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| News Archive |
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| PlusNet
Start To Boot Off Users  Reports
are starting to come in that PlusNet
have started to kick off some of its customers with just 24 hours
notice.Here is the text from one of the emails being sent out: It has become clear to us through your pattern of Internet use that the PlusNet account to which you are subscribed is not suitable for your needs. Your use of our service is not treating fairly a product that was set up for reasonable unmetered access and was never intended to provide unlimited Internet access.I think PlusNet need to reconsider the following words found on their own site, “Unlimited Internet Access”. To me that means only one thing. Several customers are receiving emails stating that they are being kicked off because they are using the account for commercial use: Your use of our service is prohibited by clause 20 of our Terms and Conditions, which forbids the commercial use of a residential account. We regard your current use of the service provided as a breach of our Terms and Conditions and no longer wish to provide you with Internet access on this account. Your account will be deactivated shortly.PlusNet are inviting those affected to sign-up for the free 0845 account or upgrade to a business package. This news has really surprised us as PlusNet is respected among many of ISPs including the likes of Demon and ClaraNet. We are disappointed as well as shocked to hear of the action taken by PlusNet. One angry customer said he was using the connection for 17 hours a day on average. But PlusNet clearly states, “Unlimited Internet Access” on their site. Although it is not intended to support continuous or unattended Internet access. I wonder when my email is due – I have been using them for a couple of months with very few problems. When I signed-up I spoke to them to clarify that it would be OK for business use and heavy usage. Maybe I should have got that in writing. NTL
Taken To Court Over CD Delays  A
Northamptonshire fork-lift truck driver was this morning in court
after he took out a lawsuit against the cable company NTL
over their bungled launch of unmetered Internet access last year.Finbarr Carroll, who signed up with ntlworld in April last year, is suing the cable giant for compensation after he had to wait until August before his CD ROM for the company’s unmetered access service materialised.Well good on you Carroll. I would love to know what the outcome was. Source: Netimperative.com More
Unrest Over Unbundling Delays 
Kingston
Communications has become the latest company who has had just
about enough with the delays in the unbundling process.Kingston Chief Executive Steve Maine commented that it has been put off because rollout is “entirely contingent” on having enough capacity – something he believes will not be available until Spring 2002. The announcement comes on the heels of Scottish telco Thus’ decision to pull out of the process because of economic reasons. Like Kingston, Thus said the figures simply don’t add up, and so will become a wholesale customer of BT instead of building its own DSL network.We think the above list speaks for itself. Come on Oftel! If the roll-out process takes any longer there will be no more companies left. Or is this the master plan? Source: Netimperative.com FastNet
Joins In BT Unmetered Complaint  FastNet
International Ltd today announced that it has written to OFTEL in
support of the complaint made by Cloud Nine Communications. FastNet
believes that the barrier to entry in the expanding flat-rate Internet
access has been set unreasonably high, requiring a minimum annual
rental of over £1.5 million. Danny Sullivan, VP of BT Ignite Internet Services in on record as stating that the minimum entry level is 1500 ports because of the capital costs. FastNet believes this to be a nonsensical viewpoint, as a more realistic minimum would encourage many smaller ISPs to take the service, freeing up the existing copper network for voice traffic and amortising the cost of providing the new service over a higher number of ports. The ISP has been providing quality Internet access to businesses in the southeast of England since 1995 and has over 2000 customers which include FTSE 100 businesses. FastNet International Ltd has requested that OFTEL investigate the pricing structure of this service and has additionally requested that OFTEL should research the relationship between the projected profitability of BT Internet’s new £14.99 un-metered product and any cross subsidy from BT’s core business in contravention of BT’s licence. Ian Robertson of FastNet said “ I simply can’t see how BT Internet can possibly expect to make a profit from a service costing £12.75 plus VAT that includes all the call charges. Once the cost of the FRIACO service has been deducted from their income there simply doesn’t seem to be sufficient margin to allow for all the other ISP services such as technical support, bandwidth, administration charges, operating overheads and profit. Either the purchase price to BT Internet of the FRIACO service is set to a very low level in anticipation of a massive uptake from the market, which is an indirect subsidy, or BT Internet is being subsidised directly in an effort to win market share. In either case I would consider that further investigation of the service is required.” Mr Robertson continued, “ BT were late to recognise the importance of the Internet in the UK. They are now in a position of trying to catch up and since to all intents and purposes they control the UK’s physical network they have enormous power. Instead of trying to work with the Internet community to foster the growth of this technology and promote rapid uptake of broadband to the benefit of the economy they have tried to dominate the IP marketplace, reducing margins for all the players leading to a reduction in the ability of ISPs to innovate. FRIACO is a case in point. By setting barriers that effectively mean that only BT and the other big telecom companies can buy the service it would appear that there is no place in BT’s future for the small companies that have led the revolution in communications. British Airways tried similar tactics in their market place and were eventually brought to heel. Perhaps BT could learn from their experience before another of Britain’s flag carrying enterprises is brought to heel by the courts.” The letter of complaint from FastNet makes interesting reading, and will hopefully prompt other ISPs to do the same and urge Oftel to take action against BT’s uncompetitive pricing. EXCLUSIVE:
