February 17, 2003 - February 21, 2003
News - February 21,2003
NTL Users Demonstrate @ ISPA Awards
By:mark.j @ 9:49:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Barely a crowd, yet apparently half a dozen NTL customers gathered outside of yesterdays ISPA awards event in London.
Not surprisingly they weren't there to support their provider, instead a demonstration was held against the operator because of its recent broadband usage cap:
The plucky group of protesters was barred from entering the hotel but instead targeted those people turning up to the glitzy event by handing out leaflets condemning the cableco's move.
One of the protesters braving the cold night told The Register: "We will not give up our fight."
It's hoped that the protest group will soon be able to present a petition of nearly 3,900 signatures to both NTL and the Government's e-minister. We salute all those involved. More @ The Register. |
Freeserve & Littlewoods Market ADSL
By:mark.j @ 9:42:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] UK ISP Freeserve has struck a new broadband ADSL marketing deal with Littlewoods, the popular high-street retail chain:
The deal will see Freeserve's service promoted in 266 outlets and the two companies undertaking a joint direct marketing campaign.
Littlewoods' web-based home shopping business will also be advertised on Freeserve's e-commerce channel and marketed in its email newsletters to subscribers.
The move is the latest step in Freeserve's effort to expand its broadband subscriber base. The company, the market leader in narrowband, has seen BT take over 50% of the ADSL market.
The netimperative.info item reports that Freeserve now has its broadband products marketed in 1,800 stores across the UK. |
ISPA 2003 Award Winners Announced!
By:mark.j @ 9:27:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] The UK Internet Service Providers Association (ISPA) has finally announced the winners of its 2003 industry awards, although there was only one real surprise – Pipex.
They may have been innovative in price, yet the fact that their service spent almost half the year in dire trouble has been completely overlooked.
We note that the ISPA has finally made an attempt to recognise smaller providers as well:
Consumer Division
Best Consumer Application
Winner: Freeserve SiteBuilder
The judges found that Freeserve’s Sitebuilder helped to break down perceived technological barriers, enabling non-technical consumers to develop an online presence.
Best Consumer Broadband Provider
Winner: Pipex
Pipex were found to be innovative in price reductions. The Pipex ADSL offering provides a good access level price for consumers requiring an all in one package to access the Internet with a high-speed connection.
Best Unmetered ISP
Winner: Freeserve
Freeserve’s unmetered access was thought to give consumers value-for-money access and services, good customer support and the flexibility of not being tied into a contract.
Best National Consumer ISP
Winner: One.Tel.
The judges highlighted the penny per minute access tariff and the Centrica influenced bundling of telephony services to provide diverse and good value Internet services to consumers.
Business Division
Best Small or Niche Market ISP
Winner: West Dorset Internet.
The judges saw that not only was West Dorset Internet small, but it also served a particular niche market. WDI uses wireless masts to deliver broadband to rural areas, a business regarded as both innovative and challenging by the judges.
Best Business Application
Winner: JetSet from Community Internet.
The judges found JetSet an effective application to enable business travellers to prepay for their online time so they can dial-up to the Internet in over 150 countries without changing ISP.
Best Small Business ISP
Winner: Fastnet
Fastnet were seen to be a company dedicated to transparent pricing and dynamic enough to tailor their services to individual small businesses.
Best Business Broadband Provider
Winner: Eclipse Internet.
Eclipse’s resource commitment to research and development and customer service impressed the judges, as did their commitment to offering important value added services, such as virtual private network solutions.
Best National Business ISP
Winner: Claranet
Claranet wins this award for the second time in a row. The judges sited their continued focus on good customer service to the business community.
Industry Division
Best Hardware
Winner: Electronic Frontier
Not only did the judges admire the plug and play nature of Electronic Frontier’s products, they also highlighted good customer service. The levels of support offered were found to reduce the time needed for internal training.
Best Broadband Supplier
Winner: West Dorset Internet
The difficulty of getting broadband to rural areas prompted the judges to award this very small operation. WDI was described as a gutsy company providing an alternative to broadband provision and bypassing local loop unbundling.
Best Co-Location Provider
Winner: Telecity
The judges made much of Telecity’s facilities outside of the docklands. Telecity was found to have carrier notions and performed to the best standards. They were regarded as competent and easy to deal with.
Best Carrier
Winner: Cable and Wireless
Good transit times, global reach, operating their own network and competitive pricing for national transit prompted the judges to choose Cable and Wireless as the Best Carrier.
Best Search Engine
Winner: Google
The judges found Google to offer good, profitable partnerships. It’s clean results and editorial policy of not selling rankings make it a useful tool for end users, so good for ISPs to partner with.
Internet Watch Foundation Award for Developments in Online Safety
Winner: Childnet International for Kidsmart
Kidsmart uses a roadshow, lesson and classroom activity plans, drama scripts, online role playing, leaflets and posters, a seminar for parents and an effective website to communicate to children, parents and teachers about being safe on the internet.
