January 24, 2003 - January 29, 2003
News - January 29,2003
BTOpenzone Preps 80 New Wi-Fi Spots
By:mark.j @ 1:19:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] BTs broadband wireless Wi-Fi provider, BTOpenzone, has apparently announced a further 80 hotspots:
BT has increased the number of locations that laptop and PDA users can get high-speed wireless internet access.
BT has rolled out 80 so-called live "hotspots", including Heathrow terminal one, Gatwick, Hilton hotels and Welcome Break service stations and aims to provide 400 hotspots by this summer and 4,000 by June 2005.
At BT Openzone hotspots, you can access data at speeds of up to 500kbps. Subscription starts at £20 a month for 300 minutes or you can get an hour pass for £6.
More @ Web-User. |
Tiscali ISP NOT Supporting Piracy?
By:mark.j @ 10:17:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] European ISP Tiscali has today hit back at critics that had accused it of supporting piracy following a deal with the controversial download service, Kazaa:
Kazaa revealed on Monday that it had agreed a strategic relationship with Tiscali, causing industry body IFPI (International Federation for Phonographic Industries) to describe Tiscali's actions as 'shocking'.
IFPI CEO Jay Berman said in reaction to the news that Tiscali would inadvertently be promoting the development of illegitimate online musical offerings. He said, 'Tiscali's claim that 'this is an important step in creating a legal market' is absolute nonsense'.But Tiscali has hit back in an open letter to Berman this week, saying that its agreement with Kazaa had been misunderstood.
Mario Mariani, Tiscali's senior vice president media and access, said in the letter that Tiscali 'emphatically' codemns any form of copyright infringement of music. But it added that it can't impose its convictions on the whole Internet community, either users or content providers.
Tiscali notes how its deal with Kazaa is only to help promote its own broadband ADSL service and is not directly connected with illegal file sharing. More @ NedMediaZero. |
3.4GHz Wireless Licenses From £100K
By:mark.j @ 10:06:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Fancy a 3.4Ghz wireless license? Well the government has today stated that Companies who wish to offer broadband wireless services will be able to bid from as little as £100,000 for the privilege:
It will make 15 regional licences available, with one licence per region. Prices for three metropolitan licences -- covering London, the North and the Midlands -- will begin at £300,000, with the remaining 12 licences starting at £100,000.
The auction will take place in May this year, and companies can make preliminary bids from March. Once the initial one-month auction process has taken place, any unsold licences will remain available for another year.
As ZDNet UK reported earlier this month, the licences will not be subject to roll-out obligations or services restrictions. Some in the industry have claimed that this is a mistake by the government, as successful bidders will not be forced to make a service available by a fixed date, or even use the bandwidth for commercial broadband services. |
Politicians Need To Push Broadband
By:mark.j @ 10:00:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] The European Commissioner, Erkki Liikanen, has stated that European politicians must do more to help push broadband technologies, especially if they ever want to see the benefits of a wired world:
Accepting that interest in broadband is growing apace he said: "Now we have to move from interest to action. "Politicians should give fresh impetus to initiatives fostering broadband development in Europe.
Investments are costly, take up is slow, and the financial situation of the sector is delaying deployment of broadband and the delivery of its social benefits."
Which is why he believes European countries need to redouble their efforts concerning broadband and turn the idea of broadband Europe "into reality".
Unfortunately governing bodies make a habit out of lots of talk and very little action, thus it remains to be seen whether Liikanens words will have any impact. |
ISP Zetnet Launches Domestic ADSL
By:mark.j @ 9:55:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] UK ISP Zetnet has announced the introduction of its own broadband ADSL service for residential customers:
ZETNET SERVICES LAUNCHES DOMESTIC BROADBAND SERVICE
Zetnet, formed in 1994 and one of the first internet service providers, are pleased to announce the launch of a broadband ADSL 500 service for domestic customers on 27th January 2003.
As an introductory offer, Zetnet customers can subscribe for £129.99 (plus £10 p&p) until 31st March 2003. The customer can expect to receive a free ASDL modem router (Ethernet + USB) which is currently retailing at £69. It is compatible with Windows, Linux and Apple Macintosh. Also included in the package is broadband connection, two microfilters and connection for three months. After this time the cost will be just £29.38 per month. The package includes five e-mail accounts plus 50Mbytes of web space.
Tim Cole, Zetnet Technical Director comments "Zetnet is the oldest independent UK Internet Service Provider at 9 years old. We came into the broadband market fairly late because we were not happy with the service levels that the end user was experiencing. The service level that BT now provides is a lot more stable and we feel confident that the service we can offer is more than competitive and we've endeavoured to make it simple for the domestic broadband user. We also took a great deal of time researching modems which could be used on all operating systems rather than just the standard USB plug and play for Windows."
For further information visit Zetnets website at http://www.zetnet.com or contact sales on 0870 743 0565 or sales@zetnet.net |
MPs Call For Net Snooping Changes
By:mark.j @ 9:50:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] An influential group of MPs, known as the All Party Internet Group (APIG), has urged the government to rethink its forthcoming Internet Snooping laws and make some fundamental changes.
The group has described the current state of play as being contradictory and unworkable:
It could be time to stand back and rethink the plans, said Liberal Democrat MP Richard Allan, a member of the APIG. "Some of the legislation conflicts with each other and we feel that there are major problems with data retention," he told BBC News Online.
