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December 18, 2002 - December 28, 2002

News - December 28,2002

LINX – XMas Internet Traffic Doubles

By:mark.j @ 11:09:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

The London Internet Exchange (LINX) has reported seeing double the online Internet traffic compared with the same time last Christmas 2001:

BRITONS HAD AN ON-LINE CHRISTMAS - HOLIDAY INTERNET TRAFFIC DOUBLE LAST YEAR'S LEVEL

Britons had an 'on-line Christmas' according to figures just released by the London Internet Exchange (LINX) which handles up to 96 per cent of the UK's Internet traffic.

Data flow through LINX facilities peaked at more than 17 Gbit/second in the evening of Boxing Day and at over 15 Gbit/second in the evening of Christmas Day itself. This is almost twice the level of traffic recorded on the same days last year when the Boxing Day peak was around 9 Gbit/second and Christmas Day traffic reached 8 Gbit/second.

"It is impossible to tell from the traffic figures what exactly people were doing on the Internet," said LINX sales and marketing manager Vanessa Evans. "People may have been sending e-mails to relatives overseas or logging onto websites.

The timing of the traffic - with figures climbing fairly steadily throughout the day and peaking at around 9.00 in the evening - may reflect time differences between people in the UK and their relatives overseas. Alternatively, it may just mean that people settled down in front of their screens after their Christmas meals.

Whatever people were doing on-line during the holiday period, it is clear that the Internet has become a part of Christmas for an increasing number of them, providing both communication and entertainment.
"

On a normal working day LINX handles peak traffic flows of around 22
Gbit/second (a figure which itself increases almost every week) and normal weekend traffic flows peak at a slightly lower figure around 20 Gbit/second.

LINX is a mutual ownership organisation owned by 130-plus Internet service providers (ISPs) and content delivery service providers (CDSPs) which connect their networks there.

BSG Touts Future Broadband Wireless

By:mark.j @ 11:02:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

The Broadband Stakeholder Group (BSG) has touted the future importance of broadband wireless technologies in its second annual report before the New Year:

In its second annual report the BSG - set up to advise the government on broadband policy - said laying cable or upgrading the infrastructure of remote and rural areas was not commercially viable for telcoms companies.

But low-frequency wireless spectrum could be a cheap alternative, it suggested. "Exploiting the wireless spectrum is the only way we are going to reach a lot of remote areas", Antony Walker, BSG's chief executive officer.


The report highlights how spectrum limitations and regulatory barriers are likely to hinder such concepts. More @ VNUNet.

Fast24 ISP Suffers Serious Hack Attack

By:mark.j @ 10:57:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

The UK unmetered dialup ISP Fast24 has apparently suffered a serious attack on its servers, which has resulted in some downtime and general instability over their network.

It's not yet clear exactly what type of attack has occurred, although some of Fast24's staff have posted the following details in our forums:

The attack, referred to above, is proving to be quite serious. We have traced it back to the USA, but to a huge range of "spoofed" addresses - making it very difficult to block.

We have a theoretical solution, which we are trying to implement now. We have also called in additional resources to assist us in rectifying the problem.


Fast24 followed the above update, which was posted yesterday afternoon, with another roughly one hour later:

As detailed above, the measures we have put in place to recover from this attack are now starting to work. Difficulties with access to the email servers should now be fully resolved, and dial up access should now be possible again. We've had to make some changes to our webserver to block the attack, and as a result of this our DNS servers now need to play catch up. This should be concluded by about 10pm tonight, so until then it is unlikely you will be able to access any websites on our servers (including the Fast24 site).

Due to the nature of this problem, we have had to pull access to the www.fast24.co.uk domain for a short period, although by 10pm tonight you should be able to access our website by visiting www.fast24.net.

Apologies for the inconvenience this may have caused.


Sadly the Fast24.net website still appears to be down, however access can be gained by going here: http://www2.fast24.net .

Buggy USB Hampers Broadband Use

By:mark.j @ 10:46:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Those with a detailed knowledge of PC computer hardware may already be aware of the Universal Serial Bus (USB) port bugs that hampered some earlier motherboards and their support for the technology.

Unfortunately some of those still using two to three year old computer technology may find that such bugs result in problems when using the USB modems that accompany some broadband Internet access technologies (ADSL):

Older PCs equipped with motherboards with low-power chipsets are incompatible with some broadband USB modems. This can throw up a whole host of problems. Either the broadband connection cannot be made, runs at very slow speeds or is intermittent and disconnects every few minutes.

In particular there is a known conflict with some Alcatel modems, which are very popular with UK internet service providers (ISPs), and VIA chipsets used in a number of older motherboards.

These motherboards may not supply the modem with the full power required to work. The modem then begins to draw power from the PC, causing the motherboard to trigger a self-protection feature, which shuts down the USB ports.


For the less technically minded, a motherboard is the chipset that allows the bits inside your computer to work together. The VNUNet item goes on to note how most major ISPs are already aware of the problems and suggests a few possible solutions.

Please also be aware that this doesn’t affect everybody, but the problem could grow as more people begin using broadband.

News - December 27,2002

Mirror Tech Awards Results

By:Keith @ 12:03:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

The Mirror newspaper has today announced the results of the best and worst tech awards. Today lists the net awards, with the rest following in tomorrows Mirror.

At last, the results are in for the first Kelly's i/Amy's i Best (and Worst) Of The Year awards. We deliberated, cogitated and digested thousands of nominations from Mirror readers, spent days poring over your votes and opinions, and pulled out hair at the blatant vote-rigging by V21 and B3ta.com (naughty, naughty).

