October 3, 2002 - October 7, 2002
News - October 7,2002
Gio Internet ISP Launch £15.32 ADSL!
By:mark.j @ 2:47:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Thanks to one of our forum members, sniffer_dude, for reporting on Sunday that Gio Internet has quietly introduced a broadband ADSL service costing just £15.32 (ex VAT) per month!
The dangerously low price of the service is undoubtedly the cheapest we've seen, an official announcement from the ISP has yet to be made. There doesn't appear to be anything remarkable about the offer outside of the price, but then that's hardly surprising.
Quite how Gio Internet will be able to sustain the service is unknown, although hopefully more details will surface soon. More discussion on this can be found in our Gio Internet unmetered dialup forum:
http://giointernet.adslsignup.eng.net |
Via Net.Works On E-Mail Viruses
By:mark.j @ 2:35:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] The recent problems with a new E-Mail worm (virus), BugBear, have caused Via Net.Works UK to warn businesses of the threat and suggest the need for a more holistic approach to computer security:
VIA NET.WORKS UK CALLS FOR HOLISTIC APPROACH TO SECURITY AFTER BUGBEAR WORM
VIA hosts free vulnerability assessment seminars to help businesses better protect themselves
VIA NET.WORKS UK, a provider of managed Internet services, today warned businesses of the need for an holistic approach to computer security following the latest virus outbreak. The Bugbear worm exploits a security loophole in some versions of Microsoft Outlook, which means it can be spread both by e-mail and through network file sharing. The Bugbear worm has been steadily rising in the chart of viruses detected by VIA's managed e-mail anti-virus service and a multiple-pronged attack such as Bugbear reinforces the need for businesses to be aware of their various network vulnerabilities - not just from e-mail-borne viruses.
"VIA customer research shows that 67 percent of SMEs viewed viruses as a threat to their operations; the business world is waking up to the need for virus protection," said Jeff Meulman, Managing Director, VIA NET.WORKS UK. "Bugbear shows the continued development of sophisticated worms that exploit vulnerabilities in computer systems and human behaviour, so it is vital that systems and firewalls are patched against all known flaws - this will further protect businesses from hack attacks too."
VIA is hosting a series of free half-day events designed for IT managers and directors responsible for developing and reviewing their companies' online security policies and programmes. The seminars will give an up-to-date overview of electronic security, giving attendees a clear view of business vulnerabilities and enabling the development of a realistic business case and strategy for protecting a business' systems.
Dates and locations:
Birmingham - 30th October
Bracknell, Berkshire - 6th November
London, City - 7th November
Manchester Airport - 13th November
Leeds - 14th November
Details about VIA's free vulnerability assessment seminars can be found by calling 0845 330 8000 or visiting: http://www.events.vianetworks.co.uk . |
Wireless 802.11a Name (Wi-Fi5) Dropped
By:mark.j @ 2:30:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] The Wi-Fi Alliance has dropped the planned official name for the broadband wireless 802.11a standard, Wi-Fi5.
Apparently Wi-Fi5 was too confusing and thus the alliance has opted for an overall standard name of Wi-Fi:
It instead decided to call the new products "Wi-Fi," the same name it gives certified equipment based on the 802.11b standard, said Wi-Fi Alliance president Dennis Eaton.
"A single brand name for both products will reduce confusion and help consumers with their buying decision," Eaton said.
Those who got an early glimpse of the Wi-Fi5 name on certification labels didn't get it, Eaton said. It left them wondering, "what happened to WiFi2, WiF3 and Wi-Fi4," Eaton said. But those technologies don't exist. The "5" in Wi-Fi5 referred to the 5GHz radio frequency that 802.11a uses. 802.11b equipment operates within the 2.4GHz radio frequency.
More @ ZDNet. |
NDO Launch Unmetered Dialup & ADSL
By:mark.j @ 1:47:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] UK ISP NDO, which is backed by ISION Internet plc, has today announced the availability of several new unmetered dialup and broadband ADSL packages:
The following packages will be available:
Unmetered: AnyTime - Freecall 0808 Internet Access 24/7.
Includes: 200 hours a month, 2 hour Cut Off period - just £15.99 a month
Unmetered: OffPeak - Freecall 0808 Access 7pm to 6am and all weekend.
Includes: 150 hours a month, 2 hour Cut Off period - just £10.99 a month
Unmetered: NightTime - Freecall 0808 Access 11pm to 6am, 7 days a week.
Includes: 100 hours a month, 4 hour Cut Off period - just £5.99 a month
Broadband: Lite500 - Always on 24/7 ADSL Access at 512kbs.
Includes: Unlimited highspeed Internet surfing for £29.99 a month
Broadband: Business500 - Always on 24/7 ADSL Access from 512kbs.
Includes: Unlimited highspeed Internet surfing from £85.00 a month
Please visit: http://www.ndo.com for more details and to register.