The police have admitted that the parts of the Anti-Terrorism Crime and Security Act, (ATCS), requiring ISPs to retain customer data for up to six years is not compliant with the Human Rights Act.
The APIG recommends that the government abandon the idea of data retention and opt instead for data preservation. This would mean that in exceptional circumstances such as terrorist attacks, ISPs would be asked to keep hold of data from a particular day.
The BBC News Online item states that the Home Office has welcomed the report and will be studying it, although whether they'll change anything remains to be seen. |
PIPEX Launches ADSL Referral Scheme
By:mark.j @ 9:40:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] UK ISP Pipex has announced the introduction of its own 'Broadband Refer-A-Friend' program, which should allow existing customers of its Xtreme Solo Broadband service to benefit from free access
What's worrying about the following press release is the fact that unlike other ISPs whom have run similar deals, Pipex has not made it clear that the referral scheme should not be used to SPAM.
Such offers have in the past caused problems with customers abusing the system with one too many custom adverts:
PIPEX offers 2003 Years of Free Broadband Access
PIPEX, the UK's first commercial ISP and one of the largest Broadband providers, is pleased to announce the release of its Broadband Refer-A-Friend program which has been specially designed to financially reward existing customers of its Xtreme Solo Broadband service.
Refer-A-Friend is no gimmick... It does not use a bonus points system, it's a lot easier and straightforward to understand the benefits on offer. In simplicity, PIPEX have allocated 2003 years of free broadband access which equates to over 24,000 free months representing a saving of over half a million pounds for existing customers to immediately take advantage of.
The Refer-A-Friend program simply credits each subscriber with one free month of broadband access for every customer they recommend that successfully signs up to the Xtreme Solo service. And to make it easy for customers to track their referrals PIPEX have built a secure online password protected tracking facility that enables customers to view how well they are doing providing a detailed analysis of their Refer-A-Friend credit status etc.
Refer-A-Friend is on a first come first serve basis which means customers can recommend as many or as few friends as they prefer - remember customers only need 12 recommended sign-ups in order to get one year's free broadband access - potentially making PIPEX Xtreme Solo for some customers the only free broadband service available in the UK...and better still its viable which means like PIPEX it will be here for the long run.
Refer-a-Friend will not only put a smile on a friends face when they make the transition from dial-up to broadband but will leave the referrer with more money in their pocket. In fact this really is a win: win situation with all parties involved left smiling! (With the exclusion of the PIPEX Bank Manager!)
David Rickards, MD of PIPEX, commented, "Given our customers happy state of mind, it's no surprise that well over 40% of new customers are introduced to us by way of recommendation from existing subscribers. The Xtreme Refer-A-Friend program is our way of financially rewarding our existing customers for their continued support and loyalty."
There's never been a better time to recommend PIPEX because the latest offer released only last week provides new customers with a free Alcatel speed touch modem including 2 micro filters along with a one off reduced activation fee of only £23.44 when they sign-up - then for just £23.44 (19.95 ex VAT) a month, customers can enjoy all the benefits of a super-fast, always on broadband Internet connection.
Rickards concluded "This latest offer from PIPEX is yet another reason to be cheerful and is another factor why the Xtreme Solo broadband service from PIPEX leaves its customers smiling...leaving the competition even further behind...looking seriously slow and just a little sad." |
News - January 28,2003
Internet Still Open To Attack
By:mark.j @ 2:41:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] In the wake of last weekends devastating Internet attack, which was wrought by the Slammer worm that exploited holes in Microsoft software, a new report has concluded that the Internet is still in danger:
Analysis of the queries sent to one of the net's core address books show that 98% of them could have been handled by other parts of the network.
Dealing with these queries on the outer reaches of the net rather than at its core could help limit the damage of concerted attacks on key servers say experts.
"If the system were functioning properly, it seems that a single source should need to send no more than 1,000 or so queries to a root name server in a 24-hour period," said Duane Wessels, a researcher from the Cooperative Association for Internet Data Analysis at the SDSC. "Yet we see millions of broken queries from certain sources," he said.
The BBC News Online item reports that most of the requests are due to badly configured networks. |
Ex-TW Broadband Chief Joins YooMedia
By:mark.j @ 2:32:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Telewests former broadband chief, David Docherty, has been drafted in as a non-executive director by YooMedia, an interactive TV application developer:
The 46-year-old has been drafted in as non-executive director by the company, following his departure from Telewest in November after the hard-up operator elected to drop content development and focus on infrastructure. He will combine the role with his chairmanships at Living Health, Network Games, Vis-ITV and Start! Games.
More @ netimperative.info . |
EasyInternet Guilty - Online Music Piracy
By:mark.j @ 1:55:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Remember EasyInternet Cafe, the chain of Internet cafe's that ended up getting in trouble with the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for allowing its customers to download and burn illegal music files.
Sadly for EasyInternet, a high court judge has now found the chain guilty of copyright infringement. The summary judgement brings to a close an 18-month feud between the major music labels and the popular cafe, which was built by Greek entrepreneur Stelios Haji-Ioannou.
The trade group, the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), with member music labels Sony Music, EMI and Universal Music, took the Internet chain to court last year, charging it with copyright infringement.
