January 10, 2003 - January 15, 2003
News - January 15,2003
Vispa ISP Cuts ADSL Connection Costs
By:mark.j @ 9:16:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] The almost never ending stream of broadband ADSL offering ISPs announcing price cuts has continued today with Vispa Internet, which is cutting the setup charge on its business broadband service:
VISPA BUSINESS BROADBAND SETUP REDUCED!
Vispa Internet Limited who was recently voted 'Best deal of the month' by Practical Internet magazine as well as voted runner-up by Daily Mirror's readers in the category 'Best Consumer ISP 2002' are now offering businesses a slice of value saving action.
This wholesome value targets the setup charge, often a sticky point for many businesses when considering the move to broadband. For this reason from now until March 31st 2003 all Vispa Broadband business packages setup charges have been reduced to an amazing £15.00
Vispa business packages are highly competitively priced and offer great value for money. Not only can businesses now take advantage of reduced setup charges, but all Vispa broadband packages come with a minimum 3 month contract and static IP as standard (Extra IP in blocks can be added if required) along with 128k supported 0845 backup numbers.
For businesses who need a special personal setup, why not give us a call. If we don't have a solution already available, we will work to provide something custom to your needs, at the very least guide you the best way. Best of all we will still offer the broadband setup charge at just £15.00
If you require any further details visit http://www.vispa.net or email sales@vispa.net otherwise call 08701 624 888 and speak to an operator |
Freeserve ISP Sees Subscriber Growth
By:mark.j @ 9:13:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] While announcing its latest positive financial results yesterday the French group Wanadoo, which is a France Telecom-controlled ISP, also took the time to note a growth in its UK ISP operation via Freeserve:
However, while it said Freeserve's user base grew to 2.57m from 2.24m, it gave no guidance on the number of broadband users the UK's largest ISP has managed to attract. Freeserve said it does not publish such data for commercial reasons.
Wanadoo chairman and CEO Olivier Sichel said: "Wanadoo is now the number two ISP in Europe, with more than 8.5 million customers. Continued sustained growth in all our businesses should enable Wanadoo to turn in profitable performance throughout 2003."
More @ netimperative.info . |
SniffOut Limits Heavy DSL Downloaders
By:mark.j @ 9:07:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] ADSLGuide has spotted an announcement from UK ISP Sniffout, which has issued a service update to customers explaining its new limits for those making heavy use of file-sharing facilities on their ADSL connection:
You will be aware that there has been a connectivity issue with the particular central pipe through which your ADSL link runs. The problem has been traced to a combination of faults on the BT Gateway, which have now been corrected. Our apologies for the inconvenience caused.
In the course of the detailed investigation leading to the resolution of this problem, we have identified that substantial file sharing activity by a minority of users is affecting overall service levels to all other customers.
Your DreamTime package uses BT's standard home self-install ADSL connection, which is a 512K product and designed as a 'burst' service for residential use, with customers able to access a fast connection for relatively short periods at various times.
We now see a minority of customers spending very long periods of time downloading and/or uploading significant amounts of data - in many cases on a continuous 24x7 basis. In some instances, the amount of video, music or similar files being transferred makes it possible that there is a commercial purpose for the activity.
It is not currently our intention to restrict file transfer activity. However, to prevent it continuing to adversely impact on other customers, we now intend to combine all heavy users of file sharing and similar activities onto one single pipe. Customers whose file sharing, or similar download/upload activities, exceed 6 hours per day, on average over a week, will be transferred to this pipe.
Transfer of connections will be seamless, with no changes required by customers.
Apparently the pipe switching will be dynamic, thus you could exceed the limit one week and be shifted, while your use may be normal for the second week and thus go back to the standard network.
This is hardly a new problem and indeed many believe that broadband would be pointless without this ability. Never the less a cheaper service is always more likely to suffer from such problems. |
News - January 14,2003
Liberty Broadband Wireless ISP Update
By:mark.j @ 2:55:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Star Internet, a rival ISP to the troubled broadband wireless service Liberty Broadband (Tele2), has today offered its opinion on the provider.
Many may remember the recent news in which it was announced that Liberty had entered liquidation under the supervision of accountants McCann Taylor:
Simon Jackson, marketing manager at rival Star Internet, believed Liberty had run into problems because of current industry pricing trends. "Everyone went down the pricing road and forgot about service," he said.
Manny Pinon, sales and marketing director at distributor Norwood Adam, referred to Liberty's market as "mucky minutes" and said he was "amazed" so many companies were still involved.
"There are such aggressive rates available from the tier one carriers that unless [providers] are adding value they will not be able to survive," he said.
The CW360 item isn't clear as to whether Mr Pinons comments are directed specifically toward Wireless ISPs or the industry as a whole, it's probably the latter.
FirstNet is the ISP currently in charge of providing a point of contact and service continuity for customers of Liberty Broadband (Tele2). |
BISCit Preps Two-Way Satellite ISP
By:mark.j @ 2:40:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] ADSLGuide has spotted that the latest UK ISP to introduce some form of broadband satellite ISP service is BISCit, which offers an expensive two-way solution:
The Broadband Satellite Service uses a small 'two way' VSAT satellite dish (70cm x 90cm) which transmits and receives data at high speed to and from a satellite with upto 500Kbps downstream and upto 300Kbps upstream, contended. This links to the internet via a gateway.
