February 27, 2002 - March 4, 2002
News - March 4,2002
New Microsoft Outlook/IE Exploit
By:mark.j @ 3:06:PM - Comments (4) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] The latest exploit to hit Microsoft's Internet Explorer (web browser) and Outlook (E-Mail) applications software has just been uncovered:
An attacker can run arbitrary commands on Windows machines with a simple bit of HTML, an Israeli security researcher has demonstrated. The exploit will work with IE, Outlook and OutlooK Express even if active scripting and ActiveX are disabled in the browser security settings.
The problem here is data binding, an old 'feature' going back to IE4 in which a data source object (DSO) is bound to HTML.
Using an XML data source, the researchers operating a Web site called GreyMagic Software came up with a simple example in which a few lines will cause Windows to launch the calculator application.
The Register's item is well worth a read, yet sadly no patch is available for the exploit. |
Thedotservice ISP Launch Special Offer
By:mark.j @ 9:29:AM - Comments (3) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Thedotservice.net (ex-TheDogmaGroup) ISP has launched a special limited offer package that'll only be available until the end of the week. The provider was kind enough to send us the following details:
Corporate Hosting
*Unlimited webspace hosted on Windows 2000/Unix
*ASP\CGI\PERL Support
*Unlimited Sub Directories
*Free Internet Access
*SSL Server
*Unlimited email boxes\unlimited addresses
*Webstatistics
*email routing
*Personal FTP Server
*Web Logs
*Front Page Extensions
*2 Domains registered.
*ISDN Access
*Cold Fusion Option
Worth £150
*0808 FRIACO Internet access
*Support for ISDN 64k , V90, K56Flex and 56K
*3:1 Contention ratio
*2 hour cut-off.
*Unlimited email addresses
*News Group access with over 90,000 + news groups.
*All website requests routed through dedicated access Servers
*0800 free phone technical Support
*Free .co.uk Domain name
*Control Panel
*Webstatistics
*email routing
*Personal FTP Server
For 14.99 GBP.
Sign up as soon as possible, as we are reaching our user threshhold very quickly.
Interestingly the unmetered aspect still states a concerning 3:1 contention and has done on their website for sometime despite correcting this to us in an E-Mail as being closer to 7:1, this was under their previous announcement last month.
However even 7:1 can be difficult for a provider charging £14.99 per month, but why inform us of the mistake and yet not correct the website? We’ll try to have this clarified. Here's the exact responce from the last time - quote:
"AND ALSO THE SPECIAL THEDOTSERVICE.NET BUSINESS ACCESS PACKAGE @ 14.99 HAS BEEN MIS- QOUTED ON THE WEBSITE AS 3:1 RATIO, WHEN IN REALITY IT IS CLOSER TO 7:1. WE APOLOGISE TO ANY CUSTOMER WHICH AS BEEN MISLED." |
BT Braces For £2Billion Hit
By:mark.j @ 9:17:AM - Comments (0) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Some of BTs prized European assets could be devalued by a further £2 Billion when the operator is forced to reassess their value:
According to a number of the Sunday papers fixed-line telecoms businesses in Germany and Holland - represented by Viag and Telfort respectively - are proving a drain on resources. BT paid $4.bn for Viag just under two years ago. Both businesses are thought to be loss-making.
Analysts believe a write-down of up to £2bn is the most likely outcome although some shareholders are thought to favour a mass sell-off of all continental European interests.
Meanwhile, the Independent on Sunday reports that new BT boss, Ben Verwaayen is preparing to shut down Affinitis, the company's services and infrastructure division.
It's not clear what would happen to the 6,000 staff employed by Affinitis if it were to be shut, more @ Silicon. |
News - March 3,2002
ISP Review Forum Maintenance
By:mark.j @ 11:17:AM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] UPDATE: Forum is now back online.
It's that time of the 'new' month again; we've taken the forums offline for an hour or so to re-build the forums database files and stat index.
At the time of posting we're already two thirds done, things should be back online within 20 minutes or so. Typically this just helps to keep everything clean and fresh, ready for the next major upgrade at the end of the month. |
ISP Review Weekly Update
By:mark.j @ 11:11:AM - - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] The weather feels warmer, X-Box is coming, Duke Nukem Forever will soon be shown, ADSL is affordable, 400Mhz PPC's approach, the latest CPU design from AMD is near and Jessica Alba is HOT, but that's enough about me =).