EasyInternet suspended the commercial service in September, 2001. In court it said it should not be held liable for customers downloading copyright-protected materials, a defence rejected by the judge, Justice Peter Smith.
The music industry, which has been fighting an all-out war on illicit CD-copying and Internet downloading, blaming it for falling CD sales, hailed Tuesday's decision.
"Illegal copying jeopardises the livelihoods of artists and song writers, as well as putting at risk the thousands of jobs directly and indirectly created by the recording and publishing of music," Peter Jamieson, BPI Chairman, said in a statement.
"We are delighted that we have won this ruling, which sets an important precedent in support of authorised licensing (music distribution) services." |
BTs Broadband Ellen MacArthur Content
By:mark.j @ 1:47:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] BTs 'No Frills' Broadband ADSL service has today announced that users of its product will be able to watch Ellen MacArthur's latest sailing record attempt "live", via broadband:
Broadband From BT Brings Ellen MacArthur's World Record Challenge Into The
Home
For the first time sailing fans will be able to watch Ellen MacArthur's latest record attempt "live", via broadband. The dedicated portal, http://kingfisher.sportal.com, will follow the progress of the world famous yachtswoman and her 14-strong crew as they battle to break the record in the gruelling Jules Verne race.
Powered by broadband from BT, the site will allow users to view "live" streaming video footage of life onboard Kingfisher2. The portal is being hailed as the most exciting piece of "reality viewing" to hit people's screens in 2003, available only over the internet.
The site will provide views from four webcams strategically placed around Kingfisher2 and will stream regular video diaries recorded personally by the crew. It will also feature in-depth analysis of each crew member's energy expenditure, sleep patterns, activity levels and body temperature at critical stages of the race and key race data, which will be updated every four hours.
In addition, BT will be running weekly competitions for the duration of the race via the site. The winner will have the opportunity to talk "live" to Ellen and the crew via BT's "Meet Me" service - an audio conference facility. BT will also be hosting a weekly Kingfisher press conference from BT Tower with Ellen and her team.
BT Openworld and BT Retail broadband customers will have free access to the site for the duration of the race. Other subscribers to the site will be charged a one-off subscription of £4.99, which they will be able to buy purchase through BT click&buy at http://www.btclickandbuy.com, or via the dedicated portal.the BTClick&Buy online micropayments system.
BT click&buy, http://www.btclickandbuy.com, is a secure online account which gives consumers access to new, high quality and previously unavailable content at the click of a button.Once registered, users simply click on the BT click&buy button and enter their username and password to subscribe. All payments across BT click&buy partner sites are aggregated and can be settled using credit cards, debit cards, direct debit and, from April 2003, the BT home phone bill.
Between January 13, 2003 and March 31, 2003, new customers to BT Broadband and BT Openworld Home 500 Plug&Go will enjoy free activation of their account as well as a modem for just £50. BT business customers will also benefit - new customers choosing BT Openworld Plus products will save £260 by ordering in the first quarter of 2003 and businesses who opt for Business 500 Plug&Go will save £150. |
Netsystem ISP Introduces Usage Limits
By:mark.j @ 1:39:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] One of our readers (Brett), whom is also a customer of Netsystem, the UK broadband satellite ISP, found that the provider has now become the latest satellite service to impose some form of bandwidth limit. The following is a quote from their website:
You can subscribe from anywhere in Europe and Mediterranean North Africa (especially from those locations not yet reached by ADSL or fiber optics).
YOU DO NOT NEED TO CHANGE YOUR PROVIDER to surf and download files from the Internet at a speed you have never been able to reach with your analogue modem (cost of connection to the terrestrial provider to be borne by the user).
You can surf the Internet at speeds up to 640 kbps, for 6 Gigabytes of data non cumulative per month!
The service can be activated from abroad and can be used with mobile phones. |
Easynet ISP Denies Child Porn Claims
By:mark.j @ 1:26:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] UK ISP Easynet has apparently been accused of peddling child pornography by the Sunday edition of The Observer newspaper.
The accusations, which have today been strongly denied by the ISP, surfaced after it was revealed that Easynet still allowed its customers to access newsgroups containing child pornography.
Fair enough, you might think, however The Observer clearly overstepped the mark by suggesting that Easynet directly profited from the sale of such material:
But in a statement the ISP said: "The Observer published an article on Sunday alleging Easynet was involved with the sale of child pornography on the Internet and that it profited from this activity. Easynet categorically denies the Observer’s allegations.
We also refute the claim that we have a record of such incidents. We wish to state in the strongest possible terms that easynet abhors any abuse of children or the use of the Internet in connection with such activity," it said.
A spokesman for the industry group ISPA said the story showed a "misunderstanding" of how the Internet works. "Easynet are not peddling child pornography and were not making any money out of it," he said.
If this isn't a prime example of uneducated mass-media stupidity then we don't known what is, not least because the newsgroups contained in the article were not deemed to be illegal by the IWF during their monitoring period. The IWF has also stepped in to support Easynet.
It’s right to say that access to said newsgroups SHOULD NOT be allowed, although it’s in no way fair to blame an ISP for allowing access to content that was previously deemed by the IWF to be legal.
