Welcome to our News Archives page

July 16, 2002 - July 23, 2002

News - July 23,2002

Invasion of our children’s rights

By:Anne @ 1:35:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Schools all over the country have digitally fingerprinted children without parent’s knowledge. Only this week my own daughter said that this had been done at her school without my consent.

Electronic finger printing may have already been carried in thousands of schools as part of the cost cutting automation of school libraries. This should not be allowed without the parent’s consent or knowledge:

But Privacy International has condemned the procedure as "dangerous, illegal and unnecessary".

Simon Davies, director of the organisation, said that the practice "dehumanises our children and degrades their human rights". He added that the system would desensitise citizens to a more comprehensive privacy invasion in later life.


More @ VNUNet.

News - July 22,2002

ADSL-Now ADSL Offer

By:rich @ 5:44:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Thanks to World of ADSL for pointing us to ADSL ISP ADSL-Now who have launched a special offer, £9.99 for the first three months:

ADSL-Now have launched a special offer to help you join the high speed world of ADSL. They will charge you a fantastically low £9.99 a month for your first three months of this great service. After that, it's just £24.99 per month. This is for the "wires only 500kbit Home User".

All Prices PLUS V.A.T!


(So thats £11.74 and £29.36 inc VAT)

World-Wide Broadband To Hit 46 Million

By:mark.j @ 2:49:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Net4Nowt has been quick to spot THIS report on the global take-up of broadband services, which comes from In-Stat/MDR, a high-tech market research firm.

Apparently the number of world-wide broadband subscribers has already passed the 30 million mark, with 46 million expected by the end of this year:



Because of the low penetration and adoption rates expected for cable modems in the business sector, the residential market will continue to be the real battleground between the broadband access technologies. In the US, cable operators have rapidly made cable modem service available to the majority of their residential customers, while almost ignoring the business community.

On the other hand, DSL has made in-roads with businesses, and service providers have managed to increase their residential footprint with self-installation service packages. A key advantage in winning new broadband subscribers in the US has been the cable industry’s “Triple Play” bundled service package of voice, video, and high-speed Internet access – a marketing package that DSL service providers can rarely match.

In-Stat/MDR has also found that:

* In late 2001, the number of worldwide DSL subscribers surpassed 17 million, enabling DSL service to replace cable modem service as the most widely-used broadband access technology. A sharp rise in the number of DSL subscribers in the in the Asia-Pacific region sparked worldwide DSL growth.

* In the United States, cable modem subscribers continue to outnumber DSL subscribers by a wide margin. At the beginning of 2002, there were 7.12 million US cable modem subscribers and only 4.6 million DSL subscribers.

* Other broadband access technologies like satellite broadband, Fiber-to-the-Home, and fixed wireless service, are merely bit players in the world of broadband. The three services account for only 5% of current worldwide broadband subscribers.


It'll be interesting to see how broadband ADSL fares against Cable Modem technologies in the UK (long-term), which very much depends on coverage.

AOL ISP Troubled By Anti-Semitism

By:mark.j @ 2:38:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

The Institute for the Study and Prevention of Hate Crimes (ISPHC) has criticised AOL for not doing enough to deal with anti-semitic material on its servers:

The group said that a user under the screen name of 'urakike' had posted "pro-terrorist" anti-semitic notes on an AOL message board.

A spokesman for the Institute told worldnetdaily.com that AOL was guilty of operating double standards because its filters are capable of blocking out terms which are offensive to other racial groups.

It added that, when the offending email names were pointed out to AOL, the company had not cancelled or deleted all the "emotionally traumatising" messages.


The VNUNet item notes AOL as saying that it has filters to prevent racist names, yet admits that they could be bypassed.

To be fair it's almost impossible to completely prevent such material from being posted without removing legitimate content as well.

Tiscali To Re-Launch Excite

By:ross @ 2:22:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

The troubled Excite UK Search Engine is to be re-launched as part of a Europe-Wide project to be undertaken by Tiscali, reports The Register:

In April the ambitious Italian ISP revealed that it had acquired the Excite brand and domain name for the whole of Europe. And last week visitors to Excite.co.uk noticed a new message: "Welcome to EXCITE! We are back - and we have created the most complete search channel on the web for you. Take advantage of our collection of 2,100,000,000 web sites and the world's largest man-made directory!"

We can't say we're 'excited' to see Excite UK back, now that there are far better Search Engines and Portals out there, without the adverts.