BEST ISP

Winner: NTL
Runners-up: Virgin.net, Vispa

WORST ISP

Winner: Karoo

CHANCER OF THE YEAR

Winner: V21

For sticking the cheekiest blag ever on its website area - and thinking we wouldn't notice a vote-rigging scandal.
"V21 has been nominated to receive an award for the best UK ISP," it said. Sorry to spoil your party, V21 but, er, no you weren't. We asked users to nominate their own.
It continued: "If you would like to vote for us, all you have to do is click on the button below and your vote will be sent to the Daily Mirror."
Did they really think we wouldn't suss this?

BEST WEBSITE

Winner: Google
Runners-up: b3ta, bbc.co.uk

There could only be one winner - the most popular and useful website in the world, the one that practically everybody uses as their home page.
Runner-up B3ta.com did well after a post on its message board led to a sudden spike in entries.
But we allowed it to remain in the running, because of its sheer brilliance and simplicity.

TECH VILLAIN OF THE YEAR

Winner: Bill Gates/Microsoft
Runners-up: BT, Friends Reunited

A close call between Microsoft and BT. Readers complained about BT customer service, BT senior execs, BT Openworld and BT "for, well, everything!"
But Microsoft pipped it - for making more money than anyone else yet introducing charges for Hotmail, a strict 30-day expiry and constantly changing the rules.
Readers also complained about Microsoft's "ridiculously expensive software". And lastly, Friends Reunited's honeymoon seems to be over. Readers nominated it as a villain for encouraging old enemies to reignite their hate campaigns and breaking up too many marriages.

NET CELEBRITY OF THE YEAR

Winner: Ellen Feiss


For more detail on the above awards visit Amy's i. Part 2: Best and worst gadgets of the year is in Saturdays Kelly's i section in the Mirror.

News - December 25,2002

Blueyonder’s Email to Customers

By:Anne @ 12:10:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

The following was an email sent from blueyonder to all there customers. For all the readers interested here are the main bits of the email.

"We started 2002 with 85,000 512Kb broadband customers, and end it with over 250,000 users, 10% of which are on the 1Mb service we launched in the summer. We've also launched broadband in further regions as this has become technically and financially possible. Even with the significant uptake, we still have many customers on our proven dial-up service who have not yet made the leap to broadband.

With this large growth in customer numbers, we've been constantly upgrading our network to maintain the high levels of service our customers have come to expect. The volume of traffic now traversing our network has increased factoring the region of three to four times as blueyonder customers continue to push the limits of broadband.
As you're no doubt aware, however, with the growth of broadband, we've also faced some new challenges along the way.

The service most impacted by abuse issues has been e-mail. During this year we have been assaulted by an onslaught of many SPAM and virus attacks. Our now ageing [3 year old] e-mail platform is in the process of being decommissioned to be replaced by a much more modern and scaleable exchange 2000 platform. Additional measures to counter SPAM and viruses etc are already being developed to minimize the anxiety, financial impact and time.

In April we upgraded to a new, feature rich PWP platform. In the summer we launched the advanced web hosting service, enabling users to build more sophisticated websites. In addition, the best sites each month [as nominated by .Net magazine] win a £500 prize!

Usenet news remains to be the most challenging of all services to maintain in this broadband age. So far we have responded to customer demand by launching an additional and dedicated text-only news server and we continue to look at ways of improving our news service.
Several major initiatives have taken place in this area. We have rolled out a range of tools to better monitor and diagnose both our services and our customers' connections into our network.

We'd like to say a big thank you and wish all the compliments of the season to our customer facing staff. We appreciate all your efforts and dedication in providing our customers with the top quality service they deserve.

News - December 24,2002

Internet Awards

By:Anne @ 11:39:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Who would you vote for internet villain of the year? This is just part of an annual naming and shaming by the UK Internet Service Provider’s Association (ISPA). The best and the worst of the British internet, the shortlist include Oftel the Telecoms Regulator, Anne Robinson’s BBC Watchdog fighting it out for the worst.

The nominees for the best are:-All party Parliamentary Internet Group (APIG) for their part in a public inquiry into data retention laws. Hugh Blunkett, for helping his father, to better understand privacy fears, Simon Watkin from the Home Office for his work with various industry interest groups from his Department. While the nominees for the worst include Oftell "for their part in the local loop unbundling by BT which has hindered both competition and development of Broadband Britain.". Anne Robinson “for the show watchdog’s broadcast about Spam”,

In the Hero shortlist who would you vote for?
1. Hugh Blunkett,
2. Elizabeth France,
3. Simon Watkin,
4. Richard Allan MP,
5. All party Parliamentary group.

In the Villains who gets your vote.
1, BBC Watchdog,
2, The Home Office for the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security.
3, Oftel
4, The Recording Industry Association of America.
5, Telecommunications Analysts.

The results for these and all the other categories will be announced on February 20th 2003 at the London Marriott Hotel. You will find more details on
ISPA and Web-user.

BT Forced To Reduce Business Charges

By:Keith @ 10:23:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

BT are being forced by Oftel to slash pricing for their wholesale business broadband services.

The monster telco has always maintained that its pricing for leased lines was fair. Other operators - and crucially now Oftel - disagreed.
Oftel is forcing BT to cut the cost of connection for its partial private circuits (PPCs) by 50 per cent. Rental is also to be cut by 20 per cent.


Oftel also made a statement, which said, it believed these charges "better reflect the costs BT incur in providing these services".
Full story available at The Register

News - December 23,2002

BT Fix Problem Exchanges

By:Keith @ 6:01:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

According to The Register, BT has corrected the problem that caused around ten recently ADSL-enabled exchanges to develop faults.

