September 6, 2002 - September 11, 2002
News - September 11,2002
UKMessenger Client Finally Available
By:mark.j @ 2:33:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Following a slight delay, the recently announced UK Instant Messaging client, UKMessenger, is now apparently available and ready for download.
http://www.ukmessenger.com |
BT Announces Broadband SDSL Trial
By:mark.j @ 2:30:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Broadband symmetric digital subscriber line (SDSL) technologies have had a troubled history with BT, yet the operator has chosen today to officially announce their latest trial:
BT TRIAL PROMISES FAST UPLOAD SPEEDS FROM NEW BROADBAND SERVICE
BT today announced plans to trial a high speed service which will deliver fast data upload and download speeds and widen the range of broadband solutions available to businesses.
The trial due to start next month is based on SDSL (symmetric digital subscriber line) technology which transforms a copper telephone line into a high speed data connection which will upload and download data at the same speeds simultaneously.
SDSL services delivered over BT's broadband network will make new applications available to businesses including videoconferencing and teleworking. Small companies in the new media and creative industries who need to transfer large multimedia files to and from clients and websites are among those expect to benefit from SDSL services.
BT Wholesale director broadband, Bruce Stanford, said: "During the past year we have made great advances in developing and delivering broadband services to the consumer and business markets primarily via ADSL (asymmetric digital subscriber line). As the awareness of the benefits of broadband to business has widened and the market has matured, this is the right time to progress a trial to develop these SDSL products for business users and further expand the market."
BT Wholesale will work with the service providers selected for the trial and their range of small to medium enterprise (SME) and corporate customers to ensure the products are used to their widest potential. Such uses will include internet access, data transfer, audio and video-conferencing, wide area networking, remote database access and teleworking.
Stanford added: "By working closely with the service providers and their customers we can make sure we meet their requirements. At the same time we will make sure we have robust business systems in place to provide our customers with the best customer service possible."
BT Wholesale aims to involve up to 20 service providers and telecommunications operators in the six month trial starting next month. The trial will start with SDSL services delivered through 20 exchanges in London. In December BT Wholesale intends to extend the trial to a total of up to 50 exchanges including locations in Manchester and Yorkshire.
This trial complements the SDSL trial announced in June with broadband service provider, Bulldog, to deliver a combination of multiple voice channels and IP connectivity for SMEs in London.
The trial announced today will test two SDSL products giving broadband access speeds up to 2Mbit/s in both directions - upstream and downstream - over a dedicated copper line. Subject to the outcome of the trial, BT Wholesale plans a wider launch of the SDSL products in mid 2003 across the UK.
The two products involved in the trial are:
BT IPStream Symmetric - a one-to-many broadband service that enables service providers to develop digital content and application packages and deliver them to their customers via an IP based data network. The service is ideal for fast e-mail and file transfer in both directions, wide area networking (WAN) and website hosting giving users business class connectivity to their service provider with higher upstream data rates than designed for ADSL.
BT DataStream Symmetric - aimed at service providers, and other telecommunications operators to be sold on to the SME and corporate business markets. The service would support wide area networking (WAN), file transfer, video conferencing, virtual private networks (VPN), voice over DSL services and other data transport applications requiring a symmetric data traffic flow.
Perhaps BT will actually stick with SDSL this time, perhaps. |
Mozilla Web Browser v1.0.1 Update
By:mark.j @ 2:01:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] If you've gone back to Mozilla v1 after having been disappointed with the v1.1 bleeding edge release, then you may like to know about the new minor v1.0.1 update:
Mozilla 1.0.1 contains over 650 bugfixes including approximately 25 security fixes, and over 130 stability and dataloss fixes. In addition to these important security and crash fixes, 1.0.1 has many more fixes for standards support, UI correctness and polish, performance, and site compatibility.
Typically v1.1 already has these fixes, however some people were disappointed with the new code, hence the minor update for v1 after the release of v1.1. Download it HERE.
For those that missed it, Microsoft also issued Service Pack 1 for Internet Explorer v6 yesterday and it’s highly suggested you update, mainly for security. |
UK 3G Network Sharing Approved
By:mark.j @ 1:30:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Having already done so in Germany last month, yesterday the European Commission (EC) gave permission for mm02 (BT) and T-Mobile to share networks in the UK:
Other telecommunication companies have one month to comment on the UK decision before it becomes final.
T-Mobile, a unit of German phone giant Deutsche Telekom, and mmO2, a spin off of British Telecommunications, have agreed to share base stations and antennae and provide one another with national roaming facilities.
The agreements also foresee sharing of frequencies on the radio access network in the two countries but the Commission said it would delay ruling on this aspect until the operators decide whether or not to adopt this closer cooperation.