Unfortunately I've been ill this last week with Tonsillitis (spelled right?), which isn't pleasant. Never the less I pulled myself to the keyboard and made sure you all got the latest on the broadband price cuts from BT.
We'll probably be going somewhat quite on future ISPr changes for the next few weeks as time is to be spent actually WORKING on them. However the next MAJOR forum upgrade is currently at the top of the list and work will start soon.
You may also spot some sub-section revamps for the more general pages such as the 'About', 'Links' and 'ISP Complaints' sections. This is to help streamline the sites overall look and feel, although we may not get time to do it next week.
Finally the forum is having is monthly maintenance run; see the above news post for more. |
News - March 2,2002
TW blueyonder Service Announcement
By:mark.j @ 9:42:AM - Comments (1) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Customers of Telewest's ISP wing, blueyonder, may like to visit the providers latest general announcement/service update HERE.
Many issues are discussed, such as upgrades, broadband services, gaming and E-Mail etc. Well worth a read for those that use them. |
Controversial R.I.P Laws Delayed
By:mark.j @ 9:39:AM - Comments (0) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] It's been awhile since we heard much of anything on the controversial Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (R.I.P), which could soon be monitoring all of our online activities.
Interestingly the part most related to UK providers, forcing ISPs to store Internet traffic including visited web addresses and emails, is set to be delayed:
The delay is causing uncertainty among the UK's Internet Service Provider (ISP) industry over what technical measures they have to take to comply with the law, how much this will cost and how much the government is prepared to contribute. The law has been unpopular, receiving widespread criticism during its passage through parliament for its Big Brother-type measures; but ISPs say that now that it is unavoidable, they need guidance.
According to the Home Office Web site, the government had hoped to bring Chapter II, Part 1 of the Act into power before Easter, and a source close to the issue said that a date of 4 March had been planned.
But now, according to the Home Office, there is no chance of a March date. "We are aiming to implement this part of the Act as soon as possible after Easter," said a Home Office spokesperson. "We are continuing to work closely with service providers on the practical issues surrounding that part of the Act, and we can't comment further until we are sure there are no operational difficulties."
The ZDNet item goes on to state that it could be even longer than anticipated because the technical advisory board is yet to be formed. Typically this group is needed to help sort any of the remaining 'technical' issues and is not something that can be done quickly. |
News - March 1,2002
Telewest Tout Broadband Success
By:mark.j @ 3:46:PM - Comments (8) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Telewest was kind enough to send us the full press release for this morning’s announcement; we felt it'd be worth posting because the earlier item lacked some details and was business orientated; this is more for the consumer:
Telewest announces record-breaking broadband internet growth
Proof is out that broadband Britain is far from a new phenomenon, as Telewest Broadband announces today that it has installed more than 107,000 broadband (512kbps) internet customers.
Whilst BT has spent the last year dragging its feet over wholesale ADSL pricing, Telewest has experienced 1,135 per cent customer growth of its award-winning blueyonder broadband internet service.
Philip Jansen, managing director of Telewest Broadband's consumer division, said: "This time last year we were selling 380 broadband connections a day on average, but today we are averaging 900. British consumers have shown they simply want their broadband internet to be of fantastic value, quality and at warp speed.
We are delivering a full menu of broadband services and have single-handedly been giving consumers a taste of broadband Britain for the past two years.
With our new 1 megabit service launching later this year, we'll be serving up a full-fat soufflé, while BT learns to boil an egg."
People can register their interest in the 1 mbps cable broadband service, which will be twice as fast as residential ADSL services, at a new website link – http://www.blueyonder.co.uk/evenfaster
Blueyonder broadband presently gives consumers an always-on connection to the internet, nearly ten times faster than traditional dial-up access, for £25 per month. |
Freeserve Price Hike Details (Rumour)
By:mark.j @ 3:42:PM - Comments (9) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] We can't officially confirm this yet because Freeserve are keeping a tight lip on things, so take the following with a big grain of salt before digesting.
Today one of the employee's at the Dixon Stores Group (name confidential) confirmed that staff "were informed yesterday afternoon that Freeserve Anytime will increase to £13.99/month with effect from 5th April 2002.".