ic24 Free Unmetered Offer Extended  The
Mirror Group owned ISP ic24,
has just informed us that their free 0800 access will yet again
be extended.Running for more than a year, the 0800 access has been extended month after month despite many other unmetered ISPs closing down or raising monthly subscription fees. The 'After 8' offer has been extended for another 2 weeks until 14th February when the company will again decide what will happen. Completely free 0800 access is available between 8pm and midnight, 7 days a week. All other calls are charged at a local rate. Children
Should Take Internet Safety Test 
Children should be made to pass the equivalent to the cycling proficiency
test before they are allowed on the digital superhighway, according
to a report from the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR).Communications: revolution and reform - launched at a seminar today by Chris Smith, Secretary of State for culture, media and sport - argues that parents' awareness of the dangers of new media and how responsible they are for protecting their children against those dangers is "far too low". Damian Tambini, government adviser and IPPR senior research fellow, commented: "Parents mustn't be left to their own devices when it comes to protecting their children from the worst parts of the Internet. Eleven year-olds should have to take a 'surfing proficiency test' to advise them what to trust on the net, how to respond to meeting strangers in chat rooms and how to get the most out of the net.” In 1999, only 18% of Internet users claimed to have heard of the Internet Watch Foundation, which is responsible for Internet regulation, and relies entirely on complaints from users. Tambini added, "At present, they aren't learning this in their computer classes - school computers filter out too much information, which leads to frustrated surfers and little else. As well as introducing such a test, the Government should also create a new offence with tough penalties aimed at Internet porn barons who deliberately target children." At the first parliamentary meeting of the Internet Watch Foundation, TV presenter Carol Vorderman astounded everybody with her outburst against the government and Internet industry for putting profit before children’s safety. The report also calls for more effective deterrents for disseminating harmful information to be introduced, including a new offence of deliberately directing harmful content to children. The new report looks in detail at the future of regulation across mediums, including broadcasting and the press. Rather than trying to limit media ownership, the IPPR says that journalists should be guaranteed editorial freedom as part of their contracts, as is the case in Europe. Thus
Pulls Out Of Local Loop  The
telecoms operator Thus
today announced that they had pulled out of plans to compete inside
British Telecom's exchanges, dealing another blow to Britain's flagship
project for delivering high-speed Internet connections.Chief executive Bill Allan said he could not justify the economics of installing broadband DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) Internet equipment in the exchanges, which are being opened up to BT rivals under so-called unbundling of the local loop. The news emerged as Thus reported better than expected third quarter figures that sent its bludgeoned shares soaring. Thus joins a stream of other companies that have abandoned plans to participate in unbundling, threatening the government's promise of a widespread DSL network. It had applied for space in 300 BT exchanges in a lottery organised by telecoms regulator Oftel and had earmarked £40m for investment. But Allan said Thus had always been cautious about the business case for "co-locating" DSL equipment in the exchanges, and had now decided not to proceed. "The economics for DSL don't make sense for us," he said. It will instead offer DSL by reselling a BT wholesale service, he said. It currently has 1,500 such customers through its Demon Internet division. Thus shares were up 17.3% at 72.5p after it reported improved third quarter results and said it was confident about the current three months. Source: Reuters BigBlueSky
– It’s Alive!  It
looks like the unmetered service from BigBlueSky
has finally taken off.The service has been delayed for months now for one reason or another, but for some at least, customers are now up and running. The ISP charges just a one-off fee of £25 for 24/7 unmetered access which automatically makes people justifiably cautious. Especially when some have had their credit cards debited a month ago and have still not received sign-up details. From feedback received from readers, the service is performing quite well although it is in its early days after going live just last night. It will be interesting to see how this one works out. But how they can make the service financially viable by charging just £25 per user, we will have to wait and see. Cloud
Nine Plagued By BT's "Technical" Problems  Cloud
Nine have been in touch again after they suffered a spate of
technical problems on their SurfTime unmetered service.The managing director, Emeric Miszti said, “Whilst we are still concerned about the timing of the incident we are pleased that BT are finally prepared to accept responsibility for the failures and the inconvenience this has caused to our customers today and earlier in the month.” Since the complaint was made last week to Oftel, the ISP has been plagued by a strange series of faults. Appearing to be almost like clockwork, the faults last for around 15 minutes each time which causes a great deal of disruption to customers. Miszti added, “The last time, and only other time, we have experienced problems of this nature with our Surfports was when we questioned BT's contractual obligations in early January and were forced to pass the matter onto our Solicitors at which point the service appeared to return to normal. Outside of these 2 instances the service has been almost 100% reliable.” BT have now apologised to Cloud Nine for the poor service levels. John Parr, Operations Director of Cloud Nine Communications Ltd said, "What