It seems a new class of line card was to blame for the outage which hit hundreds of users who had campaigned to get their exchanges converted to ADSL. BT declined to say which manufacturer is to blame for the fault.

The problem was fixed on Saturday and BT reports that users have now been able to connect with no problems. However, BT is still keeping a close eye on the matter, you know, just in case.


Full story at The Register

Activeware ISP Price Increase

By:Keith @ 9:47:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

This morning amongst the christmas cards was a letter from Activeware.co.uk advising a change to the current packages and also prices. Basically it states that the current packages will no longer be available and that current customers will be moved onto a higher priced service. The letter included the following:

It is with regret that we have to drop our £5.00 anytime product, but we could not continue as a viable supplier of quality service with peak time contention (18.00 – 22.00hrs) at current rates.

Activeware believe there is a product in the new range to suit everyone. However we do remind customers that they are not tied to a contract and if they desire to cancel for any reason they are at liberty to do so. If we do not hear to the contrary we will place customers into categories as illustrated below. This changeover will take place on the first due date following 01/01/03.

£5.00 (50 hours) and £10.00 (100 hours) customers will be transferred to:
ActiveAnytime, £10.00, 200 Hours anytime, 15:1 Contention

£12.99 Unlimited customers will be transferred to:
ProInternet, £15.00, Unlimited 06.00 – 18.00 Mon-Sat, 8:1 Contention

The website has also been updated with the new packages, these are:

Active Daytime £5.00

Free Inclusive Hours : 25 per month
Additional Usage Charge : 2p per minute
Access Times : 08:00-18:00, Monday-Sunday
Maximum Contention Ratio : 30:1

Active Anytime £10.00

Free Inclusive Hours : 200 per month
Additional Usage Charge : 2p per minute
Access Times : Unlimited
Maximum Contention Ratio : 15:1

Active Nitetime £5.00

Free Inclusive Hours : Unlimited
Additional Usage Charge : N/A
Access Times : 00:00-06:00, Monday-Sunday
Maximum Contention Ratio : 5:1

There are also 3 business packages, which have no limits on usage and a lower contention ratio. For more information visit there website Here.

News - December 20,2002

MERRY CHRISTMAS - From ISP Review

By:mark.j @ 2:56:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

We wish you a merry Christmas.. we wish you a merry Christmas.. we wish you a merry Christmas and a HAPPY.. NEW.. YEAR..



Believe me, it would have been much worse had I actually sung that, be thankful that the Internet is also a wonder for preventing such atrocities. So that’s it, I’m off to take a break and while the odd news item may get posted, generally ISP Review will be rather quite for a week or so while we all sit back to take a break.

Unfortunately we didn’t have time to fix all those nasty database errors on our new discussion forum technology, although we have managed to cut them down. Next year we’ll ship the database over to a dedicated server, which should resolve the problems as the database will no longer be on a shared host.

Before we go, here’s a brief list of do’s and don’ts for the Christmas period.

Do: Welcome Father Christmas into your home (check his ID first!).
Don’t: Welcome Osama Bin-Laden in, a man that may look similar, yet is not!

Do: Attempt to spread Christmas cheer at the local pub.
Don’t: Drink too much and attempt to spread Christmas vomit at the local pub.

Do: Try to give family members the gifts they actually want.
Don’t: Try to give family members a second hand modem, breath tester or the present they gave you last year (that last one can work – requires creativity).

Do: Leave out a glass of wine and a mince pie for Father Christmas.
Don’t: Leave out a laxative and sleeping pill filled mince pie complete with a glass of 90% proof vodka, you may find out that Father Christmas doesn’t exist (anymore) soon than you think.

Do: Enjoy your Christmas meal.
Don’t: Complain about how cold, tasteless and poorly presented the meal is and later try to look charming.

Do: Find a member of BTs senior staff and attempt to give them a hug, stating that all is forgiven, even if you won’t see ADSL until the year 3020.
Don’t: Do the above.

Do: Have a friendly snowball fight in the snow.
Don’t: Have a friendly snowball fight in a place where there is no snow, only dirt, rocks and very sharp metallic instruments.


Have a good Christmas!; we’ll be back in full swing after the new year, although there may still be the odd news update between now and then – but not many.

Please remember that I’ll be out of the country for a few days, so any updates from me will be done via a GSM Mobile + Laptop connection, thus I’m unlikely to check my e-mail for a week (too slow).

We’d also like to finish by wishing a special HAPPY CHRISTMAS to the helpful lads over @ ADSLGuide, whom have been more than a little helpful during the past year. Have a virtual drink on us guys =).

AOL UKs Retail ADSL Distribution Deal

By:mark.j @ 1:58:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

ISP AOL UK will soon be selling their own form of 'broadband in a box' after completing a retail distribution deal with both Comet and The Carphone Warehouse:

AOL announces first broadband retail distribution deals in the UK with Comet and The Carphone Warehouse

Consumers are now able to sign up for AOL Broadband and buy an Easy-Install modem pack in stores across the UK, thanks to agreements AOL has reached with Comet and The Carphone Warehouse. The deals mean that the stores will be able to provide a convenient one-stop shop for AOL Broadband.

Comet is promoting and distributing AOL Broadband in its 260 stores across the UK. In-store activity includes display units containing AOL Broadband Easy-Install modem packs and AOL Broadband booklets on counters. This will be supported by above-the-line joint marketing activity.

AOL Broadband is also available in a selection of Carphone Warehouse stores, with a nationwide rollout planned for next year. Stores will promote the benefits of AOL Broadband using a variety of in-store materials, including posters, Easy-Install modem packs and AOL Broadband booklets.

