January 29, 2003 - February 3, 2003
News - February 3,2003
Search Engines Reach Indexing Limits?
By:mark.j @ 1:55:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Apparently the inability of present Internet Search engines (Yahoo!, Google etc.) to freely index the growing number website pages could ultimately lead to a more commercial future:
A WHITE PAPER on Internet search engines claims there's a revenue limit to the market to deliver answers via the Web unless "pay for placement" is introduced into the equation.
That's important because the cost of indexing is sky-rocketing, the authors claim. The article, written by Harry Collier and Stephen E. Arnold, reckons that content is growing much quicker than any machine or human hybrid can cope with.
The Inquirer's piece is worrying, although the business of being a search engine has always been a troubled one. |
One.Tel ISP Removes 4 Hourly Cut-Off
By:mark.j @ 1:44:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] One of our readers, Glenn, has reported that UK ISP One.Tel will apparently remove its 4-hourly cut-off from their unmetered dialup package sometime later today or tomorrow.
The 4-hourly period is to be replaced with a more common 2 hour cut-off; One.Tel has apparently acknowledged the fact that a 14 day notice period should have been given and wasn’t. Not that it's going to change anything now.
Further information can be found by calling the services London number, although don't be surprised if the ISP responds to complaints by suggesting you subscribe to broadband. Wonderful, if you can get it! |
Firms Moving Away From Leased Lines
By:mark.j @ 1:36:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] New research conducted by UK ISP Eclipse Internet has found that the high cost and limited availability of leased line connections is forcing many businesses onto cheaper broadband alternatives, such as ADSL:
While 74% said they used leased lines, none planned to add more in the future. 15% said they would consider Asymmetric DSL, 8% favoured Symmetric DSL, 14% favoured fixed wireless, and 5% preferred satellite links.
"More corporates are looking at other technologies because [unlike leased lines] they offer better cost efficiency and don't tie them into fixed-level long-term contracts," said Eclipse Internet's co-founder and director, Jomie Carmichael.
The costs of leased lines vary enormously, depending on proximity to the carrier's point of presence, the bandwidth being leased and the purchase price of necessary routers and firewalls.
None of this should come as much of a surprise, although it'll be interesting to see if the cost of a leased connection comes down as a result of the ever increasing competition. More @ VNUNet. |
Slammer Worm Breaks The Record
By:mark.j @ 1:26:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] The Microsoft SQL database attacking Internet worm, Slammer, which recently crippled a vast percentage of the Internet, has today been labelled as the fastest spreading computer bug in history!
Slammer took just 10 minutes to spread across the globe, causing widespread Internet slowdown and crippling networks in South Korea:
Experts said the attack marked a "significant milestone in the evolution of computer worms," warning that these sorts of bugs "should be considered a standard tool in the arsenal of an attacker".
As it began spreading, it doubled in size every 8.5 seconds. Within 10 minutes it had infected more than 90% of vulnerable hosts, said the experts.
At its peak, achieved approximately three minutes after it was released, the bug scanned the net at more than 55 million internet addresses per second.
The BBC News Online item reports that that the bug spread twice as fast as the Code Red virus, which infected 300,000 computers during July 2001. Just imagine how much worse things could have been had Slammer contained a truly destructive payload =). |
Free Broadband ISP Explains Premise
By:mark.j @ 10:21:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] It's been awhile now since we first reported on Free Broadband (FreeBB), a service which hopes, much like its namesake, to offer customers a free hi-speed ISP service.
Today several of our readers have been kind enough to forward on the services latest update, which explains a little more about how the ISP intends to operate.
Unfortunately what's stated below will seem only too familiar to those whom have been watching the ISP industry for years:
Welcome to the first FreeBB newsletter. We are delighted with the interest generated for our free broadband offer and are on course to provide this in Spring 2003.
Many of you have questions about how the free broadband service will be delivered and I am sure it will come as no surprise to you that FreeBB will be charged for the facility.
In turn, we will need to recover these costs through advertising and commission-based initiatives. We will provide easy links to these trading partners through a dedicated web browser. You will be under no obligation to purchase from them and will still be able to visit any website currently available.
In many cases you will find that the companies behind these links are well established organisations and we hope at the same time that you will experience a saving on any commodoties concerned.