good is that to our customers that are experiencing intermittent service disrupting business?” Last week the Basingstoke based ISP lodged a complaint with the government's telecoms watchdog Oftel. The letter of complaint was over the new SurfPort 24 FRIACO wholesale product which, because of its pricing, has effectively slammed the door on smaller ISPs because they cannot compete. Operations Director John Parr said to Oftel: “It is our opinion that BT have introduced a restrictive practice through a product call SurfPort24 in the UK to prevent small to medium size ISPs competing in the Unmetered Internet Access market using FRIACO wholly for the benefit of very large ISPs including BT branded ones. This in turn ultimately restricts choice to the consumer and small business of the unmetered products and services they can choose. They have introduced this practice by raising the entry barrier to unaffordable economic levels for SurfPort24.Cloud Nine are now gaining significant support from other ISP's with their complaint about the anti-competitive nature of the Surfport 24 product. Another ISP has submitted their own document supporting the complaint to Oftel and other significant players who they are in contact with, and are considering going public themselves with backing of the complaint. UK
Most Expensive For Broadband Access  UK
consumers are having to paying the most for a high speed broadband
connection according to a survey carried out by Oftel.The survey showed that in the UK the monthly charge for residential higher bandwidth services was around £40, compared to £37 in France, £31 in Germany and £32 in the USA. The results for business were mixed, though generally the UK was ahead of France but behind Germany and the US in terms of price and variety of services on offer. David Edmonds, director general of Oftel said, "This is the first time it has been possible to compare retail prices for high bandwidth services in the UK with prices elsewhere. While the survey shows that UK prices were somewhat less favourable compared to the other countries surveyed, DSL and cable modem services in the UK are still at an early stage of rollout and take-up." The survey was conducted by the consultancy company Tarifica Ltd with some additional data supplied by Analysys Ltd and was based on prices as at 12th October. New
Off-Peak Options From Cloud Nine Using
BT’s SurfTime package, the ISP Cloud
Nine has released a limited number of off-peak Internet accounts.Called HomeSurf Offpeak and BusinessSurf Offpeak, they will provide unmetered access between 6pm and 8am on weekdays and from 6pm Friday until midnight Sunday. Both of the packages cost £12.98 per month which includes the SurfTime payment to BT. For further details check out ISPreview. Totalise
To Axe Jobs  Our
prediction earlier in the week that the ISP Totalise
could be in spot of bother has been confirmed today by an article
at Vnunet.In a statement the company said: "Totalise has confirmed that, following an operational review, it has reduced its workforce substantially, with the company now far more focused on its core businesses with proven income streams."Earlier in the week the ISP axed 900 customers from its unmetered Internet service. Peter Gregory, CEO of Totalise, explained, “Because of the state of the ISP industry it is not financially viable to carry on offering this service to some of the users and as a business, we have had to make the unfortunate decision to cancel the service to them. In the same week Totalise announced that they have temporarily withdrawn its free SMS service in light of the announcement that the four UK mobile operators are introducing reciprocal charges from next month. BigBlueSky
Hold-up Update - Part 2 In
the second update this week alone, we have further news on the unmetered
service from BigBlueSky.Earlier in the week they announced that they expected users to be able to set-up their accounts from Tuesday, but due to a “cock-up” on behalf of BT, Internet access would not be available for another 48-hours. This evening they have now updated the announcement on their site: LATEST NEWSUnderstandably, customers who have already had their credit cards debited with the £25, are starting to sweat at the thought of “being had”. Jason Young from Webage, the site designers, sends us regular updates. Not too sure of the connection behind the two companies, but he said today that the radius servers are set-up. Also the account creation software is in place but BT has not yet tested their server. He added, “It should be tonight or tomorrow.” I think if the service was going to be a success, it should have been kept under wraps until everything was in place. With every system checked and all ready to run. Customers are starting to get a bit fed-up listening to excuse after excuse, regardless of who is to blame. New
Unmetered Service Goes Live  From
today, Internet users will be able to sign-up to BTinternet’s
new unmetered package.BTinternet AnyTime allows customers to surf the Internet without having to pay for phone calls and is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for £14.99 a month. However the new package will only be available to BT telephone customers. BT is promoting the new package in a multi-million pound campaign and CDs will be available all over the UK from retail outlets including HMV and Iceland. Ben Andradi, president and chief operating officer of Btopenworld said, "Offering BTinternet Anytime to everyone from day one shows just how confident we are in the quality of our networks and support systems." Hopefully they will be able to live up to that statement as our previous ISP vote results have showed them to be regularly voted the worst ISP in the UK. The new unmetered package comes in the same week as Freeserve launched their new 24/7 service which costs £12.99, a saving of £2 over BTinternet. Also available are similar products from AOL priced at £14.99 and Sniff Out costing £13.99 available next month. For a full listing of unmetered ISPs available, check out our complete listing. Failed
ISPs Exposed On Watchdog  The
BBC consumer series Watchdog tonight uncovered the plight of unmetered
Internet customers who have been kicked off several ISPs for one