Obviously things change, but how can ISPs be expected to keep up with such developments, especially if you can’t even check for yourself because looking is also illegal. This is clearly a big and controversial problem and one not helped by those with a lack of understanding for how the technology works. More @ The Register. |
Opera v7 Web Browser Released
By:mark.j @ 10:57:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Opera has finally released the final (non-beta) version seven (v7) of its popular website browsing client, which unlike many in the modern age, is a commercial venture.
Typically the initial release is only for Microsoft platforms and can be downloaded @ the Opera website. We've yet to test it ourselves, although hopefully they've fixed many of the nasty problems that so annoyed some people during the beta. |
BT Broadbands Classic Comedy Offer
By:mark.j @ 9:57:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] BTs non-ISP ADSL service, BT 'No Frills' Broadband, has joined forces with Classic Comedy, an online humour site, to deliver faster punchlines with the launch of the BT Broadband Comedy Lounge:
BROADEN YOUR SMILE AT THE BT BROADBAND COMEDY LOUNGE
-Lounge goes live to support free activation offer-
BT Broadband has teamed up with online humour site Classic Comedy to deliver faster punchlines with the launch of the BT Broadband Comedy Lounge at http://www.classiccomedy.net/btbroadband . The launch supports BT Broadband¹s free activation and discounted modem offer throughout March and February. For eight weeks from today, visitors will be able to view and download a special selection of free clips from all-time comedy greats such as Monty Python, The Goodies and Are You Being Served - all chosen to demonstrate the benefits of BT Broadband.
Over the next few weeks, the BT Broadband Comedy Lounge will offer a different selection each day from over 50 short clips (perfect for 56k users) for visitors to enjoy and send to friends. However, for BT Broadband users there¹s a special selection of nearly 40 minutes of larger clips - guaranteed to give BT Broadband users the ultimate last laugh. From Mrs Slocombe's Pussy to the best of Python, there are cheeky new short clips everyday and BT Broadband users will have a belly-aching laugh with two special complete sketches every week.
Comedy is the most forwarded type of content on the internet, yet few sites offer surfers free clips especially optimised for Broadband. BT Broadband means comedy clips can be downloaded 10 times faster than with a normal internet connection, and, for just £27 a month, BT Broadband's 'always-on' internet connection ensures comedy fans have round-the-clock access to a fully stocked barrel of laughs. There¹s also the opportunity to share the joke with a friend as with BT Broadband you can stay online and use the phone at the same time.
Richard Bentine, Chief Fool at Classic Comedy, said: ³For too long, narrowband connections have meant missed punchlines and failed sketches. The broadest smiles only come with BT Broadband² |
Airpath Wireless Goes Global
By:mark.j @ 9:45:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Airpath, which is currently helping to develop a number of UK wireless ISP solutions, is now able to offer similar services on a global scale thanks to its new multi-currency and lingual capabilities:
Airpath Wireless Goes Global
Airpath Wireless, Inc., a recognized leader in the Wi-Fi industry, just released its latest upgrade to its back-end services. The latest upgrade will allow Airpath to empower Hot Spot operators globally, by offering multi-currency and multi-lingual capabilities.
Airpath is focused on offering solutions that empower Wi-Fi providers such as telco carriers, ISPs, franchise chains, and venue owners. Airpath currently provides back-end services for over 110 such HotSpot providers, a number which has grown from 23 as of September 30, 2002.
The Hot Spot Billing Suite is Airpath's powerful centralized web-based application that performs back-office activities necessary to operate and maintain public Internet access services for Hot Spot and Hot Zone providers. These activities include provider-branded subscriber management, provisioning, billing (AAA), transaction processing, reporting, and network management. Tim Barrett, President and co-founder said, "Airpath has really found its niche forging the "Intel Inside" or Ingredient Brand approach to Wi-Fi. We provide the solutions that can be branded to the venue owner, the telco, or the Wireless Internet Service Provider. We sit in the background and empower our provider customers with solutions to use without them worrying about losing their hard-earned end-user base."
With the multi-currency and multi-lingual upgrades, the Hot Spot Billing Suite will now also be able to provide Wi-Fi providers with a solution that meets the needs of their end-users in that local market. "Our provider customers will now be able to offer their end-users Wireless Hot Spot access that is in their own home language and home currency," stated Todd Myers, CEO and co-founder of Airpath, "Airpath is focused on providing solutions that are flexible enough to meet the needs of our provider customers." |
Oftel - UK Broadband Access Booming
By:mark.j @ 9:38:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] The UK telecoms regulator, Oftel, has today published their latest research into UK Internet use and notes the continued boom in broadband access:
Awareness and use of broadband services continues to grow according to new consumer research published by Oftel today. 84% of UK Internet customers are now aware of broadband services and the benefits they can offer compared to just over 50% in February 2002.
Take up of new broadband subscriptions has now risen to almost 30,000 per week, and the UK now has over 1.4 million broadband users.
Other key findings of the research are:
* one in ten of UK homes with Internet access use broadband services;
* the average household spends around nine hours a week online; and
* nine out of ten households are satisfied with the service they get from their Internet service provider.
David Edmonds, Director General of Telecommunications said today: "Broadband has really taken off in the UK with almost 30,000 consumers a week signing up for broadband services. One in ten homes with Internet access now use broadband and this figure is rising fast as people become more aware of the benefits that broadband can bring.
As well as the move towards high-speed broadband services consumers also benefit from good deals on unmetered dial-up access.