The service is a shared network, so speed slows down during busy time. Maximum and typical speeds (assuming resources are used equally are shown in the table below.
There are no connection time-outs or cut-offs on your connection. However, excessive use can affect the whole service so traffic is monitored and action may be taken if deemed detrimental to other customers. Certain applications are prioritised within network traffic to optimise the experience of all customers.
Satellite product - SOHO 500
Maximum speed down/up in Kbps - 500/120
Typical speed down/up in Kbps - 200/70
Set Up Cost (exc VAT) - £975.00
Monthly Rental (exc VAT) - £70.00
Services Included in SOHO 500:
Supply and installation of Satellite dish, Provision and installation of satellite modem, Cabling between dish and modem, installation of software on PC - i.e. Full Engineer install , Registration/transfer of domain name (.uk or .com, .net, .org), Commercial web hosting of 50Mb , Unlimited email POP accounts, Dynamic IP
It may not be ideal and heavy users won't be happy, although it is an extra bit of competition for a growing market. |
PIPEX ISP Cuts ADSL Pricing
By:mark.j @ 1:30:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] PIPEX has today become the latest UK ISP to offer its customers a special broadband ADSL discount, although PIPEX is also doing it to celebrate the 1st birthday of its cheap ADSL access via their Xteme Solo package:
REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL, FROM PIPEX!
There are not usually many things to smile about after Christmas. The days are dark and cold, and money's tight. But now there are two reasons why computer users will be very happy - PIPEX Internet are celebrating the upcoming first birthday of their market leading PIPEX Xtreme Solo broadband Internet service with two great new connection offers, available for a limited period only:
OFFER ONE: ADSL "TO GO" FOR ONLY £19.95 + VAT
If you have a computer and want to enjoy the all benefits of ADSL the new PIPEX Xtreme Solo2Go pack gets you started - at an irresistibly low price. Pay just £19.95+VAT (£23.44) to activate your BT telephone line for ADSL and we'll send you everything you need to connect your computer to ADSL completely FREE. You get an Alcatel SpeedTouch 330 USB modem FREE, and two microfilters to connect your modem and telephone(s) also FREE. There's not even postage & packing to pay - we take care of that too. You save OVER £100 on the deal compared to normal retail price. Add the £30+VAT (£35.25) discount you're getting on the usual ADSL activation fee to the amount you're saving and you won't just be smiling - you'll be laughing all the way to the bank!
OFFER TWO: FREE ACTIVATION AND ONE MONTH FREE
Alternatively, you'll be delighted if you already have a computer and ADSL modem (or plan to buy one with the savings you make by signing up to this deal!). Our standard PIPEX Xtreme Solo product now has completely FREE activation (normally £50+VAT, £58.75 inc VAT) and a month's subscription (£19.95+VAT, £23.44 inc VAT) FREE - a total saving of £69.95+VAT (£82.19). If you are already connected to ADSL with another ISP you can migrate to the PIPEX Xtreme Solo service with minimum interruption to your connection and still take advantage of this great offer.
David Rickards, Managing Director, PIPEX Internet comments "We have been pioneering the UK broadband market for the past 12 months and are still completely committed to delivering broadband Internet access at a value for money price. Since we started our series of price cuts and special offers a year ago interest has been at fever pitch and we have already signed up over 50,000 customers to broadband ADSL services. We are starting 2003 once again leading the market by offering a "ready to go" broadband connection package at an irresistibly low price."
If you've been waiting to connect to ADSL until you found the best deal, wait no longer! Visit http://www.solo.pipex.net today to sign up for PIPEX Xtreme Solo and get ready to join thousands of happy broadband users. |
Freedom2Surf's Official ADSL Update
By:mark.j @ 1:04:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Freedom2Support has already unofficially announced Freedom2Surfs broadband ADSL price cuts, however today the official ISP press release has finally been issued and includes some extra details:
Freedom2Surf slashes the cost of broadband and launches a 'Recommend a Friend' bonus scheme
Freedom2Surf, (http://www.freedom2surf.net) the UK's leading independent ISP, has today announced that it is reducing the cost of connecting to its ADSL services by 50 per cent to just £29.99 + VAT. Freedom2Surf will be introducing this new price immediately to all new orders to its self-install ADSL range. Freedom2Surf has also announced that it will be launching a 'Recommend a Friend' bonus scheme open to all existing and new customers.
Freedom2Surf has been at the forefront of sustainable price reductions for ADSL services as part of its continued commitment to build Broadband Britain. As part of the reductions, Freedom2Surf Broadband - the company's 'ADSL in a box' package - will be available for just £104 + VAT, with a monthly charge of only £22.50 inc. VAT. Freedom2Surf Broadband includes all the hardware needed to get online, including a modem and microfilters, as well as 20 free email addresses and 20mb of free webspace.
From today, broadband customers can get a further discount, by recommending the Freedom2Surf's ADSL products to friends and family. Users will receive a £10 credit to their bill for each new customer who successfully connects to Freedom2Surf.