The rise is blamed on economic factors, which is something Freeserve has already 'officially' highlighted. This adds further weight to earlier rumours, although until something is issued to the public then it's best considered FALSE. |
V21 Launch New Unmetered Options
By:mark.j @ 3:36:PM - Comments (5) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] The unmetered dialup ISP V21 and its smaller spin-off Free24/7 have been suffering service problems for awhile now, however the provider is hoping to set things strait with their new packages:
V21 are pleased to announce the immediate availability of their new Internet access accounts! After much discussion and consideration for all types of Internet user we are sure that there will be a product to suit everyone within the new range. The launch of the new products is accompanied by a major upgrade to all of our services which are confident will also put an end to any evening connection problems that you may have experienced recently.
The account type that you currently subscribe to has therefore been discontinued and it will be necessary for you to choose one of the new options available to you. Full details of the new account types can be viewed at and we hope you will agree that the new accounts are competitively priced with an appropriate product to suit all types of Internet user. In order to select the account type all users who signed up prior to 1st March 2002 will need to log in to the private members area where you will see an option to select the type of account that you would like to transfer to. You will also see that it is possible to change your account type on a month by month basis to take into account your own varied use of your connection.
At your earliest convenience please therefore log in to the members area available at https://secure.v21.co.uk/members/login.asp . When logging in, remember that you only need to enter the last portion of your customer ID, there is no need to enter the first 4/5 digits (63401), followed by your normal dial-up password. Once logged in to the members area you will be greeted by a number of options including the facility to choose your preferred account product.
If you decide that none of the new products are suitable to you then there is also the option, within the members area, to cancel your account without any delay. As part of the revised Terms and Conditions we have abolished all notice periods on account cancellations so your account and your billing can be canceled by yourself within seconds. Monthly payment account holders should note that there is no facility to refund a part payment to you for unused service so if you use this facility we would recommend that you cancel your account at the end of your current month. V21 takes no responsibility for users who cancel their account at an inappropriate time as the timing is now under your own control.
Please ensure that you make your decision through the members area before the 15th March 2002. If you have not made a choice by that time then you will be automatically transferred to the account type that matches your current monthly payment. All Free24/7.net users will then be transferred to the new Free24/7 account whilst all V21.co.uk users will be transferred to the new V21Lite account. Remember! If this is not your preferred choice then you must make your decision through the members area before the 15th March 2002.
The launch of the new accounts takes place on 1st March 2002 and is accompanied by a change in the Terms and Conditions for all existing users. The new Terms and Conditions will therefore be effective for all existing customers from 15th February 2002 taking into account the required 14 day notice period. The new Terms and Conditions can be viewed at http://www.v21.co.uk/t+c/ and also at http://www.free24-7.net and your continued use of the service is deemed as your acceptance of them.
A special note for users who have paid for in excess of one month up front: Any unused whole months remaining on your subscription will be either refunded to you or used towards payment of your chosen new account. For example, if you have 3 months remaining on a V21 plan and choose the V21 Lite option we will credit your account with 3 months access to that plan. If you choose to cancel we will refund you the same amount. We are sure you will agree that the new accounts are great value and full of useful feature to help you enjoy your Internet experience with V21. We look forward to a long future with you and can assure you of our total commitment to your future connection requirements.
No doubt V21’s customers will be hoping for some improvements to the quality of service, although it’s not clear what their upgrade actually entailed (first paragraph). |
Intel Improve BTs Broadband Hardware
By:mark.j @ 3:25:PM - Comments (0) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] BTs Internet wing BTOpenworld is to get a boost from Intel (chip maker) with the release of a range of Ethernet R/ADSL modems and wireless LAN gateways for the service:
The products will offer improvements over Intel's Intel Pro/DSL 3220 USB modem, which BTopenworld is using with its self-installation business broadband product. BTopenworld recently announced its Plug & Go products, which eliminate the need for an engineer visit, as a way of reducing the price barrier for customers wishing to sign up for high-speed, always-on Internet access.
The products will be offered through BTopenworld, and, like the USB ADSL modem, won't be available through retail channels.
Intel and BTopenworld made the decision to stick with a USB self-installation product to keep installation as simple as possible, despite the business focus of Intel's offering.