And around a third of Internet users are interested in broadband services. I am delighted to see the UK consumer making real use of all the choices available to them to get online."
Stephen Timms, e-Commerce Minister added: "These findings are great news for the UK. It is wonderful to see the joint work of Government and Industry in raising awareness of the benefits of broadband really paying off. I look forward to seeing this trend continue."
In the same vein Oftel has also published details regarding the business use of Internet access:
Headline figures
67% - of all SMEs have Internet access;
61% - SMEs with Internet access use unmetered packages (74% medium and 60% small);
86% - satisfied with overall quality of service;
26% - of SMEs with Internet now using ISDN, 13% use DSL/cable modem; and
42% - of SMEs aware of SDSL.
Internet penetration remains broadly unchanged.
Use of Broadband and interest in SDSL
5.1 Two-thirds of DSL/cable modem users (68%) get their broadband services from the same supplier as their fixed telephone services.
5.2 Nearly half (45%) of SMEs with DSL/cable modem state that a benefit of their current connection (compared to other connection methods) is the time savings it offers, allowing faster and more efficient working.
5.3 Over a quarter (28%) stated benefits of cost savings and not having to pay call charges, and 22% mentioned the ability to control costs better because of the unmetered access. 14% mentioned the convenience of unlimited usage and having a permanent connection. 1 in 10 (11%) stated the ability to conduct faster sales or purchasing, and 10% mentioned faster transfer of data. 1 in 10 (9%) said broadband had no noticeable impact compared to other connections. |
News - January 27,2003
6 Million Europeans Have Broadband
By:mark.j @ 3:00:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Forrester Research reports that by the end of last year 6 Million (7%) western Europeans had some form of broadband Internet access.
Apparently Germany no longer leads EU broadband growth, instead relinquishing its crown to the likes of the UK and Italy etc.
Despite this, dial-up is still the preferred medium for those taking their first steps into the online world, while broadband is the goal for existing dialup subscribers. |
BTOpenworlds Business DSL Downtime
By:mark.j @ 2:42:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] It's being reported that the business broadband ADSL operations of UK ISP BTOpenworld have been offline for much of the weekend, at least for some customers:
One of BT's hacked-off punters told us: "BT's Business Broadband has been down for well over 48hrs now...last time we called them yesterday [Sunday] they said they still didn't know what the problem was."
However, an update on BTopenworld's status page nails the problem as a fault "affecting some of our Static IP address customers, which is allocating a dynamic IP address instead of the correct Static IP address".
The good news is that just 93 customers out of a possible 80,000 have been hit by the bug, which should be fixed by the end of today. More @ The Register. |
Applica Broadband Supports Football
By:mark.j @ 2:38:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] UK ISP Applica Broadband is preying on the recent collapse of ITV Digital and the loss of associated Football funds to help boost its subscriber base:
The offer will see English or Scottish clubs from the Premiership to Division Three receive between £5 and £20 every time a new high-speed connection is installed.
Residential users opting for the £26.99 monthly package will be able to channel a £5 donation to their club of choice, while business users that opt for the £135 monthly package - which provides up to 20 connections - will see £20 donated.
Very crafty, yet also helpful, provided people 'buy' into it. More @ netimperative.info . |
THUS Enhances National IP Network
By:mark.j @ 1:38:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] THUS Telecom, the operator behind UK ISP Demon Internet, has today reported selecting Cisco Systems' state-of-the-art IP (Internet Protocol) platform to enhance its national network:
THUS SELECTS CISCO FOR IP CORE NETWORK EVOLUTION
THUS plc, one of the UK's leading providers of voice, data, Internet and contact centre services, has selected Cisco Systems' state-of-the-art IP (Internet Protocol) platform to enhance its national IP network. The new infrastructure will underpin a number of advanced services that use MPLS (Multi Protocol Label Switching) and VPN (Virtual Private Network) technologies to reduce the cost and complexity of communications across metropolitan and national wide area networks.
The network upgrade is expected to deliver lower-cost service provisioning, effective traffic management and outstanding high availability and performance. It is designed to help provide THUS with the necessary capacity to deliver true converged services incorporating voice, data and video.
The network enhancements are a key element in THUS's electronic security (e-security) strategy. Heightened network capacity and flexibility significantly increase THUS's ability to isolate and neutralise e-security threats, such as denial of service attacks or viruses, delivering improved quality-of-service in voice, video and data.
E-security sits at the top of the corporate agenda. According to the 2002 DTI Information Security Breaches survey, 78% of all large businesses questioned had fallen victim to some kind of electronic attack, such as virus infection, hacking attempt or denial of service attack, in 2001. The report put the average cost of each serious incident at £30,000.
"Cisco is the clear market leader in IP connectivity and using Cisco routing technology helps keep THUS at the forefront of IP-based services provision. The decision further validates our commitment to offer our customers the most advanced and resilient IP services going forward," said Ian Hamilton, Technology Director, THUS plc.
"THUS's decision to work with Cisco for its core IP technologies represents a very significant and positive step in our relationship. It will allow THUS to optimise and expand its IP service capabilities," said Duncan Mitchell, Vice President, UK & Ireland, Cisco Systems. "The new IP platform will help THUS to offer more cost-effective, flexible solutions to its enterprise customers and accommodate virtually any customer's requirements for remote access, intranets, extranets, and Internet access."
