December 28, 2002 - January 6, 2003
News - January 6,2003
Fast4 ISPs New Year Unmetered Offer
By:mark.j @ 1:36:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] The UK unmetered dialup ISP Fast4 has today announced a new offer, four months access for just £19.99!:
BRING IN THE NEW YEAR WITH FOUR MONTHS UNMETERED AND UNLIMITED DIAL-UP ACCESS TO THE INTERNET FOR ONLY £19.99 WITH FAST4.NET
Celebrate a new year online with the UK's cheapest dial-up Internet Service Provider (ISP) Fast4.net (www.fast4.net) and sign up for four months unmetered and unlimited Internet access for an amazing £19.99 - less than £5 per month! Unlimited dial-up Internet access, no contracts, free POP3 email and free Web-based email are all included in the deal for anyone signing up before 31st of January.
The service is easy to set up and there's no need for additional software or number changing. Internet enthusiasts can be surfing to their heart's content within minutes - all that is required is a standard BT phone line and a 56K modem or a Single ISDN/BT Highway at 64K.
Fast4.net's service operates on an unlimited Internet access basis, with a cut off point of two hours. After two hours, if users want to carry on surfing, they can simply reconnect. If a computer has been inactive for more that fifteen minutes, the connection will also terminate. With a guaranteed contention ratio of no more than 10:1, subscribers can be assured of a fast, reliable Internet connection at the UK's lowest price for 2003.
Log on to http://www.fast4.net for further information or to activate a new account today.
We’re still not quite sure how a service such as Fast4 will be sustained over the long term, although those that like to save a few pounds will no doubt be happy enough to give it a while. |
THUS Improves Broadband Provision
By:mark.j @ 1:30:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] THUS Telecom has today announced the introduction of a new online provisioning service designed to manage the increasing demand for the operator’s broadband Internet access services:
THUS SPEEDS UP PROVISIONING OF BROADBAND SERVICES AND GIVES CUSTOMERS REALTIME VISIBILITY OF CONNECTION PROCESS
THUS plc, one of the UK's leading providers of voice, data, Internet and contact centre services today announced the launch of its Automated Order Management System, a new online provisioning service designed to manage the increasing demand for THUS's broadband services by automating traditionally manual processes. The new system will deliver a superior level of customer service to new broadband customers including a reduction in the connection time for the majority of customers. THUS selected Axiom Systems', AXiOSS(tm) suite of products to support the delivery of the Automated Order Management System.
THUS's Automated Order Management System allows customers to place orders either online or over the telephone, and will keep them updated on the status of orders via email. The Automated Order Management System provides THUS's customer service agents with real-time visibility of the provisioning process, including individual case histories, helping to ensure customers are provided with an efficient and consistently high level of service.
"Customer service and order fulfilment are second only to quality control at THUS," said Bill Allan, Chief Executive of THUS plc. "By taking these steps to increase the speed of delivery and improve the experience of new customers we are able to further differentiate our broadband offering. Too many service providers spend millions turning prospects into customers only to throw the investment away by failing to deliver the services ordered. Customer service and order fulfilment functions are critical, particularly when dealing with new customers. Get it wrong and that's a customer lost forever - sometimes before the first order has made it half-way to completion."
Stuart Sutton, Operations Director at THUS said, "AXiOSS(tm) provides the greatest flexibility when it comes to supporting our order management requirements. We were impressed with the scalability of the product and believe it will support our objective of becoming the pre-eminent provider of broadband services to UK businesses. THUS is a class leader in the technology it uses to deliver the services our customers rely on day-in and day-out. AXiOSS(tm) will help us improve not only the speed at which we can deploy new services, but also help us improve the overall customer experience." |
Broadband Boosts Commercial Content
By:mark.j @ 1:23:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Jupiter research reports that the growth of broadband Internet access is apparently moving in tune with a change in attitude towards paying for online content:
The study discovered that users of the high-speed internet are more likely to pay for online content and services than consumers with narrowband connections.
Overall, 41% of the 10,000 internet users interviewed for the study said they would not be willing to pay for online content, compared with 47% last year.
However, a quarter of all respondents with broadband connections declared an interest in buying music online, compared with just 18% of narrowband users. Similarly, 18% of broadband users said they would purchase video content, while only 11% of narrowband users would consider it.
It's hardly tough work to conclude that broadband users are more likely to pay for and use online content than narrowband surfers, although it is important that content developers don't crowd the market.
The problem with commercial content is simple, people will only ever subscribe to a limited amount and thus a crowded commercial content market would be doomed to fail. Thankfully this has yet to occur, but it could. More @ netimperative.info . |
Internet Users Want SPAM Banned
By:mark.j @ 1:17:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Not surprisingly the latest Harris Poll survey shows that Internet users are growing increasingly tired of SPAM (junk e-mail).
Two and a half years ago just 49% of surfers were annoyed with SPAM, that percentage has now risen by a staggering amount to 80% today!:
As a result of their irritation, an estimated 74% are proponents of making bulk email illegal, while only 12% are opposed to banning it.
Spam has grown by gigantic proportions in the last year. According to email filtering company Brightmail, the number of spam attacks grew from nearly two million in November 2001 to about 5.5 million in the same period of 2002. Each spam attack represents a unique mass mailing of commercial messages.
