July 10, 2002 - July 16, 2002
News - July 16,2002
UK2.net Suffers Outage
By:Keith @ 4:19:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] UK2.net suffered an outage yesterday afternoon which caused disruption for thousands of its customers:
According to a statement on its message board, the company suffered an "unusually long network outage [yesterday] afternoon between, roughly, 1:45pm and 4:15pm."
"This was caused by an as yet unexplained simultaneous failure of a number of critical routers in our network," it said.
The result is that UK2.net's customers lost their Web sites and email - and many aren't happy.
Read the full story @ The Register |
Wireless Net Access at UK Railway Stations
By:ross @ 3:37:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Laptop and PDA users will soon be offered wireless high-speed Internet access at 15 of Britain's major railway stations.
Megabeam, a European wireless ISP, said it has reached agreement with Railtrack - which currently owns the UK's railway infrastructure - to install Wi-Fi hot spots based on 802.11b at nine London terminals and six regional stations:
The 15 stations involved in the trial are Waterloo, Kings Cross, Euston, Paddington, Victoria, London Bridge, Liverpool Street, Fenchurch Street, Charing Cross, Gatwick, Birmingham New Street, Manchester Piccadilly, Leeds Central, Glasgow Central and Edinburgh Waverley. According to Railtrack, some 650 million customers use these stations each year.
BT has already announced ambitious plans for Wi-Fi in the UK. It is trialling several hot spots ahead of a commercial launch of its BT Openzone service, due in August. By summer 2003 it plans to have built at least 400 hot spots in locations such as hotels, shopping centres and coffee shops.
There had been concerns that BT would effectively monopolise the UK's Wi-Fi market, but Megabeam's tie-up with Railtrack indicates that BT could face stiff competition. Good luck to them.
Source: ZDNet |
TFI Director Speaks-Out to The Register
By:ross @ 3:27:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] A director of UK ISP thefreeinternet.net (TFI), Gerry Kavanagh, has told The Register that he is doing everything he can to resume Net access service for his customers.
As readers will know, the ISP suspended its service last month, blaming disputes with their carrier NTL. Lawyers have been called in and recently the company has been put into liqudiation - but, the customer base is in the hands of a another company, 1st Free Ltd. Gerry added to this point, "The liquidation of The Free Internet Ltd has no bearing on why the ISP is not providing Net access.".
Gerry Kavanagh insists that he is doing everything he can to resolve the matter. That could mean trying to find an alternative carrier to provide a service for TFI's customers. |
Government Puts Out E-Democracy Feelers
By:ross @ 3:17:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] In a consultation document released today by the Cabinet Office, the government is seeking views on how the internet can help it counter declining public enthusiasm for elections and the democratic process.
The paper, dubbed 'In the Service of Democracy', focuses largely on the development of new electronic voting systems and the potential expansion of recent trials of remote polling solutions using the web, telephone and SMS:
The move reflects the government's concern over participation at the last General Election in 2001, which saw around 40% of voters stay at home. Several pilot schemes involving internet kiosks, SMS and telephone voting were carried out by councils in the local elections in May, with mixed success.
Another area of focus for the government is improving its engagement with the public between elections, with proposals including interactive public consultations. The consultation also seeks views on the potential use of the internet and other technologies such as SMS in campaigning by political parties, and legal issues arising from that activity.
The document proposes: "The Government should identify the aspects of election campaigns that could be undertaken electronically. The Government should ensure that legislative requirements or other issues that are needed to facilitate e-campaigning are addressed."
More @ netimperative |
Tiscali Launches ADSL for SME's
By:ross @ 3:14:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Tiscali UK has launched three new broadband ADSL packages aimed towards small to medium sized businesses.
Tiscali Broadband 500 is designed for up to 10 users and offers 500KB/s for a monthly fee of £75.99. The 1000 and 2000 packages are intended for 20 and 40 users respectively and are priced at £115.99 and £145.99. There is a one-off installation fee of £260 for any of the 3 packages.
Source: Net4Nowt |
Crackers Could Get Life
By:Keith @ 2:25:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] The US has approved life sentences for crackers:
The US House of Representatives has approved a bill which raises the penalty for computer crime to a maximum of life imprisonment.