The unmetered dialup offers appear to be following the increasingly common rout of economic realism, which is nice to see, although ADSL @ £29.99 per month on a 12 month contract with no pre-included Static IP seems somewhat underdone. |
Nildrams ADSL – First For Performance!
By:mark.j @ 1:40:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] UK ISP Nildram has today hailed the performance of its broadband ADSL service after receiving top marks in a recent ADSLGuide speed test:
Nildram Broadband – first for Performance!
It’s official - Nildram, one of the leading providers of Broadband Access services in the UK, have come a resounding first in the latest ADSL Guide speed tests.
The ADSL Guide, the UK’s leading independent Broadband information resource, have announced the results of the September Speed tests – with Nildram coming in at number one slot.
The tests are completely impartial and are a result of customers from the main Broadband providers testing their connection speed via the ADSL Guide test site over the period and submitting the results.
Iain Ogilvie, Nildram's marketing manager comments: "We are very pleased with the result as it confirms our position as one of the highest performing Broadband Providers in the UK and is a direct result of the investment we have made in our infrastructure and the expertise of the team that manage it."
Further Information: http://www.adslguide.org.uk/newsarchive.asp?item=845 |
One Million Broadband Connections
By:mark.j @ 1:37:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Oftel, the UK telecoms regulator, has today confirmed last weeks report that the UK was on the brink of having 1,000,000 broadband connections:
An official announcement is expected this week, and the event is likely to be hailed by both government and telcos as proof that broadband is thriving in the UK. It is less than six months since Britain reached 500,000 broadband users.
An Oftel spokeswoman told ZDNet UK on Monday that Britain will soon have one million broadband subscribers. "We're approaching one million broadband users. It should happen pretty soon, but we're not sure exactly when," she said.
ZDNets item is keen to point out that they expect an announcement to be made VERY soon. |
BTOs Secure ADSL LAN Teleworking
By:mark.j @ 1:30:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] UK ISP BTOpenworld is reported to have introduced a range of ADSL based off-the-shelf virtual private network (VPN) packages to deliver secure LAN access to teleworkers and branch offices:
Designed for BT Openworld or IPstream DSL connections, the Corporate Teleworker service provides options for either Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) access through standard Web browsers, or access through SecureID-based VPNs managed by BT, depending on the level of security required and the number of users to be supported. To supply 100 users with secure browser-based BT Openworld Business 500 DSL connections over three years would cost £67 per month per ANZEIGE
However, some IT managers may be put off by the lack of service level agreements (SLAs), which would leave companies with no redress or compensation if the system fails. "At the moment there isn't an SLA on the core network element, which is the base DSL infrastructure, but there are service guarantees wrapped around either end," said BT spokesman Steve Osborne.
More @ VNUNet. |
Business Serve's 30 Day ADSL Trial
By:mark.j @ 1:24:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] UK ISP Business Serve has become the latest provider to offer the first 500 new broadband ADSL subscribers a free 30 day trial of their services:
The gratis trial is open to any business which orders a 20:1 ADSL product from Business Serve's Broadband for Business service. And at the end of the 30-day trial period, punters can either carry on or walk away.
The Register notes that there may only be a few slots left for this offer, although more information can be found on their site.
I get the distinct feeling that we've covered this already; please ignore it if we have, it’s easy to loose track with so much news floating around. |
Oftel - Comparing Telephone Operators
By:mark.j @ 1:19:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] UK telecoms regulator, Oftel, has today issued a new press release welcoming the launch of a new website, Comparable Performance Indicator (CPI), designed to help people compare various fixed line phone companies:
Customers can use the information to help decide which telephone company best meets their needs.
The website - www.cpi.org.uk - is run by the telecoms industry and is set out in a new, easy-to-use, interactive format.
Consumers can now enter their postcode and compare how well the main telecoms operators in their area complete orders, deal with faults, handle complaints, and deal with billing issues. The most recent comparisons are for January to June of this year.
David Edmonds, Director General of Telecommunications said today: "It is essential that consumers have easy access to information so that they can decide which telephone company best meets their needs. The new website provides exactly that.
Over a thousand people already use www.cpi.org.uk each week to compare the performance of different phone companies. In its new format I expect this figure to rise as more people take advantage of this useful information.
The website is now much more user-friendly, allowing users to enter their postcode to find information appropriate to their area.
All the main fixed line operators are now involved in the initiative and I expect the site to develop further with ongoing improvements to the data and more indirect access operators signing up in the near future." |
Massive Fast24 ISP Service Update
By:mark.j @ 1:13:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Unmetered dialup ISP Fast24 has today issued a massive pre-official service update on our forums HERE. Unfortunately the update is far too big to post in the main news, so here's a quote relating to the weekends capacity upgrade:
As of 11am on Friday the fifth of October, the new ports that we ordered to expand our capacity on the 08089996356 network were activated. As expected, the inclusion of the new ports immediately improved the quality of service for the vast majority of our customers dialling into that number.