WorldCom Files For Bankruptcy

By:ross @ 2:12:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

As expected, troubled data carrier WorldCom has today filed for bankruptcy.

The company's CEO John Sidgmore has announced WorldCom will file for Chapter 11 in the US Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan.

According to reports Sidgmore's first priority is to stabilise the company's controversial finances through the sale of non-core assets.

As part of the immediate reshuffle within the company, following revelations of a $3.8m dollar accountancy fraud, 17,000 staff are to be shown the door - 20 per cent of WorldCom's total workforce.


Source: Silicon

BTs New ADSL Advertising Campaign

By:Anne @ 9:36:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

An advertising campaign by BT Wholesale has had large amount of money added to help advertise the broadband registration scheme.

This multi-million pound marketing budget will be used to advertise the broadband rollout scheme in a hope to get the figures improved. Some will be used to help other ISPs that use BT ADSL to advertise the broadband and hopefully get al the ISPs to participate making the figures show the correct figures.

BT set the trigger levels for most exchanges between 200 and 500 but after three weeks with most showing less that 10% and only the most popular showing 56 confirmed orders.

The lack of confirmed orders could be ISPs not placing theirs leaving the published figures below the official demand for the broadband. BT has required would be customers to sign up via an ISP who have been slow passing on the information. More information @ silicon .

Another Unmetered ISP - Cheapnet

By:Keith @ 8:29:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

While searching the web for news we found an ISP that we haven’t come across ourselves before, called Cheapnet.

They offer an Unmetered dialup option for £14.10 per month which includes:

Unmetered Internet Access
Online Admin Console
24 Hour Support via e-mail
Telephone support during office hours


Normal restrictions of BT line required and according to their T&C's: "You are limited to using the service for a maximum of 14 hours in any 24 hour period", which isn't that bad if you look at it. An ADSL services is due to be available sometime this August.

ISP Review Editor-In-Chief (Mark) Back

By:mark.j @ 7:20:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Just to let everybody know that I'm back from my holiday and all I can say is thank god it's a Monday and early news is slow, my E-Mail is birsting =).

News - July 21,2002

Surfanytime ISP Red-Eye Update

By:rich @ 9:47:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Surfanytime have decided to make a few changes to their red-eye packages following feedback from users:

Following 'suggestions' made on and off our forums, we have now introduced a 4 hour cut-off on our late night, Red-Eye 128K ISDN packages. These solutions make a perfect solution to those users with ISDN but do not require full 24/7 access @ 128K. These packages also come bundled with fantastic SuperNews newsfeed access.

Prices remain from £9.99/month making this the cheapest flat-rate 128K package currently available in the UK.


An example of an ISP making good use of spare capacity.

News - July 20,2002

V21 Broadband ADSL Update

By:Keith @ 6:01:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

V21 have today updated their members on their new ADSL service:

V21.co.uk Ltd has now completed its final testing stages and is
pleased to announce the launch of the UK's cheapest
unrestrictive ADSL packages.

'Always-on' and 10 times faster than conventional modems -
ADSL will transform the way you and your family use the Internet.
Suitable for a stand-alone PC or a small home network, either
way you can enjoy the best of the web without the wait! V21
ADSL is a "wires only" service; this means there's no need to
wait in for a technician to install new equipment in your home.
We can supply you with a USB ADSL modem and filter so you
can simply plug in to your phone line giving you great value
access to high-speed broadband Internet access.

V21 Home User is available in two packages, both run at 512K
download and 256K upload.

The packages are:

1. V21 Home ADSL Annual - £19.99 per month Inc. VAT
(This package is available when signed up for as part of a 12
month contract, along with the purchase of a V21 ADSL modem).

2. V21 Home ADSL Monthly - £24.99 per month Inc. VAT
(This package is available if you do not wish to sign up for a 12
month contract, or do not purchase a V21 ADSL modem).


Registrations are now being taken on the website.

However to get the £19.99 package you are required to buy a modem at £79.99 + VAT. The total cost to get online for example is £79.99 (Modem) + £59.99 (Connection) + £24.50 (VAT). Then also two months rental in advance, so that’s £39.98, giving a total of £204.46 as your first payment.

News - July 19,2002

MTV UK Email Service To Close

By:ross @ 8:42:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Users of the mtv.co.uk email service will be quite upset to hear the latest news which was forwarded onto ISP Review by Andrew. The email was sent to customers this week:

www.mtv.co.uk is sorry to have to tell you that from July 19 2002 we will be unable to offer our mtv.co.uk email service.

