hour’s in-front of the PC surfing music, games and video etc., then it's not much use. Not to mention that the UK is still especially short on such 'software'.

Since the majority of Internet users still have less demanding/quite modest surfing habits, isn't it somewhat arrogant to assume we all want broadband? More @ VNUNet.

V21 & Free24-7 Complete Upgrades

By:mark.j @ 9:07:AM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Some good news this morning from unmetered and 'child-friendly' dial-up ISP V21 and its counterpart, Free24/7. The network upgrades that we had recently reported on have now been completed and customers can expect some improvements:

We are now pleased to announce that the network redesign has now been implemented and successful.

Users will now see a dramatic increase in connection speeds to the internet as well as be able to use all irc, ping and multiplayer functions.

We are sorry for the inconvenience caused whilst these changes have been taking place but are satisfied that these issues are now all complete.


We'd be interested to hear feedback from customers on how things have improved etc.

Manchester's Bluetooth Broadband

By:mark.j @ 9:03:AM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Bluetooth is a wireless broadband information technology designed for mobile computers, phones, PDAs and Laptops. While fast, the technology has been devised more for the casual/local transmission of data such as the menu for a restaurant you're standing outside of etc.

However Speedwave have been one of the first groups to come up with a way of extending Bluetooths range to 100metres, while still retaining its broadband (384Kbp) like properties:

Bluetooth is commonly thought of as a short-range wireless technology and the distance boost comes from using high gain antenna from Swedish firm Blue2Space.

Blue2Link devices (a combined Web server, aerial and microprocessor from Blue2Space) form the main access point to the Speedwave network from connected sites. There'll be to two or three access points in each site.

The pilot program (which begins this week at the Weston Building of the Manchester Conference Centre) will be completed in 2002, after which Speedwave will be rolled out to 70 sites (hotels, airports and coffee shops) across Manchester.


It’d certainly be nice if free localised broadband Internet access could be realised, although whether that holds firm remains to be seen. More @ The Register.

Freeserve Hometime Price Increase

By:rich @ 8:54:AM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Thanks to Andy for informing us that Freeserve are to increase the price of Hometime to by two pounds to £10.99. At the bottom of the e-mail they offer a free month to anyone who switches to the AnyTime Friaco service:

Dear HomeTime Member,

We successfully launched Freeserve HomeTime almost a year ago. Since that time it has become one of the most successful packages of its type in the UK. We are writing to inform you that from the 1st December 2001 HomeTime subscription will increase by £2 from £8.99 to £10.99 a month. Even after this small increase in price, HomeTime remains one of the most competitively priced off peak Internet access packages in the UK.

For just £10.99 per month, HomeTime will continue to give you the freedom to email, search, chat, shop, learn and play from 6pm to 8am, Monday to Friday and all weekend (6pm Friday to 8am Monday) - with no additional Internet call charges on your phone bill.

To remain a HomeTime member you don't need to take any action as the price increase will appear automatically on your first BT bill generated after the 1st of December 2001.

However, at this stage it may be worth considering our AnyTime service. Freeserve AnyTime gives you the freedom to use the Internet, day and night for one simple monthly fee of just £12.99. You don't need to be on a BT Surf package to subscribe and can use the Internet whatever time you want without having to pay any additional Internet call charges on your phone bill. You get to keep your email address when you transfer and if you subscribe before the 30th November we will give you your first month free.

To take advantage of this first month free offer sign up now by clicking on the link below before the 30th November 2001.

www.freeserve.com/time/timetochange
AnyTime Terms and Conditions apply.

Alternatively, our Customer Services team will be happy to help you with any general questions about HomeTime or AnyTime. You can contact them on 0870 8720099. Lines are open Monday to Friday from 8am to 8pm and Saturday 8am to 6pm. Calls are charged at National rates and may be monitored for training purposes.


Given the current climate some price increases are to be expected on the older style non-friaco packges. Although Freeserve has not taken the more drastic step of moving everyone to the AnyTime package as BT Internet did.

Running Low On USB R/ADSL Modems

By:mark.j @ 8:42:AM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

There's a brief item on ADSLGuide this morning regarding how Alcatel USB Speedtouch Modems (R/ADSL) may be in short supply for a few days.

Typically the problem stems from BTWholesale's own stock, although they'll be covering the shortage with newer Fujitsu USB Modems until Alcatel are back in-stock.

News - October 31,2001

WonkyPig Re-Design & Service Changes

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

The unmetered dialup ISP that likes to change its look more than a famous Hollywood movie star, WonkyPig, has yet again re-designed itself and made a few service changes:

After Months of planning and launch of our BT platform we have today launched our NON BT line service priced at £12.99 per month, this service offers the same great features as our bt line package but will work on any uk landline using our 0800 freephone number.

Contention ratios will be 10:1

More information is available at our website, http://www.wonkypig.com - Finally there is another choice other than AOL


It's also worth noting that their BT only service has increased in price from the economically questionable £10 per month to a more reasonable £12.99 (+£15 setup). However they deserve credit on the new freephone fax and telephone customer support numbers.

We should probably point out that despite the last sentence (depending on its context), there are several other ISPs in our unmetered list that allow non-BT line access.

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