The broadband connection will ultimately be delivered via a fixed-line, but we have not yet committed to one provider, as this is to some extent dependent upon us reaching our initial goal of 0.15% of the UK online population. Contrary to some media speculation, this equates to around 50,000 people.
You will know by now that we have not sent you any junk emails, nor have we passed your details to anyone outside FreeBB and we will not do so without your consent.
If you know someone else who may be interested in this offer please use the form at http://www.freebb.co.uk/tellafriend.htm to invite them to take a look.
We will write to you again next weekend with more details, but in the meantime, thanks for your time.
We simply can’t see how this can succeed, services such as X-Stream and many others have tried it and ultimately ended up failing. The market has been well aware for sometime that advertising can not, alone, sustain an ISP; never the less FreeBB intends to proceed.
It’ll certainly be interesting to watch what happens, although any interested parties should be aware of history and take FreeBBs business plan with a BIG pinch of salt. |
PCCW Considers Energis Bid
By:mark.j @ 10:09:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] UPDATE: Energis has apparently now denied Sundays report in The Times, which is a typical thing to do these days whether something’s true or not.
The Sunday Times Newspaper has reported that PCCW, which is run by Richard Li, is considering a bid for Energis, the UK telecoms and ISP networking group.
At this point very little else is known, Energis is currently owned by its creditors (a group of banks) and chaired by Archie Norman, the part time conservative MP. |
BTWholesale's Managed Broadband
By:mark.j @ 10:03:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] ADSLGuide reports that BTWholesale has launched a new product for UK ISPs called 'Managed Broadband Services':
This new service is designed to allow Service Providers to sell an ADSL service without all the high startup costs and investment currently required. Essentially this means ISPs that have put off offering ADSL due to the costs of the BT Central link required and associated hardware costs can now enter the ADSL market with relative ease.
The service will provide space on a BT Central pipe, manage the network and deal with operational issues, in other words a fully managed service. The real crunch will be the price, this is described as competitive.
In essence the wholesale provider is now also supplying a style of virtual ISP (vISP) solution, which could easily lead to the marketing being flooded with new vISPs, much as has happened with unmetered dialup. |
News - February 2,2003
FreeDial ADSL ISP Situation Update
By:mark.j @ 11:12:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] One of our readers, Chrissie, has managed to get a few more details out of FreeDial regarding the lack of broadband ADSL line activations.
FreeDial states that just 350 customers have been affected by the problems, although we've yet to hear from anybody using the service. Apparently an NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement) with BT is preventing the service from explaining the problems further
However FreeDial does state that "orders should now be progressing normally, 10-12 working days will be the normal lead time."
It looks as if the clock is now well and truly ticking for FreeDial, hopefully the service can turn things around before it's too late. A number of subscribers have already begun making official complaints to Trading Standards. |
The Broadband Radio - Streamium
By:mark.j @ 10:53:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] The second UK broadband Internet radio to see the light of day appears to be the Streamium MC-i200, from Philips.
Much like the previous one, Streamium allows those with a broadband Internet connection to access a number of special online audio streams. Unfortunately there are a few drawbacks:
It requires users to have a router installed on their broadband connection, something which will add another £100 or so to the unit's £400 cost. A new version supporting wireless networking is due out later in the year. The current version runs on a standard wired network, so it needs a network cable between it and the router.
Rather than give access to all the thousands of audio streams on the internet, the radio currently works only with a small range of stations who have done a deal with Philips.
They are prominent and experienced players in the world of internet audio, but full freedom of choice is out of the question right now.
The BBC News Online item reports that the radio can also play MP3s from CD-R and CD-RW. Similar products from other manufacturers are expected soon. |
New SpeedTouch USB ADSL Drivers
By:mark.j @ 10:39:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] News - February 1,2003
Internet Surfing To Overtake TV Viewing
By:mark.j @ 10:21:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] A new study by the University of California has found that Internet surfing is fast outpacing TV usage:
Internet users watched an average of 4.8 fewer hours of TV each week than non-users, the study found.
And it said that the decline in TV viewing hours grew more dramatic as internet users gained online experience. Internet 'veterans' watched about 5.8 fewer hours of TV than non-users.