reason or another.The unmetered ISPs that came in for criticism from Ann Robinson and her team included IGClick, 24/7 Freecall and RedHotAnt. Watchdog were inundated with complaints from customers who signed up for unmetered access expecting to be able to use the service for as long as they wish. However that was not going to be the case in many instances. The programme featured one unlucky customer, Janine Baker from Bournemouth, who signed up with IG Click in September of last year and paid her £40 joining fee plus a further £30 for a whole year of unmetered access. But just 3 days later she received an email saying that the service was to be suspended. Janine then went and signed up with RedHotAnt. She paid £70 for a year’s access but another 2 weeks later, they too suspended their service. Janine told Watchdog; "I am very annoyed with RedHotAnt. They gave me four hours notice. I have now spent a total of £140 for three months which is not a very good deal and I want my money back." Sadly Janine’s case is not unique. Many of our readers have been the victims of these Internet service providers along with an ever-growing list of companies that are going down the pan. All we can suggest is you try to obtain a refund through your credit card company. Notify your local trading standards office who will collect similar complaints and investigate the company involved. Try to select a reputable big name ISP, although this is little comfort for ex-customers of breathe, Freeserve and LibertySurf who have had their accounts terminated. Earlier today Totalise was added to the list of ISPs who broke their promises by kicking 900 of their heaviest users off the unmetered service. EXCLUSIVE:
Cloud Nine Complain To Oftel Over SurfPort24 The
ISP Cloud
Nine which presently offers unmetered access using the SurfTime
package from BT has sent a letter
of complaint to the government’s telecommunications watchdog,
Oftel,
over the new SurfPort FRIACO wholesale product.Emeric Miszti, one of the founders of the company, said that BT are demanding £2.2m a year to enter SurfPort24 FRIACO program from Cloud Nine and shut the door on existing Surftime suppliers who cannot meet the bill and already have infrastructure in place. BT have again slammed the door on unmetered internet access in the UK by restricting entry to FRIACO. Medium size ISPS such as Cloud Nine have no choice with no other suppliers to choose from than BT IGNITE because of stalling of modem co-location. Cloud Nine have now launched an official complaint with Oftel and would welcome the support of other ISP's as well as members of the public and businesspeople who do not want to see choice restricted by the actions of a monopoly provider. Brian Malone of Oftel has been assigned to the case. Cloud Nine has given permission for full disclosure in the public eye and urge people who support Cloud Nine case of Alleged anticompetitive Surfport24 qualifying requirements to e-mail Brian.malone@Oftel.gov.uk. There are unlikely to be competitive offerings within the same timescale from any other Telco's and in light of that BT will have bought their BT Internet arm quite an unfair competitive advantage because, given the experience with Surftime, nobody can deny the very likely possibility that BT Internet will receive first delivery whilst they deliberately stall other providers. This is unacceptable in what is still, at least for the time being, a monopoly situation! Totalise
Confirms 900 Account Closures  We
have now received official confirmation from Totalise
saying that they are to terminate 900 of its customers’ accounts
due to the “ongoing costs of the service”.The Ultimate Surf, which offered users a 100 hour per month limit (peak and off-peak) was launched in August last year as an access service for domestic customers only. Users paid £235 for the service for a two year period and were given the equivalent of £400 of Totalise shares in return. Around 900 users will be affected, although the majority of The Ultimate Surf users will be able to carry on using the service as before. Peter Gregory, CEO of Totalise, explained, “Because of the state of the ISP industry it is not financially viable to carry on offering this service to some of the users and as a business, we have had to make the unfortunate decision to cancel the service to them. The majority of our users will still be able to carry on using The Ultimate Surf as they have been and we apologise to those affected users that we cannot continue to offer this service.” Affected users, whose service will be terminated on January 27th, will be offered a refund on the subscription they paid. Customers using the service for domestic purposes only, will receive a pro rata refund (minus £9.79 for each month) from the activation month. For example, users who registered in August 2000 will receive a refund of £176.26. All affected users have been notified by post with information about the termination and details on how to apply for a refund. In February 2000, Totalise was awarded the Best Consumer Customer Service Award by the ISPA. Trouble
At Totalise? After
recent activities at Totalise,
it looks like the ISP may be in a spot of bother.The company which began trading on the AIM (Alternative Investment Market) last November, have recently called for an Extraordinary General Meeting which is to due to be held on 13th February. The share price has also taken quite a tumble recently too. Details of their unmetered Internet access have been removed from their site preventing any new customers from joining. Now according to ISPreview it appears that Totalise have started to kick off some of its customers branding them as business users. The unmetered Internet package was originally two years of Internet access for a one-off payment of £235 which was limited to 100 hours per month. A 24/7 package was expected to be launched this year however as yet there are no signs of its arrival. Today Totalise have announced that they have temporarily withdrawn its free SMS service in light of the announcement that the four UK mobile operators are introducing reciprocal charges from next month. A spokesman for Totalise told Vnunet, "We are not going to abandon our service but we are looking at new ways to offer it," added the spokesman. "We are looking at a number of options and until this is sorted out the service will be suspended." Children's
ISP To Focus On Content  KZN
Media as announced a change in its business strategy and has plans
