|
|||
|
|
||
|
News Archive |
||
|
Orange Introduce GPRS to PrePaid Customers The operator will use WaterCove's Mobile Data Service System, allowing it to bill prepaid data services in real-time. WaterCove claims this is the first time in the world prepaid customers have been able to access "the full suite" GPRS data services such as mobile email, internet access, alerts and photo messaging. Operators have so far been unable to provide such services to prepaid subscribers, according to the company. Its Mobile Data Service System manages data usage by these customers and reduces their calling credit in real-time. A recent report by Analysys found that prepaid customers represent around 63% of the market - operators need to be able to deliver data services to this customer base if they are to make the most of the revenue streams that these new wireless services will create. As much as $15.7bn could be lost if they cannot provide Europe's 170m prepaid subscribers with access to such services. Oracle and Palm figures offer hope for investors Climbing back from a loss of $25m last year, Palm have now posted a profit of £3.5m for the second quarter of the financial year. Although Oracle's profits were down by 2.5% on last year, they were comfortably better than company estimates of a 4-7% drop. Severe cost cutting measures have been noted as the main reason for improved figures. Poor sales across the entire tech industry has been blamed for the slump in growth. Oracle Home Palm Home Deutsche Bank and IBM sign outsourcing contract The IT infrastructure area that is to be outsourced extends to computer centres and smaller server sites in Belgium, Germany, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Switzerland, Spain and Luxembourg. IBM will be taking over employees in the respective countries and setting up a new, open state-of- the-art Data Centre in Germany's Rhine-Main region. As part of IBM's European infrastructure, this new strategic delivery centre will provide optimal resiliency, building security and remote operating capabilities designed to provide non-disruptive operations and high availability services for Deutsche Bank and other IBM customers. The transaction is subject to approval by the respective bodies and regulatory authorities. For more information click here. Report backs ISP libel claims The report called on the government to conduct a review so that some protection was given to ISPs such as AOL and Freeserve against false allegations. "The problem is that the law puts ISPs under pressure to remove sites as soon as they are told that the material on them may be defamatory. "There is a possible conflict between the pressure to remove material, even if true, and the emphasis placed on freedom of expression by the European Convention of Human Rights," said law commissioner Hugh Beale QC. At present, ISPs are required to shut down a website as soon as they are informed it contains potentially libellous material. But such actions also leave them open to legal action from the websites themselves if they are shut down without good reason. "ISPs don't want to act as judge and jury over content. If they are judged to have got it wrong, they also face action from their customers. "We want penalties for people giving wrongful notice, a lessening of the liabilities for ISPs and a standardisation of the procedure," said a spokesman for the Internet Service Providers Association. Nildram Upgrade Support For MY SQL “We are pleased to be able to announce yet another important upgrade to our hosting portfolio, especially as it represents a further tangible response to customer feedback and requirements.” The upgrade includes the provision of a new dedicated MySQL server and reflects the interest Nildram are currently seeing in this platform. For further information, please visit Nildram Biscit Internet Announce Details Of Business Broadband Packages From January 6th 2003, set up charges are being halved to £25 +VAT for a limited period, and the company are also offering the following extra solutions free of charge with the business broadband packages: One free Domain Name registered* Unlimited POP Email accounts linked to Domain Email redirection 50MB Commercial Web Space Dial-Up backup (local rate calls) Free 0870/71 phone numbers for your business Web-based email access Frontpage extensions Graphical web stats PHP functionality Mysql hosting ASP hosting Full CGI capability Perl Secure website hosting (SSL) A total of five packages are on offer, with prices starting at £23.40 per month for Home USB 500 (single user), and up to £139.95 per month for Office S2000 (multiple users). * Includes registration of a domain name ending in .co.uk, .org.uk, .com or .net. Other domain ending charged extra. For further information, please click HERE. Opera for Windows Beta 2 Released Since the release of Beta 1, Opera has added even more features including "Fast Forward", immediate access to the pages you will want to visit next; "The Wand", a one-click log-in password manager; a new links panel that quickly displays all links in the current page; a one-click skin install; powerful new panel management; and multiple user style sheets. Mary Lambert, product line manager desktop, Opera Software, commented: "The new features in Opera 7 will save users even more time when online. A feature like Fast Forward will endear many new users." "Just click Fast Forward, and you quickly move between pages without looking for those pesky small 'next results' or 'next page' links with your mouse." "New, innovative features like these will ensure that Opera 7 continues the explosive growth we have seen in users over the last few years." The browser is available free of charge with a sponsored