The VNUNet item notes that US citizens spend an average of 11.1 hours online each week, compared with 11.2 for Internet surfing. Didn't this also happen when TV replaced radios some years back? |
modality Wireless ISP Restructures Price
By:mark.j @ 10:07:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] The UK broadband wireless offering ISP modality has today sent us word of a significant change to their service pricing following a restructure of their offers:
We have today restructured our pricing scheme, as the demand for low user tariffs has been slow, we have decided to create just one tariff:
1mbps - 30:1 contended - £29.99 per month plus VAT (£35.23 inc) per month
We are sure you'll agree that this price is more than competitive with rival broadband services. we aim to create the biggest community broadband service in the UK. Over time, as our cost prices reduce, so to will yours, we aim to pass on the saving that bulk buying can bring, it won't be instant, but you can be assured, it will be in the near future.
As a result of this tariff change, we will be monitoring patterns of usage, should it become apparent that the service of other users is becoming disrupted by a minority, who wish to abuse the service by downloading day and night, we will open a heavy usage connection, where there may be a greater fee payable or your connection speed capped after a certain download amount is reached, or we may impose monthly download limits.
We wish not to do this, as the aim of the service is to offer an unlimited high speed connection.
Current comparable broadband prices in this area are:
BT Openworld aDSL 1mbps 25:1 - £119.00 per month plus VAT (£139.83 inc) NTL / Telewest Cable 1 mbps - £34.99 (unsure whether inc)
Please note this service is in no way recommended for use with web hosting, alternative hosting deals will be made available in due course.
Unfortunately modality, like so many wireless providers, is seriously restricted by its coverage. The service itself is expected to go live sometime this month. |
Hutchison 3G ('3') Confirms Launch
By:mark.j @ 9:50:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Hutchison 3G (otherwise known as 3), the 3G (UTMS) broadband wireless mobile phone operator, has officially confirmed its intention to launch the service come March 2003:
The first 20,000 handsets sold will be subsidised, with prices ranging from £399 to £449. The subscription prices will be between £59.99 and £99.99.
The 3G subsidiary of multinational conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa is banking on its content agreements with high profile providers like the BBC and the UK football Premiership to woo customers.
Unfortunately the subscription prices are still far too high for even most traditional first-adopters to consider. More @ netimperative.info . |
MessageLabs - January Virus Report
By:mark.j @ 9:43:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Anti-Virus firm MessageLabs has today published the finalised statistics for January, which not surprisingly sees the first month of 2003 as being the most active since October last year:
The top 10 viruses list still has Klez-H holding a lead over the others, which is quite surprisingly considering how long it’s been around now:
1. W32/Klez.H-mm
2. W32/Yaha.K!e2a2
3. W32/Sobig.A-mm
4. W32/Yaha.E-mm
5. W32/Naith.A-mm
6. W32/Naith.B-mm
7. W32/BugBear-mm
8. W32/SirCam.A-mm
9. W32/Yaha.L!2095
10. EML/Michpics.A |
News - January 31,2003
Central Commands Top 12 Viruses
By:mark.j @ 2:39:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Following on from Sophos and another anti-virus firm, Central Command, has now published its top (12) list for January 2003:
Central Command Releases Its Dirty Dozen - Top 12 - Viruses For
January 2003
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 January 2003. 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 January 2003, number one being the most frequent.
Ranking Virus Name Percentage
1. Worm/Klez.E (incl. G variant) 27.2%
2. W32/Yaha.E 17.7%
3. Worm/Sobig.A 11.9%
4. Worm/Avril.A 10.8%
5. Worm/Yaha.M2 7.4%
6. Worm/Avril.B 6.0%
7. Worm/Bugbear 2.3%
8. Worm/Sircam.C 1.4%
9. W32/Elkern.C 1.3%
10. W32/Funlove 0.6%
11. W32/Nimda 0.5%
12. Worm/Opasoft 0.4%
Others 12.5%
"If the month of January is any sign of the year to come, we could be in for a very long year. It was definitely be a month to remember as we have never had so many new entries fill our top twelve slots." said Steven Sundermeier product manager at Central Command, Inc. The newcomers to the Dirty Dozen included; Worm/Avril.A, Worm/Avril.B, Worm/Sobig.A, and Worm/Yaha.M2, together they accounted for 36.1% of all total infections. They all utilized the well known vulnerability that allows for an attachment to be automatically executed within the preview pane of Microsoft Outlook.