Internet Hero
Winner: Richard Allan MP
Richard Allan MP for Sheffield Hallam wins this award for his ongoing support and understanding of the Internet and the Internet industry.
Internet Villain
Winner: The Home Office
The Home Office wins this award for the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security (ATCS) Act and continued delays associated with the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA). |
News - February 20,2003
Wireless Hotspots To Be Standardised
By:mark.j @ 3:00:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] It looks as if broadband Wi-Fi hotspots could get a further boost if the makers of wireless networking hardware can agree to standardise the way that computers join and swap data across such networks:
The initiative should make it much easier for itinerant laptop owners to sit down and start using wireless networks wherever they find them by making only a minimum of changes to their computer's set-up.
Eventually identification technologies included in laptops and handheld computers could mean that users get one bill for all the separate wireless networks they have used while travelling.
It's a bold project, yet should combine well with earlier initiatives, which are designed to make it more obvious when you're in such a location. More @ BBC News Online. |
Lincolnshire's £7m Broadband Grant
By:mark.j @ 2:54:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] The European Union has issued Lincolnshire County Council with a £7m grant to subsidise broadband services for 3,000 rural businesses:
The grant, reaped from the European Regional Development Fund, will be used to help firms pay for high-speed services and attract broadband providers, which have so far shown a reluctance to invest in infrastructure to serve many rural areas.
The council, which has itself put a further £7m into the project, also hopes to attract technology companies to the county and to improve internet links for residential users.
It will start taking applications for subsidies from businesses later this year.
More @ netimperative.info . |
Internet Central's Home 1/2Mbps ADSL!
By:mark.j @ 2:49:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] The UK ISP Internet Central has today launched residential versions of BTs 1 and 2Mbps broadband ADSL services:
INTERNET CENTRAL ANNOUNCES THE UK’S FIRST 1MB AND 2MB 50:1 WIRES ONLY ADSL SOLUTION WITH A STARTING PRICE BELOW £30
Internet Central, the Keele based ISP and licensed Regional Telecommunication Operator has today announced the launch of 1 and 2mb/s Wires Only ADSL service targeted at both small businesses and the domestic market.
The service, which will be contended at 50:1, will be the first of its kind in the UK marketplace and will be available on all ADSL enabled exchanges throughout the UK. Customers requiring a fast, low cost install and rental solution for domestic or “Small Office/Home Office” (SOHO) can now enjoy the benefits of an “always on”, fixed price internet connection at an “entry level” price.
The two new services will be offered in 4 variants
• No Frills connection and rental only
• Professional package which offers a 200mb of web and e-mail space, 30 e-mail accounts, email virus and spam filtering
• Business Light package which includes 100mb of web and e-mail space, 15 e-mail accounts e-mail virus scanning and spam filtering
• Domestic package which include 50mb of web and e-mail space, 5 e-mail accounts, a .me.uk domain name, and e-mail virus and spam filtering
A range of ADSL modems and routers are also available at competitive prices.
Prices for the 1mb solution start at £29.99 + VAT while the 2mb solutions start at £39.99 + VAT. These prices are extremely competitive and are intended to drive a higher usage of ADSL technology.
The service will launch on March 3rd and pre-orders are now being taken. As this is a brand new product – not available anywhere else at the present time- Internet Central is anticipating installation lead times of 10 working days. We are currently working on a migration solution for existing ADSL customers who wish to transfer to the new services but this will not be available until mid April.
It's not entirely clear how IC is able to offer such a service, although NTL and Telewest now have some more serious competition to worry about.
Indeed, unlike similar offers from Bulldog, IC's service still uses BTs own network and is thus available to any ADSL enabled exchanges. |
Content Is Top - BTs Broadband Plan
By:mark.j @ 2:19:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Pierre Danon, BT Retail's Chief Executive, has today stated that content, rather than increased bandwidth, is at the top of the company's broadband agenda:
Getting people to pay for a raft of new services will be the next stage in BT's broadband strategy, as the telecoms giant tries to persuade people to abandon dial-up modems in favour of fast net connections.
He acknowledged that the UK net audience is unlikely to increase much beyond 50% of the population. Instead the real challenge for broadband providers will be in persuading those with dial-up connections to make the switch.
BT is hoping to tempt consumers by offering services such as 24-hour home surveillance and educational content, offering parents access to the curriculum materials in return for a small monthly fee.
The BBC News Online item notes Danon's belief that a concentration on content will not be easy, not least because Yahoo, MSN and AOL etc. are already doing it.
It's also going to be hard to tempt people off dialup, especially where broadband isn't available. |
Freedial ISP Responds To Criticism
By:mark.j @ 2:01:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] The much troubled UK ISP Freedial has finally responded to some of our questions regarding the serious issues with broadband ADSL line activations.