Crackers who put lives at risk, either knowingly or through "reckless" behaviour, could be sent to jail for life under measures in the Cyber Security Enhancement Act, which the house yesterday passed an overwhelming majority by 385 votes to three.
The bill also seeks to impose tougher sentencing regimes for computer criminals.
Controversy, however, centres on measures designed water down ISPs responsibility to protect their users data and turn into government snitches.
More @ The Register |
Virgin Launching ADSL
By:rich @ 10:29:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] According to a report on World Of ADSL Virgin is launching an ADSL product in September:
Virgin Internet have released plans of their new ADSL service. They are having a two month "pilot" with existing customers before launching a full service in September."
The set-up cost will be £60, and the monthly fee £28.49, which is in line with the 'average' cost of Entry-Level ADSL in the U.K these days.
More @ World Of ADSL
|
News - July 15,2002
Banks Take Over Energis
By:Anne @ 10:14:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Sixteen banks have decided to go it alone and turn around the troubled Energis Telco. They rejected a bid of £690m for Energis by a consortium led by Apex and Carlyle.
Former Asda Chairman Archie Norman – the Tory MP is to take charge of the troubled Telco,Energis. Weekend reports said the banks would invest a further £150m into the company. All existing shareholders are likely to be left with nothing:
The Telco will be renamed Chelys*.
Responding to weekend press speculation Energis issued a statement this morning saying discussions are at "an advanced stage with Energis' bank and bondholder representatives which, if concluded, would result in the UK business being sold to and recapitalised by a company set up for this purpose."
The deal is expected to go ahead this week.
The shares in Energis have fallen to 0.95p by mid morning.
More @ The Register |
Eclipse ADSL Promotion
By:Keith @ 7:26:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Eclipse Internet are currently running a promotion on their ADSL Connect Lite package. The Register posted this info on their website today, although we can’t actually find anything on the Eclipse website:
Eclipse Internet is running a midsummer broadband promo - why? - cos everyone else is doing it.
BTO, Pipex - they're all at it. Free this, Free that.
So, not to be left out Eclipse is offering a free set-up fee for the first 200 Register readers who sign up for its ADSL Connect Lite service, which costs £22.75 a month.
That's a saving of £50 (plus VAT) on the cost of the set up fee.
More @ The Register and Eclipse Internet |
Breaking The Mobile Speed Barrier
By:ross @ 4:42:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] A technology with a tongue-twisting name may one day turn the wireless industry on its ear, offering the potential of speeds 10 times faster than standards that mobile companies around the world are adopting.
Its name -- Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) -- is not likely to excite anybody. But a service that downloads an MP3 music album in about eight minutes, compared with an hour and a half or more, could be more convincing.
The new wireless standard named 'FLASH-OFDM' can download data to mobile phones 10 times faster than GSM.
Verizon, the No. 1 U.S. wireless company, said it is monitoring OFDM development as a possible way to improve the high-speed services it launched earlier this year. Other interests have came from Malaysia and Japan. There has been no interest from U.K Mobile Companies, so far. |
Mac Users "Classier" Than P.C Users
By:ross @ 4:35:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] According to a recent survery, Mac users are smarter, richer and more web savvy:
Mac users are the cream of the internet crop, according to recent research which found that the average Mac user is better educated, richer and more web savvy.
Recent statistics published by Nielsen/NetRatings found that 70 per cent of Mac users have a degree, compared with 54 per cent of all web users. They also tend to be at the higher end of the income bracket.
From a technical perspective, the Mac community seems to be more clued up and users are 58 per cent more likely to build their own website. They are also 53 per cent more likely to check out and buy products online.
It might just be a coincidence, but still, the Mac user community is still small compared to that of the P.C. I know i'll be sticking with my P.C =) |
Interoute Acquires Ebone Assets
By:Dan.b @ 2:22:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Here is some good news about KPNQwest:
"Interoute, one of Europe's largest and most densely connected fibre-optic networks, has purchased the principle assets of KPNQwest's Ebone network. The move dramatically increases Interoute's network reach, and propels Interoute into the first rank of European telecommunication providers.
