June 6, 2002 - June 12, 2002
News - June 12,2002
Home Office Defends Anti-Privacy Move
By:mark.j @ 8:49:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] The governments Home Office has started to defend itself against the media onslaught and their response bares some interesting clarity:
The Home Office, however, has defended the order, saying it will bring a previously voluntary process under existing legislation, and thus lead to better regulation of surveillance powers. It also said the powers do not apply to content of emails, for example, but only to dates and times of messages or points of access.
A spokesman said: "To suggest, as the Guardian, has that this will allow all and sundry to read everybody's emails or keep track of the websites they visit is nonsense. These powers already exist and are simply being put on a statutory basis where they can be more tightly regulated."
The draft order goes to the Commons next Tuesday and Wednesday and will also need to be ratified by the House of Lords - probably within the next two weeks. The EU has still to vote on a new draft of its own Data Protection Directive, the directive that provides the framework for individual privacy laws, in the wake of the growth of email and internet use.
It's good to know that they're only interested in the dates and times of E-Mails, although concerns remain over regulation and just how effective such access can be in the hands of certain groups.
It'd certainly be nice to know the EXACT specifics of what will be tracked for the different styles of online and offline communications. More @ netimperative.info . |
News - June 11,2002
MPs Still Calling For BT Break-Up
By:mark.j @ 3:12:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Despite BTs strong moves toward cutting the cost of broadband ADSL access, apparently this isn't enough to stop some influential MPs calling for the operator to be broken up:
The joint committee -- which is made up of six MPs and six members of the House of Lords -- also asked several of BT's rivals whether they would support the company's break-up. Several members of the joint committee are understood to be rather attracted to the idea of splitting BT in two -- a cause that Cable & Wireless has been pushing for quite some time.
Baroness Cohen of Pimlico told Ben Verwaayen, BT's chief executive, that the telco had taken too long to offer broadband at a low enough price to make it popular with consumers.
"Is it not the case that broadband in the UK has been delayed because BT was unwilling to let people have it at a sufficiently low wholesale price?" demanded Baroness Cohen. "Wasn't that a failure of regulation?" Baroness Cohen asked, suggesting that OFCOM, which will replace Oftel once the Communications Bill becomes law, should be given strong powers.
To be fair BT is often asked to reduce prices on one side and then slapped by the other for acting in an anti-competitive way.
It's also worth remembering that in other countries, where ADSL has been a success, the government itself has helped to fund it; no mention of that here though =).
BT has of course rejected the allegations, claiming that the availability of narrow-band unmetered products and strong industry regulation are to blame. Something that's at least partly true, in the UK unmetered dialup is still more attractive than broadband. How many actually need ADSL anyway? More @ ZDNet. |
Gov Clears 2.4GHz Wireless Spectrum
By:mark.j @ 3:00:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] The Government (DTI) has today opened up the 2.4GHz spectrum band, which had previously prevented it from being used to provide commercial Internet services using wireless local area network (WLAN) technology:
As a result, from 31 July, operators, ISPs, mobile operators and other firms will be able to set up WLANS in 'hotspots' such as airports, service stations and coffee shops, and sell services such as short-range wireless broadband access to the general public, without the need for a Wireless Telegraphy Act licence.
Announcing the change, Timms (e-commerce minister Stephen Timms) said: "Opening up this spectrum will provide opportunities for telecoms operators to deliver new and innovative services for the public. This move will give businesses the opportunity to exploit new ideas and technology."
Additionally, BT, which was the first major player to announce its intention to provide commercial services using 2.4GHz once the spectrum had been cleared, unsurprisingly welcomed the move, and confirmed that it plans to press ahead "shortly" with the creation of the UK's first public network - a scheme announced by the company's Retail arm at the beginning of April.
It'll be interesting to see what new ISPs and services pop up over the coming months; this decision has been eagerly awaited and could have far reaching implications. More @ netimperative.info. |
Tele2 Guarantee 99.9% Broadband Uptime
By:mark.j @ 2:53:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] While it's already been mentioned in THIS press release, the broadband wireless provider Tele2 has today confirmed their pledge to guarantee 99.9% broadband stability for business customers.
The announcement came at the 2002 Internet World UK show in London today and is part of their move away from residential services and toward better business options. It looks as if Tele2 are now trying to compete with BT more on quality than price, which is by no means easy:
Tele2’s new business packages offer:
An always-on, connection to the Internet, removing the frustrations of dial-up, and the costs associated with leased lines.