The crush of spam has cost companies enormously as well. A new study expected on Monday estimates that the annual cost of spam to European businesses is $2.5bn. US and European service providers shoulder another $500m in costs, according to market researcher Ferris Research. The figures were reported by the Associated Press.
ZDNet reports that the results of the Harris Poll were gathered by conducting a survey of 2,221 adults (age 18+) between 22nd November and 2nd December 2002. |
W3C Approves Accessibility Standards
By:mark.j @ 10:18:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) has finally announced an agreement on accessibility standards for web developers, which should help disabled Internet users.
However according to the following press release by Midnight Communications, not everybody is happy:
After four years' work the World Wide Web Consortium has agreed on accessibility standards for web browser applications and multimedia players.
Ratified shortly before Christmas, the Agent Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 (UAAG) will allow these products to be used more easily by people with impairments and disabilities.
Apple, Microsoft, Opera and RealNetworks are just some of the companies that have been involved in developing a consistent set of accessibility standards for developers. Accessibility standards existed in some formats previously but varied due to various factors, such as vendor requirements, and international differences.
UAAG 1.0 sets standards in a number of areas, including voice recognition and screen readers. For more information see http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/28648.html
Why is this important?
Accessibility is not just a case of being politically correct. There are two important circumstances which should encourage businesses to take notice:
- The legal factor: Under the Disability Discrimination Act of 1995 all service providers have obligations to make 'reasonable adjustments to their services to ensure that they are accessible to people with disabilities. In 2002 the Disability Rights Commission code of practice confirmed that the 1995 law did in fact apply to online services, although this has yet to be tested legally. The RNIB has said that it may take a test case in order to make companies aware of their responsibilities.
- The business factor: There are 1.1m people in the UK with impaired vision. It makes no business sense to exclude such a large minority from online commercial activities.
However, abiding by accessibility standards does not necessarily assure that the finished article will be accessible. Comment from Paul Blunden, sales and marketing director of The Usability Company: "Naturally The Usability Company welcomes the introduction of any standards that will enable people with visual impairments to benefit from the possibilities brought about by new media. However, companies should be aware that simply adhering to standards may not be enough to provide a truly inclusive platform.
Meeting accessibility guidelines does not guarantee that the website or software will be suitable for the visually impaired user. Developers can only be sure that their sites and products are accessible to the visually impaired if they are tested by people with this disability. This should occur throughout the design process to ensure a truly accessible experience, and not be carried out as an afterthought." |
V21 ISP Cuts ADSL Connection Charge
By:mark.j @ 9:58:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] UK ISP V21 has today become the latest service to announce a cut to its broadband ADSL installation charges following last months overall announcement by BTWholesale:
V21 Cut the price of ADSL Connection in Half
V21.co.uk are today releasing the promise of ADSL at an even cheaper price. The connection fee charged by BT has been slashed in half. This makes ADSL even more affordable.
V21 who pioneered the sub £20 ADSL for home users back in November 2001 has again made a bid to reduce the upfront payment needed for the average consumer to connect to the internet at fantastic surfing speeds.
Steve Kaye, Managing Director said 'We are always trying to give the consumer a better value. When BT released the notice that they were going to discount the high charge then we had to simply pass it on to the public. I think the only reason why ADSL has not been taken up as fast as expected is purely down to the initial price. When the average modem costs between £70 and £80 then you must add on a connection fee and sometimes even two months payments up front, it makes the whole experience an expensive one.
This offer should make a big change to way the public sea's the service. At only £19.99 per month it begs the question as to why the consumer should pay other ISP's £15.99 or even £14.99 per month for a time restricted, 10 times slower internet experience, when with ADSL you can leave your pc connected to the net 24 hours a day with no penalty's and 10 times faster surfing than the average modem.’
The offer is applicable until the end of March 2003
http://www.v21.co.auk/ADSL/index.asp |
Pre-Paid Unmetered ISP - MIPCards
By:mark.j @ 9:53:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] It's not technically new, however several of our readers have been kind enough to point out a previously unknown (to us) unmetered dialup ISP by the name of MIPCards.
MIPCards, otherwise known as 'My Internet Pass Cards', is unlike most other providers in that it offers a form of pre-pay unmetered access specifically targeted at students (you don’t need to be one to use it):
MIP Pass Options
There are two MIP pass options, 2000 Minutes and Unmetered Access passes. Both are priced at £10.00 GBP each.
How does it work?
The MIP Prepaid Internet Access pass works like prepaid telephone cards. You buy prepaid pass information, sent to you by email, with a unique "user name", "password" and freephone telephone number. Find any computer with a modem and enter the user name and password and freephone telephone number. That's it. No special software or hardware and more important, no phone bill! Use the Dial-up networking or Internet connection software that comes with your computer, and just get a new pass to renew the service!
What does it cost?
Because everybody has different needs we provide 2 different packages. Some people like to surf 24/7 for a fixed monthly fee, and some like to surf for 5-10 minutes a day, paying for the exact amount of minutes they are online - either way, the solution costs just £10.
For Heavy Users
Unmetered Access: For £10 you can surf all day, everyday for 30 full days. The account automatically activates the first time it is used and automatically switches off at the end of 30 days. Just like a standard Internet Access account - without the hassle.