Chris Panayis, Managing Director of Freedom2Surf commented, "We are committed to lowering the price of ADSL services to a sustainable and more affordable level. At the same time, Freedom2Surf is continuing to invest heavily in its broadband services and has recently upgraded its network, doubling capacity for new members. Freedom2Surf has also further enhanced the speed of its broadband network, giving customers the best surfing and gaming experience possible."
Chris Panayis continued, "Freedom2Surf has seen phenomenal growth in its ADSL user base and a lot of this increase has been as result of personal recommendation by our existing customers. We have introduced our bonus scheme as a small way of saying thank you."
Freedom2Surf is reducing the installation price for its broadband services from 14 January 2003 until the end of March 2003. In addition to Freedom2Surf Broadband, the reduction will apply to the following Pure IP broadband packages.
- 512K, 50:1, Pay As You Go Monthly package: £29.99 (+ VAT) setup, £22.50 per month including VAT for home users. (£22.50 + VAT for business customers)
- 512K, 20:1, £29.99 (+ VAT) set-up, £180 per quarter (+ VAT)
- 1Mb, 20:1, £29.99 (+ VAT) set-up, £285 per quarter (+ VAT)
- 2Mb, 20:1, £29.99 (+ VAT) set-up, £420 per quarter (+ VAT)
Customers can subscribe to Freedom2Surf's broadband services by visiting http://www.freedom2surf.net |
Fast4.net Reduce Cut-off
By:Keith @ 12:14:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Fast4.net seems to have changed an important part of their terms and conditions without even bothering to advise their current customers in advance.
The £6.99 unmetered service cut-off has been reduced from 2 hours to 1 hour sessions. The terms and conditions and FAQ’s have been updated with:
Q3: Is there any cut off time when using the service?
A3: There are two possible cut off situations. If your computer has been inactive for 15 minutes or more, or you have been surfing online for 1 hour.
Members started posting in our forum yesterday after noticing that they were being disconnected before their 2 hour surfing session was up. Of course this reduction may have been done to rectify the recent connection problems that members have been getting, although no official statement or update has been made by fast4 or v21.
This is almost the same scenario that free24-7.net went through at one point in the past, which is also a v21 isp.
Updated 1:03pm:
It appears as if fast4 have done a U-Turn on the connection time. They have updated the site and it now states 2 hour connection periods again:
Q9: What's my time limits?
A9: Fast 4 operates on a Unlimited Internet Access basis, with a 2 hour cut off period. We also operate a 15:1 system contention ratio.
Hopefully they will post an update in our forum later or send us an email explaining why the changes were made to help clarify the situation with current members. |
Gov's Broadband Strategy Confusion
By:mark.j @ 9:07:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Confusion over the UK government’s rural broadband coverage strategy is apparently putting off some local communities from adopting the technology:
Sir George Young, Conservative MP for North West Hampshire, believes that a lack of clear information about how schools, GP surgeries and primary care trusts will be broadband-enabled is discouraging some people who want a high-speed Internet connection from taking a proactive stance on the issue.
According to Sir George, the government must be clearer about the details of its broadband strategy, and he has urged Stephen Timms MP, minister for e-commerce and competitive, to disclose more information.
"Uncertainly about what the government and the suppliers will do and when is one of the factors that inhibit communities from taking on the daunting task of a 'do-it-yourself' local solution; they are concerned that the effort and expense of the local community will be overtaken by either technology changes or supplier actions," wrote Sir George in a letter to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) last week.
We had assumed that the government would at least be competent enough to explain things to their local governors a little better, although it's never wise to have confidence in any government, is it? More @ ZDNet. |
Freeserve ISP Ditches Dixon’s Support
By:mark.j @ 8:59:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] UK ISP Freeserve has ditched an existing broadband support contract with retail chain Dixon's in favour of something new from a Hartlepool-based company:
Garlands Call Centre is understood to be taking-over the running of Freeserve's broadband support service from the end of March, although the hand-over is expected to begin later this month.
The ISP says the move is part of its expansion and will help it "concentrate skill sets on specific products and services going forward".
Freeserve's narrowband customers will still be supported by Dixons, which set up the ISP in the late 1990s. A spokesman for Dixons insisted that its narrowband contract with Freeserve was safe.
The Register reports that no jobs are to go at Dixon's, although insiders have stated that the growing pressures could lead to just that.
Still, at least they haven't contracted their support out to a middle-eastern company like some ISPs. It may be cheap, but a lot of readers have complained about the poor quality of support that arises from such a move. |
AOL EU Not Affected By Chairman Loss
By:mark.j @ 8:52:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] The European wing of AOL has today stated that the resignation of AOL TimeWarner's Chairman, Steve Case, is unlikely to affect the media giant's European division (including ISP AOL UK).
Case said on Sunday that part of the reason he was resigning was to head off any potential distractions. "This company can't afford any distractions," he told Reuters.
A series of accounting probes in the United States made 2002 a headache for investors. It will darken this year as well as the Internet division is not predicting a turn-around until 2004 when it expects a recovery in the sale of advertising and its broadband strategy to kick in the U.S. and abroad.
The company's European Internet unit, meanwhile, has been one of the few divisions to operate relatively free of distractions during the past year. Case's resignation isn't likely to be felt on this side of the Atlantic.