The CW360 item reports that the agreement doesn't relate to the 3G services that will be offered to consumers, in that area both parties must remain entirely independent of each other. |
Faster Surfing Via Compression
By:mark.j @ 1:12:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] There's nothing new about using compression to speed up an Internet connection, especially HTML pages (easily compressed), in fact many of you reading this could be using some form of it without even being aware.
However the emergence of broadband technologies has left the 'third-party' compression industry being largely overlooked, but perhaps not for much longer:
Such Web performance enhancements are being offered to individual consumers by services such as Propel Accelerator for personal computers, BlueKite in mobile computers and Bitstream's ThunderHawk for handheld computers and eventually mobile phones.
Accelerator products or services share some methods, while differing in others. Propel Accelerator claims to use at least 100 technical tricks to achieve speeds of two-and-one-half to five times faster than standard dial-up.
Other tools work to compress software code, graphics, advertisements, even typefaces, many times over. Companies often install so-called proxy servers at strategic points around the Internet to accelerate their customers' traffic.
To be honest, unless compression can download an already fully compressed file (e.g. .ZIP) at a much faster speed, which is unlikely, then there's very little point in bothering with any of this.
Most good quality ISPs support server side compression and the vast majority of modern modem/ISDN etc. adaptors also have their own hardware methods; you're simply not going to see a vast improvement using other applications. More @ ZDNet. |
BT Rules Out Broadband Price Cuts
By:mark.j @ 9:24:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Speaking in defence of some recent comments made by the head of Ofcom, whom supports the operators’ break-up, BT chief executive Ben Verwaayen claims not to be worried.
Verwaayen insisted that he is not concerned about the comments and believes the market is big enough for BT Retail and BTOpenworld to coexist; he also ruled out any further broadband ADSL price cuts:
Verwaayen said that BT's wholesale broadband prices were already low enough to support a successful broadband market in the UK. "Price is not a major issue. If you look across the European Union, our broadband prices are pretty good already," Verwaayen said.
Angus Porter, managing director of BT Retail, was quoted this week speculating that BTopenworld -- currently BT's only broadband ISP -- might be forced to merge with BT Retail if BT Broadband is a big success.
Verwaayen insisted that "the market will decide" whether BTopenworld and BT Retail can both offer broadband -- something that he believes makes sense. Some in the industry have suggested it is daft for BT to own two competing broadband service providers, but according to Verwaayen this is not a problem.
ZDNet reports an optimistic Verwaayen as saying that customer service and broadband are currently the two most important issues for BT. |
AOL UK ISP Recruits Extra Staff
By:mark.j @ 9:11:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] It's being reported that unlike most other ISPs, AOL UK is set to recruit new staff in Waterford, creating 125 new jobs and giving the company 650 workers in its Southeast Ireland facility:
The new jobs will be primarily in the technical support, sales and customer services areas and the expansion makes the Waterford call centre AOL's largest facility in Europe. AOL UK's Waterford call centre opened in September 1998 with 25 employees.
More @ ElectricNews. |
BT Sidelines Hyperlink Patent Case
By:mark.j @ 9:03:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Having recently lost their case to win the patent for Internet Hyperlinks, BT has today stepped down from their high horse and put the issue out of its priority list, at least for now:
BT CEO Ben Verwaayen said that the matter was "not on [his] priority list at all".
Is this an indication that BT will let this matter go without a fight? Perhaps. Perhaps not. The impression, though, is that BT will probably walk away from this and call it quits.
Few seriously believed that BT could win and thankfully they were right, although The Register does mention that an official announcement should arrive within the next few weeks. |
UK ADSL Hopefuls Face Long Delay
By:mark.j @ 9:00:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] While BTWholesale has now informed ISPs of the procedure for converting Todmorden pre-registrations into advance orders and set a deadline of 22nd October 2002 (needs 75% confirmed orders), others aren't so lucky.
It still looks as if only a handful of the 71,000 people whom have registered an interest in ADSL as part of BT's pre-registration scheme will see broadband before Christmas:
Of the thousands of BT local telephone exchanges currently lacking broadband internet capabilities, just a few are set to be upgraded before the end of the year.
BT began its registration scheme in July. It required between 200 and 700 users to state in advance that they want broadband before it would agree to invest in their area.
The scheme covers 595 exchanges, with another 231 due to be added at a later date. But only five exchanges look likely to get broadband from the 71,000 registrations taken.
None of this is a surprise and the VNUNet item mentions that just 20 of the many listed exchanges look feasible for meeting their targets by the end of this year, which is very slow progress.