The network enhancements are based on Cisco 12000 Series Routers and Cisco 10000 Series Routers. |
UK Gov Promises Safer School Surfing
By:mark.j @ 1:33:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] The governments Department for Education and Skills (DfES) along with the British Educational Communications and Technology Agency (Becta) are all working to introduce safer school Internet surfing:
"We will not be recommending specific software products to schools," said a DfES spokeswoman.
"The purpose of this project is just to outline what each product does so that schools can make informed decisions on which product meets their needs. Software providers will be invited to have their products assessed."
At the same time the DfES has begun a second phase of accreditation for IT services suppliers to the education sector through Becta, including a technical assessment of filtering services for browsing web-based content.
Details of the new project have been released at the same time as one senior police official reports that they may not be able to cope with the growing number of suspected Internet paedophiles. More @ VNUNet. |
Firstnet's Wireless DSL Update 2
By:mark.j @ 1:25:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Some more details about Firstnet's plan for their broadband wireless service, which was acquired from Liberty Broadband (formerly Tele2) last week, have emerged today:
Firstnet announced on Friday that as well as continuing to supply these 3,000 existing customers with wireless broadband, it also plans to roll out the service -- which Firstnet calls "Wireless DSL" -- across Britain's broadband divide in partnership with other Internet service providers.
"At last, we are delighted to offer ISPs the advantage of this unique wireless service, rolling out broadband into regions currently not enabled by ADSL," said Bryan Cobley, Firstnet's development director, in a statement.
"Firstnet's strategy is to establish a 'Broadband Britain' in line with government directives. This goal will be achieved by rapidly deploying wireless broadband into rural areas and other sites where ADSL and cable broadband is not available," Cobley added.
The rest of ZDNet’s item goes on to reiterate points that we’ve already covered, no doubt further details will emerge in due course. |
BT Tout Cornwall's Broadband Success
By:mark.j @ 1:18:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Cornwall is once again in BTs spotlight as the operator reports that broadband growth in the county is outstripping most other rural areas in the UK:
HIGH SPEED SURFING TAKES OFF IN CORNWALL
A major expansion of Cornwall's multi-million pound Actnow project was announced today as research by BT revealed that broadband growth in the county is outstripping most other rural areas in the UK.
Analysis by BTexact Technologies - BT's world class research and development laboratories at Adastral Park, near Ipswich - shows demand for high-speed broadband in Cornwall accelerating far more quickly than similar locations elsewhere. It has taken just nine months for the Cornish exchanges to achieve the same market penetration levels that an average rural exchange reaches in 15 months. Two hundred and ninety one rural exchanges across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, of a similar size and type to the nine Cornish exchanges equipped with ADSL broadband, were studied.
Nearly 3,000 Cornish businesses and households have ordered ADSL broadband since the Actnow project was launched nine months ago and the growing demand - running at about 90 orders a week - has prompted further expansion. BT today confirmed that four more exchanges - at St Ives, Bude, Saltash and Penryn - will now be equipped with high speed ADSL broadband technology by February 3.
Alison Ritchie, BT's chief broadband officer, said: "This new research demonstrates what a success Actnow has been and shows what can be achieved through partnerships. It would be great if other local and regional authorities would study and learn from the Cornish experience if they want to bring the benefits of broadband to their area.
BT, along with every other operator, faces tough challenges in rolling out broadband to rural areas but this project shows what can be achieved if people work with us.
The huge amount of work undertaken by Actnow in raising awareness of broadband has led to Cornwall experiencing much higher demand levels than other rural areas. It is a tribute to both the Actnow partnership and the people and businesses of Cornwall that the county's broadband story has developed so successfully."
Nigel Ashcroft, project director for the Actnow private and public sector partnership, said: "This is further excellent news for Actnow and the Cornwall economy. The latest expansion means that high speed broadband communications will be available at four more key towns in Cornwall. It is tremendously heartening that we have come so far just nine months since Actnow was launched."
Nine Cornish exchanges are already enabled: Truro was equipped 2001, St Austell, Redruth, Camborne, Newquay and Penzance in April 2002 and Falmouth, Bodmin and Launceston in last September.
The Actnow package for small and medium businesses includes pre and post sign-up advice, a range of computer equipment and broadband connection options to suit the needs of individual businesses, financial support and privileged members' access to the Actnow website.
Further information can be obtained by calling Actnow on 01209 722850 or visiting the website http://www.actnowcornwall.co.uk
Not that we’re displeased to see Cornwall succeed, although it’d be nice if BT could highlight more than a handful of rural broadband success stories instead of recycling the same one every month or so.
It’s not hard to outstrip the broadband growth in other rural counties because for many people it doesn’t even exist. |
Fujitsu FDX DSLAM Upgrades
By:mark.j @ 9:38:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] ADSLGuide reports that broadband enabled exchanges using the Fujitsu FDX '2nd generation' DSLAM platform will be upgraded anytime between now and the 31st January 2003 (fixing connection bugs).
As usual the work will be carried out between 2am to 7am and there may be some short 5 to 10 minute outages. |
Telewest Offers Self-Installed Broadband
By:mark.j @ 9:34:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Telewest’s blueyonder ISP service has today launched its own style of self-installed broadband, which it claims can undercut BTs best DIY solution by 75%!:
Telewest Broadband launches speedy self-install
Telewest Broadband today launches a new self-installation option for its blueyonder broadband internet services, costing only £12.50 - the lowest permanent entry price to high-speed internet in the UK.