Those customers that have been unable to connect to this number, due to them living in an area where their exchange has yet to be enabled for this particular network, should now find connectivity on the BT 08089933225 number much easier. This is due to many users now migrating back to the non-BT 08089996356 service, thus freeing up capacity.
Most of the initial reader feedback we've seen seems to indicate that Fast24s upgrade has indeed helped. |
News - October 6,2002
ISP Review Weekly Update
By:mark.j @ 10:35:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] UPDATE: Arrrgghh, ran a final test on the Reader Reviews system and discovered 2 new nasty bugs.. Wonderful - NOT!
It's a wonder I find any time to work on ISP Review anymore, longer real-life office hours make it very difficult to do anything extra outside of the general site updates (news etc.).
Still, life aside and I'm pleased to report that we've been unable to uncover any more problems with the 'Reader ISP Reviews' system. I'll run through one more major stress test today and then begin the public implementation next week.
The newsletter is also still out of action because I simply can't find the time to hunt for an effective alternative, yet there should be some room to do this once the reviews system is sorted.
Right now I've got so many things to do on ISP Review that it's giving me a headache, but that's life. |
PIPEX Issues Statement - ADSL Problems
By:mark.j @ 9:55:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Several readers have informed us that the still troubled UK dialup and broadband ADSL offering ISP, PIPEX, has issued a general statement about their ADSL problems:
The PIPEX Xtreme ADSL service has recently been operating with reliability and stability levels far below what PIPEX consider acceptable. I’m sure that, as a customer, you too are far from happy with the current situation.
Following a week of continuing service interruptions and failures I wanted to write this open letter to explain the situation as it currently stands and to indicate where we go from here.
Firstly, let me introduce myself. My name is Mark Cook and I am PIPEX’s Director of Technology, Systems and Services. My responsibilities to PIPEX, and to you as a customer include providing a stable, reliable and scalable network, dependable services and a high standard of technical support.
As part of our commitment to providing the highest possible standard of ADSL connection at a value for money price, PIPEX laid out a strategy at the beginning of 2002 to deliver a scalable, leading edge ADSL delivery network.
As you may have read at the time, this plan included the purchase of two Redback SMS 10000 units to terminate our BT Central L2TP ADSL links. Redback have been established in this market for many years and have hundreds of ISP customers around the world like PIPEX operating their equipment satisfactorily. The total investment by PIPEX in this new network has been several million pounds, which we hope demonstrates our commitment to this new service and our desire to retain you as our customer.
Redback and their UK suppliers Telindus provided extensive technical input to help us design a network that could support up to 100,000 ADSL users in its first incarnation. Though there were a few teething troubles initially, as can sometimes happen with deployments of this size, the system settled down and provided generally reliable service up to around the beginning of September.
A series of three major events, which led to prolonged service outages, occurred in the first half of the month. These were of sufficient seriousness that PIPEX engaged with senior management from Telindus, Redback UK and the engineering and development department of Redback USA to try and find the root cause.
We were advised by Redback to upgrade the version of the operating system software being used by the SMS 10000 and this was completed in two overnight planned maintenance windows, the second of these finishing in the early hours of last Thursday, September 26th.
Almost as soon as this upgrade was completed two major service outages occurred, one on Friday 27th and another on Saturday 28th. The stability of the SMS 10000 did not improve and by Tuesday engineers from Telindus, Redback UK, Redback Amsterdam and development staff from Redback USA were all involved and have been working flat out with us ever since to isolate the problems.
At a crisis meeting it was decided to downgrade the software to the version previously in use with the expectation that stability would be returned to the network. Some hardware was also changed as a precautionary measure. However, none of these measures resolved the problems and, indeed, they have continued, with the most recent being late last night and again for a short time during this morning, Friday 4th October.
During all this time PIPEX engineering have also been working around the clock to monitor network stability and try and minimise the impact of problems as they occur. In addition we have continued to press Redback hard for solutions, while working with their engineers to try and uncover the root cause of the problems.
So where do we go from here? During our overnight session last night a number of further changes and "tweaks" were made to the SMS 10000, which Redback advises us should considerably improve service reliability and reduce the impact of any further failures. Engineers from Telindus are on-site this afternoon once again checking over the hardware and development engineers at Redback USA continue to work round the clock on a full resolution to all the issues we are experiencing.
We understand the upset and frustration that service interruptions can cause and we are all working as hard as we possibly can to return stability to the PIPEX broadband platform. We kindly ask for your patience for just a little longer as we complete the work needed to return to a stable operating condition.
Finally, let me repeat that everyone at PIPEX is committed to delivering you the best possible quality ADSL connection at a value for money price. I have personally worked for PIPEX since it was originally formed 11 years ago and many of the team alongside me have been here for half a decade or more. We all want our service to be the standard against which others are judged and we won’t rest until we have achieved the very best that we can.