Many now believe that BT is taking the economically safe rout and could technically issue smaller targets if they had the will to do so, the current triggers are believed to be set too high even for BT. |
BTO Has ASA Slap ISP Freeserve
By:mark.j @ 8:49:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has slapped Freeserve after rival ISP BTOpenworld complained that their unmetered dialup advertising offered something Freeserve couldn't deliver:
Complaint:
BT Openworld objected to a leaflet, for an Internet Service Provider, headed "win £100,000 and be free to blow it on what you want". The leaflet claimed "... With Freeserve AnyTime, you'll have the freedom to go onto the Internet any time of day and night for as long as you like ...". The complainants challenged the claim because Freeserve's terms and conditions stated "... We reserve the right to disconnect you after two hours continuous use and/or after 10 minutes of inactivity during connection ...".
Adjudication:
Complaint upheld
The advertisers believed the claim was true because customers were able to access the Internet whenever they wanted. They said that network management controls affected how long customers could stay online and the existence of those controls was stated in clear font in the leaflet. The Authority noted customers could access the advertisers' service whenever they wanted and that the leaflet stated that network management controls existed.
It considered, however, that the claim "... for as long as you like ..." implied customers could access the service for as long as they wanted in any one on-line session. The Authority was concerned that that implication was contradicted by the claim in the terms and conditions that said "... We reserve the right to disconnect you after two hours of continuous use and/or after 10 minutes of inactivity during connection ..." and by the existence of network management controls.
Because of that contradiction, the Authority concluded the advertisement was misleading and told the advertisers to remove the words "... for as long as you like ..." from the claim.
Some of you may remember us complaining about this phrase some weeks back and suggesting it be taken up with the ASA, thankfully BTOpenworld were listening =). |
News - September 10,2002
DTI – UK Broadband CAN Catch Up
By:mark.j @ 2:43:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] The Department of Trade and Industry has hit back at yesterdays EU Nielsen/NetRatings report, which showed the UK as lagging behind other EU countries with broadband, claiming we can still catch up:
"With strong competition between cable operators and BT and at retail level in reselling ADSL, companies are signing up 20,000 new customers each week, a greater rate than take-up of mobile phones at an equivalent stage," said a spokesperson for the DTI.
Officials admit that the UK was slower than its European neighbours to launch broadband. But they say that pressure from government to ensure competition would ultimately benefit consumers.
"The UK has stronger competition than other countries such as Germany and Italy where, yes, broadband take-up is higher at the moment, but over 90% is provided by one operator. This means prices in the UK are coming down while on the continent many are rising," the spokesperson said.
The BBC News item shows some promise, although the original reports authors still claim that recent uptake increases have hardly been big enough to help the government meet its ridiculous 2005 targets. |
NTL Prepares Standalone Broadband
By:mark.j @ 2:32:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Once out of the U.S. bankruptcy court, the UKs largest cable operator, NTL, will start offering a standalone broadband Cable Modem Internet access service (no extra phone or TV services required).
NTL currently sells broadband access to customers paying for telephone and cable TV as well. But sources said the company would now go after homes near its network that subscribed to rivals such as BSkyB's market-leading Sky Digital.
NTL, which collapsed into bankruptcy protection after running out of money to service its debt, aims to attract new subscribers with its broadband offering and then promote its other services on top of that, the sources said.
The standalone broadband service from NTL, which is due to emerge from bankruptcy in early October, will be available by the end of September, sources said. |
THUS Support Oftels New Proposals
By:mark.j @ 2:25:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] THUS Telecom has today furnished us with a new press release highlighting their support for Oftels recently announced proposals for better broadband leased line service quality and pricing:
Leading telecommunications and Internet services provider, THUS Group plc (THUS), today welcomed OFTEL's proposals for a new pricing regime for partial private circuits (PPCs). If you would like any further information or photography, please contact me on 020 7608 4626.
THUS Chief Operating Officer, Phil Male, commented: "These latest proposals provide yet more evidence to support our view that BT has continued to use its monopoly position to distort the market to the detriment of end users and other operators. Despite assurances from BT to the contrary OFTEL's proposals suggest BT has been acting anti-competitively again, using its dominance of the market to overcharge THUS and other operators. Prices for all end users, including BT's own customers, are likely to have been inflated as a result.
When the regulator finds evidence supporting a reduction in connection charges for PPCs of 50 per cent, and rental charges by 30 per cent, it is clear that the UK market is not ready for a relaxation in the regulatory regime. If anything the regulator's arm ought to be strengthened.
THUS will be responding in detail to the proposals in due course and will watch with interest, BT's own reaction. We encourage the regulator to bring the consultation period to a speedy conclusion without any watering down of the proposals." |
Hutchison3G Touts Cheap Voice Calls
By:mark.j @ 1:22:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Many fear that the introduction of future 3G (UTMS) broadband wireless mobile phone services could also raise the cost of line rental and or normal voice calls.