"Despite the abundance of new and fast spreading Internet worms arriving via email in January, the most noteworthy worm was W32/SQL.Slammer.A, a fileless worm that targets Microsoft SQL 2000 Servers. It marked the first re-appearance of this type of worm since CODERED back in 2001. In just a matter of hours this small worm, traveling through UDP port 1434, impacted tens of thousands of vulnerable servers and was directly attributed to the Internet slow-down the morning of Saturday, January 25, 2003." Vexira Antivirus has been updated for 982 different viruses, worms and other malicious applications during the month of January 2003. |
Global Internet Surfers Wising Up?
By:mark.j @ 1:45:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] The UCLA Internet Report, a global survey of thousands of people and how they use the Internet, has found that surfers are more likely to question the credibility of online information than ever before:
The report, produced at the Centre for Communication Policy at the University of California-Los Angeles, also found that Internet users are online at the expense of viewing television; Internet users watched 5.4 hours less of TV a week in 2002 than non-Internet users.
The survey said that of the 71.1% of Americans who use the Internet, 61.1% characterised it as "very important" or "extremely important," compared with 57.8% for newspapers, 50.2% for TV and 40% for radio.
Yet at the same time, according to the report, only 52.8% of Internet users found most or all of the information online to be credible in 2002, down from 58% in 2001 and 55% in 2000.
The ZDNet item also states that fewer surfers were worried about online security (credit card fraud etc.), this despite the fact that apparently fewer people used the Internet to shop. Strange, didn’t online shopping grow during 2002? |
Top 10 Online Viruses - January 2003
By:mark.j @ 1:35:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] It's not even February yet and already Sophos, the anti-virus firm, has published its top 10 list of infections for January 2003:
1. W32/Avril-B (Avril variant) - 16.8%
2. W32/Avril-A (Avril worm) - 12.4%
3. W32/Klez-H (Klez variant) - 12.1%
4. W32/Sobig-A (Sobig worm) - 6.1%
5. W32/Yaha-K (Yaha variant) - 5.7%
6. W32/Bugbear-A (Bugbear worm) - 5.6%
7. W32/Yaha-E (Yaha variant) - 3.3%
8. W32/ElKern-C (Elkern) - 2.1%
9. W95/Spaces (Spaces virus) - 1.5%
10.W32/Flcss (Funlove) - 1.2%
Aside from No.3 (Klez-H), the remainder in the top 5 are all comparatively new entrants. Both of the new Avril viruses (e-mail worms) combined account for nearly 30% of all infections.
It'll be interesting to see what MessageLabs comes up with in its more detailed report tomorrow. |
Mr Speaker Gags Broadband Question
By:mark.j @ 1:30:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Bob Blizzard, the MP for Waveney, was no doubt frustrated yesterday when the House of Commons 'Speaker' ruled his rural broadband question out of order:
Blizzard said the rural parts of his constituency don't have access to broadband – which he claimed is crucial to developing "new small businesses" to regenerate the rural economy.
He said that the same problem that afflicted the country with narrow winding roads was now happening with electronic roads...
At which point Mr Speaker shutta up his face and said the question was far too wide.
Yes, clearly we can all see how asking about the progress of rural broadband in Waveney is far too much of a wide question; hmm. More @ The Inquirer. |
OTC Extends BTOpenworld ISP Deal
By:mark.j @ 1:17:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] The Online Travel Corporation (OTC) has managed to extend its deal with UK ISP BTOpenworld for a further two years, allowing BTO to offer customers the ability to design their own holiday package online:
The ISP became a strategic investor in OTC in 2001, and at the same time inked their original deal to use a branded version of OTC's e-commerce software for selling travel products such as holidays, flights and hotel accommodation to its subscribers.
The move was then cemented last year with OTC providing the technology behind the ISP's Travel Club - its new membership-based, upmarket holiday service.
I get the distinct impression that we've already reported this, please ignore it if we have =). More @ netimperative.info. |
Troubles @ vISP Supplier NeonHippo?
By:mark.j @ 11:11:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] While it's not yet entirely clear what's going on, there seems to be something stirring in the underbelly of NeonHippo, Murphx and or Gio Internet. The last service, Gio Internet, appears to have seen an extended, yet unreported, spate of downtime last week (back now).
NeonHippo (NH), a popular vISP (Virtual ISP) solutions provider, is also reported to have entered into liquidation earlier in the week (Tuesday), although this is unconfirmed.