We realise that this will cause many of you quite a lot of hassle. Please accept our apologies - it wasn't an easy decision. In the end it was a choice between this and other mtv.co.uk services and we felt that the e-mail service would be the least missed.

Anyone who emails you after July 19 2002 will get a message from mtv.co.uk notifying them that your account no longer exists. Unfortunately we're unable to redirect messages to your new email account, so please make sure you let all your friends know where to find you. www.hotmail.com and www.yahoo.com both offer free email.

Again - our sincere apologies for this. Breaking up is hard to do.

The mtv.co.uk team.


Its getting harder and harder to offer online services for free - there just isn't enough money in online advertising anymore to keep the services afloat.

Low Demand DSL Product

By:Keith @ 8:26:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

BT’s CEO has responded to questions about a trial of a new DSL product that could be suitable for exchanges where current demands are too low:

This new product is based around the existing DSLAM platform. A DSLAM is the device used in local exchanges to connect DSL lines to the BT broadband network and should be suitable for as few as 16 users if plans go ahead. Whether BT would install it at an exchange with just 16 users is unlikely but certainly for exchanges that reach 50 to 100 level on the demand tracker this offers a small ray of sunshine for the autumn.

Anything that can be done to help consumers on dialup who want Broadband can only be a good thing.

More @ ADSL Guide

IKEA Acquires Part Of KPNQwest

By:ross @ 8:24:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Swedish furniture giant Ikea has stepped where others feared to tread and acquired parts of KPNQwest's Nordic fibre optic network.

Although fibre optic networks are not normally what you would expect to find on the shelves at the flat-packed furniture business, Ikea thinks differently.

A spokeswoman for the company confirmed the acquisition, although she was not able to explain the rationale behind the plan.


Reports speculate that the network will be used for internal communications and that it will eventually sell the network on. Unless their thinking of starting up their own data-carrier service =)

Totalise Are Back

By:Keith @ 4:17:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

One of our moderators, Mark Mc, has put together this interesting story:

It was not well known that Totalise , one of the first ISP's to offer its members free shares was put into Liquidation quite a while ago.
While a lot of people were obviously annoyed many received £100's of pounds in cash so couldn’t complain.

The demise of Totalise was one, which caused much confusion by having its assets bought out by the original owner of Totalise (Peter Gregeory). People have been wondering what will happen to the old shares and the "new" company.

Part of this became clear today when in my inbox landed an email from TSpeak (the new name for Totalise Telecom) asking me to visit their shares claims site.

The email does not give away a lot but apart from telling its users to continue using its prefix's and normal Totalise Dial ups. The main difference I can spot is the fact these new shares will be Dividend bearing which was not the case with Totalise.

Will Tspeak become more profitable and will we make more money? Who knows!


If you think you are owed shares please visit the Share Claim Site and complete the forms provided.

Mobile Satellite Broadband

By:rich @ 1:04:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

You can now have your own mobile internet station as Isonetric have launched a mobile satellite system:

Isonetric Broadband are pleased to launch a totally mobile fully automated satellite broadband system.

This is a product that will allow trucks, vans, RV's, buses or any other mobile platform to achieve broadband speeds regardless of their parked location.

Isonetric Mobile Broadband is a 'one touch' solution, which automatically opens the dish and points it at the satellite in the southern sky. It also commissions the service for you so you can have an internet connection with the minimum of fuss.

The Mobile Satellite requires no cell phones or phone lines to connect to the Internet. If you can see the sky to the south, you have Broadband Internet Speeds.

Sensors such as two compasses, a GPS (global positioning satellite) sensor, tilt sensors, skew sensors, motor sensors, signal strength sensors, the list goes on. All of this sensory information is used by the Mobile Unit to peak on the correct satellite every time with an amazingly high signal quality return.


More Info HERE.

Worldcom Could Face Bankruptcy?

By:Keith @ 12:30:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Reuters is reporting that Worldcom could file for bankruptcy protection by Monday. The Register explains:

Citing sources familiar with the situation the report claimed that the giant telco - which carries half the world's Net traffic - has secured $2 billion in funding that should enable it to stay afloat once it files for Chapter 11.