Both deals are extensions of existing agreements that AOL has with Comet and The Carphone Warehouse for distribution of AOL's narrowband service and represent a further step in AOL's strategy to directly target UK consumers with AOL Broadband, coinciding with a major press and poster advertising campaign.

Karen Thomson, chief executive of AOL UK, said: "Our aim is to make it as easy and stress-free as possible for consumers to sign up for broadband. AOL already offers telephone and online registration, and these stores will give consumers the opportunity to learn more about broadband and make that important purchasing decision."

Fast24 ISP Hikes Prices & Alters Offers

By:mark.j @ 1:54:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Thanks to David for letting us know that the UK ISP Fast24 has once again issued a lengthy service update to its customers; unfortunately it's not all good news.

Sadly Fast24 has once again decided to re-organise its various unmetered packages, some of which have gone, while others will see another price hike:

Since we introduced our new plans in October this year it has become apparent that some are more popular, and some are less popular, than we had anticipated.

Consequently, we have decided to discontinue some connect plans and modify the pricing of others. We will also increased the standard session time from 3-hours to 4-hours for all connect plans, except 'Always On' & 'Always On Plus', for which disconnect times are not applicable.

Extensive research over the last few weeks indicates that our range of connect plans still offer what is probably the best value for money for both the home, and business, user.

PLEASE NOTE: Customers on Annual accounts need take no further action until their account renewal is due.

From January 2 2003, our standard connect plans, and Options, will be as follows:

(ALL PRICES INCLUDE VAT)

Modem and single-channel (64K) ISDN Connect Plans:

- Anytime 200 (£12.98 per month)
- Anytime Business 300 (£22.99 per month)
- Twilight (£3.00 per month)
- Always On (£100.00 per month)

Dual-channel ISDN Connect Plans (128K):

- Anytime 200 Plus (£18.00 per month)
- Anytime 300 Plus (£30.00 per month)
- Always On Plus (£235.00 per month)

Connect Plan Options:

- 12-hour disconnect time in place of standard 4-hour - NOT applicable to 'Always On' or 'Always On Plus' (£5.00 per month)
- 128K connectivity, from midnight - 6:00 am, for 'Anytime 200', 'Anytime Business 300' or 'Twilight' connect plan customers (£3.00 per month)

Discontinued Connect Plans & Customer Migration:

From 2 January, we shall be discontinuing the following connect plans and migrating customers to their new connect plan, as follows:

- Primetime. Existing customers will be migrated to 'Anytime 200'
- Insomniac. Existing customers will be migrated to 'Anytime 200'
- Primetime Plus. Existing customers will be migrated to 'Anytime 200 Plus'

Full details of the new connect plans can be found on our website at
http://www.fast24.co.uk

Customers wishing to migrate themselves to an alternative connect plan, or who wish to cancel their account, may also do this via the website.

The Video On Demand Association

By:mark.j @ 1:42:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

NTL, Telewest, VideoNetworks, Kingston Communications and On Demand have announced the formation of a new self-regulatory body; the 'Video On Demand Association' (VODA).

The move follows government concerns over child and consumer protection, suggesting that a code of practice to oversee content was required:

The fact that users have control over their own access to VoD services had led the government to call for special protective measures to be introduced earlier this year, when the draft Communications Bill was published. It is hoped the code will be brought into effect when the Bill becomes law - a move expected to take place in July next year.

Much of the code's focus is on protecting children from viewing unsuitable content, providing adequate guidance on content likely to cause offence and regulating commercial services.

While the Independent Television Commission is currently responsible for regulating VoD, and standards will be based on its existing codes, the VODA board will take over dealing with customer complaints and judging whether sanctions should be placed on service providers in specific cases.


Video on demand services will become increasingly common in the coming years, largely thanks to faster broadband Internet access technologies. More @ netimperative.info.

Virgin.net ISP Cuts ADSL Starter Kit Price

By:mark.j @ 1:35:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

UK ISP Virgin.net has today reduced the cost of its broadband ADSL starter kit by £5:

The kit -which includes a Thomson SpeedTouch USB ADSL modem, two micro-filters and software - now costs £79.99.

However, punters will still have to pay an additional £39 for the service to be activated.

AOL and Freeserve, on the other hand, charge around £85 for their starter kits and that includes the line activation cost.


Virgin.net's announcement seems somewhat poor given that they haven't even bothered to cut the activation cost following BTWholesale’s announcement. More @ The Register.

New Broadband Satellite ISP - SatISP

By:mark.j @ 1:32:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

The latest one-way broadband Satellite ISP to hit the market is the imaginatively titled SatISP. Unfortunately the service isn't quite live yet, but we can expect a full launch sometime during the first quarter of 2003 (Jan/Feb):

SatISP / SCS Broadband will dramatically reshape the broadband landscape across the UK and Europe, Our unique approach is the answer to the current 'Broadband Bottleneck' affecting the UK and Europe.

Market research indicates that some in the UK alone 400,000 small and medium-sized businesses cannot access terrestrial broadband via ADSL or cable.

With broadband Internet delivered by satellite, you could be reaping the benefits now. You don't have to wait for a cable to be laid past your door or for your local exchange to be ADSL-enabled. So Here Is Your Answer Sign Up Here..


Full details will no doubt become clear next year; however the website does still manage to note a few package prices:

Ulimited Data Transfer
20:1 Contention
256K - £27.99 Per Month
512K - £39.99 Per Month
1024K - £49.99 Per Month


The service will use the EuroBird 28.5 Degrees East Satellite.