Contacts close to the NH service have suggested that Murphx and or Gio Internet are the ones to talk with. However it's also being reported down the grapevine that whatever's going on, connectivity services won't be affected.
Please be aware that Companies House still shows NH as trading, although they can take a week or so to update the records. The above should be considered rumour until one of the services can explain the situation, we hope to have a response soon. |
More FreeDial & Tiscali ISP Complaints
By:mark.j @ 10:44:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Despite last year’s announcement from Tiscali regarding the resolution of their customer billing problems, we still consistently get the same complaints:
Although I've always found the service fine, Tiscali seem unable to charge the correct monthly fee. In 13 month they have charged 1 month correct. In Dec I received a credit for overcharge outstanding from June but by Jan we are again wrong. They seem incapable of programming a computer to accept a payment of £7.99.
E-Mail By - Andy
=========================
I joined Tiscali in June 2002, used them, for one week and cancelled (within the free 30 day period). However, they have continued to collected monthly credit card payments. My credit card company now charge back each payment as it arrives.
E-Mail By - Neil
Unfortunately Tiscali isn't the only ISP receiving consistent and regular complaints; it appears as if the ultra-cheap ADSL offering provider FreeDial is STILL failing to provide a service:
Hi, I signed up with freedial on 24/11/02 and received my modem on 21/12/02 and they debted my credit card! and I still don't have my line activated, freedial maintain that it's BT's problem, they don't reply to Emails or answer the telephone.
E-Mail By - Mark
=========================
was one of their first pre-registrants in Sep 02...I have paid my up front frees, received my ADSL modem (in Nov 02)...and still have no service.
They have told me categorically on more than one occasion that my line would be activated within 5 days of date 'x'...and I'm still waiting weeks later.
An absolutely useless company who do not send individual responses to customers complainants now...they just email everyone a 'general' statement. I am now reporting them to the telecom ombudsman.
E-Mail By - Neil
The above complaints only form a small fraction of the messages we've been seeing and discussion about these subjects continues on our forum. |
Eclipse's New Broadband Campaign Site
By:mark.j @ 10:11:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] The popular UK ISP Eclipse Internet has launched a new broadband campaign site, which is imaginatively titled We Want Broadband (WWB).
Unlike other such sites WWB allows you to view details and or register interest for technologies other than ADSL, such as SDSL, satellite, wireless and leased lines, but no Cable Modem.
Unfortunately outside of that and it's nothing special, largely because the focus is still heavily on xDSL technologies. It's more a less an extra advert for Eclipse Internet's own services. |
Silvermead Satellite ISP Stumbles
By:mark.j @ 9:58:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] One of our readers and a new subscriber to the recently launch broadband satellite ISP Silvermead, Bill, has pointed out that a small technical hitch with the systems registration process has, for some, resulted in a slight delay:
We apologise, but due to a technical problem in our system, any activations that were placed between the 25th of January and 12pm on the 30th of January may not have been processed. This is because the data you entered when you requested activation was not successfully passed through our servers and so has been lost.
We have now resolved this issue and all activations made after the 12pm today (30/1/03) have been received successfully. Your data is completely secure and no personal details were published in anyway due to this error.
If you attempted to activate your account during this period, we would request that you please visit the following URL to request activation: http://panther.silvermead.co.uk/cgi-bin/go.pl/subscribe/activate.html
You do not need to enter your details again but you will require your MAC address and need to login with your username and password.
If you've already had the activation e-mail then this does not apply to you. |
Smiles New One-Way Satellite ISP
By:mark.j @ 9:52:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Greg Hughes, the Managing Director of UK ISP Mac-1 Internet Ltd, has today informed us that a new one-way broadband satellite service, Smile Broadband, has launched:
AFFORDABLE ALTERNATIVE BROADBAND
Telford based company Smile Broadband has teamed up with Warrington based SCS Broadband to provide a new one-way affordable satellite broadband solution.
SCS Broadband recently negotiated with German-based Plenexis to provide the one-way service to the UK, and teamed with Smile Broadband, a subsidiary of Mac-1 Internet Ltd, to provide fixed-rate dial-up for the return path of the system.
This new system can be installed anywhere within the UK within 10 days of order, and systems start from £27.99 per month + VAT. The hardware & installation starts from £180 + VAT.