For Light users
Timed Internet Access, 2000 Minutes: Like the prepaid 'pay-as-you-go' phone service, this service monitors just the amount of Internet Access you need by tracking usage to the minute. For £10, you receive a pass with 2000 minutes (34 hours) of surf time (to be used within 3 months).
The lowest pay-as-you-go service in the UK, just 1/2p per min.
The closest pay-as-you-go service to myinternetpass in the UK charges more than double our Timed option = 1p + VAT per min compared to 1/2p per min with us (incl of VAT).
Due to the nature of this service it's fair to assume that you're only getting access and nothing more, no e-mail, web space or other ISP connected service - just the dialup.
Never the less a £10 per month price tag for what is clearly stated as a near unlimited service is more than a little economically unrealistic. While the 2,000 minutes option, which is eerily the same price, offers you just 34 hours, yet they can be used up over 3 months rather than 1. Either way we’d urge caution over the unmetered option. |
Gov Launch Anti-Paedophile Campaign
By:mark.j @ 9:34:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] The government has today announced the launch of a new campaign design to help warn children and their parents about the dangers posed by Internet paedophiles.
In conjunction with the campaign, a code of practice has been developed by the government, Internet bodies and child protection agencies. It details measures youngsters and their parents can take to combat unwanted online attention.
The campaign is a response to increased fears that paedophiles are using the anonymity of the Internet to trawl for potential victims, often by posing as youngsters themselves.
"Protecting children is a priority for us all. We are determined Britain will be the safest country for children on the Internet," Home Office Minister Hilary Benn said in a statement on Monday.
A one million pound advertising campaign will run until the end of January. Youngsters and their parents will be told that following a few simple guidelines they can dramatically enhance their online safety.
A Web site http://www.thinkuknow.co.uk outlines the type of pitfalls surfers should avoid and what action to take if something happens that makes them uncomfortable.
Surfers are advised to change passwords frequently, not to give out personal details and to never meet up with someone met online without the presence of an adult.
Now if only they could do something just as positive to help prevent SPAM (junk e-mail). |
News - January 4,2003
Avecho Issues 2002 UK SPAM Statistics
By:mark.j @ 10:12:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Avecho, another anti-virus software vendor, has today issued its own statistics for UK SPAM (junk e-mail) during 2002. The group found that an average of one in every two hundred e-mails contained SPAM:
The cost to the UK business market of a single new virus attack exceeds £2 billion in repair, lost time and revenue. The average cost to the small to medium sized business is more than £800 for every infection.
The ratio of viruses in e-mail traffic has grown alarmingly despite huge investment in anti-virus technology and according to the established anti-virus vendors, is set to continue.
Interestingly similar statistics from other firms have found that one SPAM in every eight or nine e-mails was common, there certainly appears to be a wide statistics gulf between these companies. More @ Web Host Industry Review. |
NTL Expands Broadband Coverage
By:mark.j @ 10:05:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] The UKs largest cable operator, NTL, has expanded the coverage of its broadband cable modem services to Norwich & Great Yarmouth:
A Direct Marketing activity to promote the launch will start soon and customers in these areas may see blue flyers and Television ads throughout January.
Those customers subscribing to either the 600Kbit or 1Mbit service will receive free installation, plus a free Logitech Webcam. A £25 installation fee will apply to people subscribing to the 128Kbit service.
More @ NTHellWorld. |
News - January 3,2003
FireFly & SAT Upgrade E-Mail Servers
By:mark.j @ 1:21:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Derek Lewis has kindly informed us that the email systems for both FireFly and SurfAnyTime (related ISPs) have been upgraded with better SPAM (junk e-mail) and virus filtering:
New Email Service
We have recently upgraded our email systems to a more robust, faster system. Now, free of charge, FireFly customers can open their inbox without it overflowing with junk, spam and virus-ridden emails. Our inbuilt virus and spam scanning engine is currently preventing unsolicited and dangerous emails arriving in our customer's inbox at a rate of over 1,500 per week.
Moving into the New Year, it is clear that unwanted junk mail and dangerous script/virus emails are on the increase dramatically. As a responsible provider, we have invested in this new system to protect our Customers from the everyday dangers that await them when opening a 'seemingly' innocent email.
This new service also applies to SurfAnytime's 128k service.
For more, see http://www.fireflyuk.net and http://www.surfanytime.com
Sooner or later the ISPs that offer additional SPAM and virus filters will ultimately become a more attractive prospect to potential subscribers than those that don’t. |
Freeserve ISP No.1 - Top 10 UK Sites
By:mark.j @ 10:02:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] The French Wanadoo backed UK ISP Freeserve placed 1st in the Hitwise chart of the countries top 10 most visited websites (portals):
1. (22.05 %) Freeserve
2. (16.53 %) MSN UK
3. (8.50 %) Yahoo! E-mail UK and Ireland
4. (8.14 %) Google UK
5. (7.49 %) MSN.co.uk Search
6. (6.09 %) Yahoo! UK and Ireland
7. (3.28 %) Ask Jeeves UK
8. (2.42 %) iFind Freeserve
9. (2.26 %) Friends Reunited UK
10. (2.18 %) Lycos UK
More @ netimperative.info . |
The Water Based Internet Protocol
By:mark.j @ 9:59:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Artist Jonah Brucker-Cohen has come up with a unique and clever way of sending information between computers using water:
"H20/IP functions in a similar way as TCP/IP but focuses on the inherent viscous properties of water that are not present in traditional packet networks," he said. "These properties include fluidity, heat index, tri-state properties, density difference depending on state, and surface tension."