Many customers, at least those that are left, have been stuck waiting for up to two or three months and still their lines have yet to be enabled. The only updates received appear to be recycled versions of older ones.
Earlier in the week ISP Review put a few of the most common concerns to the ISP and asked for some clarity on the issues, their response is as follows:
Firstly let me start by saying that these delays have truly been out of our hands - We are now collating the details and preparing an update as a result of the current round of meetings with BT to obtain activation dates - this is due to go out within 24hrs.
1) Why are those choosing to leave your service being charged a £20 cancellation fee? The excuse given by one of your responses is that the £20 is because the kit had already been used (hard considering the service hadn't been delivered), while the T&C's state that it's an administrative fee. How can you justify the charge after such poor service, or lack thereof?
The majority of cancellations have incurred no charges at all. In some cases customers returning modem kits in poor or un-resalable condition or with components missing or damaged have been charged a maximum of £20. Some of the items have been returned in an extremely poor condition.
The £20 cancellation fee stated in our T&C's is a different matter and is for new orders where a request to cancel is made within a short period of placing the order - this charge is not levied for customers wishing to cancel having waited an unreasonable length of time. The returns/cancellation policy can be found here - please look under the Broadband Order Cancellations sections for more details: https://secure.worlddomain.ws/freedial/shop/shipping.php
2) If the MOPS (new BT ordering method) system is to blame for the continued line activation delays then why aren't you using the same method that every other ISP appears to use?
The MOPS system is part of a new product - basically a Managed Service which includes pipe sharing etc.. this is what we have signed up for. BT urged us to use this as a stop gap service insisting it was a much quicker option for getting our customers serviced. Unfortunately they have not been able to implement the service to our, and ultimately our customers', satisfaction.
3) Do orders actually get put to BT? Some customers have subscribed to both FreeDial and another service (such as Pipex), yet after placing the order Pipex cancelled it due to a failed line check and FreeDial kept it on. However in both cases only Pipex had a registered order with BT, what's going on? Why did FreeDial confirm the line check had passed when it clearly couldn't have?
Absolutely - all the outstanding orders have been placed on the MOPS system. BT failed to implement the service correctly at outset and the orders were just sitting there. Preliminary line checks were carried out and on an indication of a possible pass were placed on MOPS for further processing. At the point of activation further technical line issues/problems can arise that would rule an order out but obviously our orders at that point had not reached that level of processing.
There is now light at the end of the tunnel, another high level meeting to finally iron out the outstanding issues is scheduled for tomorrow - Friday 21st and we will be updating our customers as to the outcome as soon as possible after.
We note that Freedial has just issued another service update, which is much as stated in the last paragraph above and can be read under one of the topics in our Freedial forum.
Unfortunately actions speak louder than words, thus we’ll be stopping back on this issue toward the end of next week to see whether the ISP is still all talk or if things have actually improved. Here’s to hoping for a brighter future. |
BTO ISP Cuts Unmetered Dialup Price
By:mark.j @ 1:39:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Not usually know for cutting its prices, UK ISP BTOpenworld has today lowered the cost of its Anytime (unmetered) narrowband product to £5.99 for the first month:
Anytime Offer Enhanced by BT Openworld
BT Openworld today highlighted its commitment to the narrowband ISP market through the implementation of a price promotion on its Anytime product. Narrowband internet access from BT Openworld will now be available at £5.99 for the first month and then £15.99 per month after that - offering an initial saving of £10 off the cost of getting online.
The £5.99 offer will run from February 11th and applies to all new subscriptions to the Anytime product made before March 31st. The seven-week promotion supersedes all previous offers and will be integrated into the current BT Openworld television-based advertising campaign, which launched on January 2nd this year and runs until March 25th.
The aim of this promotion is to raise incremental BT Openworld Anytime product registrations and highlight BT Openworld's continued commitment to the narrowband web user.
"We're committed to the entire ISP market and it's important that narrowband continues to grow within this, as a dial-up connection sometimes better suits the web users' needs. Narrowband products are important in regions areas not yet enabled with broadband technologies and especially for the light or occasional web user." said a BT Openworld spokesperson.
Included in the BT Openworld Anytime offering is anti-spam and anti virus protection at no extra cost. As well as parental controls to provide for a safe family web environment, subscribers also get 10 email addresses and 50Mb of web space - allowing people to build their own sites. Anytime is a flexible option for the internet user as it has no annual contract and no financial commitment beyond the first month.
Terms and conditions apply.
Curious that they should still be touting a start date of 11th February inside a press release that was only just released today. |
BT Responds - Satellite ISP Usage Cap
By:mark.j @ 1:30:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] UK ISP BTOpenworld has today issued us with a personal response to the recently reported broadband satellite ISP bandwidth cap news item.
We must admit to being surprised, we weren't expecting BTO to reply, indeed we didn't even ask them to. It's pleasant to see such a quick reaction and they even noted a random topic by one of our forum posters:
BT Openworld Business Internet Services
Broadband Satellite
REACTIVE MEDIA STATEMENT
From Monday 17th February, we contacted a small number of our satellite customers regarding their usage of our broadband satellite service.