There are currently five packages to choose from, 256k, 512k, 1024k & 2048k download speed, with 2 options on the 2048k, and all come with a 20:1 fixed-rate dial-up for 56k modem or 64k ISDN. 150 hours of free internet access are included. Upgrades on contention and 128k ISDN are also available.
Systems supported are: Mac OS X, Linux, Windows 95, 98, 2000, ME, XP. The USB DVB box that comes with the installation can support all versions, or PCI cards are available for Windows desktop machines if preferred.
Further information can be found on the website http://www.smilebroadband.com
Companies wishing to upgrade to broadband, are welcome to visit the specially set-up demonstration suite showing it in operation, allowing potential clients the opportunity to experience this new technology for themselves.
For further information ring 0870 777 6543 and speak to one of our broadband specialists. |
News - January 30,2003
NDO Launches New Unmetered Offers
By:mark.j @ 2:58:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] UK ISP NDO (Netdirect-Online), which was recently acquired by Ision Internet, has today announced the launch of several new unmetered dialup packages:
NDO Today announce the launch of their Flat-Rate Unmetered Internet Access products.
For Home users
-------------------
All products include -
- Technical support at National Rate; available 24 hours, 7 days a week.
- 20 mb of webspace.
- Unlimited email addresses.
- A free .co.uk; .org.uk; or .me.uk domain name.
To signup to any product - visit: http://www.signup.ndo.com
AnyTime -
200 hours per month; 24 hours a day; 7 days a week.
- For only £14.99 a month.
OffPeak -
200 hours per month; after 7pm to 6am and all weekend.
- For only £10.99 a month.
NightTime -
150 hours per month; after 10pm to 7am; 7 days a week.
- For only £4.99 a month.
All support:
V90 56k and and ISDN 64k.
We are launching an ISDN 128k product with more hours very shortly.
It’s worth pointing out that these are more or less the same as the ISPs previous offers, only slightly cheaper and allowing extra surfing time. For example, the £4.99 service is now £1 cheaper and allows 150 hours surfing instead of 100. |
BT Upgrades ADSL Repair Service
By:mark.j @ 1:40:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] ADSLGuide reports that BTWholesale is to upgrade the standards for its broadband ADSL repair service. The new changes will be effective from 3rd February 2003:
The new and improved faults clearance and compensation scheme will apply to the following products, BT IPStream S (engineer installed), BT IPStream Office (wires only), BT IPStream Home 500 (wires only), BT DataStream Office and BT DataStream Home 500. All the speeds of 512kbps, 1Mbps and 2Mbps for these services will be covered.
This new level of 'Standard Care' will provide a guaranteed clearance of a fault within 40 clock hours from BT Wholesale faults knowing of it, thus this should allow an ISP to start offering 48 hour clearance times for faults. The extra 8 hours allows an ISP to run through some internal diagnostics to ensure it is not their fault. Additionally the level of compensation received by an ISP will increase for faults that are not cleared in the guaranteed period, this rises to 20% of the monthly ADSL line rental, from 10%. |
New Basic Dialup ISP - TurboSheep
By:mark.j @ 1:29:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Just when you thought we'd seen the end of ridiculously named ISPs, along comes another =) - TurboSheep. Don't get your hopes up though; it's the first new service in awhile to just offer a basic local call rate dialup:
New no-frills ISP Makes UK Debut!
Introducing TurboSheep!
We believe Internet Access should offer the following benefits:
• No registration
• Access to a high-quality network
• Instant access
• Access from any telephone line
• Pay-as-you-go (local call rates)
• No usage restrictions
• Support for Analogue / 128k ISDN / mobile
• Complete anonymity
That's why TurboSheep was created and that's what we offer.
Don't believe us?
Try it:
Dialin Number: 0845 0961234
Username: fast@turbosheep.co.uk
Password: fast
...or visit www.turbosheep.co.uk
By the way, that's it, you don't actually need to sign-up to the service, hence the note about 'complete anonymity'. Ideal if all you want is a quick dip into the online world without any commitment.
It’s not the first service to do this, there are a few others offering direct (instant) access. |
Tiscali UK ISP Services On Dell PCs
By:mark.j @ 1:21:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] The UK wing of European ISP Tiscali has joined forces with the popular computer manufacturer, Dell, to pre-install dial-up and broadband software on the company’s computers:
The deal was struck a couple of months ago but was formally announced yesterday.
