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BT And Freeview To Strike Deal? The deal will come about due to the launch of a new generation of set-top boxes, which will allow users to access not only the 30 free channels provided by Freeview, but also internet and other interactive services. If BT succeeds in making the deal with Freeview, they will be allowed to sell their web-access services to Freeview customers. BT hopes that customers will move to Freeview from cable TV services, at the same time dropping their cable phone line subscriptions. It is reported that since the launch of Freeview at the end of October, around 30,000 set-top boxes are being being sold each week. SOURCE: Europemedia Energis And Freeserve Renew Multi-Million Pound Contract Archie Norman, Chairman of Energis, said: “Earlier this year commentators were claiming that Energis would lose its very sought after customer base. In fact, we have now extended our contracts with major customers and added new accounts like Tesco and the Crown Prosecution Service." "Freeserve is a very demanding and rapidly growing customer with outstanding technical capability. We are delighted our partnership will be continuing. This, together with our management changes, completes the first phase in the renewal of Energis.” Eric Abensur, Chief Executive Officer of Freeserve, said: “We comprehensively reviewed our network and platform hosting arrangements across a range of criteria, and Energis responded well to each of these. "By demonstrating their flexibility and support for our business, Freeserve felt confident in extending its contract with them for a further two years.” Under the deal Energis remains the exclusive provider of metered and unmetered narrowband Internet access to Freeserve’s 2.5 million customers. Mozilla 1.2 Released This is our latest stable release and users of all previous versions are encouraged to upgrade to this release for features, as well as performance, stability, and security fixes. Visit Mozilla.org for more information. Vispa Offers Subscribers Christmas Cracker Of A Deal Additionally, the ISP has teamed up with many of the big names to save users ££££’s off products and services, and every user who signs up will receive ISPs special voucher booklet deal which includes savings from: 101cd.com, Black & Decker, Dollond & Aitchison, Grattan Catalogue, Hasbro, Esure, Fitness First, Flybe, Haven, Boozebuster, Virgin Wines, Hays Travel, Littlewoods, Peacocks, Argos, Yes Car Credit, Scottish Power, Swinton Insurance, Simply.co.uk, Mattel, Dulux, Norwich Union to name just a few. The booklet also has a voucher so you can give to a friend a 25% discount off there first month to Vispa. As a final part of the deal, every user will be entered into Vispa's 'DVD player and 3 top title DVD’s prize draw' being held in December and January. The promotion, which begins on December 1st, will run throughout the festive season and the package provides users with unlimited email addresses, 25Mb Webspace, 80,000 Usenet groups, Webmail, Tucows Mirror, Users Account Control System and even an SMS instant messaging service. To take advantage of this offer, please click HERE. i2 Networks Launches ADSL Services i2 Networks is a whole owned subsidiary of Different Computing Limited incorporating the de-merged Networks and Internet services arm of Different Computing. For further information on prices and packages, please click HERE. BT Hints At 'Content-Only' Venture For Openworld Speculation has been rife about the future of BT Openworld since the telco announced it was putting broadband at the heart of its strategy with the launch of its access-only service BT Broadband. Insiders now suggest that rather than continue to offer access services, Openworld will become a content-only operation and focus on offering destination sites. This could happen by spring. BT CEO Ben Verwaayen has denied it's closing BT Openworld, but told NMA that the business was taking on more of a content-based focus. 'We're a content organiser not a content maker. That's a different skillset,' he said. 'I'm delighted we have capabilities in-house to serve the variation of the market place.' According to the report, BT Openworld senior content VP John Raczka said that the recently launched sports channel - SportalOnDemand - would be first in a series of new content ventures and an education channel is being planned for launch early next year. NewMediaZero Thus Welcomes New OFTEL Arrangements for BTs Regulatory Accounts BT will now have to provide financial information to Oftel for a wider range of categories, including network components and product groups, and also give greater detail on how it compiles this information. These changes should help Oftel to improve its regulatory decision-making process on a wide range of issues such as interconnection charges and complaints. THUS Chief Executive, Bill Allan, commented: "We have long suspected that BT's accounting obfuscation is hiding the true base cost of interconnection services. Oftel's ruling is an important step in the right direction and we hope Oftel follows through and sticks rigidly to its plans. "BT's regulatory accounts are one of the main building blocks of the UK's regulatory framework. These accounts must be transparent for effective regulation. The ramifications for THUS and our customers are huge, because the accounts determine the prices at which BT can sell us interconnection services. If BT is over recovering on the cost of providing interconnection services, as we suspect, then Oftel has the power to put it right. "Accounting issues are often at the heart of regulatory disputes. Oftel believes these new arrangements will enable it to achieve its target of resolving disputes within four months. If met this target will have a revolutionary impact. For the past 14 months we have been pursuing a dispute on partial private circuits which is still to be resolved." Oftel's concerns about BT's regulatory accounts were emphasised by David Edmonds' introduction to BT's regulatory accounts for the year to 31 March 2001: "I am concerned that the Accounting Documents and the other supporting documents to the Financial Statements for the year to 31 March 2001 presented to Oftel are insufficiently transparent and do not fully disclose the accounting principles and procedures used by BT." BT's regulatory financial statements are prepared for regulatory purposes only and this announcement does not relate to or imply any criticism of BT Group's statutory accounts IWF Seeks Views on its Role and Governance Arrangements The first papers on governance can be found at http://www.iwf.org.uk/about/policies/gwg.rtf Comments are requested by 31st December 2002 either online via secretariat@iwf.org.uk or by post to: Secretariat Internet Watch Foundation East View 5 Coles Lane Oakington Cambridge CB4 5BA Fair Dinkum as Australians Take to Broadband This is according to new figures released by Nielsen-Netratings. Approximately 11.37 percent of Australian homes with Internet connections now use broadband. This is equivalent to 300,000 broadband subscribers in total. However, while the Australian broadband adoption rate has risen sharply over the past 18 months, Australia still lags behind other developed nations in broadband connectivity with just three percent of households currently subscribing to high-speed Internet service. Internet at risk of collapse According to a study carried out by scientists from Ohio State University, if an attack or disaster destroyed the major nodes of the Internet, the network itself could begin to unravel. Scientists from Ohio State University carried out a number of simulated attacks to find out just how vulnerable the Internet is. They concluded that if an attack or disaster was to cripple the major nodes of the Internet, the network itself could unravel. According to the research findings, the Internet has become more vulnerable because it has become more commercialised. In its early days the Net was as decentralised as possible with multiple links between many of the nodes forming it. This meant that if one node went down, traffic could easily flow to other links and route traffic to all parts. However, the increasing commercialisation of the Net has seen the emergence of large hubs that act as key distribution points, making the Internet more centralized and thus more vulnerable. The researchers claim that if a major Internet hub was hit it would have ripple effects throughout the Net which could cause major disruptions. SOURCE: NUA Winevar Worm Is Highly Destructive Warn Security Experts The worm sends email messages with random subjects to addresses listed in HTML files of the infected system, constructing the subject title in two ways. The first subject format is used 33% of the time, meaning that, it generates this subject, once in every three email messages: Subject: AVAR (Association of Anti-Virus Asia Researcher) Message Body: Attachments: WIN The second format is used 66% of the time and therefore generates two email messages of this format in every three messages: Subject: Message Body: Attachments: WIN However, at the time of this writing, the virus has a bug that cannot completely decode the second email subject such that its first four generated characters are unintelligible which is why that most of the email it sends arrive in the subject format N`4_ This worm sends email using a known exploit that causes the attachment to automatically execute when the message is viewed or previewed on Internet Explorer-based email clients, such as Microsoft Outlook and