"I can't see this affecting our lives in any way. We've been so busy implementing a clear business plan," said an AOL Europe employee who asked not to be named. |
AOL UK Lifts Demon ISP E-Mail Ban
By:mark.j @ 8:47:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Apparently a sudden surge in junk e-mail (SPAM) from UK ISP Demon Internet caused several other services, including ISP AOL UK, to temporarily block any e-mails from the provider.
The event, which took place last Friday, has apparently now been resolved and AOL has once again re-established contact with Demon:
In a notice to its users on Friday, Demon admitted that its users were unable to send email to a "small number of other ISPs" because of measures introduced after spammers used open mail relays within its network to send bulk email. No-one for Demon was available for comment this afternoon, so we not sure which ISPs other than AOL were involved.
Demon (probably correctly) attributed the problem to misconfiguration of its customers' machines, a point to which we'll return presently.
AOL has an in-house automated system which blocks emails from individual IP ranges or in some cases, an entire ISP, if these are identified as the source of a spam onslaught, a company spokesman told us. Spam last week from Demon reached such levels that the AOL introduced a temporary block to stem the deluge.
The Register notes that Demon Internet isn't unaccustomed to SPAM problems, although ultimately the blame should remain with the SPAMMERS themselves. |
Telewest To Pilot TV Internet Access
By:mark.j @ 8:40:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] DigitalSpy reports that Telewest, the UKs second largest cable operator, is to run a pilot trial of open use TV based Internet access:
Up until now, Telewest subscribers have only been able to access a so-called "walled garden" of internet sites, specially adapted for TV. Open Internet Access allows subscribers to go beyond this walled garden and browse the wider internet; ntl, Britain's largest cable operator, offers a similar service for £7.50 per month.
Telewest's Alexandra Legg explained: "The pilot is to a small group of existing customers who have received a letter inviting them to try our new TV internet service free of charge for four weeks."
It seems somewhat unfair to ask £7.50 per month of customers just to have greater flexibility over the websites viewed; perhaps Telewest will come up with a better solution? |
BT To ADSL Enable 15 Exchanges
By:mark.j @ 8:35:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Following the previous 18, ADSLGuide has now reported that a further 15 local exchanges will soon be upgraded to support broadband BTs ADSL services (no dates - yet):
Bideford, Devon
Caerleon, Gwent
Cheslyn Hay, Staffordshire
Clitheroe, Lancashire
Great Yarmouth Town, Norfolk
Kirby Muxloe, Leicestershire
Lymm, Cheshire
Newhaven, East Sussex
Middlewich, Cheshire
Neston, Cheshire
Ramsey, East of England
Rhiwderin, Gwent
Pershore, Hereford & Worcester
Westhoughton, Greater Manchester
Yaxley, Cambridgeshire |
News - January 13,2003
New E-Mail Virus (Worm) - W32/Sobig.A
By:mark.j @ 3:17:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] The latest e-mail virus (worm) to hit the Internet and have people concerned is W32/Sobig.A.
MessageLabs, an Anti-Virus firm, first reported seeing the infection on 9th January in the Netherlands and it has since become most active in the USA, UK, Netherlands,S. Korea, China, Hong Kong, Canada, Germany and Australia:
On 9th January 2003, MessageLabs stopped the first copies of a new virus, which was given the name ‘Sobig’ because the email address that is always comes from is ‘big@boss.com’. Initial analysis suggests that this is a mass-mailing virus that incorporates an SMTP engine. It may also have the ability to spread via various network shares, and also appears to download a text file from a website hosted by Geocities, which could contain a further URL that may subsequently be used to download a backdoor trojan.
It also appears to be able to harvest email addresses from certain files that it searches for on the recipient’s hard disk, and uses the email addresses that it finds to send a copy of itself, using the internal SMTP engine. It can also access the contents of the recipient's address book and mailbox for other email addresses.
The attachments are compressed using TELock and are 65,536 bytes in size. From the copies that MessageLabs have intercepted, the email may be composed as follows:
Subject:
Re: here is that sample
Re: Movies
Re: Sample
Re: Document
The email body contains the following text:
Attached file:
Attachment file names may include:
Document003.pif, Sample.pif, Movie_0074.mpeg.pif, Untitled1.pif
The first month of 2003 is certainly looking to be one of the busiest for new virus activity so far.
It's not even half way through January and the levels of infections are almost equal to that seen during the whole of December 2002. |
Tiscali UK To Offer Wholesale ADSL?
By:mark.j @ 2:42:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Tiscali's UK ISP wing may soon be competing directly with BT. The group has apparently stated its intention to offer ISPs an alternate broadband supply to that of BT Group.
The short nature of Europemedia's item clearly denotes the current lack of information surrounding this news, yet it is assumed that Tiscali will soon start to offer some form of wholesale ADSL.
Could Tiscali be about to join the likes of Easynet and Bulldog with local loop unbundled ADSL services? We’ll have to wait and see.. |
BTOpenworld Expands Mac Support
By:mark.j @ 1:56:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] In their second press release today the UK ISP BTOpenworld has announced an expansion to its business broadband ADSL support, which will finally cover Mac computers running OS 10.1 and 10.2:
BT OPENWORLD BUSINESS BROADBAND SUPPORTS MAC OS 10.1 AND 10.2
BT Openworld, the UK's leading business ISP, has expanded its support to include broadband compatibility with the latest Apple Mac operating systems.