Full details on the new hardware can be found in ZDNet's item. |
Broadband Blessed By GOD?
By:mark.j @ 3:19:PM - Comments (2) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] If you're one of the many people without broadband [*hand goes up*] then take heart because apparently god is on your side, even if he isn't helping to fund BTs rollout.
Dr Lavinia Byrne, Internet Consultant for Catholic Bishops’ Conference, said the following on the BBC's Today program..:
"Communication is part of the very nature of God".
She opened her address thus: "’BT Moves to Boost Broadband Demand,’ my newspaper told me yesterday morning. I’m afraid that if my broadband demand gets further boosted I shall burst. I put myself down in a queue for ADSL in June 2000 and have yet to have so much as a squeak of interest shown of my request."
We feel your pain Dr.Lavinia, unfortunately BT isn't likely to push coverage much faster than demand and economics can sustain and so many of those living outside of cities will have to wait. More @ The Register. |
BBC Producing Broadband Portal
By:mark.j @ 3:05:PM - Comments (3) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] The BBC's Internet wing, BBCi, is set to push broadband content with its new site. The portal will be specifically designed to take advantage of higher speed connections:
The broadband content section from BBCi will be available on the portals of operators such as ntl:home Broadband, Telewest Broadband blueyonder, Freeserve and AOL. It will initially contain short packages optimised for broadband connections from BBC News, BBC Sport and BBC Weather, although future plans may include expansion into the BBC's Entertainment shows.
The BBC said it was all about driving up broadband takeup - certainly a hot topic at the moment: "I believe that in creating the BBCi Broadband console, with best of breed content, the BBC can help create a truly broadband Britain", Angel Gambino from BBCi told the MG.
Content is often sighted as being the third most important issue after price and coverage, more @ netimperative.com . |
Evesham/e-Telecom Unmetered ISP
By:mark.j @ 10:01:AM - Comments (8) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] We're not entirely sure how new it is, although this is the first time we've seen e-Telecom. One of our readers (Dan) was kind enough to share their address as follows:
http://www.registerwithetelecom.com
It seems to be a very basic service, although does offer two 24/7 unmetered dialup options for £9.99 and £12.99 per month. There's very little in the way of detail, yet BT voice calls can be discounted on the £12.99 option.
Take note that ISPs charging under £14.99 per month for 24/7 services have a tendency to get problems, some more so than others. Not to mention that just reading the Terms & Conditions could take up much of your day =). |
PlusNet Turns 5 (Years Old)
By:mark.j @ 9:30:AM - Comments (0) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] One of the UKs most popular unmetered and broadband ISPs, PlusNet, has today officially turned 5. The group responsible for spawning ISP such as CharityDays, Force9 and Free-Online has issued the following press release:
PlusNet, the Sheffield based ISP, are 5 years old today!
Their first dialup service was launched on a beta-trial basis in early 1997, and was officially launched on March 1st 1997.
"The last five years have had their fair share of "downs", but a load of "ups". We'd like to think that through the majority of the last 5 years, we have led the way in terms of pricing and value-added services development," said PlusNet's Technical Director, Alistair Wyse. "Generating significant profits from our second year onwards and playing a key role in the evolution of our industry, has been highly rewarding. The success of which is owed to the efforts of our co-workers and the loyalty of our customers, all of whom cannot be thanked enough."
To coincide with the celebration of this event, PlusNet will be launching its Customer Viewable Webcams, which promise to give a "unique" insight into PlusNet's day-to-day life. "There was, of course, no alternative than to have a proper 5-year-olds party, so we will of course be having Jelly and Ice cream, with much fun and frolicking!" added Wyse.
PlusNet invite you to join the party, or at least have a good laugh at their expense, at http://portal.plus.net/webcams
Wyse continued, "Given the nature of the Internet industry, I'm particularly proud to confirm that our first ever paying customer is still with us to this day. In order to mark this celebration, we have granted him free Internet access for a year."
Although nervous of what staff may inflict upon the Management at PlusNet today, Wyse confidently exclaimed, "Here's looking forwards to the next five years of successful Internet Service Provision!"