Thankfully the UKs first 3G only operator, Hutchison3G, has today stated its intention to make cheap flat-rate voice calls the main bulk of its challenge to established operators:
According to the Financial Times, Hutchison 3G UK Holdings Ltd, likely to be Hutchison Whampoa Ltd's most important European operating unit, will "significantly undercut" its rivals' voice tariffs as a means of building an early subscriber base, and will probably adopt a similar tactic in its other European operations in Sweden, Austria, Italy, Denmark and Israel.
Although Hutchison UK spokespersons were unavailable for comment yesterday, some have hinted in the past that the company's early market forays would owe more to aggressive marketing of traditional wireless services, than to heavy selling of the advanced data services which 3G is normally associated with.
Certainly, in markets like the UK, where Hutchison has no existing services but the biggest tranche of 3G spectrum, a straightforward strategy of winning market share through price cutting may pay better early dividends than attempting to educate users about new services.
Unfortunately 'cheap' is often an all too relative term in the mobile industry, thus we'll need to see what 'cheap' actually is before making any further excitable judgements. More @ The Register. |
New Broadband Wireless Standard
By:mark.j @ 1:16:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] The latest broadband wireless LAN standard-to-be, 802.11g, has had its initial draft design passed by the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE).
802.11g should be finalised by May 2003, providing it can complete a further set of tests:
The 802.11g standard is part of the thicket of wireless networking standards. The most popular is Wi-Fi, or 802.11b, which has been installed in 15 million to 18 million homes and offices worldwide. The networks provide wireless Internet access within a radius of about 300 feet of an access point.
The 802.11g network is much faster, although it operates in the same radio frequency as Wi-Fi. Equipment using 802.11g can download files or access the Web at 54 megabits per second, compared with Wi-Fi's rate of 11 megabits per second. It is also more secure than Wi-Fi and is compatible with existing Wi-Fi networks, meaning customers could use an 802.11g card to access a Wi-Fi access point.
Although 802.11g hasn't been officially approved by the IEEE, equipment makers could announce 802.11g products as early as next month, according to Navin Sabharwal, a wireless networking analyst at ABI Research.
More @ Silicon. |
NTLs Official 600Kbps Broadband News
By:mark.j @ 1:10:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] We've already reported on this before (last week); however one of our readers (Jeff) noted that the official announcement is now on NTL:
On 12th September, ntl:home will be enhancing its consumer Internet products in an attempt to leave competitors ADSL and dial-up product offerings further behind. A number of improvements to the current package have been confirmed by ntl:home´s broadband team today:
• Existing 512Kbps Broadband products upgraded to 600Kbps for all customers
• Increase in e-mail addresses to 15 mailboxes (Broadband and Dial-Up customers)
• Increase in webspace to 55MB (Broadband and Dial-Up customers)
Installation for new customers on the 600Kbps Broadband service will be free until the end of 2002, a saving of £75.
For existing customers, the changes will apply automatically on 12th September. All customers will have the extra email and webspace become available to them automatically too.
There is no extra charge for the improved features. |
BTs Official Todmorden Announcement
By:mark.j @ 1:06:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] BT has today issued their official press release for the Todmorden exchange, which yesterday became the first to reach the operators demand trigger level for a broadband ADSL upgrade:
BT ANNOUNCES FIRST EXCHANGE TO REACH DEMAND TRIGGER LEVEL FOR BROADBAND UPGRADE
BT today announced demand for ADSL had hit the target leading to upgrading the first exchange under its broadband registration scheme.
The exchange, at Todmorden in West Yorkshire, is the first exchange to hit the trigger level set in a new scheme launched 10 weeks ago to stimulate broadband demand. Exchanges at Penn in Buckinghamshire, Merthyr Tydfil, Inverness, Bishops Waltham in Hampshire and Irby on the Wirral are following hard on its heels.
Since the registration scheme was launched on July 1, more than 71,000 individual registrations of demand for broadband have been logged by service providers and demand at 17 exchanges now exceeds 50 per cent of the trigger level set.
Service providers are now being asked to validate the demand at Todmorden so work can begin on upgrading the exchange for broadband.
Under the registration scheme BT Wholesale set a trigger level of 200 user registrations for the Todmorden exchange, reflecting the costs of providing broadband service there. Customer registrations logged by the broadband service providers against the Todmorden exchange have now topped the 200 target.
BT Wholesale director broadband Bruce Stanford said: "This is a significant milestone showing the strength of our demand-led approach to the next phase of ADSL rollout.
This comes only two weeks after BT Wholesale started national newspaper advertising about the benefits of broadband. Now we're eagerly anticipating many more exchanges hitting their thresholds.
Other exchanges, are nearing their trigger levels and the wider broadband availability this scheme is delivering will help toward BT's target of one million ADSL connections by summer 2003."
BT Wholesale commended the contribution of local campaigns, such as that run by the http://www.todtalk.com website at Todmorden, which have explained the benefits of broadband to friends and neighbours and encouraged people in the area to sign up for broadband.