A set of drivers that will support the Mac OS 10.1 and 10.2 operating systems on the BT Openworld Broadband Business 500 Plug & Go product are now available for free download.
Users of BT Openworld's most popular broadband product can download the drivers, delivered by Intel, from the web at http://www.btopenworld.com/drivers.
Duncan Ingram, managing director at BT Openworld Business Internet Services, said, "We are committed to making broadband available to everyone, and to improving the broadband experience for all. This additional support for Mac users demonstrates our commitment to delivering this across the UK."
For further information about minimum hardware specifications, customers should visit http://www.btopenworld.com/broadband/compcheck |
Low NTL/Telewest Demand Hits Pace
By:mark.j @ 1:33:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Lower demand for broadband cable modem equipped set-top boxes appear to have hit the profits of Pace Micro Technology hard. Falling demand for such hardware from both NTL and Telewest has contributed to a near £16m first half loss:
Revenues at the firm fell by 61% to £83.4m in the six months to 30 November, reflecting the renegotiation of its contract with BSkyB last year and the financial difficulties facing struggling cable operators NTL and Telewest.
The period also the Yorkshire-based company's CEO Malcolm Miller resign and 200 jobs axed to bring costs into line with sales.
Despite having reversed its negative cash position to a balance of £15.2m, the firm said cost reductions would continue, "in light of current turnover expectations".
More @ netimperative.info . |
BTOpenworld ISP Cuts ADSL Costs
By:mark.j @ 1:26:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] BTOpenworld has today issued a new press release announcing price reductions for their own broadband ADSL (full ISP) services:
BROADBAND INSTALLATION COSTS SLASHED FOR UK BUSINESS
BT Openworld broadband installation prices are to be cut from January 13 until the end of March 2003. The company will free customers from all up-front costs on the portfolio of business broadband products* and have also announced a number of savings on its consumer products **.
BT Openworld will offer free installation on its Business PLUS products, which are ideal for office networking, offering a saving of £260. In addition, customers purchasing the self-install Business 500 Plug and Go product will be eligible for free activation, modem and microfilters, providing a saving of £150.
Duncan Ingram, managing director BT Openworld, said: "We¹re committed to breaking down all perceived barriers to broadband adoption, to accelerating take-up rates with our regional campaign and to making Broadband Britain a reality for UK businesses. This price-cut shows that we¹re willing to shoulder some of the burden to get UK businesses in line with other, moreadvanced nations.
"By removing the issue of start up cost, businesses have no excuse for not taking advantage of the instant financial savings that broadband can offer," Ingram continued. "As an increasing amount of business and correspondence is conducted over the internet, a high-speed connection, offering access at up to forty times the speed of a standard dial-up connection, offers a significant competitive advantage."
Full details of the price changes and offers are:
. Free installation on Business 500PLUS, 1000PLUS and 2000PLUS, a saving of £260
. Free activation, modem and microfilters with the Business 500 Plug & Go, which is a saving of £150
All business prices exc. VAT |
The Darkside of Internet Surfing
By:mark.j @ 9:13:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] The Times newspaper has today done a small piece on the seedy underbelly of Internet surfing, specifically focusing on issues such as child pornography and how easy it is to find and difficult to prevent:
IT DOES not take long to locate child pornography on the internet: 0.12 seconds, according to the Google search engine.
Using a home computer and a dial-up telephone line, users simply type in a few phrases that in the past have brought paedophile websites to the attention of police.
Beyond the graphically descriptive Google results pages, users are just a mouse-click away from entering an easily accessible criminal underworld. What worries police and prosecutors is that for each site they close, hundreds more are on standby in countries such as Russia and Tonga to meet a lucrative global demand.
In time problems such as Internet paedophilia will be dealt with, at least to some semi-successful degree, although it's unlikely that police will ever be able to stop it completely.
Unfortunately this is equally a problem with external society, although hopefully it can be dealt with to a degree that will at least save the innocence of many young children. |
BTs Anti-Competitive ADSL Defence
By:mark.j @ 8:53:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] BTs recently appointed broadband chief (November 2002), Alison Ritchie, has rubbished claims made by rivals that BT has acted anti-competitively in the roll-out of broadband services:
But rival ISPs (internet service providers) and cable firms including AOL, Freeserve and NTL, who are competing for a slice of the UK market, have lodged a number of complaints with the regulator Oftel centring around BT acting anti-competitively and abusing its dominant market position.
These critics now see an inherent conflict of interest in Ritchie’s new role as combined head of BT’s retail and wholesale arms - two divisions Oftel previously demanded were run separately to avoid competition issues. But Ritchie, on a one-day trip to Scotland to promote broadband, denied any wrong-doing on her or on BT’s part.
She said: "I take my competitive obligations very seriously. I absolutely would not do anything that would in any way threaten that. We [BT] have been investigated three times and we have been found not to have acted improperly three times. When a competition complaint is made, it uses up management time and takes away the focus from concentrating on running the business. It’s a legitimate competitive tactic. These companies will always complain about BT."