Outlook Express. This exploit is known as Automatic Execution of Embedded MIME type. It is capable of terminating certain monitoring programs and antivirus products. Aliases of the virus are; Win32/Winevar.A; I-Worm.Winevar; W32/Korvar; W32/Winevar@mm; W32.HLLW.Winevar; Damage and distribution potential are rated as high and users are urged to update their AV programs. For more information and removal instructions, please click HERE. Advertsing Standards Authority Upholds Complaint Against Claranet The complainant decided to challenge the claim because of lack of support in the evenings or at the weekend and he had received a recorded voicemail message telling him to e-mail his problem, which had not been responded to for three days. The Authority noted the advertisers did not show that all clarahost customers received 24/7 support and they did not comment on the complainant's assertion that his service did not get support in the evenings or at weekends. The complaint was upheld and the advertisers decided to remove the claim until they offered 24/7 support across their whole range of clarahost products which was welcomed by the ASA. Football Association Choose Nildram To Supply Internet Access The FA evaluated a number of companies and monitored customer feedback via dedicated forums such as the ADSL Guide and then made the decision to use Nildram based upon the ISPs performance and reliability of the service, and "the high levels of customer care" exhibited by the company. In addition to their Broadband services, Nildram will also be supplying a Flat Rate Dial Access service to FA staff and officials. Ian Dimmock, IT Support Manager at the Football Associated commented: "Secure, reliable Internet access for the Football Association is a 'mission critical' requirement. Our choice of ISP was made after a great deal of research into what was available and, critically, how well individual services performed, both in terms of speed and customer support." "Nildram were clear leaders in both areas and we are very pleased with the decision we have made." Iain Ogilvie, Nildram's Marketing Manager Iain Ogilvie commented that the ISP was please to have pleased to have been selected by "such a prestigious organisation" as the Football Association. "It just goes to show that the largest ISPs are not necessarily the best - it's the quality of the service that should be a major consideration when choosing a Broadband provider." added Ogilvie. Full details of the Nildram Broadband ADSL portfolio can be found on their ADSL specific Web site AOL Announce Interactive TV Services Via Sky Active AOL on Sky Active promises to bring a new degree of convenience and flexibility to AOL members with Sky digital services, allowing them to keep in touch via email and Instant Messenger while simultaneously watching a Sky channel. The addition of this new service to AOL and Sky's existing range of products and services opens up communication for TV viewers and allows them to interact online via instant messaging with mobile and PC users for the first time. Karen Thomson, chief executive of AOL UK said: "The launch of AOL on Sky Active offers AOL's members yet another convenient way to access its key services and will broaden the already huge popularity of Instant Messenger." "AOL has applied its expertise in mass market online services for PC and mobile users to the Interactive TV platform, working closely with Sky to redevelop the communications tools and content that we expect will work best in this environment." AOL on Sky Active is now available to AOL members in the UK who have Sky digital and members can log on using their existing email address (screen name) eliminating the need to register for the service, which can be accessed in two different ways: 1. By pressing the red button on the Sky TV remote while watching a Sky Channel (excludes Sky Travel and Sky Box Office). Use the arrows to choose 'Email/Messaging' from the menu on the left and then select 'AOL.' Viewers can continue to watch TV in quarter screen. 2. Alternatively, by pressing the 'Interactive' button on the Sky TV remote, selecting 'Sky Active,' and then selecting AOL from the 'Email / Messaging' options. Here, the AOL service will be viewed in full screen. Please note that additional connection charges apply for the use of this service, and will be listed on the member's telephone bill as 'Multimedia' or as a call to phone number 0901 171 0001. An initial fee of 12p is charged on connection, and users are then billed per minute by their telephone provider at the same rate as a local telephone call. Messages and emails can be composed using the Sky remote control or infrared keypad, available from Sky Buy or by calling 0870 555 1111. Any Sky digital subscribers who are interested in the AOL service should call 0800 376 1328 to find out how to join AOL and start using AOL on Sky Active. Scottish Executive Launches "Virtual Schoolbag" For Children In Care The pilot scheme involving 50 young people from primary and secondary schools in Stirling, the Highlands and North Lanarkshire will hopefully help young people overcome learning difficulties. Education Minister Cathy Jamieson, who launched the scheme at the Riverside Information and Communication Technology Centre, commented: "Looked after young people are among the most vulnerable in our society and we have a particular responsibility to help meet their needs." "To give them every opportunity in life it is vital that they are able to get the most out of their education." "The virtual schoolbag project will help these young people reach their full potential by providing access to electronic education materials on any PC they use." "It will also ensure continuity of access to information and work for young people who may have to move placements or schools." It is reported that the Association of Directors of Education Scotland together with British Telecom and Microsoft have developed the initiative which has additional support from Who Cares? Scotland, the Scottish Executive and Young Scot. SOURCE: BBC ITC Bans BT Openworld Anytime Ads The ads in question showed customers describing the benefits of the service with one saying, "because we're not worried about the cost we just use it any time." However, after BT imposed restrictions to the service that reduced the amount of Internet access to 150 hours a month - an average of five hours a day - viewers complained to the independent television commission (ITC). BT said the ads had been taken off air on September 22 - a week before the terms and conditions were changed. It said existing customers would not be subject to the revised terms until November 1 but anyone signing up on or after October 1 would be subject to the five-hour limit. Before October 1 BT Openworld Anytime customers were entitled to 12 hours online a day. Upholding the complaints, the ITC said the ad "strongly implied you could access the Internet and surf for long periods without the worry of call charges." According to the report, the watchdog concluded that the phrase "online session limitations apply" did not fully clarify the extent of the revised terms and conditions which drastically reduced subscribers' online time. SOURCE: Media Guardian BT Openwold to Provide SME's With Business Updates The FT Pro service has been personalised to meet the individual requirements of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), enabling subscribers to track news on specific issues, sectors and companies as it breaks, on more than 160 regional, national and pan-European media sources. The FT Pro service for BT Openworld customers - exclusively referred to as 'FT sme' - is available at an annual subscription, for up to five users, of £300, plus VAT. The online ordering process enables users to select only the most relevant news for their business needs. Once users have set up a personal homepage, they gain immediate access to the service, which is refreshed with news stories as they break. Tony Harris, president of Business Internet Services at BT Openworld, said: "As one of the world's leading business information brands, the FT, is a natural choice for our customers. The FT sme product enables business leaders to become instant experts in the issues, trends and competitors that are affecting their market and their company's performance. "Information is an important currency in today's business world and this service can ensure that small businesses, short on time, don't miss out on crucial information." As an additional service, subscribers can also commission professional research using the AskFT service. Research carried out by the AskFT team broadly relates to the following areas: company, industry and sector, financial markets and economic research. Companies can sign up to either the FT sme or AskFT service via the BT Openworld portal at www.btopenworld.com/business. Seasons Greetings - And Consumer Warning · Use sites you know or are recommended · Get the supplier's phone number/postal address · Keep copies of e-mails and order forms · Check your cooling-off rights · The law protects you against card fraud Underlying these concerns is the often-inadequate security provided by e-commerce hosting providers. "Too many hosting providers make security an option for e-commerce sites rather than part of the hosting package," according to Dan Cole, Hosting Product Manager for UK ISP Demon. "Security is critical to protecting consumers and online retailers against the growing problem of fraud as well as preventing headline-grabbing hacks that can seriously damage a sites brand