advertising banner in the top-right corner of the user interface. To find out more, or to download Opera, please click HERE. BT Wholesale fast-tracks broadband registration scheme The registration scheme, introduced in July, is set to change from a three stage process to a two stage process, benefiting both service providers and people wanting broadband services. With immediate effect BT Wholesale will start the build process to upgrade any exchange reaching the trigger - removing the 42 day confirmation process. From January 15 a new order process will be in place by which service providers will be able to take orders from people wanting broadband after an exchange demand trigger is hit. With the suspension of the confirmation stage from today, work will begin to upgrade 18 exchanges currently in the confirmation stage or just passed their triggers. The dates when these exchanges are due to go live will be updated on the broadband checker on bt.com/broadband shortly. Bruce Stanford, director of wholesale products at BT, said: "We've seen more than 200,000 people register their interest in getting broadband since the registration scheme was launched and 10 exchanges are now live for broadband as a result. Fifteen more are being upgraded and today's announcement means a further 18 exchanges will immediately be moved into our build programme." For exchanges where trigger levels are met between now and January 15, service providers will collate the customer details ready to take orders once the new order system is in place. After January 15 the streamlined process will be fully in place: When a trigger level is hit work will begin to upgrade the exchange and service providers will be able to take orders from their customers. To detect and prevent frivolous or false registrations improved integrity measures are being taken during the registration phase including sophisticated data analysis. This will ensure a true picture of demand levels is established. BT Wholesale will also continue to work with service providers to check validity of registrations and the additional safeguards BT Wholesale has put in place will also result in false registrations being removed from the system before an exchange is moved into the build stage. Exchanges already upgraded as a result of registration scheme Todmorden, West Yorkshire Twyford, Berkshire Bishops Waltham, Hants Kesgrave, Suffolk Pembury, Kent Leek, Staffs Ponteland, Northumberland Irby, Merseyside Paddock Wood; Kent Penn, Buckinghamshire Exchanges now in build phase Drayton, Norfolk *Heath Hayes, Staffordshire Harrowden, Northamptonshire *Berkswell, West Midlands Buckley, Clwyd *Borough Green, Kents Shaw, Greater Manchester *Helensburgh, Argyll & Bute Tottington, Greater Manchester *Olney, Bucks Danbury, Essex *Wivenhoe, Essex Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire *Kilsyth, North Lanarkshire Wymondham, Norfolk *Dinnington, South Yorkshire Ivybridge, Devon *Frodsham, Cheshire Merthyr Tydfil *Steyning, West Sussex Inverness Culloden *Wideopen, Tyne & Wear Matlock, Derbyshire *Stanley, Co Durham Bursledon, Hampshire *Goring-on-Thames Worle, Avon *Glasgow Newton Mearns Alton, Hampshire *Codsall, Staffs *Fernhill Heath, Hereford & Worcester *Chepstow, Gwent *Worthing Swandean, West Sussex * Denotes exchange moved into "build" as result of streamlining registration scheme Businesses choose DSL and Cable Providers are seeking ways to more quickly acquire and better retain business customers, with users in the home and in small offices playing a key role in provider’s growth expectations. It is under these conditions that the two most common broadband services, DSL and cable modem services, fight for business broadband dollars, in both commercial and residential markets. According to In-Stat/MDR research, cable providers currently have a bit of an edge in terms of number of business subscribers, primarily among at-home workers, but because they are primarily residential, are losing out on the significant revenue opportunities that providing broadband services to small offices in commercial areas can bring. In-Stat/MDR estimates that total subscription will rise from a bit more than 4.8 million business subscribers (cable and DSL combined) last year to more than 15 million subscribers at the end of 2006. eBay customers targetted in credit card fraud A site operating under the ebayupdates.com internet address register in Niceville, Florida was operating last week, targeting eBay's 55 million customers. Emails were sent to customers asking them to log on to the website - ebayupdates.com - and re-submit their financial details. California-based eBay has issued warnings on its site about e-mails asking for passwords or credit card details. "Some members have reported attempts to gain access to their personal information through e-mail solicitations that are falsely made to appear as having come from eBay," the company said. "These solicitations will often contain links to web pages that will request that you sign in and submit information ... eBay employees will never ask you for your password." Nildram Announce Half-Price Broadband Offer With effect from January 6th 2003, all orders for both the ‘Home’ and ‘Office’ services placed with Nildram will have the set-up fee halved to only £25 plus VAT (£29.38). This offer will be valid for a three-month period, and Iain Ogilvie, Nildram’s Marketing Manager comments: “Broadband services have become immensely popular in the last 6 months with the take up rate amongst new users continually increasing – we believe the reduction in the set-up fee will help stimulate this further.” One In Every 212 Emails Contains Virus Say MessageLabs According to the report, which measured results up to