Stay tuned for further updates... |
News - October 5,2002
Glow Offers ‘Britannia Music’ Unmetered
By:mark.j @ 10:20:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] It looks as if Glow Telecom has teamed up with Britannia to offer 24/7 unmetered dialup access for just £9.99 per month (2 hour cut-off), or says Britannia's new E-Mail:
Glow 999/30
Unlimited Internet access 24 hours a day, 7 days a week AND save 30% on all your phone calls.
This service is a must for anyone who worries about the cost of time spent on the Internet. With Glow 999/30 there are NO Internet CALL CHARGES. You can surf the net 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, for a monthly subscription fee of only £9.99. Plus - you also get unlimited Free Email addresses and 20MB of webspace to build your own site.
Glow 999/30 not only gives you unlimited Internet access, you also get a 30% discount* on all your phone calls, Local, National, International and calls to Mobile phones. No catches or calling plan charges, just 30% discount* on all your calls all day, every day!
* All savings are in comparison to BT standard rates.
Thanks to one of our readers (Richard) for letting us know:
http://www.britanniatelecomclub.com/music |
BT To Team GPRS With Wi-Fi?
By:mark.j @ 10:03:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] The problem with BTOpenzone and its broadband wireless (Wi-Fi) hotspots is that they're not national and thus you can't always be covered.
However the operator now hopes to use the 2.5G GPRS services provided by mm02/02 to bridge that gap:
By bundling the two services together in one package, BT Openzone will be able to promise its subscribers a usable wireless data connection virtually anywhere in the UK, as well as high-speed access at one of its Wi-Fi hot spots.
David Hughes, director of mobile services at BT, told a seminar at the Enterprise Wireless Technology show in London this week that BT Openzone was planning to augment its Wi-Fi service with access to mmO2's GPRS network.
"We certainly intend to offer a combination of Wi-Fi and GPRS, which will create exciting opportunities for users," said Hughes, who suggested there could also be tie-ins with private Wi-Fi networks or home broadband products in the future. "This would let us offer the mother of all access solutions," Hughes added.
Unfortunately it's not yet clear exactly how BT intends to implement such a service, more @ ZDNet. |
No Frills ADSL Could Endanger ISPs
By:mark.j @ 9:57:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] A new report from the Forrester analyst group has said that services such as BTs BT 'No Frills' Broadband (ADSL Lite) product could put full ISP services out of businesses:
But while separating access from content makes sense for the incumbents it will create a nightmare for ISPs and portals, which have been struggling to offer content alongside services.
With the exceptions of T-Online and Wanadoo, European incumbents' ISP or portal offerings have struggled to create unique selling propositions or to generate profits, the report claimed.
"ADSL Lite dooms second-tier ISPs and portals like Tiscali and Supanet," said Forrester. "The incumbents' lower retail access prices, powerful bundling potential of internet access with telephony, and superior IT services skills will be too much to handle."
Despite most full ADSL ISP services offering more and being cheaper, they could still fall to BTs market hold, largely due to their control over the population and perception of such services.
The report suggest that cable operators, such as NTL and Telewest, could also try to open up their Internet platforms more to external ISPs. More @ VNUNet. |
ISPs Prep £30 Broadband Satellite
By:mark.j @ 9:46:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] It's being reported that two UK companies are preparing to launch a nationwide broadband satellite ISP service for just £30 per month, although sadly it'll only be a one-way system.
In other words you'll need an existing modem/ISDN and dialup ISP account, the satellite will only be for downloads:
Full details have yet to be released but Leeds-based ISP Everywhere Broadband claims its service will start at around £20 a month for a metered service, with a full unmetered service costing around £30 month. Installation costs are understood to be more than £200.
This service is based on Eutelsat's Opensky service, which provides downloads via satellite of speeds up to 1.5 Mbps. Information is uploaded via a standard phone line.
Elsewhere, independent satellite broadband provider Isonetric Broadband, claims to have released a product to "compete directly with ADSL". The £30 a-month service will give users up to 1mbps of bandwidth downstream enabling them to access broadband content on the Net.
You may remember that we rumoured a new Isonetric service at the beginning of this week, yet were told not to release the details until 14th October 2002. Since The Register has now released these early we can thus publish Isonetrics official line below:
Isonetric Broadband (a satellite broadband access provider based in Brighton) is intending to release a one way satellite product which will be available anywhere in the UK and Europe, and will be priced comparably to ADSL at approximately £30 per month for download speeds of up to 1mbps.
This will provide broadband internet access for those people who are not near an enabled exchange or who have the incorrect sort of phone lines/cabling.
While we don’t think it’s correct to advertise a one-way satellite service as a viable alternative to ADSL, it’s still another option to consider. Expect more details come 14th October 2002. |
NTL Broadband To Cover London
By:mark.j @ 9:36:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] DigitalSpy reports that NTL has announced its intention to rollout broadband cable modem ISP services across London:
ntl:home's London division has confirmed that a programme is now underway to provide service in most areas of London served by the network where broadband has not so far been rolled out.
ntl:home in London has been rapidly building out Broadband service and is at the present time providing it to half of the homes on its network in the capital.