Symmetrical 'DSL-style' burstable connections connection from 512Kbps to 2Mbps, up to wireless leased lines with committed data rates tailored to meet individual requirements.
A Service Level Agreement for all business customers that guarantees:
- an uptime level of 99.9%
- a four-hour response time where Tele2 will take action to correct service failures within four hours of receiving notification
- the receipt of service credits should the service not meet the guaranteed service level
Monthly charges from £94.99 (ex. VAT) for multiple users.
“Our new service level agreements set us apart from other broadband service providers, and firmly position us as a quality player in the SME business broadband market," said Elliot Mueller, CEO of Tele2. “We are able to offer a guaranteed level of service because we own our own network – a wireless local loop that enables us to bypass the problems that have frustrated the ADSL providers. ADSL services, are ‘best effort’ and are slowed down by high contention rates, and are therefore unsuitable for business use. Leased lines have been the only alternative business class option to guarantee service uptime and high broadband speeds, but are just too costly for most small to medium sized businesses. With the introduction of our SLA for business customers, we can now offer a service superior to ADSL and deliver speeds and reliability equivalent to that of a leased line, but at a much lower cost,” explained Mueller.
Tele2 decided to move away from the consumer market due to continued lack of demand for broadband from home users. The drastic lowering of prices for consumer broadband connections by the UK’s dominant incumbent access providers has driven demand in the short term, but consumers want quality services, content and applications, based on quality in the network, which incumbents are not yet offering.
Thankfully Tele2 won't be stopping their residential services and will take on new customers should anybody subscribe, just don't expect any dramatic changes with that aspect of the service. |
Broadband Pushing Telewest Forward
By:mark.j @ 2:39:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Telewest's blueyonder broadband cable modem ISP service appears to be a key driving force behind the cable operators 8% share rise to 5.4pence.
The operator announced that it had increased its broadband Internet customers by more than 20,000 in the past month, which makes for a total of 169,000, up from 148,000 during May.
Telewest chief executive Adam Singer said the ability to draw down its bank facility is dependent upon continuing to deliver strong operational performance.
"If we are unable to meet any of these requirements then we will potentially face a funding gap," Mr Singer said. He said the company will continue to explore all options to address its funding requirements.
Clearly Telewest is giving BTs ADSL service a good run for its money, but for how much longer? |
Scottish Powerline Broadband Trial
By:mark.j @ 10:11:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Powerline, an alternative method for sending broadband ISP services over a houses power cables, appears to be on the verge of a revival in Scotland.
The technology has been somewhat stagnant in the UK for the past few years, yet some 100 people in the north of Scotland are now to take part in a new trial:
The trials in Crieff and Campbeltown once again raise the hope that people living and working in rural areas might be able to get broadband without having to fork out for expensive satellite-based services.
SSE Telecom - part of Scottish and Southern Energy plc - reckons people will begin actively taking part in the trials using its electricity power networks from the middle of July. If successful, it plans to carry out further trials before deciding whether to make the service available commercially.
In 1999 United Utilities and Nortel Networks scrapped plans to use electric wiring instead of phone lines to gain broadband access claiming that market conditions simply didn't justify the investment.
The Register's item is promising, although it wouldn't be the first time we've seen a trial of Powerline in the UK only to have it fail later on. |
AOL Officially Launches Broadband
By:mark.j @ 9:58:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] AOL is the last the UKs largest ISPs to do it, yet the provider has today officially announced the introduction of its new broadband ADSL services. Unfortunately the monthly price is likely to keep some people away.
The company said it has introduced the service at £34.99 per month, 14% above the market-established price of £30 set by BT Group, Freeserve and others earlier this spring.
To sweeten its broadband offer, AOL UK will charge £25 for a broadband modem until July 15, after which it will go up to £85, roughly what rivals charge. We seriously doubt that this is enough to off-set the ridiculously high price point for any potential customers.
AOL's relatively slow response to BT's wholesale reductions puzzled industry analysts as it is considered a crucial service to help AOL Europe achieve its goal of turning $1 billion in revenues for the unit this year. |
IPPR Sees End To 'Digital Divide'
By:mark.j @ 9:52:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] One of the UKs leading independent think tanks, the ippr, has today issued a new press release suggesting how a re-boot of e-democracy could end the 'digital divide' (technology haves and have-nots):
time to re-boot e-democracy to end the 'digital divide' warns ippr
Local and central government must be more ambitious about the role the internet could play in revitalising local democracy or face further community disengagement, according to the Institute for Public Policy Research (ippr). In a survey out today (11 June 2002) it argues that local authorities must take the lead in developing e-democracy but need greater support from central government.