Stanford added: "There is no doubt that local campaigns have helped drive demand. Now it's time for us to continue working together with the broadband service providers to bring broadband to Todmorden and more exchanges in the coming months."
For more information on the broadband demand registration scheme visit the http://www.bt.com/broadband website. |
Oftel Proposes Broadband Price Cuts
By:mark.j @ 1:01:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] UK businesses and ISPs stand to get a boost thanks to Oftels latest announcement, which outlines a new pricing and quality regime for leased line broadband services:
Prices for BT wholesale products, which enable other operators to offer leased lines to UK business customers, will be significantly reduced under Oftel’s proposals.
This move is designed to bring down prices significantly for end users and operators by boosting competition in the leased lines market.
These savings will be backdated to 1 August 2001, when the products were first introduced by BT, following an earlier Oftel initiative.
Leased lines are permanently connected communications links between two or more sites. Today’s decision relates to partial private circuits (PPCs), the key wholesale components of leased lines, which enable other operators to use BT’s network to deliver services to their own customers.
Under the proposals - which are based on a detailed investigation of the market - connection charges for PPCs will be reduced typically by 50 per cent, and rental charges by 30 per cent.
These reductions will ensure that BT’s charges are cost-orientated and will support Oftel’s aim to encourage greater choice and better deals in the provision of business-to-business high-speed communications services.
Oftel also proposes improvements to BT’s service level agreements for the provision of PPCs, including proposals that BT should pay compensation for late delivery. |
V21 ISP Announces Network Upgrade
By:mark.j @ 8:48:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Broadband ADSL and unmetered dialup offering UK ISP V21 has announced a 'huge' network upgrade, which like Nildrams before it, should help cope with growing demand and introduce faster surfing!
On top of that they're also offering any ISP Review reader a special 7 day free trial of their service, however please note that this is independently offered by V21 and is NOT linked with us:
V21.co.uk Ltd are very pleased to announce a huge network upgrade which should see our current and all new subscribers surfing faster than ever before.
Managing Director Steve Kaye said 'We have been working very closely with BT over the past few months to further upgrade our network. This has now been completed and all in all we are very happy with the results.
We have had extra bandwidth supplied, extra DNS servers and a new faster POP and SMTP server also installed. With all this new equipment we are able to take any stress off of our network and allow users to surf faster and easier.'
To put this to the test we are offering any 'ISP Review' reader a 7 day FREE trial with our service. We think that you will be very pleased with the findings.
Additionally we have just launched our new FREE V21 toolbar, this is an Internet Explorer addition for users to quickly and effectively find news, stocks and shares, search engines and access our members area portals quicker than ever before.
Coming soon will also see the launch of our fully manned 24 hour technical support service for our members.
To take advantage of this great FREE offer click HERE. |
New Scottish ADSL ISP - Scotland4me
By:mark.j @ 8:42:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Charles Litster (Project Manager) has today contacted us to announce their new local call rate dialup and broadband ADSL offering ISP, Scotland4me:
Broadband £25 per month
Broadband available in most BT areas
Please check before you order.
Key Benefits
* Internet Access 24 hours a day
* Same telephone line can access the net, receive and make telephone calls (while on or off the Internet)
* ADSL 50 connection to USB port 500k
* Free unlimited POP3 E-mail addresses
* Free registered domain name
* Free World wide web space - 50mb
Pricing
£25 per month excluding VAT. Set up fee of £60 (plus VAT) includes free domain name. Set up fee waived if 12 months subscriptions are paid up front
The service also offers a bog standard free (no subscription) 'Pay As You Go' local call rate dialup package. |
Nildram ISP Upgrades ADSL Capacity
By:mark.j @ 8:35:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] UK ISP Nildram has announced the implementation of additional broadband ADSL Central Pipe capacity between BT and the Nildram Network, which has been introduced to cope with demand:
Nildram maintains its commitment to keep Broadband Network Capacity ahead of demand
Nildram, one of the UK’s leading providers of Broadband ADSL Internet access, have today announced the implementation of additional Central Pipe capacity between BT and the Nildram Network, in support of their ever-popular Broadband ADSL services.
The upgrade comprises an additional 155Mbps pipe with associated routers and allows Nildram to provide load balancing and resilience across all central pipes for Nildram Broadband users via BT's one-to-many scheme. Nildram are one of the first users of this new scheme.
Martin Jowett, Sales and Marketing Director at Nildram comments: “The ‘user experience’ for customers accessing the Internet is a fundamental focus for the Nildram Network Engineering team. The quality of Internet access and performance is largely down to the core Network that a broadband service provider maintains; a key element of this is the available capacity for users to reach their chosen destination. With this upgrade now in place, we have once again demonstrated our commitment to maintaining the levels of capacity our customers have come to expect.”