Under the terms of the agreement with KPNQwest's Dublin-based receivers, McStay Luby, Interoute gains full ownership and control of high-capacity metropolitan area networks (MANs) in eight major European cities including Paris, Frankfurt, Madrid, Zurich, London, Vienna, Milan and Amsterdam. Interoute has also acquired backbone infrastructure connecting Munich to Vienna, Turin to Milan, and Frankfurt to Strasbourg. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
"Acquiring Ebone's assets not only provides us with an opportunity to
accelerate our strategy of deepening our network presence and
connectivity in key European cities, but also enhances our ability to
provide value added network services and solutions," said James
Kinsella, Executive Chairman, Interoute. "It also allows us to continue to support customers still using the Ebone network infrastructure". |
BT Admits Demand Levels Are Too High
By:Dan.b @ 1:04:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Here is some interesting news from an article on VNUNet:
"BT has admitted that the level of demand it insists on for extending ADSL roll-out to rural areas is higher than necessary to cope with "drop outs". ISPs, MPs and the government's chief independent advisor on broadband have attacked BT for being too conservative, and have asked that regulator Oftel review the company's figures.
BT has received subsidies to fund ADSL expansion in rural areas. It has eight partnerships with coalitions of agencies and commerce groups in remote areas, saving up to 85 per cent of investment costs. It now wants rural customers to effectively guarantee its revenue streams before offering ADSL.
On 1 July, BT established a registration scheme demanding that between 200-500 customers sign up before an exchange could be ADSL-enabled. It set levels for just 338 areas, despite promising in April to upgrade 500. BT hopes to set targets for 162 more exchanges this month, and a further 400 by September.
The telco has admitted that its levels include a 25 per cent margin so that "drop outs" scrapping orders do not affect revenue targets per exchange.
Sir George Young MP has called for Oftel to step in. "Oftel should commission an independent assessment of the investment cost and payback projections for enabling additional exchanges," he said.
"Some industry insiders have suggested to me that BT is only going through the motions - they suggest that the numbers required to justify ADSL-enabling an exchange are set too high; the registration process is deliberately obscure; BT want to give the impression of enthusiasm for wider roll-out but are in reality happy to keep it slow"
Campaigners have claimed that just 50 subscribers can make rural exchanges viable. Executives at other operators insist that their own business models are closer to these lower figures than BT's thresholds.
Lets hope Oftel actually listens and commisions an independant assessment, then maybe "broadband britain" will be a reality
More @ VNUNet |
The Free Internet (TFI) Update
By:Keith @ 8:54:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Still no more news on the liquidation of The Free Internet Group, which we noticed on Companies House website last week. But TFI has updated their site again to reassure customers that it is a legal dispute between them and their carriers NTL which is preventing anyone using the service:
The dispute with our carriers, NTL, has still not been resolved. The matter has been placed in the hands of our solicitors and, for legal reasons, we are unable to give our customers any further details of this at present. However, for the benefit of our users who cannot connect to the Internet via our service, we would like to reaffirm that WE have not disconnected them. This lack of connection is a direct result of NTL disabling the access numbers.
WE WOULD LIKE TO ASSURE ALL OUR MEMBERS THAT WE ARE ATTEMPTING TO FIND ALTERNATIVE CARRIERS TO ENABLE THEM TO ACCESS THE INTERNET AND, TO THIS END, WE ARE CURRENTLY IN DISCUSSION WITH SEVERAL COMPANIES.
It's still not clear why The Free Internet Group is showing as being in Compulsory Liquidation and whether TFI has actually changed ownership. The website shows their pages as being copyrighted 1st Free Ltd and not TFI. |
New Radio Broadband In Final Test
By:Anne @ 1:03:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] IAP Broadband is in the final stages of testing. This is a radio Internet using an antenna connected to your TV aerial mast. This ISP that covers all connections to the Internet from 56K to 1026K and could be the answer a lot of people have searched for:
”We are currently concentrating on the Portishead area and have over 100 People pre-registered for the service. When we catch up with the demand in this area we will be expanding into surrounding areas.” Roger Whitfield
Internet Access Point Ltd
IAP Broadband
Home Tariff
§ IAP Unmetered 56Kbps set up £150.00, monthly £11.99 Inc 5 Addresses / 5MB
§ IAP Unmetered X 2 112Kbps set up £150.00, monthly £19.99 Inc
5 Addresses / 5MB
§ IAP Broadband 512Kbps set up £150.00, monthly £29.99 Inc 10 Addresses / 10MB
§ IAP Broadband X 2 1024Kbps set up £150.00, monthly £39.99 Inc 10 Addresses / 10MB
More news on this service as we recieve it. |
News - July 13,2002
123ISP Updates Unmetered ISDN
By:mark.j @ 2:33:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] The NeonHippo affiliated service, 123 ISP, has today sent us an update on their recently launched unmetered dual channel 128Kbps ISDN packages:
After a few weeks evaluation, we have now decided to change some things on 123 Twin Lite and 123 Twin Plus.