Ippr's survey, which was conducted with the help of the Local Government Association (LGA), is based on information from 235 local authorities in England and Wales and follow up research in 120 of these. It shows that despite good intentions and some exceptions, local authorities are struggling to exploit modern technology to engage and consult with communities.
E-participation in local government concluded that, while 83 per cent of local authorities use the internet to invite feedback from citizens on services, take up is poor and e-participation is not communicated effectively to communities. It shows that local authority attempts to provide access for many groups was poor:
- 70 per cent say they have no access strategy for the disabled
- 86 per cent say they have no access strategy for members of minority ethnic communities
- 83 per cent say they have no access strategy for those on low incomes
- 92 per cent say they have no access strategy for people with literacy and numeracy difficulties
- 84 per cent say they have no access strategy for the elderly
While over half (54 per cent) said they were doing enough to use the internet to engage their local community, only 7 per cent provided training for their elected members in the use of the internet to engage their electorate. Likewise only 7 per cent host a moderated discussion room to involve their electorate in policy discussion and formation.
Ippr, Senior Research Fellow Dr Ian Kearns said: "The good news is that local government has begun to use the internet more widely. The bad news is that there are too few examples where this is being done effectively or where the potential of the internet to boost community participation is recognised. Modernisation of government is aimed at making government more accountable, transparent and open to public involvement. E-Government has a crucial role to play in this process.
A lot can be done by local authorities to turn the rhetoric of e-democracy into a reality. That includes some relatively simple measures like telling people in the community about on-line strategies as well as more fundamental changes. But local government needs the support of central government which needs to prioritise and help resource e-participation between elections not just when looking for expanding the voting population." |
Broadband BBC Content Fixed For NTL
By:mark.j @ 9:42:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Users of NTLs broadband cable modem services may be pleased to learn that the BBC has now opened up its interactive (BBCi) division for ntl:home users:
Technical problems left many ntl users unable to access the enhanced content, which includes 256kbps streams of the latest National News programme from BBC One, along with BBC Sport and BBC Weather streams. These problems now however been resolved, and the content can be accessed at http://www.ntlworld.com/bbc/
More @ DigitalSpy. |
BT Raises Unmetered SurfTime Cost!
By:mark.j @ 9:39:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] BTSurftime is not only the oldest official method for delivering unmetered dialup services; it's also the most expensive.
If anything the cost of Surftime vs newer FRIACO methods should be coming down, yet shockingly BT now intends to do exactly the opposite from 1st July 2002!:
The monster telco BT claims the price rises - the first since it launched the service in June 2000 - are necessary to maintain its service and to cover increased costs.
Evening & Weekend customers will be told about the price increase via the BT Update publication, which is included with people's bill. SurfTime Anytime customers will be told about the changes by letter.
From the 1st July 2002, the price of BT's SurfTime Evening & Weekend will increase from £5.99 to £7.00 and SurfTime Anytime jumps from £19.99 to £25.00.
The rises have already angered a large group of our own readers and we must admit that they make very little sense, Surftime is now far far.. too expensive.
Most found it difficult enough to afford £19.99 per month, yet an extra £5 on top is a ridiculously high rate to rise by so suddenly. Quite why Oftel has allowed this to occur is beyond us, but it's a disgusting move on both BT and Oftels part, disgusting! |
NTL Preps Telewest Style Upgrade
By:mark.j @ 9:32:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] DigitalSpy reports that the UKs largest cable operator, NTL, is set to follow Telewests recent software upgrade with their own from June 18th 2002:
CR3, as the software is known, contains Liberate 1.2 middleware, which will enable interactive content developers such as BBCi to provide multiscreen services through the interactive service, and faciliate enhanced TV content synchronised with live programme transmissions as seen most recently on Telewest Broadband's Big Brother and World Cup services, provided by Channel 4 and BBCi respectively.
The new software should improve the use of broadband technology for interactive programs among a number of other things above. |
UK Gov Extends Anti-Privacy Laws
By:mark.j @ 9:27:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] The Governments draft order to expand the organisations empowered to demand communications data (online and offline) will today be debated by MPs. This is a hugely controversial proposal, which could effectively open everybody’s personal details to abuse:
That would include seven Whitehall departments, every local authority in the country and NHS bodies in Scotland and Northern Ireland. It would also feature 11 other public bodies ranging from the postal services commission to the food standards agency.