From this week, though, Dell will also be chucking Tiscali's broadband software on its machines as well.
Oh, and as part of an introductory promo Tiscali will be offering Dell customers a free broadband modem and broadband connection fee - a saving of £115.
The Register reports that Tiscali's deal with Dell joins another similar offer from BT, which was also originally struck last year. |
Highlands To Benefit From Broadband
By:mark.j @ 9:52:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] This has probably been covered before (sorry if it has), although one of our readers (Charles) has forwarded on a news item concerning broadband coverage in the Highlands and Islands.
Apparently Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) is to invest almost £750,000 in two major projects to promote the benefits of broadband and encourage people to register their interest in receiving it.
It's hoped that the project will help the region to achieve more than 95% broadband coverage by utilising the latest in wireless and satellite technologies, requiring just 20 users.
Community broadband demonstration projects will be set up in six locations across the Highlands and Islands not covered by mainstream ADSL (Newtonmore, Cromarty, Westray and Papa Westray in Orkney, Achiltibuie, Acharacle and Tobermory).
The projects will include the installation of a complete wireless broadband network in each of the locations, providing always on internet access for a flat rate monthly fee.
At present, only Inverness and Elgin have access to ADSL broadband and businesses using the service have found it can bring huge cost savings and greater productivity. |
How To: Setup Your Own Wireless ISP
By:mark.j @ 9:40:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] | The Broadband Campaign site has informed us of their new article (part one), which details out how to setup your own local wireless ISP. The article can be read HERE, although the first part is more of an explanation / introduction. |
Telewest Creates Gaming Consultancy
By:mark.j @ 9:33:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] The UKs second largest cable operator, Telewest, has created a new gaming consultancy to help advise Sony on the enhancement of network (broadband) gaming for its PS2 console:
Telewest creates gaming consultancy to advise Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) on the enhancement of network gaming for PlayStation 2
Telewest announces today the establishment of a new company, Network Gaming Consulting Ltd (NGC).
NGC has entered into a consultancy service and technology transfer agreement working exclusively with SCEE to help develop and implement technologies to enhance the consumer experience for PlayStation* 2 network gaming. Telewest is providing gaming expertise by assigning five blueyonder broadband specialists into the venture, to work exclusively with SCEE.
Building on the successful pilot in 2001, Telewest, through NGC, will assist SCEE in creating premium network gaming and community experiences on PlayStation2 that will involve:
* Leagues, ladders and tournaments for players
* The chance to play across all networks in Europe
* Moderation, buddy lists and server management functionality
Gavin Patterson, managing director, consumer division, Telewest said: "This is a great deal that will take broadband to a new level. It's great that Telewest is cementing its relationship with Sony through the creation of NGC. The trials have proved there is a huge demand for broadband gaming products and this deal will further demonstrate the benefits of broadband."
Sony spokesperson Nainan Shah, VP Business Development for SCEE said "This deal brings us a team of dedicated experienced individuals and access to core technologies that will help us introduce premium experiences and operational efficiencies as we move forward with network games on PlayStation* 2. We are delighted with Telewest's commitment to the promotion of broadband console gaming." |
Internet Snooping Doubles Under Labour
By:mark.j @ 9:29:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Much as we've already reported before and despite the current dispute over forthcoming Internet snooping regulations, security services can still intercept phone calls, email and post.
However it's emerged that such activities have more than doubled since Tony Blair was elected:
The research, commissioned by civil liberties group Statewatch, shows that the total number of communications surveillance warrants issued in England, Wales and Scotland has risen from 1,370 in 1996 to 3,427 in 2001.
The previous peak year was 1940, when 1,682 warrants were issued.
It's hard to comment without knowing exactly how many warrants were issued for which aspect (e-mail etc.). It's worth remembering that the Internet also grew significantly during the same period, which could account for some of the increase. More @ VNUNet. |
News - January 29,2003
Silvermead Satellite ISP Finally Live
By:mark.j @ 1:58:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] It looks as if Silvermead, the slightly delayed broadband satellite ISP, has now finally gone live. Several pre-registrants have today reported receiving the following message:
Good Morning,
A short while ago you expressed an Interest in receiving information and updates from Silvermead about our new services. Well great news - the service that you asked to be kept up to date about, Silvermead Satellite Broadband, is now fully available and available for registration at our website.