123 Twin Lite previously had a 30:1 contention ratio. This has been dropped to 15:1. Subsequently, the usage guidelines have been changed to 200 hours at 128k/64k.
123 Twin Plus previously had a 15:1 contention ratio. This has fallen to 10:1. Subsequently, the usage guidelines have been changed to 350 hours at 128/64k.
The original 30:1 contention ratio had seemed somewhat steep, however today’s changes should make it better. |
Internet Fridges To Be Virus Magnets
By:mark.j @ 8:35:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Not surprisingly somebody, Eugene Kaspersky (Kasperksy Labs), has cottoned on to the idea that next generation home appliances, such as Internet fridges, could be attacked by viruses:
As embedded operating systems become more widespread in household appliances, some security experts are warning that computer viruses could rival salmonella bacteria as the biggest health risk in the new generation of fridges.
Eugene Kaspersky, head of antivirus research at Kasperksy Labs, believes that such Internet-enabled appliances will be susceptible to viruses because they are likely to use common operating systems -- in particular Microsoft Windows -- and because the manufacturers have little knowledge of software security. These two factors mean that these appliances are much more likely than devices such as mobile phones to be hit by viruses, according to Kaspersky.
So those of you able to get such online technologies beware, for somebody outside could be about to freeze your vegetables, when they only need to be cool. More @ ZDNet. |
Former RedHotAnt ISP Boss JAILED!
By:mark.j @ 8:28:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Over the past few years, since the unmetered race began in 1999, the UK has seen a number of service providers come and go. Unfortunately many of those used near fraudulent tactics and nearly 99% got away with it.
Thankfully not everybody gets away, those able to remember the catastrophe that was RedHotAnt (RHA) will find this news very interesting. RHAs former boss, Kevin Wall, has been jailed for five years due to the part he played in a £1.3 million VAT fraud:
Wall, 29, of Hythe in Kent, was also disqualified from being a company director for ten years. JAK Productions Ltd was forced into liquidation by MCI WorldCom, which was owed £5.5 million for telecoms services.
During the three-week trial at Canterbury Crown Court it also emerged that JAK Group owed £6 million to Level 3 Communications and £1 million to Cable and Wireless.
The ISP was also subject to an investigation by Trading Standards.
The Register's item is very interesting and we can think of several UK providers whom could so easily have been charged with something similar, had they not got away with it. |
News - July 12,2002
BTO Cuts Business ADSL Install Costs
By:mark.j @ 2:52:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] No doubt starting to feel the pressure of competition from other broadband ADSL and Cable Modem offering ISPs, BTOpenworld has thus opted to cut the installation price of its own business ADSL services:
BT OPENWORLD SLASHES COST OF BROADBAND FOR BUSINESS
BT Openworld is offering £130 cashback for companies that sign up to any one of its three 'multi-user' Broadband PLUS products, suitable for office networking. Under the terms of the promotion, BT Openworld will despatch a refund for 50 per cent of the installation fee (normally £260) within 30 days of an application being received.
The promotion is valid for any organisation that purchases one of BT Openworld's Business 500PLUS, 1000PLUS or 2000PLUS products in conjunction with the BT Openworld Internet Business Pack. This offer is part of a series of BT Openworld initiatives aimed at boosting the take-up of broadband and making it easier for businesses to get connected.
The Internet Business Pack, launched in April, contains everything a business needs to capitalise on its broadband connection and establish a professional online presence. BT Openworld's cashback offer is available on orders placed from July 10, 2002 until September 30, 2002, where installation takes place before October 31, 2002.