Brucker-Cohen set up two computers, one above the other. A webcam attached to the higher PC takes a picture, which is translated into a 16 by 16 pixel greyscale image.
The computer then analyses the colour of each pixel and 'prints' out pulses to the electronically controlled water valve depending on the colour of that pixel.
The VNUNet item notes that more information about the project can be found HERE, sadly you won't be able to buy this for awhile =). |
News - January 2,2003
100s Suffer Through BTs Error
By:Anne @ 10:41:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] BTOpenworld computer error was the cause of hundreds of broadband customers being disconnected. Also hundreds more being sent letters advising them their service has been terminated.
Dr Peter Moseley contacted the BBC as he had been without broadband since the 27th December. After spending hours on the phone and speaking to four different members of staff, all not able to give him a time for reconnection.
A spokesman for BTOpenworld reported that the matter has been dealt with and those who lost their connection are back online. BT spokesman also apologised for customers being misled.
"It is system error which is affecting around 500 customers who have asked for some kind of change in their service,” he said
“This involves making a change to their account and for some reason it has gone too far and ceased their service,” He explained.
“It appears around 500 customers will receive letters informing them their service has been cancelled, Only 200 are believed to have been cut off” said the spokesperson.
It would appear that BT was caught out by the holidays and not on top of the situation when it started. |
Amstrad Halves Cost Of 'em@iler'
By:mark.j @ 3:03:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Amstrad has cut 50% off the price of its troubled em@iler device, which allows users to conduct a number of online activities and at the same time act as a standard phone and answering machine:
The company has reduced the price of the unit, which features phone, email and an answering machine, from £99.99 to £49.99, yet claims the increase in the subsidy to customers will be offset by lower manufacturing costs and the introduction of new revenue-earning services.
Amstrad sells the hardware below cost price but expects to make money over the long-term from e-mail, internet access, SMS, games and voice services, as well as interactive poster-style advertising on the unit's stand-up screen.
Simon Sugar, son of Sir Alan, and Amstrad commercial director said he is confident that the latest campaign, supported by press advertising, will increase sales "significantly".
Unfortunately the em@iler suffers not due to its overall cost, but rather the price they charge for Internet calls.
More people would use the technology if they simply set it to use a local call rate number and or allowed users to access their existing ISP accounts via the phone. More @ netimperative.info . |
FreeDial ISP Responds - Missing ADSL
By:mark.j @ 2:45:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] FreeDials MD, John Nicholas, has today issue his response following yesterday’s news item regarding how most of FreeDial's ADSL pre-registrants were still missing their ADSL connections:
We have had serious problems with BT. Basically we are the first ISP in the UK to be signed up to their new provisioning system which is being handled by another ISP - I don't believe I can divulge many details about this new service or the company partnering with BT as we are subject to a non-disclosure agreement. Suffice it to say that there is pending legal action against both of these corporations for their total incompetent handling of our situation.
Having said that, BT do now appear to be in a position to be able to handle our orders correctly and the process for achieving this at the earliest convenience has now been instigated.
I have pasted below a statement from my Board of Directors that is about to go out to all customers still waiting for activation.
As for the (apparent) lack of response to help desk enquiries, until now our staff numbers have been very limited over the holiday period and our usual very prompt response times have been difficult to keep up with. Our offices, help desk and accounts departments will be fully manned again from 06/12/03.
I would like to assure you and your readers that FreeDial are very much "still around" and doing everything we can to accommodate our customers. There is NO question whatsoever of FreeDial being in any financial difficulty and any cancellation requests at this point will be met with a refund as required.
Customers will of course be getting an additional statement from FreeDial, which has been cut and pasted below. Hopefully this will set aside some of the current frustration, although that all depends on how quickly customers are now able to get online:
We realise many of our customers have not received their service as speedily as expected or indeed as initially outlined by the timescales provided by BT.
We also understand that you signed up for a FreeDial Broadband service and that your service agreement is with us not BT Broadband, we have of late pointed the finger at BT and some of you may be dubious or even concerned that we may be using BT as an excuse for our own deficiencies.
The fact is that these delays have been solely caused by BT's failure to fully commission their new order handling system (MOPS) for the new wholesale product that we are the first ISP in the UK to use.
We have been working in the background at high level with BT to address these issues and to confirm to you that we have done and are continuing to do everything we can on our side to achieve the quickest possible connection of our customers to their broadband service.
By way of apology and in the hope of addressing any concerns regarding our service, we obtained a statement from BT in which they accepted responsibility for these delays.
We were hoping to put this statement out before the holidays but after intervention from the BT Wholesale legal team we are now not able disclose the contents of the statement on the basis that it could be seen as prejudicial in the face of pending legal action against BT for the failure of them to handle our orders correctly.
BT are now telling us that they have resolved their problems and are now in a position to activate lines in their normal lead time basis which is normally 5 working days, inactivated orders will therefore be handled afresh from 06/01/03.