equity. Hosting providers must ensure that retailers sites are hack-proof and that customer information is properly safeguarded as standard if customers are to fully adopt e-commerce." MORI research, published today, shows that while confidence is growing amongst online shoppers, some remaining concerns are preventing more people from spending their money online. These are: · Fear of credit card fraud · Having to give out personal information · Company may not be genuine See 'IT'S SAFE TO SHOP ONLINE THIS CHRISTMAS' for more information. http://www.nds.coi.gov.uk/coi/coipress.nsf/gti Email for Life? Jonathan Robinson, Director of Business Development at NetBenefit says that even though this has been denied by BT, it highlights an important issue: ISPs do change names, merge and re-brand. Earlier this year for instance, one of the UKs largest ISPs, Freeserve, merged with Wanadoo and were considering consolidating the companies under the Wanadoo brand name. Once again this could have caused big headaches for their dial up subscribers, who may be required to change their email addresses. The inconvenience of having to change email addresses is often cited as one of the key reasons for not wanting to change ISPs. Most people don’t realise there is a simple solution available for around £30 p/a which means they can have a professional, ISP independent email address that is theirs to own for life. This means they will never have to change their email address again. By registering your very own domain name you can receive free email forwarding allowing you to create as many as 10 unique email addresses and you can simply forward them to your accounts with your current ISP. So even if you have no current requirement for a website, you should still considering registering a unique domain name for yourself or your business and using this name for a life-long email address. Feature: Global ISP Roaming However, instead of having to try and find a local Internet Service Provider for access – something could be a lot of hassle on a multi-country trip - or the expensive option of phoning home to your usual ISP at International call rates alternatives are available. Two of the more popular Global Roaming services are Net2Roam and iPass. Net2Roam was born out of a need for people to be able to get online and use their email whilst travelling abroad, and not have to pay extortionate international call charges by calling their home ISP. Most ISPs to whom you are paying a monthly charge to, do not offer a local dialup number abroad. Net2Roam is a service that gives users the ability to get online anywhere. According to Net2Roam they save their customers up-to 90% on their Internet access charges. The pricing structure is based on certain countries being in certain bands using different amounts of points per minute. Cost therefore varies depending upon which content your calling from with the USA and Europe being the cheapest locations. iPass on the other hand has a staggering 14,000 access points in 150 countries and a simple cost structure which does not change depending upon your location. It costs $0.25 per minute ($15.00 per hour). When roaming calls are charged by the minute, rounded to the next full minute. Subscribers are also charged a $5.00 administrative fee, charged per month only for those months when the service is used. There is no charge for months when the service is not used. All subscribers are given the first 30 minutes of roaming free, to enable them to test, evaluate and become comfortable with the service. Visit iPass by clicking here. Try Before You Buy Broadband from BT Kiosks The services are free in London this week (November 4-10), in Leeds and Manchester next week (November 11-17), in 20 cities across the country during November 18-24, in 11 cities during December 2-8 and in another 43 cities from December 9-15. The new kiosks enable customers to access web sites at speeds up to ten times faster than a standard connection. To keep in touch on the high street users can access local maps and information about entertainment, accommodation and restaurants in the area, so that they can get directions and make or change plans while they are out. Online travel news and information means travellers can check on delays and plan journeys while on the move. News and sport services mean people can keep an eye on the latest results - watching clips of the goals as well as checking the scores. Now there is no need to miss goals from the big match because of travel delays. Users can even talk through the action with their friends because they can use the payphone at the same time as the internet. BT Broadband kiosks display special signs and posters showing ³Streaky², one of the biker pigs created by Wallace and Gromit creators Aardman Animations. Streaky is one of the stars of the latest BT advertising campaign for broadband services. Paul Hendron, director of BT Payphones, said: "The internet hosts a multitude of useful information and services and we've found that people often wish they had access when they are out and about - for example, to check cinema times or travel information. With BT Broadband high speed access, users can check the film times and check out the trailers at the same time. "This will be the first time that many people have tried the internet at broadband speed. The faster access offers users benefits such as video streaming that take too long to download over standard connections. For those who don't have access to a PC at work or at home our internet kiosks open up a whole new world of communication, information and entertainment." A special ³try before you buy² BT Broadband site has been set up on the kiosks allowing customers to sample the speed of downloading large files such as videos and games, and to register for BT Broadband. Since July, BT has installed more than 1,000 new internet kiosks and plans to dramatically increase that number over the next five years to more than 20,000, creating the world's largest network of public internet kiosks. More than 80 per cent of BT's internet kiosks will be fitted with broadband. In addition to the blue high street boxes, "e-payphones" will be installed in shopping centres, airports and rail, tube and bus stations throughout the UK. BT expects to have more than 2,000 kiosks in place this year. BT's public internet kiosks accept payment by cash, credit and debit cards. Internet access usually costs 50p for five minutes and then 10p a minute thereafter. Instant e-mails or text messages cost 20p a message. Payphone calls cost 11p a minute subject to a minimum fee of 20p*. Threat Of Spam Continues To Compromise UK Businesses In January 2002 the company identified approximately one in every 199 UK emails as spam - a figure that has since risen considerably, currently standing at 1 in 8 in November. The threat of Spam continues to compromise UK business as volumes of email spam have drastically increased over the last year according to end of year statistics issued by MessageLabs. As a result of this increase, MessageLabs, which scans millions emails per day, has so far intercepted 45 spam emails every minute in 2002, and Mark Sunner, MessageLabs Chief Technical Officer, commented: “It has become increasingly evident in recent years that spam has the ability to severely compromise UK business productivity and these new statistics bear that out." "Indeed research commissioned earlier this year by MessageLabs revealed that 10% of the working day is spent dealing with spam, a situation which will only deteriorate in the future." “Although companies cannot stop the spammers themselves, they can protect their businesses from suffering." "Spam needs to be filtered out at the Internet level using flexible scanning methods, this way there is no extra burden on IT staff and legitimate emails are not mistakenly stopped by harsh ‘all or nothing’ filtering.” One specific type of spam which MessageLabs has seen increase dramatically over the last year is the ‘Nigerian scam’, otherwise known as the 419 scam. A typical 419 email will request help to get a large sum of money out of Nigeria, with large financial rewards. The victim will usually end up handing over a sizeable amount of money to this cause before arranging to meet his/her associate in a hotel lobby to collect their cut. The associate never turns up and the victim is left out of pocket. The UK National Criminal Intelligence Service estimates that up to five Americans are waiting in London hotel lobbies every day to meet people connected with the 419 scam. Latest spam statistics from MessageLabs show that September had the highest number with 1 in every 5 emails identified as spam, while February proved the least affected with 1 spam per 251 emails. Forget Content And Concentrate On Cost Say Broadband Users Announcing the key findings of their “Broadband Internet Access” report, the German market tracker says that broadband service providers are in danger of driving away customers unless they display a greater level of commitment to consumer price, performance and technology concerns. It appears that cost is still an issue, as 93% of those questioned for the report consider subscription charges to be a potential major obstacle to broadband uptake. More worrying still for broadband providers, almost 60% of those polled claimed that they could quite easily image life online without broadband. The report, which is based on a global survey of more than 1,000 IT professionals, also reveals that consumers are less interested in content offers than they are in cheap installation: 70% claim that