Tony Harris, president, Business Internet Services at BT Openworld, said: "Budgets can be tight for small businesses so, by offering cashback on the installation fee, we're removing one of the main barriers to adoption. Companies adopting one of our broadband multi-user products will benefit from fast internet access at a fraction of the cost of ISDN. That means 'always on' access for a flat fee as low as 40 pence per user per day . In short, major business benefits for a predictable, lower cost."
BT Openworld's Internet Business Pack offers small companies a quick and easy route to creating an online presence. Along with high-speed, 'always on' internet access, customers receive the services necessary to take their business online successfully, including Web space, email accounts and a domain name, plus tools to help market their business more widely using the Internet.
BT Openworld is offering the £130 cashback to businesses that purchase the
Internet Business Pack with the following broadband products:
• Business 500PLUS, £89.99 per month plus VAT
• Business 1000PLUS, £129.99 per month plus VAT
• Business 2000PLUS, £159.99 per month plus VAT
This is only the latest in what appears to be a growing number of UK ISPs offering special broadband discounts and promotions. |
PIPEX - Troubled ADSL & Double Billing
By:mark.j @ 2:44:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] ADSLGuide is reporting that despite recent improvements to PIPEX's customer support department, many subscribers to their broadband ADSL services are still seeing problems, some serious.
Connection difficulties, lack of support and now a new issue with some users being billed twice, all continue to affect the service:
Agreed, many of the ills that beset the user are not down to Pipex themselves but to their suppliers BT, never the less it is Pipex who have to arrange for BT to take action.
The latest upset is double payments on credit card payments. Have you been charged twice in one month? Pipex MD Mr David Rickards, is currently investigating and would like to hear from anybody who feels that this may have happened to them.
Some believe that the continued problems with PIPEX's service stem from it being one of the cheapest ADSL providers and therefore unable to spend money on much needed improvements. |
Zipcom vs BT - Broadband SDSL
By:mark.j @ 2:38:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Zipcom, the UK telecommunications operator, has today struck out at BTs claim that a lack of demand stopped them from introducing broadband SDSL services for business users:
In early July BT conceded there is sufficient demand for Symmetric DSL (SDSL) and will begin trials of the technology in London. By August BT claim they will provide broadband SDSL in 41 exchanges throughout the capital.
BT originally came under fire from service providers and users when it said the main reason it had not previously rolled out SDSL was because of a lack of demand. This move effectively denied service providers the capability to provide customers with the technology.
Three months ago, in April 2002, next generation telecommunications operator, Zipcom launched an SDSL service dedicated to UK businesses. Because Zipcom independently owns and operates its own network it is not reliant on the incumbent and has been able to provide Internet services - including SDSL - not only in London, but also in Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham, Slough, Ealing, Coventry, Reading and Luton.
In early May Zipcom announced a dedicated channel programme to increase its number of Internet connectivity channel partners and SDSL service providers.
Zipcom is taking advantage of the current situation by capturing market share from the major telecoms players who have invested too heavily in infrastructure and are now struggling with debt. |
BTOs Cow Spotted In The Caribbean
By:mark.j @ 2:34:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Perhaps somebody should tell BT that there's such a thing as 'milking' a joke too much. Never the less the ISP claims that the missing 'Kylie Cow', which is from London’s BT phone CowParade gimmick, has been spotted in the Caribbean:
KYLIE SPOTTED ON HOLIDAY ISLE
Search for BT Openworld's 'Kylie' Cow gathers momentum...
Sightings of Kylie Cow, missing and presumed rustled, have been pouring into BT Openworld's hotline since her disappearance last Monday. Hundreds of informants allege to have spotted her tanning her hide in the Caribbean, making this the hottest lead so far. Scotland yard is also hot on the trail as they're keen to return Kylie to the herd, as her fellow grazers are distraught.
Other callers claimed to have seen her on the Eurostar getting 'ready to be Kylie again', Mooo-ching around the shops in Covent Garden and at several University halls of residence around the country.
Whilst leads have not yet led to her return, they have given the search team encouragement that Kylie is a runaway rather than a victim of Mooo-der.