While we dare not speculate on what kind of frolicking PlusNet’s staff will be getting up to, we will wish them a happy 5th in a market where you’re doing well if you make it past 1 =)! |
Virus Warning - Britney.chm
By:mark.j @ 9:22:AM - Comments (6) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Remember those E-Mail worms (Viruses) that came under the disguise of promoting pics of Jennifer Lopez or Anna Kournikova? Now the same thing has happened to Britney Spears thanks to the 'Britney.chm' E-Mail virus:
Arriving as a Visual Basic Script (VBS) called 'Britney.chm', once executed the malicious file even asks users to "Enable ActiveX to see Britny (sic) Pictures".
A machine that has ActiveX running will promptly be infected and the message will be sent on to all addresses in the Outlook address book.
The worm is also capable of distributing itself via Internet Relay Chat (IRC).
Apparently the Virus is rather crude in construction and most AV (Anti-Virus) firms have already issued an update to protect against it. More @ VNUNet. |
Telewest Push Government - Broadband
By:mark.j @ 9:18:AM - Comments (0) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] If the government won't help fund broadband directly then Telewest is hoping that they'd at least consider developing special broadband versions of existing websites and services etc.:
Giving evidence to the select committee of culture, media and sport on Tuesday, Telewest chief executive Adam Singer explained that many existing government services could be made appealing to users of high-speed Internet products.
Singer claimed that the government fails to give sufficient emphasis to broadband. "Broadband is about much more than just video," Singer said. "It has great potential in many areas -- health, for example. It lets you take x-rays to doctors, rather than taking doctors to x-rays as we do today."
The education sector could also benefit. "With broadband you can also take those 19th century institutions, the museums, and make them available to thousands of primary schools via a high-speed link," added Singer.
ZDNet's item shows some very good points coming from Telewest, faster connections could really improve the interactive and services element of some websites. |
Telewest Broadband & Losses
By:mark.j @ 9:12:AM - Comments (0) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] The cable operator Telewest has reported record earnings for the fourth quarter of 2001 last year along with a sharp rise in the take-up of its blueyonder broadband cable modem services. However problems remain:
But it recorded an impairment charge of £1.13bn on the value of its Flextech TV business and reported that net debt was at £5.12bn at the end of 2001.
Concerns have been raised that Telewest faces a funding gap, but the company said its capital expenditure would fall faster this year than previously indicated.
It reported earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of £94m in the fourth quarter, up from £83m in Q3. Revenues for the year were up 17 per cent on 2000, rising to £1.32bn from £1.13bn.
The FT Investor item also reports that Telewest’s broadband service now has 107,000 subscribers, which is a growth of 60% during December 2001! |
Demon Drop Wires-Only DSL Prices
By:mark.j @ 9:05:AM - Comments (0) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Demon Internet has become the latest in a long line of ISPs since the beginning of this week to drop their broadband R/ADSL prices (thanks Chris):
Demon Slashes The Price Of ADSL
THUS plc today announced that it is launching a new DSL product, Demon
Express Solo on March 18 2002, slashing the price of its ADSL offering. The new self-install product, being released under the Demon brand, will cost customers only £28.99 per month with a £50 set up charge including VAT.
Taking advantage of the BT price cuts announced recently, Demon Express Solo will allow customers to have always-on access to the Internet at an affordable price. By installing their own USB DSL modem and telephone socket filters, Demon Express Solo customers will receive a full Internet access service with unlimited email addresses, and up to 512Kb downstream bandwidth and 256Kb upstream.
THUS, which already has the largest base of business ADSL customers after BT, offers a range of DSL products to suit all users - from SoHo (Small office Home office) users to small businesses through to large enterprises who want to take advantage of the DSL capabilities.
Also being relaunched is the Demon Express service which not only takes control of the installation but will also include a range of enhanced Internet services giving businesses added security.
Announcing the new products, Bill Allan, Chief Executive, THUS plc said: "BT's announcement yesterday that it was cutting the cost of DSL wholesale was a bold move and has enabled us to offer a compelling product to our customers. We applaud BT's initiative yesterday and now encourage BT to be equally aggressive in unbundling the local loop to enable a greater range of services to be offered to 'Broadband Britain'."
So far somewhere between 10 and 20% of ISPs offering broadband R/ADSL residential services have dropped prices, more will follow as 1st April 2002 approaches. |
News - February 28,2002
SniffOut ISP Problems - Update No.2
By:mark.j @ 3:41:PM - Comments (1) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Following on from yesterdays item in which we speculated on how long it'd be before the troubled ISP would be back to normal, today one of our readers (Terry) has had the following update sent to him:
Apologies for problem affecting your account.