Broadband is currently being launched in the City of Westminster and it is planned to launch service in Greenwich and Lewisham in the next few months. A programme is now underway to provide service in most other areas in London served by ntl:home during the coming year.
Anybody interested should pop along to THIS PAGE on NTLs site. |
Eclipse ISP Preps Broadband SDSL Trial
By:mark.j @ 9:30:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] | ADSLGuide reports that UK ISP Eclipse has begun to accept trial customers on 20 of BTs London based exchanges. More details, such as pricing, are expected to be released on 7th October 2002 next week. |
News - October 4,2002
Tiscali ISP Improperly Billing Customers
By:mark.j @ 2:40:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] After having completed our weekly ISP Complaints page update it became clear that a number of Tiscali's customers were seeing a common and quite serious problem with billing.
The most obvious issue appears to be that ex-customers, some of whom cancelled their accounts long (nearly a year!) ago, are still being billed. Three example complaints follow:
Although I cancelled my ********@worldonline.co.uk T100 account in January, (& received e-mail confirmation), & my address no longer functions, Tiscali are still billing me!! The latest amount they tried to deduct from my credit card was £35.96 on September the 10th. I have reported it to HSBC as a deliberate fraud. Fortunately their customer services are on the ball and are monitoring my account at my request and immediately credit it with a refund.
E-Mail By - Robert
-------------------------------------------
Late last year I decided to give the Tiscali free one month's trial a test. The service was okay but I decided not to take up a full account after the trial. I phoned customer services up and I told them to cancel my account.
In late August 2002 I received a letter from Sean Parrot ( Tiscali Customer Relationship Director) that they have been trying to recover payment for my Tiscali account and threatened me with further action if I do not contact them. I contacted customer services only to be told that my account remained active and that they will check the usage for any monies owed.
I do not owe them any money as I cancelled about 2 days before my free one month trial was over. I have also e-mailed Tiscali about this matter but I have not had any reply.
E-Mail By - Stephen
-------------------------------------------
Tiscali's billing procedures are arbitrary to say the least and trying to cancel is a complete nightmare. I also found when I was with them that the amount I thought I owed them never bore any resemblance to their figure. I also found that when they did take money it was always a strange amount. For example their bill said
I owed them £88 yet according to my credit card company they only took £33. There are no indications when they will take payments either which makes it very difficult to budget for.
Most ISPs usually send an email detailing the bill and the collection day. I cancelled them 3 weeks ago and I'm still waiting for the final bill which they said they would send. I contacted them a week ago informing them that I hadn't received their final bill and asked them when they would send final it but was told that they could not give a specific date but it would be "in the next few days." It's now more than week since that reply and still no bill.
E-Mail By - William
Unfortunately we don't have any senior contacts within Tiscali and have been unable to find somebody willing to discuss the above matters. Hopefully highlighting the problem in public will get a better response. |
3G Won't Turn A Profit For 15 Years
By:mark.j @ 1:29:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Forrester Research has today claimed that operators using next-generation 3G (UTMS) broadband wireless mobile phone services won't be able to break-even until the existing licenses expire:
In a new report, the company said that operators will need to spend at least another £22.5bn - the original cost of the licences for the UK alone - to build the networks and subsidise handset sales. Forrester believes that the average mobile operator will fail to break even by 2014, when the licences are up for renewal.
Operators paid more to acquire domestic licences than in any other European territory, so UK mobile companies will face a particularly uphill struggle.
Forrester predicts that the newest entrant, Hutchison, which is set to be the first operator to launch 3G services, will not break even for another 15 years. It will unveil next-generation services next month.
More @ netimperative.info . |
Freeserve ADSL For £19.99 Per Month
By:mark.j @ 1:21:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] The PCWorld and Dixons high-street store chains have teamed up with French Wanadoo owned UK ISP Freeserve to offer broadband ADSL for £19.99 per month, but only for six months:
Punters who buy an emachines desktop PC from Dixon's PC World will be able to sign up to Freeserve's ADSL service for £19.99 a month for six months, compared to the usual monthly subscription of £29.99. And those taking up the offer will also receive a free modem and connection, giving them a saving of around £150.
Mind you, you'll have to be quick - the offer only runs from 10 October to 22 October, although word is that it is possible that the promo could be extended. Then again, it might not.
The Register also reports that Freeserve has extended its free ADSL connection offer until the end of the year, no doubt helping the ISP to compete with BT 'No Frills' Broadband. |
Tiscali Launch £19.99 ADSL Service
By:mark.j @ 9:51:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] UPDATE: It looks as if Tiscali has failed to clearly mark the ADSL services on its site, of which there appear to be two. The £19.99 is indeed capped to 256Kbps, yet there's another for £27.99 @ 512Kbps.