Full details of the Nildram Broadband ADSL portfolio can be found on their ADSL specific web site at: http://www.getadsl.co.uk
Iain Ogilvie, Nildram’s Marketing Manager comments: “When it comes to Broadband, not all ISP services were created equal - Nildram have invested heavily in a high quality infrastructure, both in terms of network capacity and customer care. The latest addition to our Central Pipe capacity further reinforces our commitment to be the best Broadband ISP in the UK, both now and in the future!” |
Irelands New Broadband Satellite ISP
By:mark.j @ 8:31:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Technically Ireland can already get broadband Satellite ISP services, however until now few have been specifically tailored to the country’s needs.
Thankfully Digiweb (Irish company) has launched a new satellite based broadband Internet access service for the whole country with speeds of up to 512Kbps. The price is similar to that of BTOpenworld with an installation cost of 1,495 Euros:
The company's service, which is an "always-on" 512kb/s connection (128kb/s upload speed) with no download limitations, sells for EUR119 per month, plus a connection fee. Digiweb also includes e-mail and Web site hosting services within the package, as it looks to attract small businesses. Despite the business' focus on non-urban customers, initial interest in the service has been strong in Dublin, Piercy said.
Had the UK launched a service like this before ADSL had started to circulate then it could have been more popular, hence the logic in introducing such a service for Ireland now. More @ ElectricNews. |
News - September 9,2002
UK Industry & E-Mail Virus Problems
By:mark.j @ 2:37:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] New research from MessageLabs, the Anti-virus experts, has shown that some sectors of UK industry still aren't taking the threat of E-Mail viruses seriously enough:
Their run-down cites entertainment and local government as other sectors still suffering a deluge.
The company says the survey is worrying because it comes at a time when viruses are at their highest levels ever.
There have already been twice as many viruses sent in 2002 than in all of 2001.
One in every 24 E-Mails received by retailers is infected. More @ Ananova. |
Esat Launch Irish Unmetered Dialup
By:mark.j @ 2:33:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Hot on the heels of UTV Internet, Esat (BT) has become the second ISP in Ireland to launch a limited form of unmetered dialup Internet access called NetSmart
The service is for Off-Peak (Evening & Weekend users) and should allow customers to surf between 40 and 120 hours per month for a set fee. Three packages, NetSmart40, NetSmart80 and NetSmart120 (number = hours) will be sold for EUR15, EUR25 and EUR30 respectively:
The news of the launch follows the introduction last week of UTV's new Internet product, UTVip, which lets users surf the Web for up to 150 hours per month at off-peak times for EUR29.99 per month. However, subscribers to this service have to sign up for UTV Internet's telephony package. Conversely, Esat BT's new service does not require users to sign up for its telephony service.
The ElectricNews item also reminds us that Esat plans to launch a true unmetered (FRIACO style) product from earl next year. |
BT In Competitive Broadband Row
By:mark.j @ 1:55:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Much as we've been expecting, the thinning line between BTs BT 'No Frills' Broadband service and the wholesale ADSL product being offered to ISPs is once again the focal point for the operators latest anti-competitive row.
Now some new comments by one of BT's top bosses, relating to how BTOpenworld could merge with the 'No Frills' (BT Retail) product, have sparked fresh concerns for competition in the UK market:
Managing Director of BT Retail Angus Porter told the BBC News Online that if the service is a hit with consumers is could damage BTopenworld and lead to the two companies merging. "If BT Broadband is as successful as we hope then BTopenworld will have to change its nature," he said.
Mr Porter speculated that it could even result in a merger between BTopenworld and BT Retail, with the former concentrating on offering premium, paid-for content such as music and gaming while the other just offered access.
The new service would get around the tight regulations on BT because it is an access-only product and will not offer content or e-mail.
It's not the first time we've heard such fears being expressed by BT officials and BTOpenworld has always rebuffed such concerns.
Many ISPs, such as Freeserve, have expressed similar fears related to the impact it would have on market competition. We ourselves ran a full article (HERE) on it not too long ago.
Apparently Oftel is monitoring the situation and Jupiter Media analyst Dan Stevenson believes BT is unlikely to get away with such a move; some might say that they've got away with worse before. More @ BBC News. |
The Future Net Broadband Site Awards
By:mark.j @ 1:42:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] While more of a site designed to cover dialup services, ISP Review does still have a strong(ish) broadband section and community for all of the primary 'consumer' technologies.
So if you've got a minute then why not pop along HERE and give us your vote in 'The Future UK Internet Awards 2002 (Best site for broadband)'.