ADSL ISP Line Checker Inconsistencies

By:mark.j @ 10:06:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Paul, an editor from The Technology Vault website, has posted up an interesting article on the age old problem of inconsistencies between various ISPs and their ADSL line checking software - HERE:

As the world of high technology seems a bit quiet at the moment, I thought you might be interested in seeing my results. My conclusion is that I'd wish these ISPs would get their act together. See what I mean...

Tiscali - Fantastic news - your line has passed the initial line check indicating that you can receive Tiscali Broadband.

V21 - You cannot continue the sign-up process because: Enabled for Telephone Number 01424 xxxxxx

ADSL NOW - Congratulations, ADSL-NOW is in your area!

BTOpenworld - We are sorry but our records show that although broadband is available at your exchange, you are too far away from the exchange for us to provide the service

Andrews & Arnold - Based on the postcode ########, you may be able to get 500K RADSL service

AOL - We are very sorry but unfortunately you cannot order AOL Broadband due to the fact that you live too far away from your local telephone exchange.


Paul goes on to check a whole host of different services and continues to find the same inconsistent results. The issue isn't anything new, but we must admit that until now the scale of the problem hasn’t been clear.

Newly Enabled ADSL Exchange Bugs

By:mark.j @ 9:50:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

UPDATE: BTWholesale has now officially declared a Major Service Outage (MSO) on the Kesgrave, Leek and Irby exchanges.

ADSLGuide reports that the local exchanges for Kesgrave, Irby, Leek, Paddock Wood and Pembury, which were recently upgraded to support broadband ADSL services, are having problems:

The problem manifests as users are able to obtain DSL synchronisation with the exchange, but any communication beyond this is intermittent, either they cannot log onto the service, or there is very high levels of packet loss. This fault does happen now and then when connecting new users but it is rare to see so many at once.

BTWholesale is aware of the bug, yet you should still report it all the same (if you have it) so as not to be missed out when the issue is finally resolved. The same site also notes that three additional ISPs have now cut their ADSL activation costs:

Andrews & Arnold - £60 (setup) - From now till 31st March 2003.

Onyx Internet - £30 (setup) - On wires only services, from now until 31st March 2003

Onyx Internet - £150 (setup) - On managed services, from now until 31st March 2003

Tiscali - Free (setup) - Currently applies to 512kbps service

UK ISP BoltBlue Cuts ADSL Costs

By:mark.j @ 9:37:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

BoltBlue has today become the latest UK provider to cut its broadband ADSL activation costs, although that isn't all they're offering:

Boltblue Broadband customers to benefit from low cost start-up package

In response to increasing competition in the broadband market, Boltblue, the UK's leading mobile and Internet services company, today announced a new promotion for Boltblue Broadband its DSL-based broadband service.

In an offer that will significantly benefit customers by slashing the initial set up costs of broadband, the promotion includes one of the following:

• Free USB modem (usually £84.99)
or
• £50 Ethernet modem (usually £139.99)
or
• Wires-only package with two free months (three months for
the price of one)

Boltblue is also waiving the installation fee of £65, which together with the free modem offers customers a considerable saving of up to £149.99.

Boltblue's DSL-based broadband service also includes a £5 credit per month which can be used to buy mobile Internet services such as ringtones, icons, alerts to your mobile and extended text-messaging services at discount prices.

The offer is valid for a limited period of time and subject to a 12-month contract.

News - December 19,2002

Employee Internet Surfing Insurance

By:mark.j @ 1:45:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Smart and Cook, an insurance broker, has adapted itself to offer businesses a new insurance policy (e-policy) to cover employees that waste too much time surfing the Internet when they should be working:

SMART AND COOK CUTS RISK FROM RISING EMPLOYEES "SURFING" TIME

Leading Northern insurance broker Smart and Cook is cutting the risk to firms from employees' use of the Internet and e-mail while at work, with specially tailored e-policies.

The Harrogate-based broker, which has branches across the North of England and in Scotland, has developed a range of insurance solutions in light of a rise in the amount of time employees spend using the Internet for unauthorised periods.

The average time an employee is believed to spend "leisure surfing" on the Internet is now 11.5 days a year. However, Smart and Cook warns that a decline in productivity is not the only problem to result from such activity.

Firms may also find themselves legally liable for any illicit activities carried out on company computers.

One of the core policies covers SMEs that have a marketing website used to promote their company, and/or an e-mail system used to communicate externally with customers and business partners.

It provides cover for any damages and expenses the company is obligated to pay as a result of an e-mail or instant message sent by an employee externally, or written content that is published on their website.

Peter Castle, Broking Director at Smart and Cook, said: "The constant growth of technology not only provides an exciting opportunity to expand the way in which we work and run our businesses, but also opens up a myriad of new ways in which we can find ourselves running into legal problems.

A specialist policy, tailored to individual businesses, is an ideal way to cover yourself against such threats.

However, as well as ensuring you have adequate cover in the event of being sued as a result of e-mail or Internet abuse, it is always a good idea to have a company-wide policy setting out the parameters for acceptable use of company systems.
"

C2 & BTA ISPs Halve ADSL Setup Costs

By:mark.j @ 1:33:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

So far we've heard from Nildram, Zen Internet and Bulldog, all of which have passed on the BTWholesale's half-price broadband ADSL installation offer.