We still can't be 100% sure of this because the site contradicts the 256 and 512Kbps speed packages with each other. However Tiscali does say directly that there are two, we just hope they make that clear on the site. The offer runs until 31st October.
The latest UK ISP to join the sun-£20 broadband ADSL market is Tiscali:
Today Tiscali announces the launch of it's new Tiscali Broadband service from only £19.99 a month.
For only £19.99 a month Tiscali Broadband is up to 5 times faster than normal dial-up connections so that you can download large files and send and receive email attachments in seconds. Plus Tiscali Broadband is permanently on so you don't have to waste time reconnecting every time you want to use the internet or email.
Tiscali Broadband also gives you:
* Always-on connection
* Keeps your line free so no missed calls
* Flat fee - no extra call charges
* Includes email, web space, chat and great content
There's also a 12 month contract. |
Bugbear Surpasses Klez E-Mail Worm
By:mark.j @ 9:39:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] The recently surfaced Bugbear e-mail worm (virus) has finally managed to surpass Klez.H as the fastest-spreading Internet virus, yet ironically it's having a positive effect:
The rise of Bugbear to the top of the virus charts is partly due to the speed at which it is spreading, but also in part to an unexpected effect that it is having.
Email and security service provider MessageLabs intercepted more than 21,000 copies of the virus on Thursday, compared with nearly 6,000 copies of Klez.H, which has topped the virus charts sporadically since February. This is partly because of Bugbear's rapid rise, but MessageLabs said that in addition Klez activity has suddenly dropped to about a quarter of its usual levels.
"With all the publicity around Bugbear, people are finally getting around to updating their antivirus software, so Klez is suddenly falling," MessageLabs chief technical officer Mark Sunner told ZDNet UK. "Klez has been going forever and ever, and now it's been killed off."
We wouldn't go so far as to say that it's been killed off; it's just not at the top of the chart anymore. More @ ZDNet. |
SPAM Circumvents Hotmail Filters
By:mark.j @ 9:33:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Microsoft's semi-free 'Hotmail' e-mail service, which recently imposed new SPAM (junk e-mail) filters after it was revealed that 80% of messages on the network were junk, has once again found its defences bypassed:
Spammers sending unsolicited emails from staff@somwhere.something are sailing past defences because addresses prefixed by staff can't be blocked by Hotmail's filter, Reg readers inform us.
It's a minor irritation, for now, and not something addressed by Hotmail's partnership with spam filtering specialist Brightmail.
Brightmail is yet to respond to our requests for comment on the issue but in the interests of fairness we note that its partnership with Hotmail aims to reduce - not eliminate - the amount of spam received by Hotmail users receive. This is reaching epidemic proportions.
Unfortunately there's currently no way that anybody could completely prevent junk e-mail, although they should still be able to solve the current problem. More @ The Register. |
BT Broadband Extends Cheap Installation
By:mark.j @ 9:27:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] BT has extended its offer of half price line activation on its BT 'No Frills' Broadband ADSL service until the end of the year:
It means anyone signing up for its no frills BT Broadband service (that's the wires only one with no email, content etc) can get their line activated for £30 instead of £60.
The promo runs until December 31 2002 and lines must be activated before January 31 2003.
News of the promo's extension comes as BT Retail moves into the second phase of its £33m ad campaign to plug broadband. It's already spent £10m for a barrage of ads to talk-up the potential of broadband.
Of course you could always go for a full and often cheaper ISP service, which would ultimately save you more money by charging less on the monthly fee. More @ The Register. |
Today Is National Computing Day
By:mark.j @ 9:20:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Apparently Internet awareness and PC recycling is at the top of this years National Computing Day (NCD), which is, if you hadn't already guessed from the subject, TODAY:
Even the government is involved, with the Office of the e-Envoy pledging its support.
According to the Office of National Statistics, just over half the population of the UK has accessed the internet. NCD is an ideal opportunity for people who have never tried computing and the internet to find out what these technologies have to offer.
The purpose of today's event is to raise awareness of the digital divide and how to address it.
The VNUNet item points out that further information can be obtained from the NCD website:
http://www.nationalcomputingday.co.uk |
4 More Exchanges Hit ADSL Trigger
By:mark.j @ 9:15:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] ADSLGuide reports that the local BT exchanges for Leek, Maestag, Methyr Tydfil and Twyford have all hit their broadband ADSL pre-registration trigger levels.
That's five this week, which is quite good going; it's a total of eleven overall.
In related news and the ISP Business Serve Plc is offering the first 500 businesses to order its 20:1 contended ADSL product a free no-obligation 30 day trial of its service. |
Updated Fast24 ISP Service Status
By:mark.j @ 9:08:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] The troubled unmetered dialup ISP Fast24, which is expected to upgrade its capacity today, has updated yesterday’s service update (thanks to Glenn for informing us) and sent it out to customers via E-Mail:
As many of you will appreciate, since the demise of the original 1430845 unmetered dial number we have had a number of issues with our suppliers which have dramatically affected our ability to provide the service level we would wish.