content provision is unimportant, while 83% considered current activation and installation costs to be a significant barrier to broadband adoption. The ongoing access versus content debate has taken a further twist with BT’s recent unveiling of its controversial ‘access only’ broadband package which poses a direct threat to the core business of conventional ISPs like AOL and Freenet who are pinning their UK broadband hopes on exclusive content provision. The British broadband market has been revitalised by Oftel initiated BT wholesale price cuts which have subsequently forced prices down across the board by around 40% to the current £30 per month glass ceiling. Although the UK was able to recently boast its one millionth broadband customer, delays in rolling out broadband in the UK mean that Britain still has some considerable way to go before it actually catches up with European rivals France and Germany. BT’s near monopolisation of the market and telecoms watchdog Oftel’s apparent reluctance to pressurise BT to further unbundle the local loop means that Britain also remains behind countries like America, Canada and South Korea. Availability has failed to meet consumer expectations, leaving many potential customers out in the cold. British government spend of 30 millions pound sterling for regional access pales in signficance compared to the state level of investment of countries like France (£200 million on infrastructure and 1£.4 billion in loans) and Sweden (£1 billion on network). As one study participant put it, “I live five miles from Reading - the IT centre of the UK - and I cannot get broadband. I am incensed at this ridiculous situation.” Frustration at lack of affordable, available broadband was a recurring theme amongst UK respondents: “Cost of Satellite is ridiculous for home use. BT haven't enabled my exchange yet so availability is the major obstacle.” “None available at present. BT are tardy with broadband provision in the UK & my exchange may never be enabled.” Speaking at the report launch, Metrinomics Research Projects Manager Matt Slater said: “Most people want broadband – 60% of non-broadband subscribers intend to subscribe to a residential broadband service within the next 12 months – but the perception is that for too long broadband has been punching below its weight. There is no question that BT’s broadband about-face and the recent spate of price cuts have jolted a market which was withering on the vine. Rival broadband providers like Freeserve and Virgin have now grasped the nettle of price competitiveness - despite ongoing grievances against BT - but it is worth remembering that BT only launched its DSL broadband service in September 2000: a full year after market leaders like Germany’s Deutsche Telekom. This was also a year after the creation of the Office of the e-Envoy which set the faintly risible target of making the UK the most extensive and competitive broadband market in the G7 by 2005.” Four in ten UK households are still not served by DSL connections; making the UK the slowest of all of the major developed economies to develop broadband according to Metrinomics, who is currently preparing an analyis of the Bluetooth market for publication in the new year. BT And Microsoft Close To Announcing Broadband Venture One half of the equation will be BT's frill-less, access-only product, BT Broadband, while Microsoft is expected to bring its MSN 8 content service to the table. According to the Sunday Times the deal will be backed by a multi-million pound advertising deal. The announcement, which could come as early as today, should also confirm the key point of this alliance - price. It's understood MSN 8 could cost punters more than £5 a month. On top of the £27 a month subscription currently being charged for BT broadband, it would surely make such an offer top-heavy for price. Then again, it's possible there could be some discount for those who take-up both packages. It was announced recently that BT and Microsoft were forming a strategic alliance to bring "dynamic broadband applications" to home and business users alike. The Register Surfanytime Offer Free Surftime Until 1st January 2003, all 128K 24/7 customers will benefit from free online time. Access between the hours of 01:00 and 07:00 will not be deducted from Customer's monthly allowance, which equates to over 200 128K hours free - ideal for overnight downloads. This offer applies to existing and new customers, for more details see www.surfanytime.net. Net4Nowt Features in Top 100 List The review of the site reads "It seems that there are more ISP's in Britain than there are people, and this site has become invaluable to anyone trying to pick out the right service provider for them. You'll find comprehensive lists of free, 0845, unmetered and broadband ISP's here." The top ten included sites such the BBC, Amazon, Stretmap, Railtrack, Yahoo, Yell, eBay and Lastminute with Google picking up the number one position. We are optimistic that planned improvements to the site will increase the profile of the site further. PIPEX ADSL Subscribers: Notification Of Further Maintenance Work Today The earliest we can carry out this work is around 10am Sunday. Between this time and around midday approximately 50% of affected customers may see a decrease in connection throughput or be temporarily disconnected from the service for a short while. We will try our hardest to avoid any unnecessary disruption but it is possible, though unlikely, that service may be completely interrupted for up to 75% of users for a period not exceeding 30 minutes. Following the conclusion of the work (that is, after around 1pm Sunday afternoon), if you are experiencing slower than normal speeds we would recommend disconnecting and reconnecting to the service to see if throughput then improves. This maintenance is part of our ongoing work to ensure that our network is performing as efficiently and reliably as possible and we appreciate your patience and understanding as we carry out this work. Our apologies in advance for any inconvenience if you are one of those affected. International Children's Digital Library Offer Free Children's Books Online The International Children's Digital Library will hold about 10,000 books for those aged between three and 13. The site's goal is to improve reading and learning skills while teaching children about other cultures. It's the work of designers at the University of Maryland and San Francisco-based non-profit group the Internet Archive. Children played an important role in developing the website, telling researchers what designs and icons appealed to them most. The designers responded to their request for special indexes for browsing funny or scary stories. Colourful icons allow even the youngest children to navigate without knowing what all the words mean. Although the site - icdlbooks.org - has already been launched and officially debuted with 200 titles, it is unlikely to be completed for another five years according to the report. SOURCE: Ananova New Legislation Could See Non-Telcos Launch Broadband Services At present, under the current Telecommunications Act, only telecoms providers can launch and run high-speed access services and have access to the infrastructure which broadband is dependent on. But NMA has learned that as part of the new Communications Bill, which will be published at the end of the week, the Government will enable any civil infrastructure provider to run these services, in a bid to open up the market. Under the proposals, the super media-regulator Ofcom, which is being created as part of the Communications Bill, will be given powers to grant licences to companies interested in running broadband services. A DTI spokeswoman told NMA that the move 'will open up the market and create a level playing field for all utility companies, encouraging competition.' With the implementation of the new legislation, many utility companies are expected to explore the possibility of launching their own Internet access services. SOURCE: NewMediaZero Survey Discovers Downtime Of ISP Sites The ISP sites surveyed were down for an average of eight hours and 25 minutes in the quarter, which equates to more than 33 hours a year according to the research. Parallel director Tim Moore commented: "The overall availability of ISP sites is fairly good compared with data gathered about top companies in other industries. However, the availability of some still leaves much to be desired." Parallel also discovered that 80% of the ISP's Web sites had a home page size of more than 40 Kbytes which caused download times of more than eight seconds for dial-up modem users. Researchers found the largest ISP home page size was 151.6Kbytes, while the average was 76Kbytes despite Web designers' recommendations of 40Kbytes for home pages to enable home users to experience good performance . SOURCE: CW360 New Unmetered ISP Offers It All For Under £7 Unlike other ISP’s, Fast4.net concentrates its efforts on offering just one service unlimited monthly Internet access at just £6.99 and the amount of time subscribers can spend online is not even limited. With a ‘no-nonsense’, straight forward connection to the Internet, Fast4.net’s down to earth price includes all Internet call charges, free POP 3 Email, free Webmail, no fixed contract or commitments, easy monthly payments and non-premium rate technical support five days per week. The service is easy to set up and there's no need for additional software or number changing. Internet enthusiasts can be surfing to their heart’s content within minutes – all that is required