Today ADSLGuide has noted that two other UK ISPs, BTA Limited and C2 Internet, have introduced similar discounts (excluding VAT):

BTA Limited - £25 (setup) - Runs from 10th January to 31st March 2003

C2 Internet Wires Only - £25 (setup) - Runs 1st Jan 2003 to 31st March 2003. Applies to Business Lite 501 and Business 201 products

C2 Internet Engineer Installed - £140 (setup) - Runs 1st Jan 2003 to 31st March 2003. Applies to Business S products

Zen’s Half-Price ADSL Activation Offer

By:mark.j @ 9:34:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Not surprisingly Zen Internet has become the latest UK ISP to adopt BTWholesale's half-price ADSL activation offer, yet unlike others, Zen will enable its discount from this Friday (20th) instead of 10th January 2003:

Christmas Comes Early For New Zen Customers - Half-Price Activation

Zen Internet, one of the UK's leading Broadband providers, is bringing Christmas forward with the announcement that it is halving the activation charge across its range of ADSL services. From midday Friday 20th December the activation charge for the ZenADSL Home and Office range of Broadband services will be cut from £50 to £25 plus VAT (£29.38).

Broadband awareness in the UK is at an all-time high as a result of numerous marketing campaigns by service providers. A Broadband Internet connection is a popular item on Christmas shopping lists this year, according to sources in the north Pole, and with high numbers of new PCs purchased over the festive period this reduction in Zen's activation costs is particularly timely.

BT announced yesterday that it is speeding the rollout of ADSL with thirty-three exchanges set to be enabled in the first quarter of the New Year, adding to the eight exchanges that were enabled on the 12th of December. Zen expects that its price reduction will encourage more customers to sample its highly rated services, in the same way that price cuts in April nearly doubled demand.

Ian Buckley, Zen's Marketing Manager, said "The initial cost of Broadband connection can be a sticking point for many consumers, especially at this time of year. The reduction that we are implementing from Friday should ease this somewhat. In addition, by halving our activation cost now, we are removing any reason to hold back from ordering following the recently announced BT Wholesale reductions that will take effect in January and which some providers will be passing on to customers in the new year."

With the launch of Xbox Live and the PlayStation 2 broadband gaming network next Spring, 2003 will be a big year for Broadband.

People wanting to take advantage of the new reduced activation price can do so from midday Friday 20th December at http://www.zenadsl.com

Has Video E-Mail Become Viable?

By:mark.j @ 9:30:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Sending personal videos via e-mail (v-mail) is nothing new, yet until recently it's been tedious and expensive to do.

Thankfully in the past few years the introduction of cheaper web cams, unmetered and or broadband connections and better software support has made it more viable.

As the cost of so-called "v-mail" services drop, an "I miss you" message from a far-away sweetheart or a "Happy Birthday" serenade from Grandma could soon be winging its way to your e-mail in-box.

A variety of companies have recently introduced cheap video-mail (also referred to as "v-mail") offerings that manage to squeeze a one-minute multimedia message to the size of a one-page Word document. And the prices of Web cameras -- ranging from £15.6 to £94 pounds -- are dropping fast.

V-mail technology has been around for years, but bandwidth constraints and the expense of upgrading one's computer to view the videos have sidelined it as a niche feature. What's different now is one indisputable fact of Internet life: Sending e-mails remains far and away the most popular online activity.

According to a recent Forrester Research study, 94% of Internet users send an e-mail at least once a week, while 41% send pictures via e-mail once a week.

"Photo sharing has become very, very big, so I could see this become an emerging consumer technology," said Jim Nail, an analyst with Forrester in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

BISCIT Internet ISP Launches ADSL

By:mark.j @ 9:23:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

UK ISP BISCIT Internet has sent us a new press release announcing the introduction of their new business broadband ADSL and website hosting packages:

BISCIT Announce Complete Hosting Packages

BISCIT Internet are very proud to announce our new range of broadband packages. These packages are aimed squarely at the business users and offer a complete hosting package for the price of the broadband connection, effectively giving the hosting for free.

The packs start from just £25.00 +VAT pcm and as from January 6th 2002, the self-install set up costs will be reduced by 50% until the end of March.

BISCIT spokesman Nathan Relevy said “We are committed to giving customers what they really want – a one-stop shop for all their Internet needs in one place, and at a sensible price

Klez Tops Another 2002 Virus Chart

By:mark.j @ 9:19:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

The now infamous Klez e-mail virus (worm) has topped a second yearly chart, this time from Sophos:

UK-based Sophos revealed that the worm accounted for almost a quarter of reports to its customer support department this year, and topped the company's monthly chart for seven months in succession.

The second most common virus was Bugbear, which made the number two slot even though it was only detected in October.

"Unlike previous chart toppers like the LoveBug, which disappeared almost as quickly as it arrived, Klez is the ultimate in slow burning worms," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at Sophos.


More @ VNUNet.

Easynet’s Warning - Market Complacency

By:mark.j @ 9:15:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

UK ISP Easynet has warned that existing regulation must be enforced so as to avoid incumbent operators damaging the fragile, yet competitive, markets.

The group says that the continued success of broadband Internet access technologies, such as ADSL, should not be allowed to overshadow the remaining problems:

Easynet chief executive David Rowe warned of "the danger of complacency". He fears that recent improvements in areas such as broadband may discourage regulators from taking tough action where necessary in the future.

According to Rowe, incumbent operators are still so powerful that constant vigilance is needed if competition is to thrive.

"It's like a temple in a jungle. If you turn your back the jungle will very quickly grow back, and it is as if the temple was never there," said Rowe, explaining how lax regulation would, he believes, allow the likes of BT to achieve high levels of market dominance, effectively strangling competition. "You always need competition, to keep the incumbent on its toes on issues such as prices and quality of service."


Easynet fears that Oftel’s future super-regulator replacement, Ofcom, could easily be outfoxed by BT in the next few years (Oftel hasn't?). More @ ZDNet.