More @ BUSINESS.scotsman.com . |
BTs Official 'No Frills' Broadband PR
By:mark.j @ 8:45:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] It's a Monday morning and traditionally news is slow, thus here's the official press release regarding yesterdays BT 'No Frills' Broadband price cuts news item:
BT OFFERS NEW YEAR CHEER ON BROADBAND
BT today announced it is slashing the cost of connecting to broadband for the benefit of both consumers and businesses. All new accounts* in the first quarter of the year will now be activated for free and customers will also be able to benefit from large savings on the cost of their modems. Taken together, these measures will save consumers up to £100 on their start up costs and businesses up to £260.
The savings are being offered across a wide range of products from both BT Retail and BT Openworld and will apply to new orders received between January 13 and March 31, 2003. New consumer customers, who order in this period, will be able to enjoy free activation of their account as well as a modem for just £50, whichever product they choose.
The new aligned start up prices will apply to orders in this period for both BT Broadband and BT Openworld Home 500 Plug&Go. BT Broadband is BT’s access product offering a one-stop shop service for broadband and telephony, with a wide range of optional services, and is charged through the BT blue bill. The latter product is BT’s full ISP service offering advanced e-mail, world class anti-spam and virus filters and access to specialised content channels.
BT is also encouraging the take up of broadband by businesses by offering even larger discounts. 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.
These special start up packages are designed to build on the momentum achieved to date by BT’s broadband campaign and follow on from the recent half price activation offer, announced by BT Wholesale in December** and available to all Service Providers.
These initiatives will help BT achieve its target of attracting one million wholesale broadband customers by the summer of 2003. BT is already well on the way to achieving that target having hit the milestone of 500,000 ADSL connections in November 2002.
Pierre Danon, chief executive of BT Retail, said: “Today’s announcement shows yet again that we at BT are serious about broadband. It is absolutely central to everything we do and we are committed to breaking down every barrier to adoption. We are also committed to making the choice of product as simple as possible for the consumer and that is why I have chosen to align the start up costs across our most popular products.
We have been pushing Broadband Britain forward with our marketing and regional campaigns and we are confident that these initiatives will increase the momentum. In fact, these price reductions will ensure that there has never been a better or more cost-effective time to get hooked up to broadband.”
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* Free activation will apply to all new orders received between January 13 and March 31, 2003 for BT Broadband and BT Openworld Home 500 Plug and Go products with the exception of the “engineer install” option. In the same period there will also be free activation for BT Openworld Business 500 Plug&Go and free installation for BT Openworld Business 500PLUS, 1000PLUS and 2000PLUS.
** BT Wholesale announced on December 12, 2002 that it would be offering half price installation for its most popular broadband products from January 10 to March 31, 2003. These savings were made available to all Service Providers on the same basis. |
News - January 12,2003
BT Cuts BT 'No Frills' Broadband Cost
By:mark.j @ 9:26:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] The Sunday Times newspaper has today reported that BTs non-ISP broadband ADSL service, BT 'No Frills' Broadband, will see its own set of price cuts next week:
The telecoms group has set itself a target of having 1m broadband customers by the summer, but the rate of connections has recently stalled at about 15,000 a week.
The price cuts that will be announced tomorrow will reduce the cost of the basic BT Broadband service by £90. BT is waiving its £60 activation charge and cutting the price of broadband modems by £30 to £50. BT Broadband, an access-only service, costs £27 a month.
Business customers will enjoy bigger savings — up to £260 for those requiring ethernet installation.
BT hopes the cuts will further stimulate demand and raise the weekly connection rate from 15K to a cool 20K, although we'd prefer to see a more realistic monthly price cut instead. |
BTs 622Mbps Central Pipe For ISPs
By:mark.j @ 9:21:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] ADSLGuide reports that larger UK ISPs will soon benefit thanks to the introduction of BTs new scalable central pipe (backbone line):
BT has announced that is is trialling and launching a 622Mbps pipe in the first half of this year. One major advantage with this product is that it will be available at three bandwidth levels from 155Mbps all the way to full capacity, making upgrading a lot easier for service providers.
This should make problems, such as those currently being experienced by Nildram where multiple pipes are required instead of just one, much easier to solve. Pricing is expected to be placed at a similar level to existing services, which lack direct scalability. |
News - January 11,2003
Intensive Networks Sells Dialup?
By:mark.j @ 9:44:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] While the Intensive Networks website is still down (expected back soon), we have today heard rumours that the group has finally sold their dialup ISP business onto net.access.
Our source suggests that the work was completed on the Friday 10th Jan 2003 for the total sum of £101,000. It's also possible that the group will change its trading name within the next week or so.
Please be aware that until this can be confirmed it should be treated as you would any other rumour. |
NTL Completes Restructuring
By:mark.j @ 9:37:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Thanks to Jeff for letting us know that the UKs largest cable operator has issued the following press release regarding its exit from chapter 11 (completed restructuring):
NTL Incorporated (formerly NTL Communications Corp. and referred to in this release as "the Company") announced today that its financial recapitalization plan has been successfully completed and the Company has emerged from Chapter 11 proceedings in the United States.