The cow is sponsored by BT Openworld as part of London's first CowParade, currently on display in the capital. The company is offering a £250 reward for information leading to her return and will donate a further £250 to Childline. If you have any details of where Kylie Cow may be, please call the BT Openworld cow hotline on 020 7691 4444
BTOpenworld were also kind enough to enclose a picture of the missing cow, which looks like a botched cranial operation. |
KPNQwest Prepares For Final Closure
By:mark.j @ 10:12:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Once known as Europe's largest data hubs, KPNQwest now appears to have hit the final nail for its coffin. The Customer Support KPNQwest foundation has decided to withdraw its support from 11pm tonight:
The foundation was co-founded by Dutch carrier KPN NV to enable the bankrupt network to continue operating while possible buyers were found. Yesterday KPN said that much of the network had already been sold off and customers had found alternative options. Consequently, traffic had dropped and "the foundation sees no reason to continue supporting the network."
The Register notes that any potential for saving the company will now depend on the receivers and the banks. |
ISP Review Weekly Update
By:mark.j @ 9:36:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Yes I know, it's not Sunday yet, however this short weekly update is early because I'm off on vacation for a week and won't be back until the Monday after next. Not to mention that there doesn't appear to be any news this morning, we'd guess a monster ate it all, seems logical =).
Please remember to send any news or press releases to our sendnews@ispreview.co.uk e-mail address, as forwarding them to my personal ISPr address means they won't be read. Dan is of course the resident Deputy Editor while I'm away.
No doubt some of you have also spotted the lack of a 'Reader ISP Reviews' system beta, which we had hoped to get online before I left. Unfortunately more bugs were found and I can't justify opening the system up until the new issues are resolved. Expect the public test to begin soon after I'm back.
See you all in just over a weeks time, I’m off to a place where summer actually means sun =). |
News - July 11,2002
Datum.A The Windows users Nightmare
By:Anne @ 6:00:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] This latest virus can become a nightmare for windows users. It can become “invisible” in the registry and uses a few anti-debugging tricks. It can kill Zone Alarm if running then try to connect to Microsoft website.
One expert has even warned that the Windows worm, Datom.A, "could mark an evolution for viruses' modus operandi".
This virus has the ability to drop copies of it into all subfolders and network files. It might be the latest virus and perhaps the most malicious:
The actual worm itself consists of three components: MSVXD.exe, MSVXD16.dll and MSVXD32.dll, created using Borland C++.
"Taken separately, these files cannot be considered as malware, but together they form a pretty malicious code," said Costin Ionescu, virus researcher at BitDefender.
Windows users need to be vigilant about these worms and be ready. This worm disguises itself as “copyrighted Microsoft code” and claims to be Microsoft update.
more @ VNUNet
|
LINX Expands Its Network
By:mark.j @ 3:07:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Once again the London Internet Exchange (LINX), which handles up to 96% of the UK's Internet traffic, is to expand its network:
NEW EXPANSION SITE EXTENDS LINX NETWORK
The London Internet Exchange (LINX) – Europe's largest Internet exchange point – has expanded its network with the addition of a new peering (ie, network connection) site. The new development will permit further improvements in the efficiency of data traffic management at LINX, which handles up to 96 per cent of the UK's Internet traffic.
LINX's ninth site has just become operational at Redbus Interhouse's Sovereign House facility in London's Docklands. Designated as an 'expansion site' by LINX, it offers full Gigabit Ethernet connectivity linked to other LINX sites through a diverse fibre ring recently installed by Fibrenet. It has a direct link back to the LINX primary site at Telehouse North in Docklands.
Redbus already hosts another LINX expansion site in Docklands offering 10/100BaseT Ethernet and Gigabit Ethernet connections to Redbus customers.
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.
Vanessa Evans, LINX sales and marketing manager, said: "The new expansion site allows us to increase our total capacity and provide more connection options for members. The result will be improved transmission efficiency and reduced cost for ISPs and, ultimately, their customers.
The agreement with Redbus is in line with our policy of developing expansion sites within the M25 ring where they add value to members without entailing any financial risk to LINX.
We will be working closely with Redbus and the other expansion site owners to increase traffic at all of them over the coming months."
LINX's three existing expansion sites are at InterXion and IXEurope in the city of London and Guardian DR in Docklands. All of these offer 10/100BaseT Ethernet Connections. |
CommWorks Offers v.92 To UK ISPs
By:mark.j @ 3:04:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Despite having been available in the wild for roughly two years, few UK ISPs have taken up the new v.92 modem standard.