to move away from the ISP sector and concentrate on its content.KZN Media currently provide safe Internet access aimed at young children through their ISP KZUK.net. KZN adjusted its strategy owing to ‘flat rate’ internet access offers which it cannot match in the highly competitive UK ISP market and was unable to generate sufficient levels of income from either telephone or advertising.KZN are expected to make an announcement in the near future after completing talks with a Greek telecommunications group. Source: Netimperative.com Freeserve’s
FRIACO Unmetered Now Available  Although
nothing new has been announced today by Freeserve
, they have announced that their new unmetered service is now up
and running.The Freeserve AnyTime product offers 24/7 Internet access for a monthly fee of £12.99 which at the moment is competitively priced compared with other similar schemes. Freeserve are confident that it can cope with demand regarding network capacity and customer support which has plagued many unmetered Internet service providers in the past 12 months. The new AnyTime service is based on the recently launched wholesale FRIACO (Flat Rate Internet Access Call Origination) package BTnet SurfPort24 from BT Ignite. Many more ISPs are expected to follow suit with their own unmetered announcements. A few have already released details recently. AOL already provide their new 24/7 unmetered service for £14.99 per month with CDs available from just about everywhere these days. Sniff Out has said their FRIACO based service will be available from 14th February. The 24/7 product called SmartTime will be priced at £13.99 per month which competes directly with AOL’s £14.99 service. BTinternet have said that they expect their FRIACO based product to go live any day now. BTinternet AnyTime offers customers 24/7 unmetered access for £14.99 per month. PlusNet are next on the list with their new packages. They expect that all customers will be able to sign-up to one of three new deals in April. The 24/7 account costs £19.99 a month while also offering an off-peak option for £9.99 per month. Another option custom built for business with a smaller contention ratio is priced at £39.99 a month. Although ClaraNet have not released any details, they have said that they are looking to offer a 24/7 package in the next 5-6 weeks. Nick Wells, marketing manager at ClaraNet said: “We are investigating all the options – but know that SurfTime is dead in the water.” Thus have said that they have no plans but are looking into it. SurfPort24 is a service that grooms traffic from the local exchanges onto BT’s Colossus IP network and onto the ISP or carrier network. The new FRIACO services are different from the SurfTime package in that all the billing is done through the ISP itself without the need of a separate bill from BT. ISPs offering the SurfTime package have often complained that their hands are tied when it comes to customers problems. Hopefully billing and customer service issues will be much simplified and improved. BTOpenwoe
Re-Launched  A
site aimed specifically at making BT Openworld users' lives easier
has recently re-launched itself.BTOpenwoe carries news on developments with BTopenworld and ADSL in general. There is also a forum and useful contact details available. One feature that we liked in particular was the BTOpenWoe and BTOpenWow sections. Although the latter section where they list occasions where BTOpenworld have actually sorted out problems, was empty when we visited. Maybe with the ever-growing popularity of ADSL, teething troubles with BTOpenworld will be ironed out. The site can be found at: http://www.btopenwoe.org.uk BigBlueSky
Unmetered Updated We
have received an update from the ISP BigBlueSky
today stating that users will, after many previous dates have gone
by, be able to set-up their accounts from tomorrow (Tuesday).Although they claim that due to a cock-up on behalf of BT, Internet access will not be available for another 48-hours. BigBlueSky say that they will provide you with unmetered Internet access for a one-off fee of just £25. How? Are you willing to gamble with your hard-earned cash? Will you be rushing to sign-up for this one? I know I won’t be. BarrysWorld
Announces Voluntary Liquidation  BarrysWorld,
the four year old Internet games company which took first funding
in April 2000, today announced that it will be ceasing to trade
on 5th FebruaryBarrysWorld is being voluntarily wound-up. Insolvency specialists Fisher Partners have been appointed by the directors to assist with the formalities of winding up the company. In the last 9 months BarrysWorld has grown from a popular community site into the largest on-line gaming hub in Europe generating over 160m web page impressions per month with 300k+ players. Ade Brownlow, BarrysWorld CEO said, sadly BarrysWorld has been impacted by the state of the investment market. Our own ability to raise funds has been crippled by the current depression in both the Internet and Games markets with the result that our main backers 3i are unwilling to fund the business further. The decision was taken to wind-up the company in order to ensure that we act with due respect and responsibility to all our business partners and creditors. Brownlow continues, BarrysWorld has been extremely successful in managing its brand and maintaining links with its core game-playing consumers and we thank them for their support. We also thank the trade media and the industry at large for its support and our corporate customers for their business. We think BarrysWorld will be missed. Nick Alexander, Chairman said, BarrysWorld has a great team and it`s been my pleasure to work with them. Although BarrysWorld has practiced exemplary cost control and solid corporate governance, the state of the investment market makes it impossible to continue to develop the huge potential of this business in its current form. Government
Targets UK ISPs Over Internet Adoption  The
BBC has today reported that UK ISPs have been warned not to carry
material that could break current adoption laws.The decision has come after the controversy over the “Internet twins” who were bought over the Internet from America. They are presently being looked after by Social Services after they stepped in with a court order to protect the twins. The health minister, John Hutton has warned the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) as well as the Internet Services Providers' Association (ISPA) saying that the adoption laws also applies to advertisements online as well. Mr Hutton said the warning was intended to help the ISPs stay within the law.Under the 1976 Adoption Act, only local authorities and voluntary adoption agencies approved by the health secretary are allowed to advertise children for adoption. Internet Watch Foundation chief executive David Kerr said the Department of Health seems to have realised that there are some things outside its control. Freeserve’s