Until now, the list has included only police forces, the intelligence services, customs and excise and the inland revenue, according to The Guardian. Under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act, passed two years ago, they would be able to demand information on individuals without a court order.
They could make phone companies, internet service providers and postal operators hand over details such as names and address, phone calls made and received, source and destination of emails, the identity of websites visited and mobile phone location data, which is capable of revealing the user's whereabouts at any given time and is accurate to within a few hundred metres.
It's all well and good allowing the security services access, however anything more makes the system more easily corruptible, not least because it won’t be properly regulated. More @ Ananova. |
News - June 10,2002
MS Charging For External Hotmail
By:mark.j @ 2:47:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Nothing too new about this, yet the Microsoft-owned free E-Mail service, Hotmail, has started charging those wanting external POP email account access:
The company announced to users this weekend that, as well as stricter limits on the amount of memory users can store and the period of time for which an account can remain inactive, users will now have to upgrade to the recently announced 'MSN Extra Storage' package in order to receive POP email through their Hotmail account.
The extra storage package costs £19.99 per year (or less than £2 per month as Microsoft explains) and kicks in from 16 July. It was previously announced that the package would allow an extra 10mb of storage - compared to just 2mb for a basic account - and that accounts would also be shut down if left unused for 30 days. Now access to other, external email accounts will no longer be free.
In other words if you've previously used MS Outlook or another local E-Mail client to access your account, as many of us often do, then you'll now have to pay.
We can't help but wonder how long it'll take MS to turn the whole service into a commercial one; more @ netimperative.info . |
Internet Users Spending Longer Online
By:mark.j @ 2:41:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Not surprisingly the latest research from Nielsen NetRatings' has found that the average Internet session (time online) has increased by 13% over the past year:
The total number of regular home users worldwide grew 18% over the same period. The average home user logs on 18 times each month, spending a cumulative total of more than nine hours online.
The findings were culled from surveys undertaken in April 2001 and 2002.
The Ananova item notes that the study was conducted using web users from 23 different countries, including the UK. Typically and as we approach the half year mark you can expect to see more and similar studies popping up. |
New Article @ ISPr (Web Browsers)
By:mark.j @ 12:01:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] We've just thrown up a new four page article that takes a brief look at four of the most popular mainstream web browsers (screenshots included), IE, Netscape, Opera and Mozilla:
http://www.ispreview.co.uk/articles/browsers |
KPNQwest Safe - For A Few Weeks
By:mark.j @ 9:03:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Good news, apparently enough of KPNQwests customers indicated that they would pay outstanding bills and thus help to keep Europe’s biggest data hub online, yet not forever.
The telecoms firm's trustees had set a Monday night (today) deadline for KPNQwest's clients to pay up the amounts they owe, warning that if not enough funds are collected by then, Europe's largest fibre-optic data network would have to be shut down.
"After marathon talks over the last few days it looks like all pieces are in place," claimed a source close to KPNQwest's administration. "A management team has put together a plan to keep the network running and if all the clients who have committed themselves to pay do pay, then there will be enough funds to keep it up until the end of June if not longer."
The source warned that the management's plan still had to be officially approved by KPNQwest's trustees. KPNQwest collapsed a week ago after failing to unload some assets to give it time to sell its network, which spans 18 countries from Portugal to Finland. |
Ex-C9 Boss Launches UK Security Online
By:mark.j @ 8:58:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Cloud-Nine (C9) was one of the UKs worst hit ISPs by a spate of Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks, they also suffered problems at the hands of several Internet worms and were finally forced to shut down.
For sometime now we've known that Emeric Miszti, C9's former CEO, has been working on a new project designed to help online security, although until now we've been told to say nothing.
Thankfully we've today been sent the official launch press release (ahead of its full public release) for UK Security Online:
Emeric Miszti, former CEO of ISP Cloud Nine, has today launched a new venture in the area of computer security, a security information portal called UK Security Online - http://www.uksecurityonline.com.
Many people will remember that Cloud Nine were the ISP that suffered a devastating combined hacking/Distributed Denial of Service attack in January this year. The severity of the attack and the cost that would have been associated with recovering from the attack crippled Cloud Nine financially and parts of the company were sold to Zetnet Internet Services in a quick sale late January. Hampshire Computer Crime Unit are still investigating but UK computer crime legislation does not make it easy to prosecute perpetrators of such attacks.