Currently, we provide connectivity by purchasing access from a common pool of ports. Unfortunately, this means that the control and provision of these ports is not under our direct control. However, as of now, we are entering into direct contracts for the supply of future port capacity and shall soon begin migrating our existing customer base to our new ports in due course.
Currently, we are coming to the end of a complete service review which was instigated in order that we might improve the level of service that we offer to you, our customers. Indeed, we are striving to provide a service which is above the industry average.
In order to reverse the recent decline in service levels, we are in the process of implementing a number of immediate steps to improve the situation. The first two of these are:
1. The termination of a number of abusive accounts that have been seriously affecting the availability of ports. This step should free-up approximately 20% of the ports available on the 08089996356 access number.
2. Purchasing port access in our own right on the 08089996356 access number. The immediate benefit of this should be a virtual 50% increase in the capacity available on the 08089996356 access number. This increase in port capacity will be implemented during the course of tomorrow morning (4th October 2002), and the upgrade should be completed by lunchtime.
Additional steps are also planned over the coming two months, which should continue to enhance the service.
We sincerely appreciate your patience during recent months, and hope to continue serving you in the future. |
News - October 3,2002
V21 ADSL Free Connection
By:Keith @ 5:30:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] V21 have emailed 5000 selected people today to advise that they are currently running an offer on their ADSL service:
Welcome to the world of unlimited FAST ADSL internet access from V21.
You are amongst a select 5000 that will receive your ADSL product at
priority speed and benefit from a special offer if you sign up to
broadband within the next 7 days.
You will not only recieve 'Always On' ADSL at an award winning price of £19.99 per month but V21 will also pay the £59.99 to BT on your behalf for the connection needed. That's right FREE line connection !!!
Our service is unrestricted and currently the cheapest in the UK.
All you will need to spend is £79.99 for your super fast ADSL modem.
There's no need to change your line and get another one... ADSL will still run the internet at the same time you are talking to friends on the telephone !
WHY WAIT ??
Order today and not only will we courier out to your home or office your new adsl modem free of charge, but we will also contact BT on your behalf to get your telephone line enabled. You could be sufing at 512kps within 10 days.
However if you visit their website you can also take advantage of the offer so it would seem its not just 5000 selected few. More details at v21.co.uk |
UK Broadband Growth Overtakes EU
By:mark.j @ 1:14:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] It's hardly surprising that, especially given the EUs pre-existing lead, the UKs broadband growth rate has finally managed to overtake France, Germany and Italy.
The latest statistics from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) also mentions that the UKs one-millionth broadband connection will be in place within two weeks:
The country is still well down the global broadband rankings, but grew faster than average in the second quarter, OECD communications analyst Sam Paltridge said.
Of the G8 countries, Japan is growing fastest, followed by Canada, the US and the UK.
"That's a big change from a year ago, and there's no reason why the UK shouldn't grow further with lower costs, more advertising and greater variety of broadband products now on offer," said Paltridge.
It's nice to have some good news, although sadly BT used the opportunity to once again re-iterate its stance that national broadband coverage isn't likely, especially with stiff and confused regulation; so they say. More @ VNUNet. |
Freedom2Surf Prep Broadband in a Box
By:mark.j @ 9:41:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] The latest UK ISP to turn their broadband ADSL service into a physical retail offering is Freedom2Surf:
Freedom2Surf Launches 'Broadband in a Box' !
The Perfect Christmas Gift for that online shopper/gamer/geek in your family
Tired of waiting for ages to get online? Frustrated by the five minute wait for your favourite website to download? Then Freedom2Surf's Broadband in a Box could be the answer to your Internet prayers! Broadband in a Box, launched just in time for Christmas, offers unlimited, always-on Internet access with no extra call charges - you can even use the phone and surf at the same time.
Freedom2Surf's broadband package gives you an Internet connection up to 10 times faster than a normal modem, so web pages load instantaneously. You can send and receive emails instantly, download your favourite music in seconds as well as watch videos and enjoy the latest in online gaming. All this for just £22.50 a month. Broadband in a Box is the perfect Christmas gift for the Internet enthusiast, busy professional, the whole family in fact!
Broadband in a Box is available for just £135 +VAT and then just £22.50 a month including VAT for home users. Broadband in a box includes all the equipment you need (an ADSL modem and two microfilters) and simple instructions on how to get online. The package includes 20 free email addresses and 20mb of free webspace.
Broadband in a Box will be available from the end of October and to order yours in time for Christmas, please visit http://www.freedom2surf.net or just call 01727 811530. Subject to availability. Requires a BT line. |
BTO To Cut Broadband Wireless Prices
By:mark.j @ 9:38:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] BTs BTOpenzone broadband wireless (Wi-Fi) hotspots could have their unmetered prices cut as the service grows in popularity:
Speaking at a seminar at the Enterprise Wireless Technology show in London on Wednesday, BT director of mobile services David Hughes said the prices charged by BT Openzone would drop as the company signs up more users and builds more Wi-Fi hot spots.