is a standard BT phone line and a 56K modem. Fast4.net’s service operates on an unlimited Internet access basis, with a cut off point of two hours. After two hours, if users want to carry on surfing, they can simply reconnect. If a computer has been inactive for more that fifteen minutes, the connection will also terminate. The ISP claims that Fast4.net subscribers can be assured of a fast, reliable Internet connection at the UK’s lowest price of £6.99 - but will it last? Visit Fast4.net to find out more. Pilot Scheme To Stimulate Broadband Take-Up At Bridgnorth The project, part of the Regional Development Agency's Rural & Urban Broadband Pilot for SMEs, has been developed in conjunction with telecoms consultancy Analysys, and is designed to gain an understanding of the value and take-up of broadband services by fast-tracking broadband provision in the town. This will be achieved by guaranteeing a number of customers for a broadband service and then tendering that demand to telecom operators. A grant to cover start-up costs will also be available to the winning bidder. Speaking at the launch event at Bridgnorth Endowed School's technology centre (Northgate, Bridgnorth), James Saunby, head of ICT at Advantage West Midlands, said: "We need to do everything possible to ensure that local businesses can prosper in the region and understanding how broadband can contribute to the region's economic success is becoming an increasingly important issue." "For many companies, broadband is already as important as other utilities such as water and electricity," added Saunby. "This pilot will bring broadband to Bridgnorth in months not years and is the start of an initiative to make broadband much more widely available throughout the West Midlands region." In the UK, according to the telecoms regulator, OFTEL, there are now more than 1 million broadband users and 20,000 new connections every week. However, this rollout is focussed predominantly in built up areas and larger towns and it could be years before areas such as Bridgnorth reach the trigger levels required for the local exchange to be upgraded to offer broadband. Advantage West Midlands has appointed telecoms and new media consultants Analysys to manage and co-ordinate the pilot. David Cleevely, chairman of Analysys, speaking at the launch, said: "This innovative brokering arrangement reduces the risk for broadband service providers, whether incumbents, unbundlers or broadband wireless operators, by providing a financial inducement and a signed-up customer base from the outset." "We want to make broadband happen and our feasibility study shows that it is financially viable with as few as 50 business customers." Jointly funded by Advantage West Midlands and the DTI, the pilot will kick off in January with a marketing campaign to raise awareness of the benefits of ICT and broadband and to sign-up customers for the service. In parallel a tender will be issued in early December to interested telecoms operators with the intention of having broadband provision in place during the first half of 2003. The local Bridgnorth exchange serves around 5,000 households and 700 businesses. The launch event, chaired by Sir Michael Day OBE and hosted by Shropshire publisher, Martin Edwards, also featured a video presentation from local businesses. The video highlights the desperate need for broadband in the area, which will allow local companies to operate efficiently and compete in an ever-increasing global market. Local MP for Ludlow, Matthew Green, also spoke at the launch, welcoming the initiative and stressing the importance of broadband on the local economy, its effects on inward investment and ultimately peoples' jobs: "This is excellent news for my constituents in Bridgnorth, we have campaigned tirelessly to speed up the rollout of broadband in the region and it now seems that the long wait could soon be over." he said. Broadband is expected to have a major impact on the competitiveness of Britain's small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) and research from Fletcher Advisory forecasts that some £4.7 billion annually could be added to UK SME's bottom line by 2005 because of broadband uptake. Advantage West Midlands is the Regional Development Agency for the UK's industrial, commercial and agricultural heartland and was established by the UK Government in 1999. ISPs to Learn Lessons From Sept 11 Says Report New York City, one of the nation's most important communication hubs, is home to many Internet users, private data networks, and Internet service providers. Multiple fiber-optic grids run beneath its streets, and many trans-Atlantic cables come ashore nearby. Telecommunications facilities not only serve the many thousands of Internet customers in the city but also interconnect service providers throughout the region and in other countries. "The terrorist attacks provoked a national emergency during which we could see how the nation and the world uses the Internet in a crisis," said Craig Partridge, chair of the committee that wrote the report, and chief scientist, BBN Technologies, Cambridge, Mass. "New York City is a 'super hub' of Internet links and services, and the collapse of the World Trade Center buildings damaged some of those links and services, often in subtle and surprising ways. Overall, the Internet displayed not only its resilience on Sept. 11, but also its role as a resource." Serious effects on the Internet were isolated to New York City and a few other locations. Most of the damage was quickly remedied through improvisation, the rapid deployment of new equipment, and the rerouting of Internet traffic to bypass failed parts. Although the events of Sept. 11 do not necessarily indicate how the Internet might behave in response to a direct attack on the network, they do shed light on possible vulnerabilities, the report says. Key businesses and services that use the Internet need to review their dependency on it and plan accordingly. For example, a New York City hospital learned that its doctors had come to rely on wireless handheld computers fed through an external Internet connection. When this link was briefly broken by the collapse of the towers, doctors had trouble accessing medical information. Contingency plans, more coordination with local authorities, and a means of restoring service remotely also are needed to better deal with electrical power failures. As a whole, the attacks affected Internet services very little compared with other telecommunications systems. Telephone service was disrupted in parts of lower Manhattan, and cell-phone service suffered more widespread congestion problems. Nearly one-third of Americans had trouble placing a phone call on the day of the attacks. The Internet, however, experienced only a small loss of overall connectivity and data loss, the report says. With phone service impaired, some individuals used instant messages on their wireless handheld devices and cellular phones to communicate instead. Web sites were created to distribute lists of missing persons and other information to help people try to locate loved ones. The attacks also caused a surge in demand for news reports. Television was the primary source of news for many, but the Internet provided another means. The Web server capacities of several major news services were briefly overwhelmed that day. For example, CNN's online network experienced nearly 10 times more traffic than the day before. To meet the demand, Web pages were simplified and capacity was added so that more Internet users could access the sites. This study was sponsored by the Association for Computing Machinery's Special Interest Group on Data Communications, IBM Corp., and the Vadasz Family Foundation. The National Research Council is the principal operating arm of the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering. It is a private, nonprofit institution that provides science and technology advice under a congressional charter. A committee roster follows. The report The Internet Under Crisis: Learning From September 11 is available on the Internet at http://www.nap.edu. Copies will be available for purchase this winter from the National Academies Press; tel. (202) 334-3313 or 1-800-624-6242. Reporters may obtain a pre-publication copy from the Office of News and Public Information (contacts listed above). PlusNet Increase Connectivity for Customers Unmetered 'Connect' allows both Home and Business customers to dial up and connect to the Internet using either a standard modem or ISDN, without the online time appearing on their phone bill, paying instead a monthly subscription. Prices start from £8.99 inc VAT per month. "We are very pleased to be able to offer even greater value to our customers at no extra charge. For those unable to get ADSL service in their area, unmetered Connect provides the most cost-effective way to get online," said Alistair Wyse, Technical Director for PlusNet Technologies Ltd. Night Time access now gives you even more flexibility in how to use your PlusNet unmetered connection. One of the major benefits is the ability to schedule downloads of larger files while you sleep, so freeing up the rest of your online time for web surfing and email. Connect has proven itself to be an extremely popular product for PlusNet, due primarily to its low-cost and proven value for money, but also because it was designed and launched it as a sustainable product for the long term. "We set fair guidelines for the expected use of each of our unmetered services without imposing any cut-off restrictions on the end user", explained