New Unmetered Package Due AnyTime  This week will see the launch of Freeserve’s new FRIACO-based unmetered service. Details were first announced at the beginning of December last year. Named Freeserve AnyTime, it will cost £12.99 a month although existing Unlimited users can get it for £9.99 a month for six months (then it reverts to £12.99) if they transfer by the end of April 2001. Freeserve Unlimited users are not just upset with the price increase, they also lose the discounted telephone calls. This is what one reader said: “Maybe I am missing the point, but why would anyone on Freeserve Time Unlimited consider changing to their FRIACO deal? I mean currently, for £10 a month you get £10 worth of national telephone calls thrown in free and for me the Internet service works fine. Maybe they are going to shut down the unlimited time deal so this is a not so subtle way of increasing the charge and removing free calls from the deal.”BTinternet also plan to roll out its own FRIACO based service in the next couple of weeks. Valentine’s
Launch Of New FRIACO Service  The ISP Sniff Out has today announced the forthcoming launch of their new FRIACO based unmetered product. To be launched on 14th February, the new package priced at £13.99, will compete directly with AOL’s £14.99 service. Like all other Sniff Out packages, SmartTime offers 15 Channels of UK specific content, plus unlimited email boxes and a personal web site. 24-hour telephone support at local call rate is provided. However unlike AOL, SmartTime does not require customers to install special software which is the source of many reader’s complaints. The new 'FRIACO' (Flat Rate Internet Access Call Origination) model allows Sniff Out to pay a fixed price for connecting users to its service, irrespective of the time they spend online. Previously ISPs offering fixed rate unmetered Internet access still had to bear the financial risk of paying telecomm companies for the users calls on a metered, per minute basis. The new package fills the gap between Sniff Out's two existing, SurfTime linked, unmetered packages. TimeOut offers evenings and weekend's access for £9.98 per month, while AnyTime provides 24/7 unlimited unmetered access for £24.98 per month to small businesses and other users who rely heavily on a reliable Internet connection. To control the likely heavy initial demand for SmartTime, registration in the six weeks after 14th February will be by invitation to those who pre-register an interest through the Sniff Out website. Sniff Out expects to have opened registration to everyone else by the end of March. Fenchurch
Telecom - New ISP In The Pipeline? Going by the name of Fenchurch Telecom they state: Peace of mind for you and your family, you can now surf the Internet 24 Hours a day every day without worrying about the phone bill because there won't be one.They state also that you won't have to change telco provider to utilize their service as they will be operating using UK Freephone Numbers. Regarding their pricing structure here is what they say: Fenchurch Telecom will charge a one off admin fee of £50.00 plus an annual fee of £30.00. We think you will agree to surf the Internet 24 hours a day everyday, it is without doubt the best deal on the market.They also request that you leave the following details if interested:- a.) Your NAME b.) Your ADDRESS c.) Your TELEPHONE No. d.) Your current EMAIL ADDRESS If you do this they imply that access codes and other information will be sent to your current email address. Fenchurch Telecom target remains the same, 1 million new users in the next 12 months. At this moment in time over 1000 new subscribers are signing up every day - make sure your one of them...Apart from a news article relating to Alta Vista, and a roundup on the next page which informs what they claim to provide you, there is little else to see. Although this ISP may have serious intentions of supplying the service stated, we would urge anyone not to give personal details out until they are proved legit. The same has to be said for paying up front - after the IGClick fiasco, and now the Red Hot Ant sudden collapse, who both required money up front, this method of paying for access to the net has to be a no no........ We would welcome any information regarding this ISP and if anyone is using this service already. It is without doubt the best deal on the market , or so they say........Is it? Along with their claim of 1000 subscribers a day, would you want to make sure you are 'one of them' by signing up ?.... Unmetered
ISP Raided By Police Now according to The Register, the offices of the ISP in Kent were raided on Friday afternoon by police and Trading Standards officers. Equipment and documents were taken away for examination after Police obtained a search warrant. Earlier in the week we received information stating that it was from an investment company. They said they approached RedHotAnt shortly after their initial announcement with a view to investment or possible takeover of the ISP. They did not even acknowledge the approach. The contact said they have doubts about the management of the company, as they knew they have not pursued all the options available to them. I think everyone has had doubts about the management for some time now. Pity RedHotAnt never took up the offer. UPDATE: RedHotAnt have now made the following statement on their site. Your comments are most welcome. On Friday 19th January 2001 Kent County Council Trading Standards Officers came to our offices and removed various paperwork and computer systems. This was an attempt to ascertain if RedHotAnt had committed any offences since March 2000 in providing our recently suspended un-metered access products. CallNet