However, we realise many of you may be unwilling to tolerate further delays and inconvenience, so to that end any order cancellation requests at this point will be met with a refund on return of any modem kits or accessories supplied in good condition and with a covering note. Another option available is to keep the modem kit/accessories and a refund will be made on the remainder of the costs charged.
We hope this goes some way to confirming that we are genuine in our commitment to providing our customers with the service that they deserve and to assure you that we have done everything in our power to resolve these problems with BT who are solely responsible for this situation. |
The Internet – 20 Years Old Today
By:mark.j @ 2:36:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] On 1st January 1983 the US Department of Defence switched its Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (Arpanet) to TCP/IP, which many consider to be the founding moment of the Internet:
This enabled millions of computers to go online instead of the Network Control Protocol (NCP) which limited it to just 1,000 machines. The TCP/IP protocol was designed by Vinton Cerf and Robert Kahn.
On the mailing list of the Internet Engineering Task Force, internet pioneer Bob Braden wrote: "The most logical date of origin of the internet is 1 January 1983, when the Arpanet officially switched from the NCP protocol to TCP/IP."
In short, today is considered by many to be the Internet's 20th birthday! More @ VNUNet. |
First Publicly-Owned Broadband Network
By:mark.j @ 2:30:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] The Norwich based Norfolk City Council has just secured a £3.4m grant from the East of England Development Agency for developing the areas first publicly owned broadband network:
The high speed internet network, aimed at businesses, is expected to be up and running in 2004 - building will begin after a technical study has been completed, which is currently underway to gauge demand.
Both the public and private sector will benefit, with broadband connectivity being made available to SMEs at reasonable rates and the high capacity backbone will serve the public sector's video-conferencing requirement, as well as making it easier for departments to share information.
It's not clear what technology the network will use, although the netimperative.info item suggests that cables will be put through sewers and on river beds, thus suggesting fibre based services. |
ISP Review Data Line Dead
By:mark.j @ 12:30:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] UPDATE: It looks as if BT have fixed the line much earlier, although it's hard to tell how stable it is because I'm using it remotely.
Unfortunately an undisclosed fault in our area means that all the local BT based data lines are now dead and won’t be fixed until Saturday 4th January. No doubt the long lead-time is related to last night’s bad weather and flooding causing other problems.
In short I've had to pre-type this update on my laptop and upload it via the wonders of a Bluetooth enabled mobile phone and laptop =).
Thankfully there isn’t much news to report right now because most people are still on holiday, although I would appreciate it if the other news posters could keep an eye out until I’m able to get back online – thanks.
Isn’t it also nice to see that the websites server has picked now, of all times, to go a bit wonky. It’s just a general issue and should resolve itself – hopefully by the time you read this. We’ll be moving onto a dedicated server soon enough =). |
Top 10 Fastest ADSL ISPs - December
By:mark.j @ 10:13:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] ADSLGuide has today published the results of their ISP speed test and highlighted the top 10 fastest broadband ADSL offering services for December 2002:
RANK - ISP Name - Downstream Speed
1 Nildram - 444Kbps
2 Eclipse Internet - 432Kbps
3 Zen Internet - 423Kbps
4 PlusNet - 417Kbps
5 Freedom 2 Surf PLC - 415Kbps
6 One.Tel - 412Kbps
7 PIPEX Internet Limited - 409Kbps
7 BTOpenworld - 409Kbps
9 Clara.net - 406Kbps
10 Freeserve - 404Kbps
It's good to see that everybody in the top block is now averaging above 400Kbps in the downstream (download speed) department. |
News - January 1,2003
Hutchison3G Prep March 2003 Launch
By:mark.j @ 1:21:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] The UKs first commercial and publicly available 3G (UTMS) broadband wireless mobile phone service from Hutchison, known as '3', now looks set to launch during March 2003:
If this is correct, 3G.co.uk feels this is another kick in the teeth for 3G in Europe, which was hanging on for Hutchison to launch 3G and cheer up the industry.
The UK public will wait till at least March 2003 to have the NEC e606 3G Mobile (with Video calling, Video messaging, Video download, Built-in camera and Media player) in their pockets.
I know, the bulk of the UK public were not aware of the imminent launch of 3G and what it could do, but the majority of potential early adopters know and quite frankly would have expected the launch in 2002. Fair enough, a trial is underway in London to prove and iron-out hiccups within the network and handsets, yet Manx Telecom did this over 12 months ago on the Isle Of Man. For at least the last 12 months, Hutchison assured us that they would launch in 2002. Missing that launch, and delaying till 2003 makes me shudder and all I feel is bad WAP type vibes.
The 3G UK news item doesn't go into much detail, probably because '3' hasn't released any, although we do know that early prices could break the bank of even the most wealthy users =(. |
Cheap FreeDial ADSL ISP Goes AWOL?
By:mark.j @ 12:17:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Hands up if you remember the controversy surrounding the initial preview launch of UK ISP FreeDial.biz during October last year? This was an ISP claiming to offer a residential broadband ADSL product for the ridiculously low price of just £12.99 per month.
Not surprisingly we poked some criticism at such economics, suggesting that support and or services could easily suffer. Soon FreeDial responded stating that the service would be intentionally subsidised and that they could indeed succeed.