These customers, representing less than one per cent of the user base, are using a disproportionate percentage of bandwidth, which is affecting the quality of service that our whole customer base should experience. This is mainly due to the heavy use of a number of bandwidth-hungry applications / practices, such as peer to peer, hosting of large web sites, or continuous file transfer. The connection of more than the stipulated number of PCs to the service can also lead to excessive traffic.
Satellite Broadband has enabled us to offer the benefits of broadband in areas where ADSL or Cable broadband is not available. To ensure that we are able to continue to deliver a high quality of service to all of our customers, we have notified these heavy users that they need to adjust their usage patterns.
Last week's claims by ISP Review forum member “dlknight” that his satellite usage was being capped by BT Openworld is incorrect as BT Openworld was not capping heavy users at the time.
The fact that BT Openworld has this week begun to proactively manage its satellite network to ensure optimum use of bandwidth across the customer base is unrelated. It is driven by BT Openworld’s desire to maintain the service quality for the majority and ensure all customers receive a fair share of bandwidth. This will result in the temporary limitation of speeds to the ‘heavy users’ during busy periods. There are no plans at present to restrict our DSL network.
Unfortunately BTO still isn’t clear on what they consider to be heavy usage, yet we will put this to them. It’s also worth noting that last sentence: “ There are no plans at present to restrict our DSL network.” |
Wireless Auctions Threaten BB Growth
By:mark.j @ 10:08:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Apparently auctions of wireless licenses could pose a serious threat to the growth of broadband Britain:
Telecoms companies wanting to sell bandwidth on radio frequencies require a licence, so the government plans to liberate new sections of the spectrum as part of its broadband strategy. The 3.4Ghz auction is about to start, and consultations about the use of 3.6Ghz and 5.8Ghz will also go ahead this year.
The idea sounds good in principle. But suppliers say splitting the country into 15 regions makes the model unworkable. Experts on broadband in Wales - where remote hills are often used as an example of the limitations of ADSL - claim that the model will stifle development.
The danger is that companies will only bid for licences covering areas with a high enough population to guarantee a return on their investment. Once the deal is signed, only high-return areas will be enabled because the original plans - for licences to include an obligation to serve more rural areas - were scrapped.
We've heard this argument before from members of the Welsh Assembly, it remains to be seen how it would hold up in practical terms. More @ VNUNet. |
Elderly People Lost In Digital Divide
By:mark.j @ 9:58:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] New research from the National Audit Office (NAO) has found that the digital ‘age’ is leaving elderly people behind.
Apparently less than 1 out of every 6 people above the age of 65 have ever visited a website or sent an e-mail:
That compares to more than nine out of every 10 people aged between 15 and 25 who have accessed the internet. NAO head Sir John Bourn said ministers must work to reverse this "digital divide".
"E-services are potentially a great boon to older people many of whom have mobility problems, have difficulty in gaining access to sources of information, live alone or want to remain independent and involved."
More @ BBC News Online. |
EzAccess ISP Revises Packages
By:mark.j @ 9:53:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Yet another update from the UK ISP EzAccess (TheDotComplete), which has today announced the revision of its various Internet access packages:
EzAccess has published its revised packages on the website. These include increases in package hours as well as scrapping of less popular packages such as the Insomniac package.
The £8.99 package has also been evaluated with a 20 hour increase in available hours.
EzAccess also boasts one of the UK's cheapest ADSL services (priced at £19.99) with a limited half price activation offer running.
Users will also be entered into our ADSL sweepstake competition which will award users with free ADSL access. We are also running a FREE Month of ADSL for every customer that refers another customer to any of our packages. Terms and conditions apply. |
NTL Insults Customers Over DL Cap
By:mark.j @ 9:49:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] NTLs reason for not informing its broadband cable modem service customers of the new download limit was because it didn't think they were intelligent enough to understand it!:
So says Kingsley Smith, the campaigner behind the Don't Pay NTL, who met Bill Goodland, NTL's Internet director, and Steve Upton (Technical/Network Manager) in Hook yesterday to discuss the cableco's decision to cap its broadband service.
According to Mr Smith, the decision to cap the service was taken by Mr Goodland. And it was he who decided not to tell customers because he "didn't think they were 'Tech' enough to understand".
So exactly how technologically minded do you have to be to understand a 1GB daily download limit? More @ The Register. |
BT Explores Slower DSL - Greater Reach
By:mark.j @ 9:42:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Many of you may remember our past calls for BT to introduce a slower derivative of ADSL, which could potentially extend the coverage of their broadband offerings.