We still have concerns regarding your dial-in access. Although this problem now only directly affects a very small percentage of our customers, restoring the connection without further remedial work could have potential integrity implications for all our users. All efforts are being directed towards resolving this as a matter of urgency, but the nature of the operations means that we cannot give a precise or definitive timetable for the resumption of your service.
In the light of this, we naturally are not claiming subscriptions falling due.
As the terms of the FuturePay Agreement do not permit any suspension or change in payment we are cancelling each Agreement to prevent any processing.
We shall be inviting you to make the adjusted subscription payment, and set up a new FuturePay Agreement, immediately the current system problems affecting your connection are fully resolved.
Unfortunately the new statement doesn't really help and only serve's to confuse matters for those less familiar with SniffOut's payment system.
In effect it means that anybody affect by the problems over the last month won't be billed, but they'll have to re-enter their payment details again at some point in the future. It's a rather silly position for an otherwise respected ISP to find itself in; such is often the trouble with third-party billing services. |
Broadband Needs Adequate Investment
By:mark.j @ 3:29:PM - Comments (0) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] While BTs recent cuts to the cost of R/ADSL services has improved broadband as a whole, business leaders have warned that the technology still lacks adequate investment on a national scale:
One major manufacturer, Unilever, this week told Computing that bandwidth to its Chester datacentre will be inadequate when thecompany expands next year. It will be forced to consider siting future centre abroad or in the overcrowded high connectivity-high price south east.
Unilever's European datacentre is an indication of the dangers of a patchy nationalinfrastructure.
It is connected to Chester's high-speed backbone using leased lines but next year it will need even more bandwidth and may have to bemoved nearer to broadband hubs in London or mainland Europe, says global infrastructure vice president Lars Stork.
The VNUNet item clearly shows that forcing our own operators to go outside the UK could hamper competition. Now that prices are lower we'd hope to see improved coverage, but the networks also need maintenance and support to cope. |
Long URLs Confuse UK Surfers
By:mark.j @ 3:21:PM - Comments (3) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] It's an unremarkable subject since you'd think it only logical that long or unusual website addresses (URLs) would be harder to remember, a new survey from AOL tends to agree:
A NOP survey found 80% of weekly web users struggle to find a website the first time they try. One in 10 require more than five attempts.
The research found some regional differences in remembering URLs - with Yorkshire surfers finding them particularly tricky.
The Ananova item reports that the national average is 2.7 attempts. |
EasyNet Chop 90 Jobs - Focus On xDSL
By:mark.j @ 3:17:PM - Comments (0) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] The popular UK networking and ISP group, EasyNet, has taken the decision to cut 10% of its workforce (90 jobs) in the UK to save £10 Million:
Despite today’s announcement the company is upbeat about the rest of the year. It claims that DSL is the "cornerstone" for its strategy; it added more than 9,000 new broadband connections last year.
This led to a threefold increase in monthly revenues from DSL – up from £3.3 million in January 2001 to £9.6 million a month by December 2001.
And as one of the few remaining companies still involved in local loop unbundling, EasyNet says it is "already attracting customers" and has so far unbundled more than 160 lines from nine exchanges.
It’s interesting to compare the previous news item with this one, EasyNet clearly has the lion’s share of local loop unbundling (LLU) right now. We’d guess the rest are controlled by Bulldog among one or two other operators. More @ The Register. |
200 LLU Exchanges Enabled
By:mark.j @ 3:10:PM - Comments (4) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Prepare to be amazed! Well no because BT has confirmed that 'roughly' 200 exchanges have now been unlocked for the process of local loop unbundling (LLU).
It's hardly anything to shout about when you consider that somewhere around 7,800 exchanges are still controlled by BT. We guess it's more than 150 =). |
CharityDays Introduce xDSL Price Cuts
By:mark.j @ 9:28:AM - Comments (2) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] The latest ISP to announce a cut in the cost of broadband R/ADSL price is PlusNet alternative CharityDays, which will give some of its income to charity:
CharityDays home wires only £27.99 Inc Vat and donates £3 per month to Charity
CharityDays.net, the ISP that donates 60% of its revenue to UK charities, has reacted to yesterday’s BT price slash with an extremely competitive pricing structure.