Sometime passed and very little new information has surfaced, although we have now learned that things may not be going according to plan for many of FreeDial's pre-registrants.
Firstly the good news, pre-registrants did start receiving their ADSL modems during early December. Such individuals were then told that their line would be activated within 3 days to 2 weeks.
Unfortunately the situation has now gone downhill with customers still waiting for their line(s) to be activated. To make matters worse FreeDial has chosen December to take their once helpful discussion forum offline, pending a website upgrade.
Could this website update be the reason for the delays? A website update? Unlikely. FreeDial also used to be prompt in responding to customer e-mails, although again things have been quite on the HelpDesk for several weeks now, with almost nobody getting a response.
Unfortunately all this has led to a large group of customers complaining to us that FreeDial has their money and yet fails to deliver a service or respond to support questions.
At the very least FreeDial has failed to recognise their obligations to deliver a service and support/updates to customers; here are some examples of the complaints we’ve received:
I am very concerned just like others I received my modem from freedial 16/12/02 and to date still not had my line activated. Freedial have made lots of promises with deadlines which have all been broken, The latest of which was to explain as they told me on the phone 'it's BT that is the problem not them'.
Now everything is quite - ok its the holidays but the volume and seriousness of the comments being made in forums leads to major concerns about if I will get anything for my £200 laidout. They need to take immediate action in communicating there position - otherwise I will have to conclude that Freedial have lead me to me believe something there not.
E-Mail By = Ian
My order with FreeDial was originally placed in early November, I received the hardware about the 7th Dec with promises of activation within '3 days to 2 weeks'. Still waiting.
To be fair they have, until mid-December, always been very prompt at answering enquiries. I suspect that there are loads of us in the same boat which is why they have picked now to take their excellent forum off line to 'upgrade' and (with the holiday as well ) they have not answered my queries (as yet) since the 20th. Another cause for concern is that a fee has been added to invoice totals added to cover costs of credit/debit card admin fees without being properly previously notified to customers.
E-Mail By = Row
We will be attempting to contact FreeDial over the next few days/weeks to find out why they've failed to tell customers of any problems, haven't provided a service and no longer respond to support queries. |
New Article @ ISPr - Year In Review
By:mark.j @ 11:10:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] To help kick off the New Year (2003) we've uploaded our own review of the various changes and events that have encompassed the past 12 months.
The article, called 'Year In Review - 2002', attempts to look at all aspects from broadband to SPAM (junk e-mail) and hopefully presents them in a readable and largely jargon free form. Here's a quick quote:
It’s already plainly obvious that the number of new Internet connections has slowed down from the 2000/2001 boom. This can be largely attributed to the growing number of people choosing to migrate from dialup to faster broadband services, a trend that is set to continue.
http://www.ispreview.co.uk/articles/yir2002/ |
The December 2002 Virus Reports
By:mark.j @ 10:58:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] We're finally awake and a small handful of news items have already graced our inbox, not least MessageLabs and Central Command with their summaries of online virus activity during December 2002.
The good news is that virus interception figures for December have remained low at 890,264:
Unfortunately the top 10 for December shows that the new Yaha-K (M) infection is already within the top four despite having only been around for a short time:
1. W32/Klez.H-mm
2. W32/Yaha.E-mm
3. W32/BugBear-mm
4. W32/Yaha.K!e2a2
5. W32/SirCam.A-mm
6. W32/Klez.E-mm
7. W32/Yaha.C-mm
8. W32/CIH.1049
9. W32/Magistr.B-mm
10. W32/Hybris.B-mm
Not surprisingly the press release from Central Command shows a similar trend:
Central Command, a leading provider of PC anti-virus software and computer security services today released its monthly listing of the top twelve viruses reported for December 2002. The report, coined the "Dirty Dozen", is based on the number of virus occurrences confirmed through Central Command's Emergency Virus Response Team.
The table below represents the most prevalent viruses for December 2002, number one being the most frequent.
Ranking. - Virus Name - Percentage
1. Worm/Klez.E (incl. G variant) 40.1%
2. W32/Yaha.E 14.7%
3. Worm/BugBear 8.6%
4. W32/Elkern.C 7.4%
5. Worm/W32.Sircam 6.8%
6. W32/Magistr.B 2.9%
7. W32/Nimda 2.3%
8. W32/Funlove 1.6%
9. W95/Hybris 1.1%
10. W32/Yaha.M 0.9%
11. Worm/Bride.C 0.8%
12. W95/CIH 0.6%
Others 12.2%
"With the ability to modify its subject line corresponding to the time of the year and email inboxes full of holiday wishes, it comes as no surprise that Worm/Klez.E retains its number one spot for December," said Steven Sundermeier product manager at Central Command, Inc. "Our Emergency Virus Response Team received numerous Worm/Klez.E based email submissions with "Merry Christmas" and other Christmas related text as its subject line. Likewise, as we near the year 2003, we have already began intercepting messages with the modified subject line; "Happy nice New Year".".