Thankfully BT is now examining the possibility of offering a 256Kbps ADSL product, which could extend the technologies reach and potentially be more affordable:
Trials are still at an early stage, but it is possible that this product could help to close Britain's broadband divide. A significant proportion of homes are located too far from their local exchange for BT's current consumer broadband product -- which runs at 512Kbps -- to work, because of technical limitations.
"We are looking at ways of changing the distance restrictions of ADSL, and examining how we can offer broadband over longer distances by reducing the guaranteed bandwidth," a BT Wholesale spokesman told ZDNet UK on Wednesday. "This is still at a very early stage, though," he added.
BT is understandably keen not to talk up the idea at this stage, for fear of raising false hopes. So far, it is only running a very limited trial involving some 10 people, all located beyond ADSL's current range.
The ZDNet item quotes BT as stating that there is now potential for a larger trial, possibly taking place during late March 2003. I for one would welcome such a product. |
News - February 19,2003
Eastern Europe Internet Usage Rising
By:mark.j @ 3:12:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] The latest statistics out of IDC Research show that Internet usage in Central and Eastern Europe is growing.
The percentage of Internet users going online at least once a month is expected to hit 17% during 2003, rising to 27% by 2006:
The research company’s latest study suggests that Internet usage rates in the region is climbing steadily, particularly in Estonia and Slovenia where Internet penetration levels are on par with those in Western Europe.
Total Internet connections are projected to reach 5.6 million in 2003, of which, dial-up connections will account for 85% of the total.
IDC is also predicting a rise in ecommerce spending in Central and Eastern Europe. Total spending is projected to reach $4.4 billion this year.
The NUA item reports that the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland are the key e-commerce markets in the region. |
EU Online Multiplayer Gaming Grows
By:mark.j @ 3:02:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] The latest Nielsen/NetRatings study has found that the number of European Internet users playing online multiplayer games has doubled since last year:
Online games have the most dedicated audiences in France and Germany, followed by the Netherlands. But the UK, which is Europe's second largest online market, has only 1.1 million people gaming online.
According to Nielsen/NetRatings the lower take-up in the UK could be linked to the fact that there are less web users using broadband internet connections than in the rest of Europe.
But the popularity of online gaming will be strengthened by the sales of current gaming consoles, which include broadband connectivity and services such as X-Box Live.
The Web-User item notes that almost 6 million European surfers visited a games site during January 2003, which compares with 2.8 million last year. |
Gov & ISPs Close Down Radio Pirates
By:mark.j @ 2:54:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] The government has enlisted the help of ISPs to work alongside its Radiocommunications Agency (RA), which is asking Internet providers to close down sites that promote illegal pirate radio stations:
In the past, the RA's focus has primarily been just on the actual broadcasters, and latest figures released this week suggest it is succeeding -- with the number of estimated active pirate broadcasters down by almost a fifth.
People or companies who advertise such broadcasters or provide premises are also liable to be prosecuted, and the Department of Trade and Industry is keen to point out that this includes people who promote pirate stations on the Web. An ISP that hosts promotional activity for a pirate radio station might also be committing an offence by hosting this illegal content, but there's no suggestion that the RA would seek to bring a prosecution against such a service provider.
"We're working with the Internet industry on the issue of Web sites that are illegally advertising these stations. When ISPs are made aware, they're keen to help by taking down these sites," a DTI spokesman told ZDNet UK News on Tuesday, adding that this is still a fledgling area for the RA.
The ZDNet item reports that ISPs have been happy to help. |
BT Signs IBN ADSL Conversion Deal
By:mark.j @ 1:25:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] BT has signed what's claimed to be the biggest ADSL conversion deal in the UK (so far) with Inspired Broadcast Networks (IBN), which is the largest operator of coin operated equipment world-wide:
BT has signed the biggest ADSL conversion deal seen in this country that promises to revolutionise the UK entertainment machines market. The three year broadband deal has been signed with Inspired Broadcast Networks (IBN), the digital division of Leisure Link, the largest operator of coin operated equipment world-wide.
Leisure Link is the UK's largest provider of 'pay to play' games machines to pubs, bars and other locations such as betting shops, motorway service stations and arcades, with 90,000 machines in 30,000 locations. A growing number of these machines are connected to the company's main servers, mostly via ISDN lines.
The new £17.5 million contract with BT, over three years, will initially involve the wholesale conversion of 3,000 existing ISDN lines to ADSL (broadband) between February and September 2003. This will be followed by the creation of 18,000 new broadband lines over the next three years as IBN expands the number of digital entertainment machines across the UK.
In 2000 IBN launched the 'Itbox', a connected, multimedia entertainment product that is set to change the face of the digital pay to play market. Broadband connectivity will increase the number and sophistication of the games available on a single machine, and will also enable IBN to change the games offered on all its Itboxes overnight, rather than physically moving machines from location to location. Broadband will also enable many faults to be diagnosed and fixed remotely.