Brothers In New ISP Venture Now according to The Register today, the brothers behind the ISP are believed to be returning to the Internet industry. The Register understands they're set to launch another ISP as early as 1 February having recently purchased a small-ish service provider for a six-figure sum.Will the brothers Paul and Aaron Goodman-Simpson be more successful second time around? Will you subscribe to the service knowing what happened last time? RedHotAnt
Back Down Over Refunds RedHotAnt ended their unmetered service at the beginning of the week and stated that they were “not in a financial position to consider the question of refunds or compensation” nor were they prepared to discuss the situation with customers. Now RedHotAnt have added the following to their homepage: We appreciate that customers who have subscribed most recently may not have fully utilised our service. For this reason we are considering applications for refunds from these particular customers.Certainly looks like Trading Standards have been a strong influence in their change of policy on refunds. Net
Usage Increase It was discovered that women now make up 4.66 million users (40 per cent) of the home Internet audience while "silver surfers" (the over 50s) account for a fifth of the UK Net population. Also, as revealed on The Register, a massive 600,000 kids under the age of 14 use the Net from home. Orange
Internet Launched Richard Brennan, Orange executive vice president, dubbed it 'a new era in wire-free communications' and apart from location based services, Orange Internet beholds a range of diary, e-mail, news and messaging utilities. "By taking the content of the Web and delivering it to the phone, Orange aims to provide everyone with the information they need whenever, wherever, and however they choose," said Brennan.To date Orange boasts around 10 million customers within the UK and offers roaming services on 238 networks in 110 countries with a total of around 90 million customers worldwide. Obviously Orange is a popular choice among consumers so will you be tempted to utilize the all new Orange Internet? Source: UKInternet.Com Consumers
Confused Over BT’s Phone Packages Plain English Campaign made the study after a barrage of complaints from BT customers about a letter from the firm that contained almost 40 footnotes. “People were coming to us asking how on earth they were meant to work out which of BT's various deals was best for them,'” the Campaign's spokesman John Lister said. “We tried to work out why the footnotes were so complicated and realised it was because the range of BT packages themselves is so tortuously confusing.” The study saw Campaign researchers take an imaginary household spending a set time each week on local, national and international calls, and spending a set time using BT's Internet services. They then tried to work out how much the quarterly bill would be under each possible combination of BT's packages. “'I've filled in a self-assessment tax form,” John Lister said, “but I think this calculation may have been even more mind numbing. It was bad enough trying to work out that a 'PSTN line' was just a normal household line, and that there was a difference between 'BT Together' and 'BT Talk Together'.” “But when we went to BT's website for clarification and had to try and work out why there was a difference between 'Geographic Inland Direct Dialled PPM Prices' and 'Inland National NTS Direct Dialled PPM Prices' it nearly brought us to tears. Then we had to work out why something that cost £3.20 a quarter and got you 11% off calls was known as Option 15'' In all, the research produced 36 different possible totals for the same set of calls. And the Campaign openly admitted they couldn't be confident the totals they worked out were the right answers. “After almost four hours trying to do all the sums, our brains turned to mush,” John Lister said. “It was starting to feel like a mathematics exam.” Customer choice is one thing, but with this many options it's no wonder people don't trust BT. Maybe some people are getting the best deal. But if it takes an entire afternoon's calculations just to get a vague idea of which package really works out cheapest, it's impossible to have any confidence that you're not paying too much. “We'd like BT to provide crystal-clear explanations of their packages to customers. But with a system this complicated, that's like trying to explain the quickest route through Spaghetti Junction.” Local
Loop Unbundling Process Brought Forward Agreement to bring forward the popular exchanges in urban areas was reached at an emergency meeting held today which included BT and operators interested in local loop unbundling. The meeting was chaired by Anne Lambert, Oftel’s Director of Operations, Anne Lambert, who chaired the meeting said, "This was a constructive meeting. All who attended were keen to solve the problems that have arisen so that the unbundling process can proceed according to the agreed timetable.” "Oftel was encouraged by the degree of commitment shown by many operators and BT. Oftel, BT and operators are making very great efforts to iron out the problems that have arisen.” Oftel called the meeting to discuss solutions to teething problems revealed by the first orders for co-location space, as operators did not place as many firm orders for co-location as had been anticipated. Last week, the first 25 sites – out of over 650 now being processed – reached the stage when operators could place firm orders for co-location. Orders were placed at 14 of these 25 sites with an average of 1 or 2 operators per site. All participants attending the meeting reaffirmed their commitment to the unbundling process. Oftel put forward the proposal to advance operators’ top priority sites ordered in the second round of bidding, and this was agreed at the meeting. BT has already completed initial surveys for many of these sites and is preparing co-location costs. It is hoped that the first orders for these sites can be placed next month. The meeting also agreed on further work to be done to minimise costs where only a few operators placed orders for co-location space. There will also be further work to ensure that design and costings accurately reflect the needs of those operators committed to the process. In addition, Oftel announced that it had started an investigation into the costs of co-location space. PlusNet