News - December 18,2002

THUS Comments On ISP Libel Laws

By:mark.j @ 3:05:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

The operator behind UK ISP Demon Internet, THUS Telecom, has today sent us their comments on the controversial Internet defamation law:

THUS welcomes the Law Commission's call For a Review of how the Defamation Law affects the Internet

Today the Law Commission published a preliminary investigation into the problems caused by defamation law for online publishers, Internet service providers (ISPs) and their customers. Having experienced these problems first-hand in 1999 when its ISP brand Demon faced a defamation case centred on a Usenet article that it hosted, THUS has welcomed the Law Commission's call for a full review of the law.

Mark Gracey, Internet Content Regulation Manager at THUS and member of the Internet Service Providers Association (ISPA) Sub-Group on Content Liability, said, "At Demon we concur wholeheartedly with the ISPA in welcoming the Law Commission's report into defamation issues with the Internet. We believe that the question of responsibility for content hosted on the Internet has demanded attention for several years, and we look forward to the full legal review recommended by the Commission. We see this as an ideal opportunity to work towards codes of practice to help ISPs deal with liability for defamatory content.

Despite having no editorial control over material hosted on their servers, ISPs are currently being held legally responsible for defamatory, copyright-infringing and other types of content. This puts ISPs in the untenable position of acting as judge and jury in cases where complaints have been made, having to balance the rights of the complainant with those of their customer and the risk to their business.

Following Demon's experience in 1999, where in a pre-trial action it was ruled that they were the publisher and once the articles had been drawn to Demon's attention they had been required to, the company has felt enormous pressure to remove sites when complaints are made. At the same time, we do not believe that we, or other ISPs, are able to deal fairly with these cases as ISPs are neither qualified nor resourced to decide on the legality of material online, nor are they authorised to do so. Ultimately, it is up to a court of law to decide whether material is defamatory, not an ISP.

"At the moment anyone can put an ISP "on notice" - in other words, make an official complaint that the ISP must investigate or risk legal action. There is no standardisation of these notices or who can issue them, and there are no penalties for wrongful notices.

In order to ensure that the Internet remains a forum where everyone is entitled to freedom of expression it is essential that these issues are tackled. The law should recognise that it is the author of the material, not its distributor, who is responsible for ensuring the legality of information online.
"

Opera v7 B2 Web Browser Released

By:mark.j @ 2:51:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Opera, the commercial website browsing software, has today announced the public release of beta 2 for their new version 7 client (v7.b2).

Many found the previous beta 1 release to be more than a little problematic and slow, thus hopes are that beta 2 will be better:

Opera 7 for Windows Beta 2 Unleashed

Opera Software ASA today released Opera for Windows Beta 2, crammed with cool new power-browsing features to give the best Internet experience.

Since the release of Beta 1, Opera has added even more features. New additions include "Fast Forward", immediate access to the pages you will want to visit next; "The Wand", a one-click log-in password manager; a new links panel that quickly displays all links in the current page; a one- click skin install; powerful new panel management; and multiple user style sheets.

"The new features in Opera 7 will save users even more time when online," says Mary Lambert, product line manager desktop, Opera Software. "A feature like Fast Forward will endear many new users. Just click Fast Forward, and you quickly move between pages without looking for those pesky small 'next results' or 'next page' links with your mouse. New, innovative features like these will ensure that Opera 7 continues the explosive growth we have seen in users over the last few years."

Opera 7 has also garnered a lot of interest in the Web developer community. Introduced in Beta 1, developers can now test their Web pages with Opera's breakthrough Small-Screen Rendering (SSR) technology, and see how Web pages will be presented on small-screen devices such as PDAs and smartphones running Opera. Developers also save time with Opera 7's new style sheets; offering time-savers such as viewing structural elements without reverting to its source, or click for the page's outline for easy debugging.

http://www.opera.com


Do be warned that this is a beta and will no doubt have bugs, use at your own risk.

AOL Wins Controversial IM Patent

By:mark.j @ 2:40:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

ISP AOL has been granted a patent (6449344 - originally filed in 1997) on the invention of Instant Messaging (IM) systems.

The danger is that AOL could now use this to sue any of its IM competitors, which could hit groups such as Microsoft and Yahoo!:

The patent covers anything resembling a network that lets multiple IM users see when other people are present and then communicate with them.

"The claim is it's a system where you have a network; you have a way to monitor who's on the network; and if you want to talk to them you hook them up," said Gregory Aharonian, publisher of Internet Patent News Service, a newsletter that's critical of technology patents. "If you're doing something like that, you're potentially infringing."

The breadth of this definition could create controversy in the industry. AOL's primary competitors, Microsoft and Yahoo!, have their own instant messaging services, each with millions of subscribers. With the patent, AOL could technically sue rival instant messaging services for infringement backed by the argument spelled out in the patent.


We find it quite amazing that AOL has been able to do this, especially now that IM style services can and often are built into almost everything.

If AOL were to sue one of their major competitors then it could easily create one of the biggest Internet upsets in quite some time. More @ ZDNet.

Bulldogs Free ADSL Activation Offer

By:mark.j @ 1:36:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Bulldog Communications, which recently launched a new residential broadband ADSL service, is now offering their £26.99 per month package with a free line activation:

Bulldog Launches National Consumer Broadband Service at £26.99 per Month with Free Activation Introductory Offer

Following Bulldog's recent launch of Primetime 2000, the UK's fastest residential DSL broadband service, today Bulldog announced the introduction of a brand new entry-level consumer broadband product, Alltime 500. Alltime 500 features always-on broadband connectivity at 256 kbps upstream speed and 512 kbps downstream speed, providing easy access to entertainment and information at a rate up to 10 times faster than dial-up. Because the product is based on ADSL technology, customers have the convenience and freedom to use both voice and broadband application services on their telephone simultaneously.