Russell Hoyle, chairman of Inspired Broadcast Networks said: "IBN is committed to investing in new technology that promises to transform the future of the pay to play market, and our partnership with BT will help us develop the most technically advanced infrastructure with which we can lead the industry into the next generation. The high speed BT broadband solution will allow us to expand our digital gaming solutions much more rapidly than would have otherwise been possible - and after the initial investment broadband is considerably cheaper than ISDN has been."
Danny McLaughlin, managing director of BT Major Business said: "This contract demonstrates yet more possibilities of broadband, which is set to revolutionise the user' s experience of 'pay to play' entertainment such as quiz and arcade games, and also demonstrates our commitment to delivering innovative and cost effective ICT solutions to the mid-sized corporate market. BT will be supporting IBN in broadband-enabling about 25 machines a day for the next three years, enabling the company to move even further ahead of its competitors." |
The Broadband For Box Campaign
By:mark.j @ 1:19:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] A new broadband campaign site for Box (Rural North Wiltshire) has appeared and can be found here:
http://www.broadband4box.co.uk
Nick Brook explains the premise: I have recently started a campaign to get broadband to our village. The Broadband for Box campaign has a website at www.broadband4box.co.uk and is currently trying to get flyers printed by BT.
We have had support from local businesses and individuals and my MP has been quite active in trying to increase the rollout of broadband to rural areas in North Wiltshire.
At present Nick's campaign appears to be half-way to its goal and hopefully this small bit of publicity will help things along, if only slightly. |
Netscape v7.02 Browser Released
By:mark.j @ 10:36:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]
4d Internet ISP Launches vISP Service
By:mark.j @ 9:54:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] UK ISP 4d Internet has today become the latest provider to introduce its own virtual ISP (vISP) solution:
The UK ISP 4d Internet (http://www.4dinternet.co.uk) has today released a vISP solution for those wanting to start their own ISP. The vISP solution from 4d Internet will allow you to sell your own PAYG dialup, unmetered dialup, unmetered ISDN, and ADSL connectivity products all branded as you see fit.
A vISP solution could potentially be a large source of revenue for any online business looking to expand especially those already related to ISP services in some way such as hosting or web design.
If you would like more information on the vISP services then email visp@4dinternet.co.uk or visit http://www.4dinternet.co.uk/visp.html |
Freeserve Snubs DSL & Offers Discount
By:mark.j @ 9:51:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] The latest report from Enders Analysis has claimed that UK ISP Freeserve will soften its broadband approach during 2003 in favour of a greater concentration on narrowband unmetered dialup services.
Not surprisingly Freeserve has denied this and has reminded any potential customers that they can now subscribe to their £27.99 per month ADSL service and get the connection + modem free; until the end of March 2003:
It notes that Freeserve racked up 50,000 broadband customers in 2002 - some 25,000 below its own target for the year. Worse still, this is well down on Freeserve's earlier estimates for broadband. Citing a presentation made by BT Wholesale last summer, Enders Analysis reports that Freeserve was "pencilled in" for 200,000 broadband connections by summer 2003.
It appears unlikely that the ISP will make this figure unless it invests heavily in promoting the service. The reason Freeserve has scaled back its plans to be a major broadband player appears simple enough - profit. Signing up more flat-rate dial-up users is more likely to push the ISP towards the black.
Says the report: "Increasing unmetered subscribers will be the number one factor in Freeserve reaching profitability in 2004. By contrast, significant broadband investment would have increased losses."
The ISPs excuse is that it's just looking at more clever ways to market broadband and would like to see a further decrease in the wholesale charge for ADSL lines, which is unlikely to occur.
The Register reminds us that all this occurs at a time when speculation about Freeserve's future is rife. Rumour has it that the ISPs parent, France Telecom, has apparently already considered putting it up for sale. |
BT Brings Broadband To Caerphilly
By:mark.j @ 9:38:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] The Welsh region of Caerphilly looks set to benefit from broadband ADSL Internet access thanks to a new partnership between BT, the Welsh Development Agency and the local council:
PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SECTOR JOIN FORCES IN MULTI-MILLION POUND CAERPHILLY BROADBAND INITIATIVE
Wales is leading the way with a new multi-million pound partnership between Caerphilly County Borough Council, BT and the WDA to bring high speed broadband internet technology to the area and drive down the cost to small businesses.
Under the initiative BT will install ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber line) technology in Blackwood, Hengoed, Newbridge and Bargoed exchanges.
Then, in an area hard hit by the recent steel closures and job losses in manufacturing, funding from the Corus Regeneration Partnership will enable the council to make broadband services available to over 75% of the county's businesses at a subsidised rate.
That will include those in Caerphilly itself, which already has a broadband-enabled exchange. Bargoed, included in the project from the outset, has now achieved its trigger level under BT's demand registration scheme and is due to be enabled on April 30. Enablement dates for Blackwood, Hengoed and Newbridge will be announced shortly.
Intense marketing activity in the area will ensure that once the technology is available, businesses and homes will be made aware of the significant benefits broadband can bring.