The new self-install ADSL home account will retail at £27.99 per month inclusive of VAT and will include a £3 per month donation to the users nominated charity.
Nick Aldrich, commercial director commented, “Obviously we are as delighted as everyone else is at the recent price announcement and we made a definitive decision to make the cost to the consumer as low as possible but without effecting the policy of donating the maximum amount of money to charity. At £27.99 inc vat the user gets a fantastic 512k always on product with 250 meg of web space, unlimited pop3 e-mail addresses, static IP, Fax to e-mail and a host of other features as well as donating £3 per month to charity. All this at a price several pounds a month cheaper than the main consumer ISP’s. We think we will be on to a winner at this price.”
CharityDays new price structure takes effect from 1st April 2002. Announcements to business packages will be announced shortly. More information available at http://www.charitydays.net |
UK Websites & Accessibility Rules
By:mark.j @ 9:23:AM - Comments (0) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Apparently a change to the Disability Discrimination Act (1995) is causing some concern among UK websites providing online services (not specific):
Until now there has been ambiguity over the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, because the wording of the Act does not specifically mention Web services. The Code of Practice makes it clear, however, that any company providing services through a Web site has the same responsibilities as a company providing services any other way. "An airline company provides a flight reservation and booking service to the public on its Web site," said the Code. "This is a provision of a service and is subject to the Act."
The trouble is, though, that the Code of Practice does not specify how a Web site should be made accessible. Guidelines for Web site accessibility are provided by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), and suggest measures such as providing alternative text for graphics, but the Code of Practice does not specifically refer to the W3C guide.
ZDNet highlights an issue that's much more difficult to design a solution for; it's not as simple as building a wheelchair ramp for shop access. Fair enough for government sites, but the act seems a little too broad in its wording, hence part of the problem. |
UK Online Gains RNIB Award
By:mark.j @ 9:14:AM - Comments (0) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] The Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB) has awarded the government run UK Online site due to its suitability for partially sighted visitors:
E-envoy Andrew Pinder said in a statement: "New technology has the potential to revolutionise the lives of blind and partially sighted people, so it is important that websites are designed with their needs in mind... It sets an example that I hope other major public bodies and private companies will decide to follow."
The Silicon item notes that only three other sites hold the award. |
Update 2 - More R/ADSL Price Cuts
By:mark.j @ 9:10:AM - Comments (0) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] ADSLGuide has word that yet another two ISPs offering broadband residential R/ADSL services have cut their prices.
Timewarp:
Wires-Only Home500 - £45 +vat Setup / £29.75 +vat PM
Custom Access
SOHO500 - £27.50 +vat PM |
News - February 27,2002
Bulldog Calls For LLU Cost Cut
By:mark.j @ 3:28:PM - Comments (4) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Following BT Wholesale's recent announcement regarding the reduction in the cost of xDSL services, Bulldog Communications has predictably called for a cut in the cost of LLU to stop BTs move being anti-competitive:
Bulldog warned that unless there were "equally aggressive cuts in wholesale costs for LLU operators like Bulldog, it is unlikely that there will be any wholesale DSL competition".
"The result would mean no choice, no differentiation in service offerings, and further monopolistic control of the broadband DSL market by BT. The best long term interests of 'Broadband Britain' will not be served if there is only one provider of DSL
broadband services," said Bulldog in a statement.
It’s already approached telecoms regulator, Oftel, for assurances that LLU costs will also fall so that it can offer an alternative to BT’s wholesale DSL service.
The Register goes on to show that Oftel also believe BT should be able to cut the cost of Local Loop Unbundling, after all, they did it for their own xDSL lines, why not LLU? |
Freeserve ISP Raise Unmetered Price?
By:mark.j @ 3:21:PM - Comments (5) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Freeserve has already warned that prices for its unmetered dialup service could climb sometime during 2002, apparently the announcement could now come as soon as next week!:
We’ve received an anonymous tip-off that from next week the price of Freeserve’s flat rate dial-up service will increase by £1 to £13.99 a month.
Of course, not wishing to print any old rumour we contacted Freeserve for their response.