Today CommWorks has announced a rallying cry in support of the v.92 technology for dial-up modems:
COMMWORKS DELIVERS V.92 TECHNOLOGY TO SERVICE PROVIDERS
More than 300 Internet service providers (ISPs) around the world are now using V.92 technology from CommWorks, a 3Com Company, to deliver enhanced Internet access features to their subscribers, the company said today.
V.92 is the latest dial-up modem specification from the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), and includes features that add convenience and performance for the modem user.
"Broadband technologies have received much attention in recent years, but the reality is that most people around the world use dial-up modems to access the Internet," said Mike Valiant, market development manager, CommWorks. "According to industry forecasts, market expansion will continue in the traditional dial access market as applications such as e-commerce, telecommuting and mobile computing continue to drive demand. The features enabled by V.92 make dial access an attractive and viable connectivity option for many users."
V.92 offers users a significantly improved Internet connection experience over earlier connectivity standards, with the ability to switch between voice and data sessions. Features of V.92 include Quick Connect, which shortens the time it takes to connect to the Internet. Modem-on-hold allows users to accept an incoming phone call during an Internet session without losing the dial-up connection. Pulse Code Modulation (PCM) Upstream increases the speed at which users can send information, such as file transfers and e-mail attachments, to a network.
The Total Control® 1000 multiservice access platform from CommWorks supports all three V.92 features, as well as V.44, the latest standard for compressing data. V.44 boosts throughput speed by 20-60 percent, providing users with a significant improvement in upstream and downstream performance, such as faster download of HTML pages.
For the vast majority of current CommWorks customers using the Total Control 1000 platform, the move to V.92/V.44 can be done through a software upgrade to their current modem cards.
Worldwide, there are approximately 2,000 service provider customers for CommWorks' dial access products. More than 12 million dial access ports from CommWorks are deployed in more than 50 countries.
The Total Control 1000 platform combines digital signal processor (DSP) technology, access router cards and management software to provide remote subscribers with fast, reliable connectivity using advanced communications technologies. Service providers use CommWorks' technology to offer a variety of services - dial access, virtual private networks, Internet Protocol (IP) telephony, Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) wireless access, enhanced messaging - on a single platform using a common set of authentication and billing services.
Unfortunately most UK ISPs will continue to use v.90 over v.92 for some years to come, simply because they're spending more on broadband and can't justify the additional cost.
However any providers offering multiplayer services should consider v.92 due to its faster upstream speed, which can help online play. |
Welsh £100 Million Broadband Boost
By:mark.j @ 2:53:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] The Welsh Assembly is to use £100Million of the public’s money to help boost the availability of broadband access in Wales over the next ten years.
While it may seem more than the UK has done, take note that it is for a lengthy period of 10 years!:
Mimicking programmes already begun by regional development agencies in England and the Scottish Executive, the 'Broadband Wales' scheme will provide subsidies to SMEs to sign up to satellite broadband services where they have no ADSL connection available.
A specific unit set up within the Assembly Government by April 2003 will oversee the project, which will also link ICT business support centers to broadband so that companies can try out the technology before they sign up.
By 2007, the Assembly aims to bring services to an extra 310,000 homes and 67,000 businesses and extend high-speed connections to "virtually all" business parks in Wales that have identified a need.
More @ netimperative.info. |
Energis Outage Hits UK ISPs
By:mark.j @ 10:37:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] The UK unmetered dialup offering ISP SurfAnyTime has today informed us of an outage on the Energis network, which appears to have hit several other ISPs:
Whilst some users are not experiencing any difficulties logging on to our 128K Energis platform, the majority of our customers are failing authentication.
This has been reported on and updated in our forums since yesterday.
While we are waiting on an update of the situation, we would like to apologise to all affected customers for any inconvenience.
By way of compensation, we will be crediting the time-bank of all users by 50 hours for the remainder of July.
Once again, we apologise for any inconvenience and thank you for your patience. |
ISPs MUST Track Users From 1st August
By:mark.j @ 9:09:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] That's right; it's finally going to happen! From the 1st August 2002 next month, UK ISPs will be required to intercept YOUR personal data.