Broadband is always on, doing away with the often lengthy dial-up process, which can be a source of frustration to businesses, saving valuable time and money by allowing large bandwidth-hungry data files and video to be downloaded in seconds.
Home users can have a richer online experience with access to music, film clips and online games while being able to use the phone at the same time.
Pierre Danon, chief executive officer, BT Retail, said BT was already in talks with other local authority partners, which could result in the Caerphilly model being replicated in other parts of the country and the UK, further accelerating the roll-out of broadband.
It’s certainly nice to hear of a BT backed project other than Cornwall’s Actnow initiative, hopefully this can be replicated. |
British Phonographic Industry Meets ISPs
By:mark.j @ 9:29:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] The British Phonographic Industry (BPI), specifically its music anti-piracy unit, has met with UK ISPs in Birmingham:
Jollyon Benn, BPI Internet Investigations Executive, said: "Developing a dialogue with ISPs has been on the BPI's agenda for some time now. Given the impact of internet piracy on sales of recorded music, it is important that we develop effective business models for our members and the record industry at large."
The BPI is keen to continue pursuing methods of removing unlicensed files from websites hosted on ISP servers, with ISPs rather than individual users or file-sharing sites now attracting the greatest focus of attention. In the US, some ISPs, such as Verizon, have already had court charges pressed against them by trade associations across the Atlantic.
Jollyon Benn, BPI Internet Investigations Executive, implied that for the British organisation, mutual cooperation was the element being most strongly sought.
It remains to be seen whether the meeting will be able to produce any solid outcome or agreement for the future. More @ Europemedia. |
News - February 18,2003
New Hermstedt WebShuttle DSL Drivers
By:mark.j @ 1:25:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]
NTL Customer Spams MSN E-Mails
By:mark.j @ 1:22:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] It's emerged today that the UKs largest cable operator, NTL, has been blocked from accessing MSN e-mail accounts following a SPAM attack on the service by one of the operators’ broadband customers:
According to NTL, the problem arose as one of its cable modem customers incorrectly configured his mail server on his PC so it could be used to forward email. The customer's mail server was then used by a third party to send spam email to MSN customers.
MSN identified the mail server as being registered to NTL and blocked email from any NTL address.
Justin Leese, technical director at NTL, said: "[We have] notified the customer and closed the vulnerability. We are in touch with Microsoft to explain that it was a NTL's customer's own mail system that was being used as a relay not the NTL mail system."
The Web-User item reports that both NTL and MSN are working to restore normal service as soon as possible. |
Market Drayton's Broadband Campaign
By:mark.j @ 9:51:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Just a quick message of support for all those living in the Market Drayton area and awaiting broadband ADSL access, there's now a campaign site that can help you:
http://www.broadband4drayton.co.uk
This site hopes to become the ADSL trigger platform for Market Drayton
British Telecom requires 400 people to register an interest in HIGH SPEED A.D.S.L broadband in order for them to upgrade the local telephone exchange to the full A.D.S.L. capability. We currently only have 194 and need people to register their interest with B.T.or other A.D.S.L providers. |
Free Broadband Wireless Hotspots
By:mark.j @ 9:44:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Those choosing to eat in London’s Benugo sandwich bar chain might like to know that the company is offering its customers free broadband wireless LAN (Wi-Fi) Hotspot access to accompany their meals:
When they make a purchase, customers will be given an access code that allows them to log into the wireless network for up to 30 minutes, letting them check email and surf the Web while they're away from the office.
The two stores are located at St Johns Street, Clerkenwell and at Berwick Street, Soho. Benugo hopes to boost trade at these outlets by offering this free high-speed wireless access to its customers.
"We believe that offering this service for free will encourage an increase in turnover whilst allowing us to concentrate on our core business -- excellent food," said Tim Parfitt, Benugo's finance director, in a statement.
We wouldn't be at all surprised if deals like this become increasingly common, although mixing food and drink with portable computing can be a risky business =). More @ ZDNet. |
BT Broadband Customers & Free Music
By:mark.j @ 9:39:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Just a reminder that from yesterday anybody subscribing to BTs BT 'No Frills' Broadband ADSL service will gain two months of free digital music downloads via the operators Dotmusic portal.
The offer is valid until 31st March 2003 and lets you download up to 100 free music tracks from a collection of over 120,000. The standard subscription of £4.99 per month will be reinstated for April. |
Wireless Too Expensive For ISPs
By:mark.j @ 9:33:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] The latest research from Ovum has indicated that many ISPs, especially smaller providers, find the prospect of entering the wireless services sector to be an expensive one:
Even the lure of a low reserve price for the 3.4GHz wavelength, previously used for telephony services, may not be enough to tempt many smaller independent ISPs.
And rather than use the frequency to roll out broadband access to consumers, as the government hopes, larger telecoms operators could take advantage of the removal of many restrictions to snap up the licences while continuing to use the frequency as extra bandwidth for their existing services.