The company formerly known as NTL Incorporated ("Old NTL") and its subsidiaries have been reorganized into two separate companies: NTL Incorporated, formerly known as NTL Communications Corp., comprising Old NTL's UK and Ireland businesses, and NTL Europe, Inc., formerly known as NTL Incorporated, comprising Old NTL's assets in continental Europe as well as other minority investments and interests.
The Company's common stock (CUSIP 62940M104) and Series A warrants (CUSIP 62940M138) will trade on NASDAQ commencing Monday, January 13, 2003 under the symbols of NTLI and NTLIW, respectively. Shares of common stock of Old NTL, which previously traded under the symbol NTLDQ, have been cancelled.
Under the recapitalization plan, approved by the creditors of Old NTL and confirmed by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, approximately $10.9 billion in debt has been converted into equity in the two reorganized companies. Consummation of the recapitalization plan was subject to a number of conditions, all of which have now been met.
In connection with the Company's emergence from Chapter 11, the Company and certain of its subsidiaries issued $558.24 million aggregate principal face amount of 19% Senior Secured Notes due 2010. Initial purchasers of the notes also purchased 500,000 shares of Common Stock on the Effective Date. The gross proceeds from the notes and such shares totalled $500 million. The Company's lending banks in the UK have agreed to the issuance of the Notes as well as to certain amendments to the existing banking facilities. The $630 million DIP facility has been repaid in full.
On the Effective Date, all specified previously outstanding public debt and equity securities of the Company were cancelled and the Company issued (a) 50,500,969 shares of its common stock, par value $0.01 per share, and (b) eight year warrants to purchase 8,750,496 shares (subject to adjustment) of its common stock at an exercise price of $309.88 per share (subject to adjustment). As previously announced, the number of shares and warrants issued was reduced from the amounts originally cited in the Plan.
"Today's announcement marks a new beginning for the Company and is a tribute to the tremendous cooperation of our creditors and their confidence in NTL," said Barclay Knapp, chief executive officer of the Company. "Working with our creditors, we have successfully completed our recapitalization and have significantly reduced our debt.
Operationally, despite being in US Chapter 11 and a challenging business environment, NTL has made steady progress during 2002, improving our products and services, reducing our churn rate and generating three consecutive quarters of positive operating cash flow. Our strategy going forward is to focus on delivering profitable growth and returning to service excellence." |
Finding Those Wi-Fi Hotspots
By:mark.j @ 9:33:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] It's believed that one of the biggest barriers to an increased uptake of broadband wireless LAN hotspots (Wi-Fi) is the inability to inform potential customers when they're within range of such a location:
The companies involved in providing public 802.11b WLAN services - also known as Wi-Fi - must agree on how to let users know they are within range of an access point if the technology is to be a long-term success.
Public WLANs, which allow broadband communications, typically from a wirelessly equipped laptop or PDA, are growing in popularity in Europe too. It is estimated there are around 1,000 such areas across the continent, though only 65 of those are currently in the UK. Hotels, train stations, airports and coffee shops are cashing in on demand, especially from people travelling on business, selling minutes or luring in customers to purchase other goods or services while online.
However, venues, service providers and others are all promoting services in different ways, with non-standard logos and signs - if they have them at all. And while some users enjoy looking for free WLAN networks in public places to connect to the internet, others want to know before booting up a laptop that they are within range of an access point.
More @ Silicon. |
Firstnet & Freedom2Surf Cut ADSL Costs
By:mark.j @ 9:30:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] The latest two UK ISPs to cut the cost of their broadband ADSL services appear to be Firstnet and Freedom2Surf.
Firstnet is offering a free router with wires-only (self-install) broadband connections and has halved the cost of the ADSL connection itself.
On the other hand Freedom2Surf's unofficial support site, Freedom2Support, has sent us this announcement:
Freedom2Surf PLC have today slashed the cost of ordering their Pure IP Wires only ADSL Broadband Service by half, by lowering the connection charge to just £29.99 excluding VAT.
The Connection charge which all new subscribers to the Freedom2Surf ADSL Service have to pay, was previously at £59.99 excluding VAT until earlier today.
This Follows BT Wholesales special offer to all ADSL Internet Service Providers that the actication fees sold to the ISP have been droped from £50 to £25 for all self install products. The offer runs from 10th January through to the end of March 2003.
Potential Freedom2Surf Customers who either wish to know more about the service provided by the company, or would like to order, should visit http://www.freedom2surf.net/adsl/ |
News - January 10,2003
UK ISPs Face New Regulation & Bills
By:mark.j @ 2:51:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] This summer will see the introduction of the country's first super-regulator, Ofcom. The new regulator is the outcome of the governments Communications Bill, yet ISPs will see its arrival as bad news.
Under the new regime every ISP will fall under the regulatory auspices of Ofcom, with some being forced to pay a substantial fee, which could be as high as 1% of an ISP's turnover:
ISPs have slammed the additional cost and the fact that new regulatory pressure will be put on them because of the changes.
Bernard Tute, competition counsel for AOL Europe, warned that ISPs would face much heavier obligations under the new regulator. 'This new regime will apply heavier obligations on AOL and other ISPs,' he said.