Silvermead Satellite Broadband is an incredible new way to receive broadband internet access - wherever you live. No more waiting for ADSL exchanges or cable to be laid - you can get broadband now and be online in the next 14 days!
...
The service offers unlimited regular use for surfing, streaming, e-mails, messaging and downloading** and costs just £24.99 a month!
Learn more about our service here: http://www.silvermead.net/satellite
** We do have a fair usage policy which you can read here
One advantage of this service is its ability to work off an existing SkyDigital satellite dish, which obviously makes it easier for any potential Sky using customers to install. More discussion can be found in our Silvermead forum, thanks to Bill for the heads-up. |
Demon's First Low Contention DSL User
By:mark.j @ 1:42:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] The THUS telecom backed UK ISP Demon Internet has today announced the first customer to take advantage of its Demon Premier Express service, which was launched during October last year.
For those with a short memory, Demon's Premier Express package offers improved throughput capacity via contention ratios of 5:1 or 1:1, compared to existing 20:1 and 50:1 offerings:
CORPORATEC BECOMES THE FIRST BUSINESS USER OF DEMON 5:1 ADSL SERVICE
THUS plc, one of the UK's leading providers of voice, data, Internet and contact centre services, today released details of the first customer to take advantage of its differentiated Demon Premier Express broadband service.
Corporatec, a leading corporate office technology consultancy, was the first business to sign up to Premier Express Pro package, the UK's first ADSL service with an ultra-low contention ratio of just 5:1. The London-based company serves the technology needs of some of the capital's leading financial services companies. In addition to consultancy, Corporatec provides a wide-range of specialist outsourced services to its clients including networking, web hosting, email and overnight back-up services, which require a secure and reliable Internet connection.
"Our outsourced services are an important part of our business and mission critical to our clients. We were previously using 256k leased lines to provide these services but due to growing demand, we required a solution that could both meet our increased bandwidth requirements and high quality of service standards," commented Vas Proud, Technical Director at Corporatec. "Demon Premier Express was the perfect solution coupling the cost effectiveness of ADSL with the unique service performance and reliability which comes from using an Internet connection which is not shared by a large number of other users."
Demon Premier Express is the perfect choice for high-end business users, meeting the demand for an intermediate service between "one size fits all" ADSL offerings and high-capacity leased lines. Demon Premier Express is now available to customers based within 3.5km of enabled exchanges in the central London area with further UK roll-out planned.
Demon Premier Express provides businesses with a number of competitive advantages over existing ADSL connections:
- Improved throughput capacity via contention ratios of 5:1 or 1:1, compared to existing 20:1 and 50:1 offerings.
- Bandwidth of up to 2.0Mbps downstream.
- Delivery via THUS's state-of-the-art national network, offering improved quality of service compared to other ADSL services.
- Cost savings compared to traditional leased line offerings.
The increased performance delivered by Demon Premier Express is achieved by THUS allocating up to ten times more backbone network capacity per customer than standard ADSL services. This provides business customers with significantly improved bandwidth throughput. |
Isonetric's Broadband Satellite Update
By:mark.j @ 1:29:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Ending a rather long stint of silence, Joe Anderson, the Technical Director for Isonetric, a UK broadband satellite ISP, has today issued an exclusive update on our forum to explain what's been happening:
Isonetric Broadband back again!
It would be fair to say that Isonetric Broadband has been a little quiet of late. The reason for this is that Isonetric Broadband has now been taken over by a Swiss Investment Bank called Caledonian Suisse. As part of this take over Isonetric Broadband have been involved in lengthy trials of a revolutionary new 2 way satellite product which is set to be an industry beater.
Isonetric Broadband is now capable of delivering a 512kbps up / 1mbps down or even a 1mbps up / 2mbps down solution. The cost is to be announced next week, however it is going to be comparible to existing solutions which currently have a maximum upload of 128kbps.
The launch of these products will mean that satellite will become a viable solution for offices upto 100 employees. Isonetric will be the proud owners of the fastest and cheapest 2 way VSAT solution available in Europe!
The full launch of the products will be 14 February 2003 any developments and further details will be on ISPreview first.
This is extremely interesting news, although it remains to be seen whether Isonetric will be able to overcome the latest problem for customers of satellite ISPs, download limits.
Either way it'll be interesting to see how their service stacks up against the likes of BTOpenworld, TiscaliSat and the rest. |
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