WorldCom hit the headlines last month when the carrier admitted that it had fiddled its books to the tune of $3.8bn. If the company was to face bankruptcy then it could spell future trouble for hundreds of ISPs, including some unmetered one's in the U.K.

Easynet Buys ex-Energis Ops

By:Keith @ 12:18:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Easynet Group Plc has today agreed to buy into the web-hosting assets of Energis' former German outfit - Ision Internet AG. A deal worth £2.2million (Euro3.4m):

The deal is subject to agreement by the courts and the creditor's committee, both of which are expected within the next ten days.

If it gets the thumbs up then Easynet will acquire the fully-equipped data centres and assets of Ision pluss some 100 staff.


More @ The Register

Time Warner Takeover AOL

By:Keith @ 12:06:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

AOL Time Warner CEO Robert Pittman got the push yesterday, making room at the top for a virtual management takeover by Time Warner veterans, among whom Chairman Steve Case will essentially be a token AOLer.

Since the $165 billion merger was consummated in early 2001, the media behemoth's stock has plumeted steadily from $50 a share to a humiliating low of twelve dollars and change today. The preposterously overvalued AOL shares for which Time Warner sold its soul during the bad old days of the dotcom hustle have, predictably, kicked the conglomerate to the curb.


Full Story @ The Register

Telewest Offer Withdrawn

By:Keith @ 12:22:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Liberty Media, the US cable giant, has today withdrawn its tender to buy bonds in Britain’s number two cable company – Telewest Broadband:

In a statement, Robert R. Bennett, Liberty CEO and President, said: "The continuing decline in world markets has caused us to review our priorities for additional investments. In the context of this review we have concluded that Liberty Media's interests are best served by terminating the offer."

However, many analysts believe this is not the end of Liberty's interest in taking greater control of Telewest; the company retains a 25.2% stake in the cableco, and a shareholder agreement means the company can choose to nominate three representatives to Telewest's board. Recent falls in the valuations of cable assets mean that Liberty would have ended up paying a significant premium for Telewest bonds under the terms of its existing offer; certainly it is likely that Liberty is reviewing other options.


The article goes on to explain that Liberty has removed their non-executive directors from the Telewest board to avoid any possible conflict of interest. The move was triggered after Telewest Bondholders alleged that Liberty was acting on inside information from its non-executive directors.

Full story @ Digitalspy

News - July 18,2002

SurfAnytime 128k ISDN - £9.99

By:Keith @ 6:50:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

SurfAnytime have updated their website with details of a new un-metered 128k ISDN package, called Red-Eye:

Not all users want to use the Net 24/7.
Some users may be more than happy with their current ISP but unable to get 128K ISDN on a flat-rate basis.

Then along comes that all important software update, you know the one, 200MB and take all day to download!

Surfanytime.net has the solution:

Access Hours 01:00AM - 08:00AM 7 days
Price From £9.99 / month (inc VAT)
Email Addresses - Unlimited POP3
Cut-Off 2 Hours - 10 Min Inactivity
Contention Ratio 10:1
Max Speed 128K
Usenet Feed Full Super News feed
Blocked Ports - None, all we ask is that you use our outgoing mail server!!


Prices of 128k ISDN packages are generally still quite high when you compare them to broadband. Although this package used in conjunction with your current ISP could be the answer to those wishing to download large files or surf the net while most of us sleep. However you can only get the package for that price if you signup for 3 months, otherwise it's £10.99

Spam Ads 'Waste Of Time'

By:ross @ 3:17:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Research has finally proved that spam advertising is a complete waste of time - as if we needed the research:

Researchers at the Technion Technology Institute in Israel have proved that the longer a list of recipients a message has, the less likely it is to be read.

The team used a fake account and message to send people a simple question about a faculty within the institute.

They found that the more people who are copied on to a message, the less likely it is to be looked at. Spam lists contain thousands of names, and are therefore usually ignored.


Remember, if you receive spam, simply delete it and ignore it, or report it using a system such as SpamCop. Never reply to spam emails, as you will simply tell the spammer your email address is active. You can also read our article on spam here for more information on the junk.

News Source: vnunet

Nokia: No 3G Phones Till Next Year

By:ross @ 3:07:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Nokia won't start shipping 3G mobile phones in bulk until 2003, rather than late this year, casting further doubt on the future of the new phone service.

The news came as Nokia posted its second-quarter results, in line with expectations, and stuck to its previous forecasts for sales sand profits.