Wyse. "Effective network management has allowed us to expand our unmetered offering whilst maintaining the quality of service our customers have come to expect from us." Today's news means that subscribers to PlusNet's unmetered Connect services can connect between 1am and 7am without these connections being recorded in their 'fair-usage' allowance. More at: http://www.plus.net Wisesurfer Announce Christmas Offers SurfAccess normally retailing at £13.99 will be made available for £6.99. Wisesurfer ISDN normally retailing at £26.99 will be made available for £16.99. Should Broadband Be Cheaper For All? It was discovered during the research that nine out of ten people believe high subscription charges are a major obstacle to the take-up of broadband. The research, conducted with the help of Register readers, found that contrary to reports, once people have tried broadband they'll never go back to dial-up access, six out of ten claimed they could quite easily imagine life without broadband. In particular, this finding from the survey explodes the current hype surrounding broadband and warns broadband service providers to ensure that in the race to sign up users, existing customers are not given a raw deal. The report, Broadband Internet Access, is based on a survey of 1,000 IT professionals. It revealed that the provision of content is far less important to users than issues such as high installation costs, which were regarded as a significant barrier to the adoption of broadband. The frustration at not being able to access broadband also bubbled over in the report. Said one of those quizzed: "I live five miles from Reading - the IT centre of the UK - and I cannot get broadband. I am incensed at this ridiculous situation." Do you agree that broadband should be a high-performing cheaper solution to Internet access, or do you think that prices are justified and performance is plausible? SOURCE: The Register 123ISP Celebrates Successful First Year To celebrate further, the ISP is also holding a prize draw to both new and existing subscribers, and the overall winner will receive a full years unmetered Internet access on 123 Standard, and two other lucky users will receive 6 months free access on 123 Lite. 123ISP, which is expecting to launch an unmetered access product to all NTL users shortly, commented: "It's been a bumpy year for us; plenty of ups, and plenty of downs. We personally believe that customer support throughout this year has not been the highest level of quality we want to give, so things will continue getting better." New users will be entered into the prize draw for the next 10 days, up to November 30, and winners will be announced on December 2nd. NeonHippo Offers fully managed branded Internet access, with partners NTL, Murphx and Bloomley. Albion Offers Broadband Incentives For SMEs *Free connection for business broadband across the entire ADSL range *Unmetered high speed access on 3 month trial basis for under £50 *Albion IT support package from just £90 per user per year *Business broadband bundle for just £99 per month - includes support, installation, hosting, domain name registration, 20 email accounts and virus scanning Howard Cole, managing director of Albion, commented: “Until recently broadband benefits have predominantly been the preserve of big business however deals like ours mean that any organisation, no matter how small, can take advantage of the productivity gains offered by fast Internet access.” “We want SMEs to take advantage of one of the most critical business enablers - broadband access to the Internet. If they don't, they may well be jeopardising their businesses.” A report entitled ‘Broadband: Connecting to London’s Future’ which will highlight an apparent lack of awareness among London SMEs as to the benefits of broadband connection is due to be published shortly by the office of the mayor of London. Albion has also developed an interactive speed tester tool which uses real-life figures to give specific and detailed feedback on improved access costs, transfer speeds and employee productivity that SMEs can obtain utilising a high-speed connection. SMEs Could Lose £2.1 Billion To Virus Attack According to a new report by computer security firm McAfee also claims an attack could result in 2.2 million office days lost in downtime. The company's research showed that 70% of all SMEs had received a virus, with each losing an average £843, and 7.2 hours in lost computer time, as a result. Despite media publicity about viruses in recent years, keeping virus protection software up-to-date is something that is widely ignored by SMEs, the report said. The report added that surprisingly, only half of all respondents regularly schedule virus scanning of company computers. SOURCE: Ananova Broadband Not Available For Pinder And Danon Is Too Far Away Additionally, it is reported that BT board director Pierre Danon has admitted that he also is unable to get broadband because his home is too far away from his local exchange - which is enabled for ADSL services. In a forum with BBC News Online, he (Pinder) said he was encouraged by the rising number of people taking up broadband. But he is not going to be one of them. "I always want to get it out to areas like my own for example, south Shropshire, a rural area where we don't have broadband and barely have Channel Five television," he said. "I'm as anxious as anyone. I think there are some encouraging steps. We're moving quite quickly." Only two-thirds of the UK is currently covered by ADSL. The remaining third are mostly residents in small towns and rural areas. However, according to the report, BT is expecting 90% of the country to have access to broadband services by mid-2005 after announcing plans to make high-speed connections available to most of the population. Andrew Pinder was appointed as the government's electronic evangelist in February 2001. SOURCE: BBC Blair Reveals Plans for Broadband in Every School The news came as part of a broader £6bn investment in ICT over three years designed to transform government services - including over £1bn towards providing key public services with broadband connectivity. The Prime Minister said "The Government has made the largest investment in public services in post-war history, but with it promised radical institutional reform in the public sector. Our task is to use the additional investment to shape public services that meet modern consumer expectations." As well as providing broadband internet access to every primary and secondary school, connections will also be made available for every GP surgery, hospital, primary care trust and health authority in the country. And higher bandwidth will be provided across the entire criminal justice system. In his speech at The e-Summit, the Prime Minister reported on two major policy commitments: - In his drive to make the UK the best environment in the world for e-commerce, he revealed that the findings of an independent study show the UK to be a world-leader - second only to the US; and - that the 6000th UK online centre had been opened - smashing the target set in 2000 and providing crucial entry points for those unable to afford PCs and connections. Also speaking at The e-Summit Secretary of State for Trade and industry, and Cabinet e-Minister Patricia Hewitt said "We have made great progress in our drive to make the UK the best environment in the world for e-commerce. Second only to the US is an achievement many thought impossible four years ago and we have made real progress in key areas; a growing ICT sector, a sophisticated venture capital market, among the world's lowest prices for internet access and the highest penetration of digital TV in the world. "Our broadband market is now one of the world's most competitive - with over a million customers, some of the cheapest prices and 28,000 new subscribers signing up every month. E-commerce transactions opped £18bn this year and over 91% of UK employees work in businesses connected to the internet. "But there is no room for complacency. We need to do more to convert progress into a real and positive impact on our economy, so that investment today can be turned into business success tomorrow." e-Envoy, Andrew Pinder said "The steady growth in home internet access and the successful creation of a network of over 6,000 UK online centres means that we are well on the way to achieving internet access for all. Next year we will launch an online nation campaign to raise awareness of the benefits that the internet can offer to all. "Government is also committed to a fundamental reform of public services. Today, in our 3rd UK online Annual Report, we're launching a new strategy for e-Government, focusing on the customer and ensuring that key services - health, education, criminal justice, democracy - receive high-levels of use." Slower Broadband for Rural Areas from BT Mr Danon said: "Broadband is well and truly at the heart of BT and we are absolutely committed to our target of one million broadband connections by next summer. Weve made products available, made sure the price is right, and we are working hard on customer satisfaction. Our marketing campaign, one of the biggest ever seen in this country, has created a huge demand for broadband for BT and other internet service providers. "Weve now had more than 200,000 registrations of interest for our registration scheme. That interest is helping to push our broadband exchange enabling scheme which kicked into action with Todmorden. "Seventeen others are currently being enabled and we now expect to upgrade exchanges to broadband at the