Having been at the sharp end of such an attack that crippled his company, Mr Miszti is exceptionally well placed to provide advice on the nature of the threat with a sensitivity that can only be borne of bitter personal experience. The big problem with the security industry is that many people know the theory, few "experts" have experienced the pain inflicted by such a vicious attack. Furthermore, an experience such as this inevitably clouds all future perceptions:
Mr Miszti says "I have had 17 years or more in the IT industry, my whole working life, but the events of January 2002 shook me up in way that no other experience ever has. Losing your business of 6 years standing in such a manner is devastating. Worse, I felt that nothing in my 17 years of designing networks and systems had adequately prepared me for that moment. Having to learn through painful experience of how important computer security is in the survival of any business has inevitably left its mark. I am still concerned with marrying IT systems to the running of a business and improving efficiency, but convenience and ease of use has taken second place to security of those operations. It is an uncomfortable trip many more businesses will have to make if they are to survive the Internet age. It's a bit like the airline industry discovering that kerb-side check-in convenience is much less important in the long-run than the inconvience caused by having proper security checks in place."
"Having analysed the attack in great detail I have good first hand experience of how such attacks are mounted and quite frankly many of the defences such as firewalls and anti-virus are plain useless if you run ANY application software behind your firewall that accesses the Internet or is accessible from the Internet. Furthermore, they are pretty useless against "internal" threats too. I have spent the last 4 months reading a lot, researching and examining the hacking community and how it operates. Creating this portal is one of the ways I can put the experience and knowledge I have gained to work. I could never really go back to working the way I used to, the Cloud Nine experiences have ensured that with each and every computer solution I work on I am considering the security aspect of everything I do."
Mr Miszti joked "I guess that makes me unemployable in many companies since several studies (and my own past IT experiences) show that computer security is often considered less important than the office coffee supplies!!" - see
this survey http://www.ds-osac.org/edb/cyber/news/story.cfm?KEY=8202. "Our main objective is to change that prioritisation!"
UK Security Online's objectives are to:
* Raise general awareness of the very real threat that exists to all computer systems in the UK that are connected in any way to the Internet.
* Provide a resource (UK security information portal) for home and business users whereby information is gathered from a variety of sources including UK ISP's, other web sites, individuals interested in security issues, etc and made available from this single source.
* Issue alerts about UK specific threats and measures that should be taken against them.
* Provide FREE advice to home Internet users on making their systems more secure so that their PC's do not pose a threat to others and that their privacy is better protected. Home-users are the frontier of the Internet and they are the weakest link since many do not understand security at all. We aim to provide line by line instructions to help secure a PC so you don't necessarily need to be a security expert.
* Provide consultancy and software solutions to UK businesses to aid them to counter the threats to their computer operations.
UK Security Online now contains a wealth of information including large sections defining the threats facing connected users including worms, viruses, trojans, hackers, denial of service attacks and more. There is also the Home User Self-Defence Guide for home users, with Windows XP, 2000, NT, 95, 98 and ME versions. A Linux version is currently being written. Furthermore, there are security news stories, security mailing lists and discussion forums for users to discuss security issues. Our aim is to make these forums the central focus for the UK security community. Hackers are very good at networking and sharing information. Security professionals in organisations should be the same.
The Online Shop attached to the site provides an opportunity to purchase security products such as Tiny Personal Firewall, Kerio Winroute Lite and Winroute Pro firewalls, secure mail servers, Checkpoint firewalls, security scanners and much more besides.
We also have our own security section, more aimed at residential users, to go live after the new Reader ISP Reviews system is introduced. |
News - June 9,2002
ISP Review Weekly Update
By:mark.j @ 9:48:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] This is by far one of the most patriotic weeks I’ve seen in awhile, firstly the Golden Jubilee party in London, then England beats Argentina at the WorldCup and now Lewis has knocked Tyson for six in that event we know only as boxing. Let’s face it, Tyson had it coming and England comes out on top for once, what a week! =).
Typically with all that’s happened we’ve been unable to get on with much work, although some things have managed to move forward. We’re currently working on a brief article looking at four of the most popular web browsers and are preparing to make some more forum alterations.
The Reader ISP Reviews system is also into its second testing stage; we’ve put the basic format in and are currently testing the initial functionality and so forth. Hopefully we should have a public beta test before June is out, it depends on how quick the authors are to fix the bugs and introduce any requested changes.
It’s also worth noting that ISP Review turned 3 years old on 2nd June 2002, which went unnoticed for obvious reasons. |
NH Unmetered 128Kbps & NTL Access
By:mark.j @ 9:31:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] 123 ISP, one of NeonHippo's resold ISP services, has today hinted to us that an unmetered 128Kbps Dual Channel ISDN package is on its way.