The company expects to see earnings growth of three to ten per cent across the next year, boosted by a record-breaking large range of new phones launched to combat sagging demand in the mobile phone market.


Source: Silicon

ntl:home Broadband Derby Trials

By:ross @ 2:54:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Digital Spy is reporting that ntl:home is to start long-awaited trials of broadband internet in the Derby area next week.

Trialists were invited to take part in the trials through our forums, and a massive response followed. Some members have followed the project to launch broadband internet in Derby since February, when the dedicated thread in our forums was started.

The ntl:home broadband team kept our members fully updated with developments, and today a member of the team posted the confirmation of the trials here on the forums. Apparently "sounds of slobbering" made by DS members were audible in London; taking a look over that thread it's understandable!

There was also good news for customers living in Southampton, Winchester and Totton, all of which have been added to the planned rollout list. The latter two areas do not yet support digital TV services - this is, according to the post on Digital Spy, also being worked on.


Trials of the ntl:home broadband service are also taking part in Wessex.

Internet: Part Of Everyday Life

By:ross @ 2:45:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

The number of consumers who feel the internet is a part of everyday life is growing, according to a survey. Just over seven in 10 adults questioned agreed the net had become essential, up from 63% in last year's poll.

However, the report in Which? Online says there has been a marked slow-down in the number of people connecting to the internet. The number of people connecting is up 11% in the last year compared with 33% in the previous 12 months.

Levels of growth are highest among over 55-year-olds, increasing by more than 40% on last year, so that 17% are now on-line.


The results come from a survey of 2,053 adults in Britain interviewed on behalf of Which? Online.

Source: Ananova

Control of .com and .net Domains

By:Keith @ 12:25:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

The Register reports that a change in the control of .com and .net domains could create a monopoly and opportunities for abuse:

VeriSign is attempting to push through a proposal which will effectively see one company control .com and .net Internet domain names, despite huge opposition from everyone else in the market.

Under its proposals, a new domain "wait listing service" (WLS) will be set up that supersedes all other domain renewal services and run by one company, SnapNames, with which Verisign has a close relationship.

Any domain not re-registered will fall under the control of SnapNames. It seems almost certain to favour domain registrars that it has close ties with

Oftel Orders BT to Cut FRIACO Cost

By:rich @ 8:58:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Oftel has today ordered BT to cut the cost of its wholesale unmetered Internet access prices by eight and a half per cent. This only applies if the operators purchase FRIACO at the DLE (Digital Local Exchanges):

The requirement is set out in a final Determination published today by Oftel. The findings are based upon a review of the volume of unmetered Internet traffic over BT's network since BT's wholesale Internet access was launched two years ago.

Other telecoms operators buy wholesale Internet capacity from BT and use it to provide unmetered Internet access directly to consumers. This allows them to compete directly with BT in the retail market for Internet access.

David Edmonds, Director General of Telecommunications, said today:

"UK consumers continue to benefit from some of the cheapest unmetered Internet access prices in the world. Over four million UK households use some form of unmetered access to get online.

"Oftel must ensure that the charges BT make to other operators for Internet capacity on its network are fair and reflect BT's costs.

"Until now, Oftel has had to use estimates to assess BT's charges, but new information on BT's Internet traffic volumes is now available, enabling Oftel to reassess these charges.

"As a result of its review, Oftel has today ordered BT to cut the cost of its wholesale unmetered Internet access for other operators by eight and a half per cent.

"This reduction means that operators can now buy capacity from BT cheaper than before. Operators have the opportunity to pass these savings on to ISPs and through them to consumers.

"Unmetered Internet access is often a stepping stone to broadband. New broadband connections are running at around 20,000 per week. Oftel estimates that total broadband connections should reach 750,000 by the end of July."


The price of unmetered access at the consumer level has been around the same level for almost a year (around £15/month). This wholesale cut might only make a difference if one of the major ISPs puts the price down.

News - July 17,2002

BTWholesale Is Listening...

By:ross @ 7:08:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

..Well, yes they are according to ADSLguide. As many will know, the ADSL Demand Tracker hasn't been working to the best of ability recently, and we've even had reports of it decreasing in number! How that can happen we simply don't know, but Rebecca Webster of BT Wholesale has informed ADSLguide that the tracker should update in near real time now (around 10 - 20 minutes) from the time the ISP enters data into the BT systems.