The new self-install packs are available to the company's existing digital TV customers and make use of cable modems embedded in set-top boxes.
They enable a connection between the set-top box and PC that is suitable for either 512kbp/s or 1Mbp/s blueyonder broadband services. Customers will normally receive their pack within 48 hours.
Chad Raube, director of internet services at Telewest Broadband, said: "This is no gimmick or short-term offer, we're breaking new barriers for customers who are considering broadband for the first time. It's fantastic value and requires no separate modem or external activation, so set-up is normally possible within 30 minutes.
BT has finally got round to dropping some of its activation and hardware fees, but they're not playing in the same ball park. These packs combine our digital TV and broadband internet technology to offer the kind of value that other ISPs can only dream of."
Digital TV customers wanting blueyonder broadband will be offered a choice of the pre-configured, self-install pack or the standard technician visit.
Telewest Broadband is also planning to trial a wireless self-installation pack in the near future, further adding to its comprehensive menu of broadband installation options.
It’s worth pointing out that some UK ADSL offering ISPs are currently offering a free installation and modem, although in most causes this is only for a limited time. |
News - January 26,2003
Internet Returns To Normal - SQL Worm
By:mark.j @ 11:09:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Internet sites and networks around the world appear to be returning to normal following yesterdays massive attack by an Internet worm (virus) know as 'SQL ("sequel") Slammer'.
The worm targeted a previously identified weakness in Microsoft’s database (SQL) server software, which subsequently derailed many hosting providers and primary networks using MS technology.
About 150,000 to 200,000 servers have been compromised so far, said Vincent Gullotto, who heads up an anti-virus response Team at Network Associates Inc. in Beaverton, Oregon.
The worm is a small program that quickly copies itself and sends rapid data requests in search of other server computers that manage computer networks. Unlike an e-mail virus, the worm did not infect desktop computers. Instead, the brunt of the attack was felt in exceptionally slow Web download speeds.
The damage caused by the worm came from the way it overwhelmed networks by quickly cloning itself and spreading to other computer servers, experts said.
"Basically what it does is flood the pipeline, and that's what we're seeing," (sends the SQL server into an endless loop) said Bill Murray, a spokesman for the U.S. government-run National Infrastructure Protection Center.
The current version of the worm does not erase or steal data but more malign variants created by copycat hackers could appear in a few days and cause even more damage, said Joe Hartmann, Director of North American anti-virus research for Trend Micro Inc.
Because the attack started at around midnight Eastern Time (0500 GMT) on Saturday, Russ Cooper, a computer security expert at TruSecure Corp. said the worm might have been "seeded" in a number of machines by someone in the United States, while other experts said they suspected that it originated in Asia.
The good news is that things should now be returning to normal as people upgrade their servers to protect against the exploit; any slow to update web hosts will have paid the price with this one. |
ISPs Supporting Advance ADSL Orders
By:mark.j @ 10:58:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] ADSLGuide reports that the following UK ISPs are known to support the new BT ADSL advance orders system, which allows ISPs to take orders for exchanges that are having building work carried out:
AllComm
BT Openworld
C2 Internet
Demon
Eclipse
Freedom2Surf
Frontier Internet
Internet Central Ltd
Mailbox Internet
Mistral
Nildram
PlusNet
Supanet
Vispa Internet
Zen
No doubt others do to, if you're not sure then give the service a ring first. |
News - January 25,2003
Worldwide Internet Slows Down
By:Keith @ 2:28:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Internet traffic around the world slowed dramatically for hours during friday night and early this morning. Apparently the effects of a virus-like infection which overwhelmed the world's digital pipeline. CNN reports:
The virus-like attack, which began about 12:30 a.m. EST, sought out vulnerable computers on the Internet to infect using a known flaw in popular database software from Microsoft Corp., called "SQL Server 2000." But the attacking software code was scanning for victim computers so randomly and so aggressively -- sending out thousands of probes each second -- that it overwhelmed many Internet data pipelines.
At present there is no eta for a full fix and many people are still finding that it is affecting their Web browsing and delivery of e-mail.
For more on the story check out CNN |
May’03 Brings Second E-Voting Trial
By:mark.j @ 10:37:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Local council elections set for May 2003 look set to bring a second round of online (e-) voting trials:
Over 1.5 million UK citizens will be eligible to vote electronically in council elections this May, as the government launches its most ambitious e-voting test to date.
And this could be extended to general elections by the time the Prime Minister seeks re-election.
Local Government Minister Nick Raynsford confirmed yesterday that 18 councils in the UK would pilot schemes enabling people to vote via text message, the internet and digital television.
Further details are expected to emerge within the coming weeks, more @ VNUNet. |
Nominet UK Suspends WHOIS Service
By:mark.j @ 10:32:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] It's emerged that Nominet, the UK domain registrar, was forced to suspend its WHOIS domain lookup service on Thursday night after a rogue attempt to copy the entire registry of .uk domains:
Spammers are thought to be behind attempts to copy the WHOIS database, which started last week. The attack was so severe that Nominet - the national Registry for all domain names ending .uk - had no choice but to suspend the service.