Bulldog has specifically designed Alltime 500 to provide consumers with a compelling, alternative high-speed broadband Internet service. To promote competition and further stimulate take-up of broadband services, Bulldog is waiving the start-up activation fee for every Alltime 500 order processed between now and 28 February 2003.

To drive broad market appeal for the service, Bulldog is introducing Alltime 500 on a nationwide basis through any DSL-enabled exchange. Delivered over Bulldog's own DSL-enabled network and BT's network of over 1000 telephone exchanges, Bulldog's new service is accessible anytime and anywhere DSL broadband service is available on the market today. As new DSL exchanges are enabled, Bulldog's service will expand accordingly.

Richard Greco, CEO of Bulldog, stated, "Bulldog continues to lead the DSL broadband market by driving down prices and making upgrading to broadband more attractive to consumers. By waiving the activation fee through this introductory offer, Bulldog has capitalized on another opportunity to pass savings on to the consumer. The consumer wants the savings today and Bulldog's new generation of broadband services is ready to deliver today. Bulldog is providing an affordable pathway for consumers to realize the exciting benefits of high-speed broadband service. There's no need for customers to put off their decision to get broadband any longer."

More information on Bulldog's products and services are available through the Bulldog website: http://www.bulldogdsl.com

BTO ISP Support Swears @ Caller

By:mark.j @ 1:30:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

The Inquirer has spotted an interesting forum post on DigitalSpy - HERE, which relates to how one of BTOpenworld’s customer support staff supposedly swore at a caller saying, "YOU ARE A TWAT".

We're not going to copy and paste any of the meat here because the individual hasn't identified themselves, which damages its credibility; never the less it might be worth a read.

The person concerned is now considering legal action, which would make for an interesting court case =).

UK ISP Easynet Purchases Maiaah

By:mark.j @ 1:15:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Easynet, a popular UK ISP among businesses, has continued its European expansion with the purchase of French counterpart Maiaah for 100,000 euros:

Meanwhile, in a pre-close trading statement, Easynet, one of the few remaining competitors to BT in the 'last mile', said it had met its 2002 target of unbundling 80 exchanges across the country.

Easynet now has around 17,000 broadband customers that it claims generate average revenues of £1,500 per user. Last year it had 14,583 customers, with ARPU standing at £1,380.


The netimperative.info item states that Easynet is confident that it can meet expectations for 2003.

Top 10 UK Search Engine Sites & Terms

By:mark.j @ 10:06:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

The world’s largest Internet search engine, Google, has published their top 10 searched sites and terms for the UK during 2002:

1. BBC
2. Big Brother
3. Easyjet
4. Britney Spears
5. Ryanair
6. Gareth Gates
7. Weather
8. Kylie
9. World Cup
10. Holly Valance

Gov Must Review Online ISP Libel Laws

By:mark.j @ 9:59:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

The Law Commission (LC) is calling on the government to review Internet libel laws, which it hopes will prevent ISPs from being forced to police the Internet, a job many aren't qualified to do:

"When a Web site carries material to which someone objects - rightly or wrongly - it is often easier to complain to the ISP than the author," said Professor Hugh Beale, of Warwick University's law faculty, who led the review.

"The problem is that the law puts ISPs under pressure to remove sites as soon as they are told that the material on them may be defamatory, without considering whether the information is in the public interest or true," he added.

The Law Commission also suggested a legal redefining of the term "publication" to limit the time during which archived material can be legally challenged.


ISPs are increasingly being forced to take on extra responsibilities and costs, some of which contradict other laws and most of which they're not qualified to do in the first place.

The CW360 item points to ISPs in the U.S, which have now been exempt from liability for libels carried on the web sites they host.

Telewests Broadband Ghost Hunt

By:mark.j @ 9:45:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE]

Telewests ISP division, blueyonder, will be using the powers of broadband Internet access to deliver a live feed of Dover Castle. The reason for this? Well they're hunting ghosts of course:

Broadband helps find the festive spirit

This weekend will see one of Britain's most haunted castles invaded by prying cameras from LivingTV. And this time the cable channel has joined forces with Telewest Broadband's blueyonder ISP, to provide a unique, high-speed video stream direct to online ghost busters.

The Most Haunted Live at Christmas event takes place this Sunday (22
December) and will see four web cameras placed in Dover Castle, looking for the infamous spooks that are regularly reported in the 12th century fortress.

An exclusive broadband feed and dedicated chat rooms will be available, free of charge, to quarter of a million blueyonder broadband customers. This will enable them to watch much larger, smoother video images than possible with slower dial-up connections.

Chad Raube, director of internet services at Telewest Broadband, said: "This is a great example of how broadband internet allows you to watch the kind of content you might normally expect to see on your TV, but with even more interaction."

Cable customers will be able to watch the high-speed feed from 8.55pm on the blueyonder broadband web site, which is only available to blueyonder customers and provides a range of content and applications geared towards high-speed access. Dial-up internet users can access more basic images at http://www.blueyonder.co.uk or http://www.livingtv.co.uk.

As part of the paranormal experiment, medium Derek Acorah will team up with ghost hunters to piece together the age-old legend of the drummer boy, who was brutally murdered by thieves at Christmas time, during the Napoleonic War.

Other spirits reputed to walk the battlements include the Lady in Red, the Pikeman, the Walking Torso and a telephone operator from World War II.


The Pikeman? It almost sounds as if somebody has been playing one too many games from Nintendo =). It remains to be seen whether anything paranormal will be discovered, although Tony Blair is unlikely to make an appearance.

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