Some other responses were given to complaints that visitors and the team at ADSLguide gave to BTWholesale:

  • Advertising of the scheme itself - they are wanting to iron out all the bugs first and once it is running smoothly which is starting to happen then advertising will happen.
  • The problems with navigation of the Wholesale site are recognised - the site itself is due a new facelift towards the end of July. The aims of the new site are a more regional focus to the data and improved ease of use.
  • BT is aware that not all service providers are taking part in the scheme, in some cases providers are just collecting for their own internal mailing lists and not passing information to BT Wholesale. Discussions are due to talk place in the next week with Service Providers over this, the aim of the meeting to clarify the problems service providers have with the scheme and raise awareness.
  • On the issue of BT Wholesale running the scheme themselves, there are various reasons: Data Protection issues, perception that if Wholesale has the info it will be cross marketed within BT and that BT Wholesale doesnt have a call centre equiped to deal with the volume of enquiries. It is worth adding that if BT Wholesale were to satisfy the Data protection and cross marketing issue, they would still have to recover the costs of the call centre which would mean an increase in the wholesale price of DSL - why because BT Wholesale is a regulated business and cant just write off the costs.

    So i guess they are starting to listen - all they needed was a push =)
  • Penrith ADSL Boost

    By:ross @ 7:02:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

    The guys over at ADSLguide are reporting how Paul Buck and Steve Boxley, the people behind broadbandmap.co.uk met Ben Verwaayen the BT CEO last week at BTs London HQ.

    The meeting was the result of a chance email from Paul to Mr Verwaayen asking about the new demand lead rollout and what prospects there was for a rollout of ADSL in the Penrith area. Full details of the meeting can be found in Penrith's Cumberland & Westmorland Herald – a scan of which is available here.

    While the meeting hasn’t resulted in direct action yet for Penrith it has helped to highlight the issues for the area and given any campaigning in that area a large boost with plenty of media coverage.


    At last, a BT CEO who actually listens to customers and will meet with them to discuss their woes. We never thought we'd see the day!

    August Net Snoop Switch On

    By:rob @ 11:39:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

    According to BBC News this morning, ISP's will be obligated to provide data about the sites visited by a user and also who they have exchanged emails with, should the Police ask for the information.

    Laws which passed in 2000 will come into effect in August.

    This means if the Police suspect you of a hi-tech crime, in 24 hours notice they can find out your net activity without you being aware of it.

    The rest of the story which raises startling privacy intrusion issues can be read over at BBC News Online.

    Oftel Responds to CMSC Report

    By:rich @ 9:19:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

    Oftel has published a response to the Culture Media and Sport Committee report on communications. Oftel has stated that breaking BT up is not on its current agenda and that it has sufficient powers to deal with anti-competitive behaviour within the broadband market:

    The committee’s report included a recommendation that Oftel should take note of calls to separate BT’s network from its retail business, in order to increase competition in the broadband market.

    In its response, Oftel has stated that it has sufficient powers to deal with any potential anti-competitive behaviour in the broadband market.

    Oftel will take whatever decisions are justified to support proper competition using both current and new powers under the Communications Bill and the Enterprise Bill.

    Because Oftel has sufficient regulatory powers to develop a competitive broadband market, the option of breaking up BT is therefore not on its current agenda.

    Competition in the broadband market continues to increase, with prices cheaper in the UK than in France or Germany. The UK is on course for 750,000 broadband connections by the end of July.


    A copy of Oftel’s response is available HERE.

    The response makes interesting reading and has a few details on how Oftel is promoting competetion and the availability and price of broadband.

    New Linx Technical Forum

    By:rich @ 8:56:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

    Linx has setup a technical forum in which ISPs can exchange information and help Linx to develop:

    TECHNICAL FORUM FOR LINX WILL DRIVE INTERNET DEVELOPMENT

    The London Internet Exchange (LINX) - the grouping of ISPs which operates Europe's largest Internet exchange point - is setting up a technical forum to help drive forward development of the Internet in the UK.

    LINX handles up to 96 per cent of the UK's Internet data flow and peak traffic is now in excess of 16 Gbit per second - equivalent to almost 1 million average e-mail messages per second. Traffic levels at the exchange have more than doubled in the past year and LINX is taking a leading role in adopting new technologies – such as 10 Gbit Ethernet – to ensure that its capacity grows fast enough to keep up with demand.