It will come into force in the middle of July and as well as enforcing a new licensing regime, will define all licensees as electronic communication providers.
ISP Review has long campaigned for greater industry regulation, yet we fear that Ofcoms understanding of the word may differ from that of the average consumers.
The regulation is more than likely going to relate to issues of data retention rather than consumer concerns such as quality of service, we'll have to wait and see. More @ NewMediaZero. |
UK Gov Preps 3.4GHz Wireless Auction
By:mark.j @ 2:34:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] The UK Government hasn't exactly had the best of luck when it comes to auctioning off parts of the broadband wireless spectrum, never the less they're about to begin the same process for the 3.4GHz band.
Interestingly a number of other Telco's would rather see the 2GHz spectrum available for high-speed wireless services because it's apparently more commercially viable. Unfortunately there's a small problem with 2Ghz, it's used by the security services:
The UK government confirmed on Friday that it will hold an auction of 3.4GHz licences in 15 regions -- as previously reported back in April 2002 -- in May this year. These licences will let companies offer fixed wireless access services, potentially at speeds similar to ADSL.
Each licence will cover one region of the UK, and successful bidders will not be forced to roll out services within a certain timeframe.
They also won't have to offer wireless broadband, and could instead use the bandwidth for other purposes. The government, though, is hopeful that this auction is a way of making high-speed data connections to rural areas, and other places where ADSL and cable broadband is not available.
Will we ever see broadband wireless ISPs based off the 3.4Ghz spectrum? Your guess is as good as ours. More @ ZDNet. |
UK Surfers = Very Health Conscious
By:mark.j @ 1:21:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Believe it or not a new survey commissioned by UK ISP AOL has found that 56% of people have made a new year's resolution to get fit in 2003 and many intend to use the Internet as part of that process:
Nearly one in ten use the web to get health and fitness information as part of their weekly 'get fit' regime.
If you need help sticking to your "get healthy" resolution, AOL has launched a Fitness Buddies facility that lets members find a fitness mate in their area.
Freeserve has also launched a new section called "New Year, New You" on its icircle website.
More @ Web-User. |
BT To ADSL Enable 18 Exchanges
By:mark.j @ 1:15:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] ADSLGuide reports that 18 more of BTs local telephone exchanges are set to be upgraded with support for broadband ADSL services after having enough pre-orders verified to make it viable.
The first batch will be upgraded on 21st March 2003:
Berkswell
Borough Green
Dinnington
Frodsham
Heath Hayes
Helensburgh
Kilsyth
Olney
Wivenhoe
The second batch will be ready on 28th March 2003:
Chepstow
Codsall
Fernhill Heath
Goring
Newton Mearns
Stanley
Steyning
Wideopen
Worthing Swandean |
4d Internet ISP Cuts ADSL Cost
By:mark.j @ 12:52:PM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] David Barker from UK ISP 4d Internet has today sent us a brief message regarding a reduction in price to their broadband ADSL line activation:
We have reduced our ADSL line activation charge to £35.25 (inc. VAT) from today and are also offering free SMS from our site http://www.4dinternet.co.uk |
UK ISP Mailbox Cuts ADSL Costs
By:mark.j @ 10:21:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Net4Nowt reports that UK ISP Mailbox has today become the latest service to announce a half-price broadband ADSL installation charge for new subscribers from now until the end of March 2003:
Installation costs for Mailbox Wires Only services are now priced at £30 + VAT and provide subscribers with an ADSL line, bandwidth and IP address(es) only. Contract is on a monthly basis and prices start at £29.
Installation charges for Mailbox ADSL Connect services are now priced at £135 + VAT and an an ADSL line, bandwidth, IP addresses, all ADSL hardware and an on-site engineer to install the ADSL line is provided. |
New Broadband Wireless ISP - Arbis
By:mark.j @ 9:56:AM - News Comments - SendNews [HERE] / PrintNews [HERE] Residential residents and businesses in the Minehead, Tiverton, Crediton and Honiton areas look set to benefit thanks to the launch of a new broadband wireless ISP, Arbis Internet Solutions:
Our ISP is called Arbis we are planning to roll out a Wireless Broadband service in the town of Minehead, quickly expanding into the surrounding villages. We also have plans to cover Tiverton, Crediton and Honiton over time.
We are in the initial planning stages but below are the tariffs we plan to offer all of which can be purchased by either Home or Business users.
Arbis 128k @ £19.99pm
Arbis 256k @ £24.99pm
Arbis 512k @ £29.99pm
Arbis 1024k @ £39.99pm
These are the download speeds and prices, upload speeds will be half the download but if required we can make specific connections go the same speed each way for an extra fee (to be decided). Installation is £150.00 for all tariffs except the 1024k which is £189.99, all prices include VAT.
We understand this is not a nation wide Broadband service which so many people are hoping will come along but we believe many small community wireless networks will make it a lot easier to cover rural Britain with Broadband services. We are also looking into other technologies other than wireless and have plans to launch Dialup solutions and ADSL solutions in the near future.
More information can be found at http://www.arbis.co.uk or by emailing info@arbis.co.uk
It's a pity that more services like this don't exist, not least one with national coverage, especially now that the future of Tele2 (Liberty Broadband) is once again in doubt. |
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