So much for a delay to resolve how ISPs will be reimbursed for the extra costs, they still don't know. The good news is that the real criminals can now easily avoid interception, making the whole thing pointless:
Not only has the Home Office still failed to tell ISPs how they will be compensated for maintaining their interception capabilities, but the measures, which the government said were introduced to combat terrorism and organised crime, only apply to large ISPs. Any criminal organisation wishing to avoid interception simply has to find an ISP that has fewer than 10,000 customers.
The interception capability is mandated by the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA), which was introduced to give police and other law enforcement authorities the same powers to intercept digital communications as they already possess to intercept telephone calls and letters. On 1 August, the RIP (Maintenance of Interception Capability) Order 2002 is due to come into force.
Several classes of communications service providers are exempt from the regulations: those which do not intend to supply services to more than 10,000 people in the UK, and financial institutions such as banking, insurance and investment houses.
So there you have it, yet another complete waste of time curtsy of the current government’s anti-privacy policy. More @ ZDNet. |
Tiscali UK ISP To Shut Second Office?
By:mark.j @ 8:54:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Besides closing one of its offices in Northwich, near Chester, Tiscali UK is now also rumoured to be closing a second:
But then we get word that Tiscali has also got plans to shut its office in Chelmford and relocate people down to Milton Keynes.
Curiously, this info was backed by some companies in the region, who say they've seen the number of CVs from Tiscali workers pile up on their desks. Why? Cos they say the Chelmford site is due to shut in September.
The Register notes that Tiscali has denied the rumour; although clearly something has given Chelmford based employee’s a reason to go job hunting. |
Government Tackles Online Fraud
By:mark.j @ 8:50:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] The governments Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is to have yet another shot at tackling the growing problem of online fraud, £500,000 has already been earmarked for the project:
Under the move, cash from the DTI's modernisation fund will provide the backing for nine initiatives that will see trading standards offices across the UK cracking down on scams and rogue traders on the web.
Separate studies will assess the reliability of internet-based tourist information for visitors to London, a sweep of online finance adverts to assess their compliance with trading standards legislation and impact on consumer debt, and companies selling potentially dangerous prescription medicines over the web.
Other initiatives will see The Society of Chief Officer of Trading Standards in Scotland helping local authorities to track the growth of e-commerce and form links with relevant businesses in their area, and trading standards officers in the South East being offered courses on cybercrime and enforcement on the web.
More @ netimperative.info. |
Oftel July 2002 Broadband Figures
By:Anne @ 8:17:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] With the release of broadband figures from Oftel it shows that Cable Broadband is heading the charts. Today’s figures show that Telewest supplies 95% of its customers with broadband while NTL trail with only 56% and BT covering around 66% of their customers.
More details are @ ADSLGuide.
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News - July 10,2002
Broadband To Push Online Content
By:mark.j @ 3:19:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] The media outfit 'Screen Digest' has stated that mass adoption of broadband services should lead to a surge in demand for online music and content, which is stating the obvious:
At the end of 2001 digital downloads generated only €3 million in consumer spending in Europe, but this is forecast to explode to €152 million by 2005.
According to Screen Digest, spending on music via online services by European consumers will represent 17 per cent of total music industry revenues. During the same period, traditional retail music sales are expected to grow only 2 per cent.
And the reason for this massive growth? Well, it seems it's all down to technology. Internet and wireless services; new software developments for delivery formats including compression, encryption and watermarking formats; and new hardware will make a major impact on the music industry.
The Register's item notes that broadband services provided by game consoles will also grow and help to push such services. Of course many of us will still be waiting for ADSL come 2005 =). |
The Free Internet (TFI) In Liquidation
By:Keith @ 3:15:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] More bad news for TFI customers and those trying to signup to the currently non-existent un-metered service. According to Companies House they have now gone into Compulsory Liquidation.
The Free Internet Group Limited (TFI) was ordered to wind up on 26th June 2002 and has the address of the receiver listed against its company number on the Companies House website.
Signup to the un-metered service vanished sometime ago and changed to an 0845 service. However this has also been taken down now and you are currently presented with a message that The Signup Servers are currently unavailable due to necessary maintenance.
No doubt customers will be confused after TFI’s update in June advising that the service was not available due to a dispute with the carriers, NTL.
To view the details check out Companies House . |
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