We've also been told that an NTL access package is under development, although no ETA, pricing or other details have been revealed, yet. Typically we'd expect this to be offered by some of NH's other services as well; more news when we get it.. |
UK Internet Traffic Drops By 6%
By:mark.j @ 9:24:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] The London Internet Exchange (LINX), which handles up to 96% of all the UK's data traffic, has today sent us a PR showing how Internet traffic dropped by 6% during the England -v- Argentina match:
INTERNET TRAFFIC DROPS BY 6 PER CENT AS ENGLAND WATCHES WORLD CUP
The London Internet Exchange - which handles up to 96 per cent of all the UK's Internet traffic - saw traffic levels drop by 6 per cent as England supporters turned away from their computer screens to watch England beat Argentina 1-0 in the football World Cup.
Data traffic through LINX facilities peaked at around 17.6 Gbit/second in the early afternoon of Wednesday and Thursday (5 and 6 of June), the only two working days in this bank holiday week. The figure at the same time on Friday 7 June was more than 1 Gbit/second lower, a fall of over 6 per cent.
LINX is a mutual ownership organisation owned by 120-plus Internet service providers (ISPs) and content delivery service providers (CDSPs). These organisations all connect their networks there to ensure that Internet traffic moves as efficiently as possible between source and destination.
"It is clear that traffic on Friday afternoon was significantly lower than normal," said LINX sales and marketing manager Vanessa Evans. "The timing cannot be a coincidence!" |
News - June 8,2002
New ISDN/HH To ADSL Conversion
By:mark.j @ 9:22:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] ADSLGuide reports that BTWholesale is preparing a Wires-Only based ISDN/Home Highway (HH) to broadband ADSL conversion service, which until now has required the engineer installed variant:
From 17th June 2002 it's understood that a similar process will exist for users who want an IPStream Home or Office (i.e. wires-only) activation. The exact workings of the process arent clear but it should allow for the HH/ISDN to be reactivated if the ADSL activation fails without starting a new HH/ISDN contract.
The cost of this conversion will be the normal ADSL activation charge ~£50 plus a one off charge on your phone bill for the management of this process around £100 we believe.
Unfortunately we'll have to wait a few more weeks for the full and official details. |
BT Ease KPNQwest ISP Fears
By:mark.j @ 9:15:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] The General Manager of BTs Internet services, Aaron McCormack, has played down fears over a European Internet collapse should KPNQwest cease to function (see yesterday’s news):
"All the major Internet players have more than adequate capacity if KPNQwest switches off its network," he said. "There's stacks of capacity around."
Of course, if some of KPNQwest's smaller customers have failed to heed the warnings then they might be in for a bit of fright. But of course, that all depends if the network is switched off.
More @ The Register. |
News - June 7,2002
ENGLAND WINS - 1 : 0
By:mark.j @ 2:54:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] I'm only now starting to relax after the noise from England finally beating the Argentines 1:0 in today's WorldCup match. The local pub is howling and a big shout out to DB, you know who you are =), for scoring that penalty!
Hurray! Wonderful week, now if only Lewis can finish off that nutcase boxer on Saturday then it'll be perfect =). |
Online Gaming To Increase Six Fold
By:mark.j @ 2:45:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] A new report by the DFC Intelligence has concluded that by 2006 the number of people playing online multiplayer games will have increase by six times what it is today:
Currently, the vast majority of online gamers play via PCs, but recent announcements from the three major console manufacturers regarding their plans for online play have paved the way for a tremendous surge in interest, swelling the forecasted number of players to 114m worldwide by 2006.
The console market is expected to account for about 23m online gamers by this time, though this number could be significantly greater depending on the take up of these services from consumers, which is likely to be determined by pricing.
The most popular PC-orientated online games generated revenues in excess of $100m last year, proving that this nascent market is primed for take-off.
None of this should come as much of a surprise, although some of the more commercial (monthly payment) online schemes may find less than expected interest; most of us can’t afford more than one or wouldn’t want to. More @ netimperative.info . |
Local Office E-Mail Cause For Concern
By:mark.j @ 2:38:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Apparently 60% of office workers send regular E-Mails to the person sitting right next to them =):
Psychologists say email could be destroying conversation. Business psychologist Kate Keenan said: "Bosses should be aware of those employees who prefer to use email when they could easily pick up the phone or see someone in person."
She added: "That person may be hiding behind email to avoid confrontation or perhaps even rejection."