W32/Yaha.M, a variant of W32/Yaha.A, was the only newcomer to the Dirty Dozen debuting at number ten for December. W32/Yaha.M arrives with a variety of subject lines and email bodies; however, a vast majority of them have screensaver-based themes. The Worm/Opasoft family has also continued to pump out new variants in December. |
News - December 31,2002
HAPPY NEW YEAR 2003 – From ISPr
By:mark.j @ 2:53:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] ISP Review UK and all its volunteer news posters, admins and forum moderators would like to wish our readers a very happy new year and the best of luck in the future.
It's been a cracking year for Internet access and we've very much enjoyed doing our best to keep you all in the know. Have a good evening and try to remember the golden rule.., oh.. we’ve just forgotten it.
We, like so many others, will probably use tomorrow to nurse our various hangovers, so don't be expecting too much news =). |
New E-Mail Virus (Worm) - Yaha-M (K)
By:mark.j @ 1:25:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] It looks as if one of the first big Internet infections of the New Year could be another form of the Yaha virus, Yaha-M (K).
So far MessageLabs, an anti-virus firm, has reported seeing the e-mail worm in 11 countries. It's apparently most prevalent in the UK, Egypt and Saudi Arabia after having first been spotted in Kuwait on 21st December 2002.
We ourselves can often tell when a virus is going to spread because of the number received via our public inbox's. Unfortunately Yaha-M has now become a very common customer to our site; in fact it's very similar in scale to the infamous Klez-H.
This is something born out by the fact that MessageLabs has blocked 7,320 copies of the virus in the last 24 hours. The worm typically seems to come in the form of an EXE or SCR file attachment, which is complimented by a quite realistic (social engineering) personal message.
So please be on your guard and update those checkers. |
2003 - Year Of the Killer Internet Virus?
By:mark.j @ 10:18:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Mikko Hypponen, manager of anti-virus research at F-Secure, has today spoken out about his fears for the coming year (2003).
Hypponen predicts that a new breed of online virus (worm) is likely to emerge, one that's capable of knocking out millions of computers around the Internet in a matter of minutes:
"These techniques are now being discussed, and algorithms are being made available," said Mikko Hypponen. "It's just a matter of time before somebody tries them out in the real world."
The concepts under discussion, Hypponen said, are known as a Warhol worm -- so called because it could create a huge outbreak in 15 minutes -- and a flash worm, which could do the same thing in 15 seconds.
"The typical reaction time to a major new incident is two to three hours. If (the attack) takes 15 minutes, you have no chance," Hypponen said.
Whether or not such an attack will surface remains to be seen, although certainly now is as good a time as any to get yourselves protected.
Remember, never open e-mail attachments unless you're 100% sure you know exactly what they are. More @ ZDNet. |
News - December 30,2002
Yahoo's Top 10 Search Terms - 2002
By:mark.j @ 2:11:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Google and MSN have already issued their yearly top 10 search term results for 2002, today it's the turn of another well known name, Yahoo!:
1: PlayStation 2
2: Britney Spears
3: Dragon Ball Z
4: Kazaa
5: Eminem
6: WWE
7: Morpheus
8: Internal Revenue Service
9: Jennifer Lopez
10: Harry Potter
Unlike the previous two, Yahoo's top 10 is dominated by film, music, games and celebrities, which is perhaps a sign that young people tend to be the most active web searchers. More @ BBC News Online. |
New Unmetered & ADSL ISP - G.C.Snet
By:mark.j @ 11:18:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] The latest UK unmetered dialup and broadband ADSL offering ISP to grace the Internet appears to be G.C.Snet. The service offers a multitude of packages costing upwards of £6.99 per month (inc. VAT).
At present their residential broadband ADSL product has yet to go live, although it's expected to cost £25 per month. G.C.Snet also offers several special packages for those with NTL cable lines.
There are far too many offers for us to list (that's a good thing), thus we'll only quote several examples:
Surf Access:
Unmetered Access 24/7
7 Email Addresses
10mb Webspace
85000 Newsgroups
Technical Support at National Rate
Max Monthly Usage 160 Hrs
£14.99 per Month Inc vat
Surf Access - Lite Surf:
Surf Access Evening and Weekend
between 6pm - 8am Mon - Fri, and 6pm Friday - 8am Monday
Unmetered Internet Access
7 Email Address
10MB Webspace
Technical Support at National Rate
85000 Newsgroups
Max Monthly Usage 80 hours
£6.99 Per Month Inc vat
ISDN Business:
Unmetered Access 24/7
Static IP Address
Connection 7:1 128K
7 Email Addresses
10mb Webspace
85000 Newsgroups
Technical Support at National Rate
Max Monthly Usage 200 Hrs
£44.99 per Month Inc vat |
SPAM Expected To Dominate 2003
By:mark.j @ 10:58:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Junk e-mail (SPAM) got substantially worse during 2002 and unfortunately 2003 is unlikely to be any better with SPAM growing to the point of overhauling legitimate e-mail by July 2003!:
Spam will overhaul legitimate e-mail by July 2003, according to e-mail managed service provider MessageLabs, a situation highlighted when many workers returned to their computers post-Christmas to e-mail accounts stuffed with spam. The date was determined by statisticians employed by MessageLabs, who extrapolated the current growth of spam and comparing it to the growth of e-mail, which they expect to have doubled by 2007. The research focuses on work e-mail addresses rather than consumer-addresses.