The service was suspended at 11.00pm and re-started at 7.45am this morning. The attack appears to have originated from outside the UK and Nominet has already made attempts to try and stop those responsible from continuing with the action.
More @ The Register. |
Clara.net ISP Hit By DDoS Attack
By:mark.j @ 10:26:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] UK ISP Clara.net has apparently become the latest service to be hit by a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack. Clara.net services based at the Redbus Meridian Gate and Harbour Exchange Square are being affected:
The traffic (characterised by UDP packets to port 1434) is caused by a vulnerability in MS SQL Server 2000 as documented HERE & HERE.
This vulnerability is causing widespread issues throughout the internet this morning.
Customers are strongly advised to ensure that any hosts on their network are patched as appropriate and that if neccessary, filters are applied at their network border in order that they are not the source of this traffic. This is particularly important for customers with high bandwith connections such as those using our co-location facilities.
We are currently blocking traffic with a destination port of UDP 1434 where appropriate at network ingress and egress points.
Customers are reminded that we may be forced to withdraw service from customers if they adversely affect other internet users. |
IPv6 Gains UK Task Force
By:mark.j @ 10:18:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] A new UK task force has been setup to promote wider adoption of the next generation Internet protocol, IPv6. Most current networks still use IPv4, although Internet crowding requires that a better method (IPv6) be fully introduced:
The IPv6 Task Force UK, which held its first public meeting at University College London last week, aims to produce a roadmap for IPv6 deployment in the UK. It also wants educate end users and service providers about the technology and to work with government to shape public policy on the deployment of next-generation Net technologies.
IPv6 is designed to replace the current Internet Protocol IPv4, which has a maximum address space for 4.3 billion. In practice, allocation and management inefficiencies mean that much fewer addresses are available for use, so the transition to IPv6 must happen before the increasing number of mobile devices and suchlike eats too far into the address space available with IPv4.
IPv6 features better support for next generation Internet services and applications on mobile, wideband and multi-media networks. Also, the security architecture of IPv6 is superior - bringing another advantage for the deployment of the protocol.
Regardless of the new setup, it will still take a good few years before IPv6 can fully replace IPv4.
In case you didn't know, an IP is one of the numbers that identifies you while online, such as 168.24.12.55. Almost everybody has one, more @ The Register. |
News - January 24,2003
SurfAnyTime ISP Issues Service Update
By:mark.j @ 2:32:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] UK ISP SurfAnyTime (SAT), having seen our updated complaints page, has kindly responded with a short service update. Apparently their "SAT 56/64K service is having a final bandwidth upgrade today."
The ISP also states that its SAT 128Kbps ISDN service "will be switching to an alternative supply over the weekend."
Overall it’s hoped that the above measures should solve any problems with slow speeds, although they admit that contended services can still require the odd redial. |
Children Surfing Inappropriate Content
By:mark.j @ 1:35:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] UK ISP Legend Internet has today posted the results of its latest survey, which has revealed that schools are still allowing children to access inappropriate content, such as adult web sites, on a daily basis:
New Survey Shows 70% of Schools Allow Children to Access Inappropriate Internet Content
A new survey commissioned by Legend Internet, a leading ISP and web filtering solutions provider, has revealed that schools are allowing children to access inappropriate content, such as adult and bad language sites on a daily basis. 86% of the 100 teachers questioned stated that their pupils had or were able to access sites that contained unsuitable content from their school PC's. With most parents believing the school environment to be one of the safest places for their children to be in, this makes for some worrying reading.
With such a high number of teachers stating that their pupils are accessing inappropriate content, it was even more disturbing to discover nearly 70% of schools questioned had no effective means of preventing pupils from accessing inappropriate sites. Instead of robust web filtering systems, many chose supervised sessions or relied upon 'good old-fashioned morals' as a method of prevention.
Over half of the teachers questioned however, felt that the dangers of children accessing unsuitable content on the Internet was something that needed to be addressed. 51% stated that investment into web filtering technology was a high priority for them in 2003, but something that was heavily restricted by budget.
Mark Cowgill, sales manager, Legend Internet commented, "Protecting children from accessing inappropriate content on the Internet has to be paramount for all educational institutions. Research has shown that between 3,000 and 5,000 new web sites are launched each day. A large percentage of these contain unsavoury content. This means preventing children from accessing unsuitable sites is both a difficult and continuous task. Whilst supervision is all well and good, it is not the safest or most reliable solution.
Moreover, it puts unnecessary strain on teachers and restricts pupils from having the freedom to use the Internet as a valuable learning resource. The research results demonstrate that many schools need to seriously reconsider their current method of preventing pupils from accessing unsuitable sites."
In addition to 70% of schools having no effective means of preventing children from accessing inappropriate sites, 73% of teachers felt that ease of access was the main reason for pupils looking at unsavoury content on the web.
Legend Internet offers a wide range of online services and solutions. Legend's web filtering product - Cleanfeed - offers primary and secondary schools' the means to reliably and cost-effectively protect pupils from accessing inappropriate content on their school PC's. Moreover, Cleanfeed is available as a free-of-charge, order-time option on any of Legend Internet's range of ADSL connectivity products, helping to solve the problem many schools face today through small budgets.
http://www.cleanfeed.co.uk |
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