equivalent rate of one a day all thanks to public demand." Mr Danon, who attended the summit alongside Alison Ritchie, BTs new chief broadband officer, also reported on the success of regional partnership initiatives such as ACT NOW in Cornwall. "More partnerships are now being developed and we have recently announced our initiative with Kent County Council aiming at connecting schools and homes in the county. These initiatives which require active support from the government will add to the momentum created at a national level by the advertising campaign." Based on the current momentum and assuming the success of these regional initiatives, BT believes that the number of households living in broadband enabled areas can be moved over 80 per cent. Mr Danon explained also how BT was working to overcome the technical reasons which meant that some people who lived in broadband enabled exchange areas currently could not get a service. He said: "Our view is that our experts can find many innovative ways of extending the number of households who live in enabled areas who will be able to get it. "For example, we are working on managing the excessive sound interference level that appears when a household is too far from an enabled exchange. These solutions will also increase the number of people who will be able to enjoy broadband DSL. "In addition, there will be other innovative technological and business model advances such as satellite, wireless broadband and so-called mini DSLAMs which we believe will further increase the number of households who live in broadband enabled areas even higher. " "In fact, altogether we believe that by mid 2005 broadband services could be available to around 90 per cent of households in the country." In his presentation Mr Danon said that to achieve this situation would also require effort from other interested parties. He said: "To make our aims a reality will mean working in partnership with others in the industry and, in particular, with the government at all levels. We would also welcome the support of the government by them putting into practice many of the original and exciting uses they themselves have envisaged for broadband. "And finally we believe that going forward theres a need for smarter regulation regulation that evolves to take into account new areas of competition and new issues such as content rights management. Broadband is at the heart of BT. With the right environment and right momentum, broadband truly can be at the heart of the country." Mr Danon finished by saying: "We recognise that the benefits of the new communications revolution are too great to leave people behind, but that there are technological limits to providing affordable broadband for all. So today we are also announcing a new alternative high speed internet access product for those who would not be able to get broadband. Our new "midband" product will begin trials in the Spring. It will provide an "always-on" email facility with fast internet access at up to 128K when needed and will be available quickly to 97 per cent of the UK population." In summary, Alison Ritchie added: "No one should underestimate how serious we are about broadband. Were driving demand through the biggest ever UK advertising campaign. Were pushing the bounds of every technological solution. Were doing more than anyone to bring broadband to the country. And by working with partners and government we can and will achieve the widest possible coverage." Study to Probe Role of Influencers in Communications Services “Too many costly technologies are thrown into the marketplace without first seeking to understand who the core group of influential users – those who can best communicate value and spread usage – really are,” said Scott Smith , director of Cumulus. “For years social researchers have examined how information is spread from a single person to their social network, most recently in developing viral marketing techniques. Communication is the most social activity people engage in, so we have applied this ‘influence’ idea to examine how usage of certain technologies and services are spread.” The study, which will launch in Q1 2003, is the first Influencer Probe to be deployed by Cumulus, and is powered by the respected online research platform of Pro Active International. It will be run initially in the UK , and is open to a limited number of advance sponsors. These sponsors will gain exclusive access to the full data set and segmentations generated by the study, as well as customized briefings tailoring the findings to the sponsor’s business case. Key data to be generated by the study include: · Segmentation of users of communications services into Primary and Secondary Influencers and Users; · Discovery of social, technical and brand drivers and attitudes of these groups; and · Up-to-date usage, spending and demographic data for these groups. For more information, contact Cumulus at info@cumulusthinking.com, or call +44 (0)7879 625 900. A study prospectus, including cost and timetables for the study, is available at www.cumulusthinking.com. Blair to Push for Faster Broadband Roll-Out A government report showing that the UK is the second best place in the world to do e-business after the US is also going to be revealed. BT are expected to use the forum to announce a further roll-out of broadband services to rural areas and towns currently cut off from high-speed internet services. BT Offers Home Wireless Networking Solution For Broadband The 802.11b wireless technology behind the BT Voyager 2000 means users will be able to move their desktop and laptop computers around the house and still share a single high-speed ADSL broadband connection with all of them. The BT Voyager 2000 package is priced at £199.99, and includes the following: A BT Voyager 2000 Wireless ADSL modem Quick Start Guide Installation CD Interactive User Guide and troubleshooting info Two microfilters ADSL line cord Ethernet/Cat 5 cable One power adapter and cord The Voyager 2000 modem comes with a fully featured router that lets the network communicate with computers up to 50m indoors and up to 250m outdoors from the modem. However, users will also need to purchase separate wireless adapters for each computer that will be connect to the home network, and these are available from BT at £79.99 each. For more information, please click HERE. BTLookSmart Signs Deal To Deliver Search Solutions Martin Turner, BTLookSmart CEO said: "We're excited to have an opportunity to work with Japan's leading Internet companies." "It's a fantastic achievement to have established over 70% reach in such a short time and is testament to the quality of our products and the success of our business model in generating return on investment for advertisers and distributors." BTLookSmart Japan search solutions are utilised by MSN, Excite, Lycos, BIGLOBE, ODN, Freebit and other major ISPs and Internet Portals. Together with BTLookSmart's other ISP & Portal search partners, the BTLookSmart network now reaches 72% of Japanese Internet users according to Nielsen NetRatings (September 2002). Users Abusing BT Registration Scheme The scheme collects 'registrations of interest,' and when a trigger level marking financial viability is achieved, the host ISP contacts BT, who go about setting up the local exchange with ADSL. That would be the case in North Wrexham (N.Wales), were it not for the fact that the host company discovered over 200 false registrations, presumably from people hoping to get their connection speeded up. Following this discovery, all registrations were voided, and the process will begin again, causing frustration to locals who will have to re-register. At least two other registration areas are believed to have been targeted and, according to the report, the problem was discovered when actual orders taken following achieved the trigger levels were far lower than the initial requests. SOURCE: Europemedia Safeway And BT Openworld Join Forces To Help Shoppers Get Online The CDs, available from today, will be available in all five megastores, 123 superstores, 50 petrol stations and 12 supermarkets across the UK and contain a free educational demonstration of broadband, instructions and a link to the BT Openworld site to register for a full broadband service. Duncan Ingram, vice-president, consumer at BT Openworld, said: "Safeway is one of the UK's favourite supermarket chains and offers a wide range of everyday products and services. This deal sees it providing another important service - access to the internet through BT Openworld." "This initiative also sees BT Openworld moving another step closer to its aim of helping Internet access become easily available to every home in the UK." The deal between Safeway and BT Openworld consists of an eight-week rolling trial of the CD give-away, using Safeway's in-store concessionary' space. BT Openworld currently delivers broadband and narrowband services to more than 1.7 million business and consumer customers in the UK. National Statistics Online Report Increase In Dial-Up And Permanent Connections Both dial-up and permanent connections showed increases in September, with permanent connections continuing to increase its share of the total of all Internet subscriptions. Dial-up versus permanent Internet connections In September 2002, subscriptions for dial-up and permanent Internet connections continued to display quite different patterns of growth. The indices for dial-up and permanent subscriptions were 111.3 and 1269.5 respectively. The year on year growth to September 2002 was 5.9 per cent for dial-up connections, with