I seriously doubt we'll win because it's not our primary coverage, but then who cares, it's just a bit of fun and every man and his dog seems to be listed =). |
BTO ADSL & Moto Service Stations
By:mark.j @ 1:31:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Do you stop at a 'Moto Service Station' for refreshments etc.? If so then you may, or may not, like to know that BTOpenworld has now partnered with them to offer and advertise their broadband ADSL services:
BT OPENWORLD BROADBAND PUTS MOTO IN THE FAST LANE
Drivers who stop at Moto Service Stations for refreshments can now also sign up to high-speed internet services.
BT Openworld and Moto today announced a distribution trial meaning that 3 million Moto customers will have the opportunity to join Broadband Britain.
Discs will be distributed at 10 centres and the trial runs for a six-week period. Travellers will be able to pick up one of the initial 50,000 free introduction discs from counter boxes and free-standing display units at each site.
The discs contain a free broadband demonstration, instructions and a link to the BT Openworld site to register for broadband web access. If a customer chooses to sign up, BT Openworld can provide the necessary modem connection to enable the customer to connect to their high-speed internet service.*
Customers can also access information about connecting to the BT Openworld Anytime product using the discs.
Moto is the UK's largest motorway services provider and has over 120 million visitors a year. Many Moto sites include Travelodge hotels and Little Chef and Burger King restaurants amongst their facilities.
The 10 trial sites are Cherwell Valley, Toddington South, Reading East, Hilton Park (North and South), Leigh Delamere (East and West), Exeter, Tamworth and Donington Park.
Duncan Ingram, vice-president, consumer internet services, at BT Openworld said: "This distribution deal is part of BT Openworld's mission to make Broadband Britain a reality. At the busiest time of the year on British roads, this trial will be a huge boost to the cause.
We've already found that consumers on the road do take the opportunity to pick up the discs through other recent projects. Working with Moto will extend this campaign to millions more drivers across the country," he continued.
Tim Moss, Moto's managing director, said: "As Britain's biggest operator of motorway service areas, we are delighted to be able to offer our customers the opportunity to sign up to cutting edge technology in this distribution trial."
*Broadband internet from BT Openworld is available to customers subject to location and network availability. Hardware will only be supplied to customers that are able to receive broadband access. |
Nildrams ADSL ISP Migration Trial
By:mark.j @ 1:25:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Sometime ago we reported on how Nildram had become one of the few UK ISPs to trial a special broadband ADSL migration service, which allows customers to change between ADSL providers (like dialup).
Today Nildram has reported that despite a slow uptake, the trial has still been a promising success:
Broadband ISP Migration Trial - migrations to Nildram on the up!
Nildram, one of the leading providers of Broadband Access services in the UK, have today provided a positive update with regard to the current BT Wholesale Broadband ISP Migration Trial.
The trial has been good news for Broadband customers wishing to change their provider, but it has been slow to gain momentum, partly due to a lack of awareness that the programme exists and confusion over which ISPs are actively participating. Nildram have been actively involved in the process since the trial was launched and are now seeing a steady flow of Broadband users unhappy with their previous service from a number of the larger ISPs.
The trial includes all existing BT IPStream Home & Office and BT IPStream 500 customers and covers all Broadband enabled areas. Any customers wishing to transfer to Nildram will need to check that their existing provider is also on the trial.
During the trail period the administration fee is waived, but an appropriate charge will be implemented when the service is formally released. Migrating to Nildram also gives customers the opportunity to take advantage of the £22.99 per month (inclusive of VAT) Home500 Lite service.
Iain Ogilvie, Nildram's marketing manager comments: "We are very pleased to see the number of successful migrations increasing. The process gives end users choice when it comes to their Broadband provider by removing the barriers to moving - something we have been keen to support."
Further Information: http://www.getadsl.co.uk/migration.htm |
UK Broadband STILL Trails Europe
By:mark.j @ 1:20:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] No surprises here, the latest Nielsen//NetRatings report shows that UK broadband Internet access is still behind that of any other country in Europe:
Only 9 percent of UK households have a high-speed connection to the Net, compared to 39 per cent in Germany and 33 per cent in Sweden. Even France, which has a far lower overall levels of Net penetration, has a higher percentage of households using broadband.
Tom Ewing, Internet analyst at Nielsen//NetRatings, said in a statement: "This time last year 5 percent of British surfers were using a high-speed Internet connection.
What we're seeing here is an improvement, but not much of one. Broadband is growing in this country but the government's stated target of being the G7 leader in broadband connectivity by 2005 is absurd if you set it against current rates of growth."