    LINX chief executive John Souter said: "The engineering staff at LINX and our members are the people who make the Internet work in the UK and who keep it working. There is a need for a forum in which they can exchange technical information and review plans for the future development of our facilities in the light of what they know is happening within their own networks

    "Because LINX is a mutually-owned organisation, in which all the members have an equal stake, we are able to provide a forum in which competitive rivalries can to some extent be put aside and companies can work together for the benefit of the Internet."


    It is planned that the technical forum will meet once every six to eight weeks in LINX's London offices.

    LINX is owned by more than 120 Internet service providers (ISPs) and content delivery service providers (CDSPs) which connect their networks at LINX to allow data to move efficiently around the world.


    Better communication between ISPs can help Linx to continue to grow and support more traffic from ISPs. This is necessary as the increase in the use of cheaper and faster broadband connections means more bandwidth is needed.

    News - July 16,2002

    Vispa 'Tell A Friend' Offer

    By:ross @ 8:56:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

    While doing our usual forum trawling, we came across THIS interesting thread, posted by the Vispa Rep. We have copied the body of the message below for your convenience:

    Do you have a friend, who you know is not enjoying their Internet experience at present, or are they simply just looking for a new ISP in general?

    Why not drop them a line and introduce them to Vispa. For the month of July we are currently inviting new users to try out our Connect Anytime package at only £9.99 for the first month, then £14.95 thereafter which is still lower in price than BTopenworld, AOL, Breathe, Tiscali, need we go on?

    There is no difference in the terms or features. New users will be provided with everything you receive, as well as a whole host of new exciting features currently in development, that both you and your friend will be able to take advantage of in the future.

    Vispa, for the past 3 years, has grown based on word of mouth; we simply find it the most cost effective and honest approach in doing business. We know, that like yourselves, once you join you really enjoy the friendly community way we do things. You can even have a laugh and a joke with us when you call. [Ed - Though Mike's jokes are getting bad of late!].

    So spread the word, call to the hills [Ed - Feels like a musical is about to start!] and introduce a friend.

    For more information guide yourself and your friends to http://www.vispa.com/products-anytime.php or if you need further advice then by all means call 08701 624888 and speak to one of the team.


    A very interesting advertising piece, but nonetheless, a good one-time special offer from one of the UK's best ISP's.

    Nildram Launches Secure ADSL

    By:rich @ 6:54:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

    Nildram have launched a range of ADSL products based around a centralised firewall. The secure home package costs £6 more that its equivalent standard package:

    Nildram provides Broadband Security

    Nildram, one of the UK's leading providers of Broadband ADSL Internet access, have today announced a unique addition to their Broadband portfolio with the launch of a number of new ADSL services incorporating a Centralised Firewall.

    For many Broadband Users, the installation of an ADSL service is the first time that they have had an always on connection to the Internet and, whilst this has many advantages, including the freedom to access the Internet quickly and easily whenever required, the downside is that users are easier to target by 'hackers'. Importantly, in today's environment, it is not clear who will be the next victim - gone are the days when the typical target was a high profile corporate, or government body. With increasing numbers of people using their personal computers to conduct and manage all aspects of their lives, we all have confidential and potentially valuable data on our machine.

    Nildram have developed a unique approach in the Broadband Internet access market by delivering the first 'Centralised Firewall'. This means users don't have to install any new hardware, or software, in their home or office. In addition, the cost can be kept to as low a level as possible. The service is available in four versions - Secure Home500A and Secure Office500, 1000 and 2000 - with peace of mind starting from as little as £35.99 a month, inclusive of VAT.

    Martin Jowett, Nildram's Sales and Marketing Director comments: "It is often said when a Firewall has been breached 'the Firewall security is only as good as the knowledge of the person who configured it' - keeping this knowledge up to date is a constant battle." He continues: "As this new Firewall service is centrally located within our infrastructure, it can be of the 'industrial' strength required to stop attacks, as well as benefiting from Nildram's considerable Firewall configuration expertise."

    For further information, please visit:
    www.getadsl.co.uk/options.php.


    A good package for users who don't want to worry about configuring a firewall, which can take a while to setup correctly.

    ISPr Newsletter Update

    By:ross @ 6:31:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

    Just a quick ISPr update to apologise to the 1300 or so subscribers to our weekly newsletter. We are having technical issues with the system that delivers our newsletter, and are yet to fix the problem.

    As soon as we sort out the problem, you should find the newsletter in your inbox soon after =)

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