an increase of 0.4 per cent from August to September 2002. The year on year growth for permanent connections was 326.0 per cent with an increase of 8.9 per cent from August to September 2002. Although dial-up connections continued to dominate the overall number of subscriptions, permanent connections continued to increase, making up 7.8 per cent of total subscriptions in September 2002, up from 7.2 per cent in August due to a fall in the price of broadband technology. In September 2002, the percentage of subscriptions using each access plan remained at the levels they were in August 2002. The only exceptions were 'Always on' and 'Other.' The levels for each access plan were: Free Access (28 per cent); Unmetered Access (36 per cent); Billing (19 per cent); Mixed access (5 per cent); 'Always-on' subscriptions rose to 4 per cent of the total; 'Other' subscriptions fell to 8 per cent of the total; Dial-up connections are defined as those that access the Internet via ISDN or an analogue modem, and permanent connections are those with a dedicated continuous Internet connection. Subscriptions are defined as those that were active during the month in question. NTL Manages To Increase Cable Broadband Customer Base The prolonged difficulties, which have forced NTL to cut the money spent on services for connecting new customers, along with the publicity that has come with the situation, has led to a fall in both revenues and customer numbers. Revenues dropped by GBP10m (E15.8m), from GBP627m to GBP617m (E985m to E969m) during the last quarter, while customer numbers fell by 30,000 over the same period. NTL has also been forced to cut some 8,000 jobs over the last two years, and it is expected that a further 250 will go at the end of November. However, on the positive side, NTL's broadband business saw the it's customer base grow from 275,000 to 380,000 over the quarter and the company claims to have 450,000 subscribers according to the report. SOURCE: here Roxio Deal May Revive Napster The controversial online music track-swapping service went bust earlier this year when a takeover deal put together by German media conglomerate Bertelsmann collapsed. Roxio is offering $5m (£3.1m) in cash for the defunct service and if successful will take control of Napster's assets including its technology and brand name. It won't be liable for any of the outstanding copyright claims which a number of the major record labels have filed against the business. Roxio declined to comment on its future plans for Napster but said that it would be working closely with a number of entertainment partners. According to the report, the US bankruptcy court will rule on the deal by the end of this month. SOURCE: New Media Zero Aramiska Delivers the Second Generation of Business Broadband Services The new ARC Managed Broadband Service will offer business customers the unique benefit of minimum guaranteed speeds on all ARC packages, plus support for an unlimited number of PCs and unlimited data transfer. In addition, Aramiska will be providing Virus scanning, VPN support and a local Email server as standard on all the packages and Philippe Bodart, CEO of Aramiska, commented: “Unlike many broadband providers, Aramiska is committed to the business sector and we want every business to have the opportunity to access fast, feature rich, always-on Internet connections and avoid that broadband bottleneck.” “The ARC managed broadband service makes Aramiska unique and whilst we can offer obvious benefits to businesses outside the limited coverage of terrestrial ADSL, I am confident that our new ARC services will now provide all businesses, even those with access to ADSL, with a viable business broadband alternative offering real value for money. ” Aramiska's two-way high-speed ARC service packages offer up to 2,048 Kbps downstream and 512 Kbps upstream data transmission anywhere in Europe. Each of the ARC service packages will be available for a fixed monthly fee, combining the new service features together with Broadband Access, Business Internet features and Network Security. Click HERE for further information. Vispa Reduce Cost Of Broadband Packages Vispa have been offering broadband connections since March 2000 and current packages include a static IP as standard and a 3 month minimum contract period. New package prices are set out below, and include VAT @ 17.5%: Home 500 (50:1 Contention) - £24.67pm Business 500 (20:1 Contention) - £60.00pm Business 1000 (20:1 Contention) - £95.00pm Business 2000 (20:1 Contention) - £140.00pm Multiple IP addresses totalling 8 can be added to any of the above packages for a little as £5 per month, ideal for business or individuals requiring remote access and more control to internal services. Additionally, Vispa’s ability to buy in large quantity directly from hardware vendors allow the ISP to offer broadband modem packages at a low retail price. Users can purchase the modem, which comes complete with filters, manuals and everything needed for a little as £69.99, including postage and delivery costs. Visit the Vispa Website for further details and information. Supanet Launch Broadband Internet Access Kit To mark the occasion, Supanet is giving away a free Hewlett Packard 3325 printer worth £49.99 and a free connection worth £65.00 with every kit purchased at The Computer World stores across the UK. The supanet Broadband Internet Access Kit costs £79.99, with line rental costing just £29.99 per month. The kit contains everything needed to get started, including modem, sign-up CD, cables and full instruction manual. BT Openworld Slash Business Broadband Costs BTopenworld is waiving the initial set up fees and equipment costs for its self-install Plug & Go product. This means free activation, free ADSL modem and ADSL filters - a saving of £150. In addition, businesses signing up to BT Openworld's engineer-installed Broadband PLUS products, ideal for networking, could receive £130 cashback. Businesses subscribing to BT Openworld's 'Activation Only' service can also have the activation fee and cost of the ADSL filters refunded - some £85 cashback. The cashback promotions (both £130 and £85) are valid for any organisation that purchases one of BT Openworld's Business 500PLUS, 1000PLUS and 2000PLUS products in conjunction with the BT Openworld Internet Business Pack. Tony Harris, president, Business Internet Services at BT Openworld, said: "The present economic downturn is forcing businesses of all sizes to take a more prudent approach to cost control. These promotions make it easier for businesses to invest in broadband thereby increasing productivity and reducing costs - two key objectives for any business given the current business climate." Orders must be placed before the end of the year. Full details can be found at http://www.btopenworld.com/brace Net Tightens For Online Paedophiles The IWF are requesting 51 newsgroups that regularly carry child abuse images and a further 25 newsgroups that appear to advertise or advocate paedophilia, to be detached from their newsfeeds and servers. The lists are strictly confidential but will be disclosed to service providers upon application. These new policies have been worked out in close consultation with IWF's industry funders and are intended to apply to all UK ISPs. This information has been gathered following extensive research and consultation, underpinned by an independent statistician, impartial legal opinion and advice from the Crown Prosecution Service to the Home Office. Home Office Minister Hilary Benn MP says, “The Government fully supports the work of the Internet Watch Foundation in tackling the growing problem of child pornography and other illegal content posted on the Internet. There is no justification for any newsgroup containing or claiming to contain child pornography." IWF CEO Peter Robbins says, “We are determined to do everything we can to help prevent the dissemination of child abuse images on the Internet. This initiative shows a firm commitment by all our partners in the Internet industry, from Government, criminal justice agencies, and all other supporters, to close down opportunities for paedophiles to share child abuse images and information” Of course anything to prevent paedophile activity on the Internet is welcomed, but is closing down these newsgroups the right answer? Won’t they just go somewhere else? Please let us have your views. Sniff Out Upgrades PAYG Package Previously requiring a BT line, Sniff Out has announced that their DialPlus package is open to everyone. Calls will still be only 2p per minute during the weekday peak period and 1p per minute at all other times – up to 50% less than a normal local rate Internet access call. The upgraded DialPlus package now supports v92 modems as well as full 128K Home Highway/ISDN access. The key elements of the DialPlus package are unchanged, and include unlimited email addresses, plus 50MB of personal web space. The upgraded package uses a slightly different access number – 0844 4440000. Customers will need to change to the new number to use the improved features. The original access number is still available for existing members who do not wish to connect to the new network. Europe’s Leading ISPs Announce Financial Results The two firms reported third-quarter results that confounded analysts who marvelled at how far Tiscali, Europe's number three ISP, has fallen behind its rival. "They (Tiscali) seem to be going sideways, not up, like their competitors," Alexandra Lord, Internet analyst at BNP Paribas, said of Tiscali on Wednesday. Benefiting from growth in profitable hi | ||