Unfortunately there's no mention in ZDNet's item of the huge number of unmetered dialup connections, which far exceeds that of most EU countries and is one of the many reasons for the UKs slow broadband uptake. |
Oftels New Internet Access Advice
By:mark.j @ 1:04:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Oftel, the UK telecoms regulator, has today issued a new press release announcing some advice they've put together on making the most out of the wide range of Internet access services available in the UK
It's hoped that the guide, which also covers mobile phones (generally), will help UK consumers choose the best service for their needs:
The guides advise on the range of things to consider when buying mobile and Internet services, including:
- hints and tips on the different ways to pay for your service;
- how to ensure you don’t get stung by unexpected costs; and
- advice about changing your Internet or mobile phone service provider.
The Internet guide is being distributed by UKOnline, a national campaign to help everyone in the UK to get the most from the Internet.
You can read the full Internet advice publication HERE, however it's nothing that we haven't covered before in more detail, yet should be a good read for the less technically minded. |
Europe = New Centre Of The Internet
By:mark.j @ 9:22:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] A new NUA report shows that while much of the rest of the world is showing static Internet penetration levels, Europe has continued to grow and is now the new centre of the Internet world:
Commenting to the Guardian newspaper, president of the Internet Advertisers Bureau, Danny Meadows-Klue said, "This is a turning point in the internet's development. The world's focus is shifting to Europe and the online media are coming of age. The fact that more people are now online in Europe than in the US is staggering and companies that understand the new economy are best placed to exploit these growing audiences."
Significant findings of the report are that Europeans now account for 32 per cent of all internet users, with 186m regularly logging on. 183m do so in America, while 168m users in the Asia-Pacific region use the web regularly.
The Europemedia item notes that roughly half of the UKs population is now online and that over the past 21 months, 174m new users have joined the web community (581m worldwide). |
First Pre-Reg ADSL Exchange Upgrade
By:mark.j @ 9:01:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] UPDATE: The exchange has now hit 201 pre-registrations, the first to do so.
According to ADSLGuide the very first exchange to be upgraded as a result of BTs new broadband ADSL availability checker could soon be about to happen.
The Todmorden exchange has a trigger of 200 set and pre-registrations currently stand at an impressive 197 (98%). Thankfully some other exchanges aren't all that far behind:
No. / Name / Pre-Reg / Percentage / Trigger
1 Todmorden 197 (98%) 200
2 Penn 157 (78%) 200
3 Merthyr Tydfil 177 (70%) 250
4 Inverness Culloden 141 (70%) 200
5 Bishops Waltham 130 (65%) 200
6 Paddock Wood 126 (63%) 200
7 Kesgrave 220 (62%) 350
8 Irby 249 (62%) 400
9 Pembury 123 (61%) 200
10 Knaresborough 247 (61%) 400 |
News - September 8,2002
ISP Review Weekly Update
By:mark.j @ 10:45:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Anybody wanting to help beta test our new 'Reader ISP Reviews' system can now do so by visiting our 'Website Discussion' forum and reading the related topic. We had hoped to launch this earlier, yet the amount of news over the past two weeks has left precious little time for anything else.
Please remember that this is only a bug hunting exercise and the system has not been officially launched yet, thus many elements such as the rules, spelling and format remain incomplete.
We've also begun work putting together a long overdue 'Jargon Buster', which should help explain terms such as Local Loop Unbundling or ADSL to those less familiar with the terminology.
Next week I'll be away in Southampton for the boat show and to meet up with a few friends, the site will still be updated, although please excuse me if I'm somewhat lacking in responses to my E-Mail. We get so many messages these days that I can’t possibly respond to all of them.
Enjoy the weekend =). |
News - September 7,2002
The W3C Hypocrisy
By:mark.j @ 8:53:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Members of the Internets premier standards group, W3C, have been accused of hypocrisy after a web designer found that their own web sites fell short of the guidelines:
The second biannual survey, conducted by Web designer Marko Karppinen, showed that only 21, or 4.6 percent, of 454 member sites Karppinen could access passed the W3C's own HTML validator, which tests for grammatically correct HTML.
The results showed marginal improvement from Karppinen's first survey six months ago, when 3.7 percent of surveyed member sites were shown to have used valid HTML.
Improved or not, Karppinen called the results a stinging indictment of the members' commitment to Web standards.
More @ ZDNet. |
News - September 6,2002
Just 29% Would Choose 3G
By:mark.j @ 2:36:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Future 3G (UTMS) broadband wireless mobile phone services suffered another blow today after a new study conducted by AT Kearney found that only 29% of users plan to upgrade to a 3G network:
The study, which is conducted every six months, surveyed 6,000 mobile users in 15 different countries in Asia, Europe and the Americas. The latest findings show that mobile users are becoming increasingly conscious of changes in price, with one in three saying cost was the main reason they would not upgrade to 3G.
Another major concern was a lack of awareness concerning what the technology could do, with 36 percent citing this factor. 45 per cent of respondents said the major attraction to 3G was the faster internet access the service could render.
No surprises there then, cost is often the drawback with most new broadband services. More @ Europemedia. |
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