We live in a strange world and it seems to be getting stranger, more @ Ananova. |
e-Government Ahead Of Schedule
By:mark.j @ 9:07:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Andrew Pinder, the governments E-Envoy, has told the NMA that the plans to have all of its services online by 2005 are ahead of schedule:
Pinder said so far the process of taking government services online had been successful and it was expecting to have over 75% of services online by the end of the year at a cost of more than £3bn.
Despite a recent National Audit Office report which criticised the Government for offering very few transactional services, such as applying for a driving licence, online, Pinder said this would change over the next few months.
Note that apparently Pinders comments were made before the recent problems with the Inland Revenues online site. More @ NewMediaZero. |
UK ISPs To Be Hit By KPNQwest Closure
By:mark.j @ 8:57:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] The KPNQwest saga is nothing new, although it's about time we highlighted it again since users of UK ISPs such as AOL and Freeserve could well be affected by the companies downfall.
KPNQwest owns Europe's biggest data network and could be shut down as early as Monday if the Administrators can't get creditors to pay all their debts. Typically this could seriously damage the speed of some UK ISPs as mentioned above:
KPNQwest, a joint venture between Holland's Royal KPN and Qwest Communications International of the US, sacked 350 employees earlier this week.
It has since re-hired around 70 engineers to keep the network going while efforts are made to find a buyer. But the engineers, who include a dozen Britons, have been told not to touch the system if it is shut down.
The Ananova item states that 40 to 50% of European Internet traffic could go into a black hole if things aren't resolved in time. The impact of such a thing should NOT be underestimated, it will affect the UK. |
BT Tower Is Potential Terrorist Target
By:mark.j @ 8:48:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] We doubt any intelligent Terrorist, which in some ways is almost a contradiction in terms, would bother to target BT because they do enough damage without Bin Ladens help =).
Having said that a new report from British security experts (MI5) has noted that BTs London tower could well be among the potential targets for any such strike:
This list is thought to include the BT Tower, formerly known as the Post Office Tower, which stands 188 metres above street level in the heart of the city and was attacked by the IRA in 1971.
BT was not willing to discuss the subject in any detail, as it is company policy not to speculate on security issues. A BT spokesman did tell ZDNet UK that security plans are in place to protect the building.
The BT Tower was constructed between 1961 and 1965, and was once the tallest building in London. It formed the heart of the UK's microwave telecommunications network, and with its outside bristling with transmitters and receivers it communicated with other, smaller, towers across the country.
The ZDNet item notes that such an incident would be unlikely to damage UK data traffic as the tower, while still in use, is no longer as crucial it once was. |
News - June 6,2002
BT Introduce 'No Frills' Broadband
By:mark.j @ 3:10:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] ADSLGuide has been quick to spot THIS PAGE on BTs site, which appears to show the operators highly controversial 'No Frills' broadband ADSL service as now being available:
For just £27.00 per month by Direct Debit or Monthly Payment Plan*, BT Broadband will give you:
- high-speed Internet access at our lowest monthly fee yet**
- an instant connection, so there's no waiting to 'log on'
- unlimited access with no time restrictions
- flexibility to use the phone and surf at the same time***
- access to a range of content and service providers
*£28.00 per month if not paying by Direct Debit or Monthly Payment Plan. Monthly Payment Plan is subject to status. Written quotation is available on request. Monthly payments include estimated call spend and may vary. To enjoy lower rental, payment of any outstanding bills is required.
**Connection and equipment costs apply.
***Normal voice call charges apply.
Given the negative feelings toward the product we’re not surprised that BT has chosen to avoid a loud press release announcing its official introduction.
More experienced users will note that the price is actually higher than most FULL residential ISP services, although on the plus side you can have the charge added on to your phone bill.
We disagree with this service, its price makes no beneficial sense (more expensive for less), it’s anti-competitive toward other ISPs and BT is now clearly in conflict with its own BTOpenworld service. |
UK Govs Internet Surveillance Centre
By:mark.j @ 2:55:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] The government is set to introduce its new Internet surveillance centre this summer; however fears have grown that it could actually make online criminals harder to catch as they adapt to newer methods:
The National Technical Assistance Centre (NTAC), based at MI5 headquarters, will decrypt seized computer data and intercepted internet and email traffic on behalf of law enforcement, security and intelligence agencies.
But NTAC is unlikely to have any impact on criminals using strong encryption on communications, according to Stephen Dyer, chairman of domain registrar centralNIC and member of the Internet Service Provider Association council.