"In the financial climate who has got the hunger left to deploy new networks? This means fixed wireless is still struggling to sell," said Michael Philpott, a broadband market analyst with Ovum. The most likely outcome could be that licences are sold to major players such as BT, according to Philpott.
On paper the wireless spectrums, such as 3.4Ghz, may seem more economical than ADSL, however economies of scale mean that ADSL prices are dropping while fixed wireless is standing still. More @ VNUNet. |
NTL Download Cap - Protests Update
By:mark.j @ 9:25:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Word has seeped out that angry NTL customers, whom are opposed to the operators recent bandwidth cap on broadband services, are to gather outside this weeks Internet Industry Awards in London:
Those behind the direct action are hoping that a demo outside the event will help raise public awareness while causing maximum embarrassment to the cableco.
Users had hoped that a wave of protests planned for Valentine's Day would help make NTL reconsider its decision to cap broadband use to 1Gb a day. At this stage, it's still not known whether the protests - including the threat of mass disconnections from the service - materialised to any great degree.
The Register notes that an online petition against the cap has now garnered some 2,700 digital signatures. |
News - February 17,2003
SuffolkOnline.net Accept Splash Cards
By:Keith @ 10:39:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] While searching the web tonight I noticed another un-metered ISP that also accepts Splash Plastic payments.
The option to use 'Splash Plastic' is quite a common question asked in our forums because many people who use the net do not have a credit or debit card or in some cases even a bank account.
Suffolkonline.net offer the following services, however if you wish to pay by Splash Plastic then you can only do this by pre-pay per hour, so for £14.00 you would get about 16 hours access.
Home User Anytime - £12.75 Monthly, including VAT
Un-metered Internet Access. Use the Internet as much as you want with no extra call charges.
Light User - £8.50 Monthly, including VAT
No internet call charges, up to 10 hours per month. hours per month if you need more time online.
Standard - £4.75 Monthly, including VAT
Good quality straightforward Internet Access at local call rates with our local support and SuffolkOnline email
Business Anytime - £24.99 Monthly, including VAT
Designed for your office to meet your business needs with no hidden costs and optimum quality.
Pre-pay top up with Splash plastic - £0.90 Per Hour, including VAT
No internet call charges Pre-pay tops tariff using Splash Plastic
It’s a shame that they don’t accept payment by Splash for all the services, as £0.90 pence per hour is quite expensive. However no doubt it will still be of use to some people or for the surfer who only accesses the net for short periods of time. |
V21 ISP Cuts Broadband ADSL Costs
By:mark.j @ 3:47:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] UK ISP V21 has today announced a new pricing scheme for its residential broadband ADSL package, £25 for the setup, £25 for the modem and £25 per month for the service (25:25:25):
V21 Reduces ADSL even further
Market leader in affordable Internet access V21, have today launched a product that is sure to entice new ADSL users. The 25:25:25 package will mean the total cost for the start up is only £50 + VAT and £25 per month subscription. That’s right, a monthly cost of £25, only £25 for the line activation and ONLY £25 for a USB modem. This is sure to be a BIG HIT with a lot of users who have previously thought that the high activation charge and the cost of a new modem were too expensive.
Managing director Steve Kaye said “As you know we pioneered the low cost Internet connection and when we can help our customers save some money we try to do this in the best possible way. The 25:25:25 connection is a massive step forward for V21 and ADSL as a whole, with new exchanges being enabled every week and tens of thousands of possible new customers V21 strive to make it more affordable for everyone to connect to the super-fast highway.”
The offer is a huge step forward and we are sure it will be a big hit with users.
Click here to find out more information. http://www.v21.co.uk |
EU Most Expensive For Wi-Fi Hotspots
By:mark.j @ 2:59:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] A recent study conducted on 37% of the world’s broadband wireless LAN (Wi-Fi) Hotspot providers found that Europe's services were the most expensive.
BroadGroup, the UK firm responsible for the research, notes that the average price of a subscription in Europe is $62 per month, compared with $39 in the US and $16 in Asia. The global average is $41:
Another type of pricing scheme, 24-hour pricing, which allows WLAN access for one day, showed wild variances in costs to consumers as well, ranging from USD3.40 in Sweden to over USD33 in Switzerland. The average price of one 24-hour session in Europe came in at USD14.39.
Nevertheless, so-called 24-hour access has proven to be popular, with 40 percent of global hotspot companies offering this kind of service. The BroadGroup report said that this service has proven to be especially popular in Europe, where the most developed public hotspot regions are in the Nordics, Germany and Austria.
Further analysis in BroadGroup's report made it clear that pricing and billing varies dramatically from region to region and from provider to provider as the burgeoning sector continues to expand and evolve.
The ElectricNews item notes that Wi-Fi is still largely business orientated; however as time passes the service is expected to become cheaper and more attractive to everybody. |
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