During 2002 one in 12 e-mails passing through MessageLabs' spam and virus filter system was identified as spam. However, during November this surged to one in three e-mails.
"If you don't do anything about it e-mail becomes useless, because everyone gets peeved with it," Paul MacRae, director of MessageLabs.
One the bright side and as reported in ZDNets item, more and more ISPs are moving to combat the growth of such technologies. The EU will also ban certain types of junk e-mail, but not until the latter part of 2003 and this probably won’t help anyway.
Unfortunately one of the possible solutions to the situation, charging people to send e-mails, is more than a little worrying. |
The Online Multiplayer Experience
By:mark.j @ 10:45:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Mark Ward, a technology correspondent for BBC News Online, has written up an interesting editorial detailing his experience with one of the Internets most popular pass times - online gaming (Multiplayer).
We couldn't help but note the following paragraph, which may bring back a few memories and laughs; most gamers have been there at one time or another:
Soon after starting online gaming, I found myself inadvertently perfecting the art of rocket-assisted suicide. Almost as soon as I saw an opponent I panicked, turned towards the wall and fired the rocket launcher instantly fragging myself.
What a lamer.
It's a good read and those just getting into any online experience may find it comforting to know that they're not alone =). |
News - December 28,2002
ISP Review Website Update
By:mark.j @ 11:48:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] No we're not quite back from holiday yet, in fact we probably won't be completely back until Thursday or Friday next week because of the usual New Year celebrations. However there was some time to do a few updates, so I took it.
We've got a lot of work to do during 2003 and ISP Review will no doubt change its look once again. We'll probably go for something more compact because speed, bandwidth and compatibility are more important to a news site than flashy looks.
Some of the things we'll be up to during 2003 include:
- Move forum database to dedicated server + expand forums coverage and introduce the new ultra-secret style =).
- Replace news system with something more modern and forum integrated.
- Enhance ISP listings system (details TBA).
- Re-Design site (I always say this =], but I can never quite settle on one).
- Get some extra news staff so that I don't have to do it all =)!
We've also got the ISP of the year 2002 awards to think of and some new articles to finish up, which didn't quite make it to publication last year. For now, it's back to the holiday.. |
Thomas Cook’s Broadband Travel Site
By:mark.j @ 11:27:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Travel agents Thomas Cook’s have linked up with the UKs largest cable operator to offer a holiday website for broadband Internet users:
Thomas Cook has launched a new holiday website specifically designed for broadband internet users.
To promote the new service NTL is installing broadband onto PCs in flagship Thomas Cook stores, and the site will also be accessible through the NTL World site as well as on thomascook.com.
As a special offer, NTL will offer free broadband installation (128k, 600k & 1Mb) and first month free (600k & 1Mb), available until 31 March 2003.
http://www.thomascook.com/ntl
http://www.thomascookbroadband.com |
One.Tel's Free ADSL Modem & Connection
By:mark.j @ 11:23:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] UK ISP One.Tel has taken up BTWholesale's recent broadband activation price reduction by offering new customers a free ADSL connection and modem.
Please note that the language used for the modem aspect is somewhat confusing, below it states “and £29.99 for a high quality modem” and in the e-mail to us it says, “ The offer is free connection and modem for £29.99”. It’s all a little contradictive and confusing:
FREE BROADBAND CONNECTION AND £29.99 MODEM FROM ONE.TEL
As we say goodbye to another year, One.Tel is preparing to welcome in 2003 with one of the best broadband deals on the market – free connection and £29.99 for a high quality modem.
One.Tel has spent 2002 pioneering quality broadband content and the company firmly believes that the New Year will see content become king.
“What better excuse to avoid the winter doom and gloom than to get a broadband connection that won’t break the bank”, said Phil Worms, head of internet for One.Tel. “If your bank balance took a beating over Christmas and you want to get online for the first time or even upgrade your narrowband connection, for just less than £30, you’ve got broadband.”
If internet users need any more convincing about the benefits broadband brings, the One.Tel broadband roadshows begin again in January, coinciding with the new connection and modem offer.
The roadshows are designed to showcase the best in broadband content, including MTV Live, Tweenies, BBC news, sport and weather plus much more.
The latest dates have been fixed for the Lakeside shopping centre, Essex from 13th - 18th Jan 2003 and then the Harlequin Centre, Watford, from 21st - 26th Jan. |
UK Internet Surfers Stuck In The Past?
By:mark.j @ 11:15:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] The latest results from MSN's (Microsoft Networks) Search's Top 10 Trends Barometer has found that UK Internet users are most likely to search for information on the famous stars of the 1980s and 1990s:
The most popular internet searches in the UK focus on 1990s icons such as Madonna, Barbie and Michael Jackson, according to a new survey. Results from MSN Search's Top 10 Trends Barometer indicated that stars of the 1980s and 1990s were the most popular search engine topics in 2002.
Britney Spears was the UK's most searched for celebrity for the second year running while Beyonce Knowles of Destiny's Child, Britney's 'face of Pepsi' replacement, failed to make it into the top 100.
The survey showed the most popular musicians searched for have been on the UK music scene since the 1990s including Robbie Williams, Kylie Minogue and Westlife. The MSN search engine registered 12.7 million users in the month ending in November.
More @ BBC News Online . |
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