"If you have an intercepted email and you don't have the key you can't decrypt it in the sort of time you need to prevent crime," he warned. "The more overt technology you put in place to intercept traffic the more you encourage people to use encryption which is uncrackable," he added. "Paedophiles might then start using encryption which, to all intents and purposes, makes them invisible."
It's not clear whether this is related to the black-box UK ISPs scheme under R.I.P, which would be unusual because the details of data retention and ISP costing have yet to be cleared up. More @ VNUNet.
In the USA a similar system, Carnivore, has already been in trouble for spying on innocent civilians. |
The Worlds 'Tiniest' Website
By:mark.j @ 2:47:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] This has been going around for awhile, however just recently it appears to have become rather famous. In less than two weeks Guimp, which is being touted as the worlds tiniest website, has managed to attract 100,000 visitors:
The site is no bigger than an on-screen icon but has four games including pong and space invaders. It also has five galleries, a drum kit, a musical keyboard, a fruit machine, a search engine and even a web cam.
The website was put together by a designer who wanted to test the sharpness of his new computer screen. Alan Autten says he's constantly updating www.guimp.com and plans to add a Formula One racing game.
The Ananova item reports that Alan is a director of the London Design Collective, although he should probably stay away from designing the BBCs new website =). |
Telewest Suffer Brief National Outage
By:mark.j @ 2:26:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Many readers have noted THIS UPDATE to us on Telewests blueyonder ISP service status page. Thankfully the national outage, which lasted roughly 4 hours, has now been solved:
Our engineers have investigated and now resolved this issue which was found to be a problem with the BGP (Border Gateway Protocol) as well as the OSPF (Open Shortest Path First) routing protocols. This would have resulted in customer’s getting online light flashing nationally as well as connection problem’s when trying to make a dial up connection. This was resolved by making a correction to the routing configuration on the local GSR (Gigabit Switching Router) and then rebooting the router in order for the new configuration to take affect. All service has now been restored nationally to all HSI (High Speed Internet) as well as Dial-Up users.
We apologise to our customers for the inconvenience that this issue may have caused.
Note that some areas may still be seeing the odd problem. |
KeMe HIKE! 24/7 Unmetered Price
By:mark.j @ 9:44:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] One of our forum moderators (Florence) has noticed that the unmetered dialup ISP KeMe is to dramatically increase the price of its 24/7 package from £15 to £44.95 per month!:
With effect from July 1st 2002, only the following packages will be available. If you have not changed your service by this date we shall provide you with the £9.95 evenings and weekends package.
KeMe.com - Unlimited Evenings & Weekends
£9.95 (inc. VAT) per month
Evening and Weekend Access to the web.
User to modem ratio 8:1
KeMe.com - Unlimited Anytime
£44.95 (inc. VAT) per month
Unmetered Access to the web, available 24 hours a day 7 days a week*.
User to modem ratio 4:1
To be fair their 4:1 ratio makes the price realistic, although most existing users of the £15 per month 24/7 option would be unlikely to afford the new offer!
It's also important to note that despite deceptively being called 'Unlimited Anytime', it does actually say (note the *) that it's not unlimited usage. |
Mozilla Web Browser Goes Final (v1)
By:mark.j @ 9:24:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] The open-source browser and cousin (under the hood) to the now AOL owned Netscape Navigator technology has finally reached its final version and can be downloaded HERE.
Note that the final is technically Release Candidate 3, although it’s the one they’ve clearly been happy enough with to call a final release. We’ll have a browser test article up in the near future with a good look at the four/five top web browsers. |
Freeserves Competition Concern (ISPs)
By:mark.j @ 9:14:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] The French Wanadoo owned UK ISP Freeserve is set to voice their concerns over the Government's aggressive push to get Britons connected to the Internet next week.
The provider believes that the governments push is threatening to undermine competition in the telecoms marketplace:
The company will also tell a committee of MPS and Lords, set up to scrutinise the draft Communications Bill, that customers are set to suffer because of regulator Oftel's increasingly "laissez-faire" approach to regulation.
John Pluthero, chief executive of Freeserve, will call for the new super-regulator proposed under the Bill to take a more hands-on approach to regulation, particularly with regard to former monopoly BT Group.
"We all share the Government's ambitions of 'Broadband Britain' but it musn't be at any cost, particularly a competitive marketplace," said Mr Pluthero. "As we have seen in the past, if BT dominates, consumers are the only ones who ultimately suffer."
It's always interesting the way Freeserve is quite happy to back cheaper wholesale ADSL despite anti-competitive concerns and yet attacks BT later when other similar moves don't help it directly. More @ The Money Telegraph. |
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