"Stuff will happen to pricing as we scale upwards in size and our user numbers go up," said Hughes. "Our pricing has been carefully positioned, but yes, it's in the upper quartile," he added.
Unlimited access to BT Openzone, which launched in August this year, costs £85 per month, with 600 minutes of access costing £40 per month, and 300 minutes of access costing £20 per month. Some in the industry have claimed that such prices are simply too high for most consumers.
Sadly ZDNet reports that any such reductions aren't likely to occur too soon, yet sooner or later they should happen. No mention of how big any such reduction would be is suggested. |
Free Broadband Wireless Hotspots
By:mark.j @ 9:31:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] It was only a matter of time, yet now a 3com Wi-Fi technology backed St.Albans-based start-up (Wialess.com) is looking to offer broadband wireless Internet access in pubs and bars for free:
Rather than charging per hour on the subscription or pay-as-you-go basis put forward by BT for its Openzones, launched this summer, Wialess.com's plan is to offer internet access for free and source revenues from venues themselves, in the same way as they pay for satellite TV.
According to marketing director Brian Parker, the company, a Gold Partner of 3Com, is also talking to health club, pub and wine bar chains in London, and is also currently installing home networking solutions into new and existing homes in the South East.
Speaking from the Enterprise Wireless Technology Exhibition, Parker cited a report by the Bank of America from June, which backs the free model and says the effect of wireless LANs on 3G revenues will be "quite serious".
The netimperative.info item notes that the model is still in its early stages, yet it's a very good idea and will hopefully spread. |
Fast24 ISP Issues 2nd Service Update
By:mark.j @ 9:25:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] The troubled UK unmetered dialup ISP Fast24 has today issued a second service update:
NEW PORTS:
We have just agreed with providers of the 08089996356 number to increase the number of ports available by almost 50%. This (we hope) will vastly improve the level of service available on this, and indirectly the 08089933225 number.
The new ports are due to be added on the morning of Friday 4th October (this Friday).
We still aim to crack down on those users abusing the service once realtime accounting information becomes available.
IMPROVED BACKUP PROCEEDURE FOR WEB SERVERS:
Because it has not been our policy to offer a formal back-up of our customers websites, but to leave this in hands of our customers, we did not hold an up to date off server backup of all websites in that area. Therefore, though we have restored in excess of 90% of all websites (and in excess of 95% of all web forwardings that were present on that server), we would ask that you visit your web site and, if required, re-upload any missing or outdated files (using the username, password, and ftp host that you originally used) to your website.
If you find that your web forwarding is not working, please send an email to priority@larkinternet.com , detailing your domain name, customer name and where the site should be forwarding.
As a result of this episode, we have now decided to instigate an off-server backup proceedure for customers websites. This new facility, which is planned to become operational on Monday 7th October, will provide a daily backup of your website, or forwarding, when this site is held on one of our Linux Web Servers. The provision of this new backup service does not mean that you should not keep a backup of your own website, and is not intended as a guarantee that we will be able to recover a backup of your website in the event of any future hardware or software failure. However, we sincerely hope that the inconvenience which resulted from Sunday's hardware failure will not occur again.
Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience caused during this recent event, and the 08089996356 congestion.
It’ll be interesting to see whether the upgrade improves the ISPs performance come Saturday or Friday afternoon. |
C2 Internet Launch Multi-SDSL Services
By:mark.j @ 9:20:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] ADSLGuide is reporting that C2 Internet has become the first ISP to combine broadband SDSL supplies from BT, Bulldog and FibreNet (LLU) to give a wider coverage of broadband SDSL business services:
Get Fast Fixed & Symmetric - SDSL Internet Access Today - SDSL Explained
- Symmetric DSL connection with speeds from 256K to 2MB - replace legacy Leased Lines
- FN services SLA - superior service to ADSL
- Choose from three Telecom providers networks - BD, BT, FN services
- Choice of 10 to 1, 5 to 1 contention ratio for Business 101-BT & Business Pro 51-FN products
- 1 to 1 contention for Business Enterprise 11-FN services
- Use SDSL to provide Internet Direct connectivity
- Use SDSL to provide Office Connect - inter-office LAN extension for voice and data services
- Use SDSL to provide Voice Select replacement to Primary Rate ISDN30 lines for cheaper calls
Typically this covers roughly 50 exchanges with BT/Bulldog in London and Fibrenet at various other places around the UK. The service will cost some £430 per month for a 2Mbps line on BT/Bulldog.
Fibrenet will do a 2Mbps line at 1:1 contention for £767 per month to £971 depending on the area of the country. The prices might seem high, yet it's hardly surprising given the low contention ratios. |
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