We were sent this: "If ever we decide to adjust our prices - up, down, sideways, back to front, in yen, Euros or dollars - our customers will know about it from us, and that's the way it should be."
This doesn't surprise us because the economics have been unstable since day one; even £12.99 is difficult for an ISP that tolerates slightly above average usage.
Unfortunately we still get a lot of complaints about Freeserve (not surprising, they've very big) and so no doubt some people will be expecting improved services, we can only hope. More @ The Register. |
Breathe ISP Helps British Soldiers
By:mark.j @ 3:11:PM - Comments (0) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] It's been sometime since we last heard from the now Affinity owned ISP Breathe, yet today it has been announced that the armed forces magazine 'Soldier' has selected them to be their provider:
The British Army’s magazine, originally founded by Field Marshall Montgomery in 1945, will promote the ISP to its readership, currently in excess of 250,000.
“The use of the internet for communications between the troops and their families when soldiers serve on operations will help maintain morale,” said Soldier’s managing editor Chris Horrocks.
“The selection of breathe by Soldier is testament to the range of services offered by the portal, as well as the reliability of the brand.”
They probably wouldn’t be talking about ‘reliability of the brand’ just over a year ago, but then perhaps they mean Affinity (owners)? The netimperative.com item reports that standard 0845 and unmetered (£8.99 or £12.99 PM) options will be available and complemented by web based E-Mail and SMS services. |
BTOpenworlds New xDSL Prices
By:mark.j @ 2:50:PM - Comments (12) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] For the first time since they first started operating as a broadband ISP during late 2000, BTOpenworld have cut the cost of their residential R/ADSL services. We've pasted the first half of the press release below:
BTOPENWORLD CUTS BROADBAND PRICES AND ANNOUNCES SPECIAL OFFER FOR LAUNCH OF PLUG & GO
BTopenworld, BT's mass market Internet Service Provider, today announced major cuts to broadband prices, plus plans to launch a self install product with a special offer of free line activation.
From April 1 the price of broadband will fall from £39.99 a month to just £29.99 a month for existing Home 500 and Business 500 customers.
BTopenworld is also cutting the rental charges for its Ethernet products by £20 a month for Business 500PLUS, and £10 a month for the 1000PLUS and 2000PLUS products.(For full price details see attached sheet)
Plug & Go, the new self-install product, will be available from March 5, with a special offer to waive the £65 activation charge for orders received up to May 31, making broadband prices even lower. Plug & Go monthly rental will be £29.99 and there will be a one off equipment charge of £85. |
Brief SniffOut ISP Update
By:mark.j @ 9:17:AM - Comments (0) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] SniffOut, the unmetered ISP that has been almost totally offline since last week, could return to normal service today or tomorrow. The service had been expected to resurface by this morning, yet failed to do so and one reader was able to get the following update:
Apologies for problem.
Based on current progress, and subject to no unexpected pitfalls, we would expect return to normal service towards middle of this week.
The middle of this week is today and so we can only hope things are fixed before tomorrow. |
NTL Comments On BTs xDSL Cuts
By:mark.j @ 9:09:AM - Comments (8) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Following on from Telewest yesterday, today the UKs largest cable operator NTL also gave some feedback on how they saw BTs latest cut in the cost of R/ADSL broadband.
NTLs UK MD Stephen Carter states that BT: "finally found the accelerator in joining broadband Britain". |
Businesses Happy With BTs xDSL
By:mark.j @ 9:06:AM - Comments (2) - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] It's important to note that residential (home) R/ADSL users aren't going to be the only ones to see cheaper broadband, businesses offers also gained a £20 per month reduction across the board:
Business broadband packages offer a better contention ratio -- the number of customers sharing a connection at the local exchange -- than a home user package. This means that businesses can benefit from better performance at times of peak demand. Most business offerings also generally provide higher data transfer rates, and additional services such as a fixed IP address.
The price that ISPs pay BT for the self-installation entry-level IPStream Office 500 product, which offers speeds of up to 500kbps, will fall from £60 per month to £40 per month.
The monthly cost of the IPStream Office 1000 and IPStream Office 2000 products will also fall by £20, to £60 and £80 respectively.
The ZDNet item also goes on to highlight some of the changes to the Wires-Only versions of R/ADSL broadband. Early feedback appears to be largely positive. |
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