Announce New FRIACO Packages The service is due to be launched in the UK this month and they plan to make FRIACO based access available to all customers by April. The new service will significantly reduce the cost of your unmetered Internet access. Additionally, since BT will no longer be involved in the same way that they are with the SurfTime product, the billing and customer service relationship will be much simplified and improved. Under the new FRIACO product, their will be just one payment which is payable to PlusNet. Existing SurfTime customers can change over to the new service without any changes to username or email address. No additional configuration will be required. There will be 3 FRIACO account types: 24/7 - With a contention ratio of 12:1, this account will be priced at £19.99 per month saving £5 per month on the SurfTime account.With BT out of the equation, hopefully there will be fewer billing related problems. We have received many emails from readers, some who been billed hundreds of pounds, for SurfTime calls which should be free. BT
Provides Free Net Access Via Payphones Although they look similar to the traditional BT pay phones, the Internet phones also have a 12-inch full colour screen. As well providing access to the Internet, they also provide email access. There are 600 of the Internet-enabled pay phones installed in rail and tube stations, motorway service areas and shopping centres across the UK. BT claimed the campaign would make the Internet accessible to the 60% of the population who are still not connected. Malcolm Newing, BT Payphones director said: "Although over 20m adults have logged on to the Internet, many people are still excluded from using the web because they don't have access to a PC. We're giving everyone the chance to explore and enjoy the Internet first hand and free of charge." Netgames
Launch Update We got in touch with the MD, Andy Jones, who told us that they are anticipating a full service launch of 1st February. We are now taking the time to go through all of our BETA customers to confirm which ones do want to continue and pay for the service and which ones do not.Looking through the reviews on the current beta test, there is a general satisfaction with the ping and download speeds. Any beta testers out there who will be sticking with them? High-Speed
Provider Throws In The Towel The news came as British DSL start-up Bulldog Communications said it was slowing its initial roll-out because the risk of more companies dropping out could drive up its costs. With the break-up of its Versapoint joint venture with Northpoint Communications at the end of last year, it meant that they would concentrate on Germany and would not be going ahead with DSL provision in the UK or France. The risk that other companies will put out of local loop unbundling - the ending of British Telecom's monopoly over the wires linking homes to local exchanges - is proving a headache to those that intend to go ahead with DSL. BT's rivals have agreed to share bills of about 200,000 pounds every time they want to convert a room in an existing exchange into a "hostel" for housing DSL equipment. But they are angry that the bills will go up if a company that requested space in an exchange later pulls out, said Bulldog Chairman and Chief Executive Richard Greco. BT has insisted that that company's share of the bill will be divided among the remaining operators. Source: Reuters RedHotAnt
Snub Trading Standards According to Clive Bainbridge of Kent County Council, only one director was on site.The ISP stopped accepting new registrations at the end of last year with a promotion to snare a few extra customers with the following message on their site: AVOID THE CHRISTMAS RUSH - offer ends 31st December 2000!!At the time, a spokesman for RHA denied that the company were planning to wind down its business, however it now looks inevitable. Yesterday morning we were able to get a reply from the Director Of Operations, Clive Allon, who confirmed that they were pulling the plug on the unmetered service. But when we emailed him to say how disturbed we were when they announced that they will not consider refunds or compensation which is also against the law, he never bothered to reply. Customers who paid by credit card should try their card company who may be able to help. Failing that your local Trading Standards office may be able to give you advice. If you decide to try the small claims court, give Lawrights a visit for helpful information. NTL:
To Cancel Plans For Irish Consumers? NTL Chairman Ian Jeffers is said to deny the claims and that the story was "without foundation" although the company was "conducting a review" of the situation which will delay the new service. When NTL bought Irish cable company Cablelink last year for £535 million, it outlined an incredible vision where Dubliners would gain access to everything the digital world had to offer. It's already spent tens of millions on the project, including a hefty advertising campaign, but a re-costing of the entire plan has more than doubled the initial expected final cost, the Independent said.The Register also pointed out that the Independent is owned by Independent Newspapers, which also owns Chorus - a company offering exactly the same sort of service in Ireland, based on the same technology. So is this a rumour or do you think it is a possibility? Time holds the answer yet again........ RedHotAnt
Pulls The Plug On Customers - Confirmed A copy of the email now appears on the RedHotAnt web site. We would like to draw your attention to the following excerpt: Regrettably, voice based technical support is no longer available and RedHotAnt is not in a financial position to consider the question of refunds or compensation. If this situation changes, details will be posted on the RedHotAnt website and on the automatic voice mail system.It appears that they may be well on their way to bankruptcy, so requesting a refund will more than likely fall on deaf ears. The only alternative is to contact your credit card company and local Trading Standards office for advice. Where’s the ISP ombudsman when you need one? UK consumers are fed up to their back teeth with this sort of attitude towards its customers. They are in it for profit alone without any consideration to their customers. You cannot even speak to them over the phone and they refuse to reply to emails. What a shambles. Your comments please. UPDATE: We have also received confirmation from the Director Of Operations, Clive Allon, who regrettably said that the announcement is genuine. RedHotAnt
Victim Of Hoax Email? | ||