the end of the second week of December, the top five most active viruses in 2002 were Klez.H with 4,918,018 copies, Yaha.E with 1,096,683, Bugbear.A with 842,333, Klez.E with 380,937 and last year’s worst SirCam.A with 309,832. Despite Klez being the most active, Bugbear can lay claim to being the most dramatic outbreak of the year, with MessageLabs stopping one every 87 emails at its height in October. Klez could only reach one in every 169 even at its peak, while Yaha never rose above one every 268. The two most dramatic outbreaks recorded by MessageLabs remain Goner, at one in 30 last December, and the number one LoveBug, which hit one every 28 in May 2000. Commenting on the findings Alex Shipp, Senior Antivirus Technologist at MessageLabs, said: “A ratio of just over one in every 200 emails proves that 2002 has seen a major rise in the number of viruses in circulation, even if we haven’t seen the dramatic outbreaks of previous years." "The main cause seems still to be home users, who have the least protection. As a result, industry sectors that deal with them, such as the retail, leisure and entertainment industries, all continue to be more at risk from infection." “The more prevalent viruses this year have been the ones most people have found hardest to spot – like Klez and Bugbear. This is because these are able to ‘spoof’ email addresses, so that the identity of the real sender is difficult to trace." "It also means that by mass mailing contacts from a recipient's address book, further victims are likely to open the rogue email, because they think it is from someone they know and trust." “As a result of these findings, more than ever, firms need to be sure that they are protected not only against existing viruses but also future outbreaks. Traditional, reactive scanners simply can’t handle this increasing threat." " The only solution is proactively to protect yourself by stopping the problem before it arrives, scanning for viruses at the internet level.” In total, MessageLabs now scans an average of 10 million emails per working day at a rate of 115 emails per second, stopping a virus every three seconds across 2002. This compares with one every 18 seconds in 2001 and one every three minutes in 2000. Europe Has More UK Internet Links Than USA Reports LINX More than 40,000 world Internet routes - around 50 per cent of the global total - can be accessed through LINX, and more than 14,600 routes (34 per cent of the total) are to UK and other European destinations compared with just under 13,000 (30 per cent) going to North America, primarily the USA. Asian countries account for a further 22 per cent of LINX-connected routes with Oceania having 7 per cent, South America having 3 per cent, and the whole of Africa accounts for less than one per cent. Among individual countries, the USA still accounts for the largest number of LINX routes - around 11,000 or 25 per cent of the total. Internal routes within the UK account for only 4.4 per cent of the connections, fourth behind the USA, The Netherlands and Japan. The large number of connections to the USA reflects the historical lead which that country had in the Internet industry and the fact that many major international ISPs are headquartered there. Much traffic which cannot get directly from LINX to its destination is probably routed through facilities in America, even if its eventual destination may be outside the USA. The Netherlands has also become a centre for distributing Internet traffic in continental Europe with a large Internet exchange in Amsterdam. Commenting on the connection details, Vanessa Evans of LINX explained: “There is no direct correlation between the number of routes to a destination available through LINX and the volume of traffic being carried to a particular destination." "It would be perfectly possible to have a large number of available routes to an obscure part of the world which carried no traffic at all." "However, commercial logic suggests that ISPs establish routes to meet the needs of the traffic they are carrying." "The connection figures are therefore a crude, but valid, reflection of where the UK's Internet traffic is coming from and going to." The volume of traffic being carried also continues to increase. Total Internet traffic on the LINX exchange is now peaking at around 21 gigabits per second – the equivalent of around 1.25 million e-mail messages per second - which is double the level of twelve months ago. LINX, which was founded in 1994, has a membership base of around 130 Internet service providers (ISPs) and content delivery service providers (CDSPs) and provides its members with the opportunity to establish ‘peering’ inter-connections with each other, leading to cost-effective and rapid transmission of Internet traffic. As a result of their combined networks, web traffic being routed via LINX members can be delivered to virtually half the world’s Internet community in one direct ‘hop’ rather than being routed through many different connections. Oftel Publish ADSL Fact Sheet For December To read the fact sheet in full, please click HERE. BT Accused Of Misleading Broadband Subscribers Thus made the accusation after discovering that several of its customers who wanted broadband had been told they had to go through BT rather than alternative providers, and the company has asked regulator Oftel to investigate according to the report. Demon subscriber Tina Weston, from Worcester, has been trying to get broadband installed since May. When she attempted to subscribe to Demon's broadband service, she says she was told by BT that her phone line was not suitable. She was eventually connected to BT's broadband service and the service worked perfectly, but when she tried to switch to Demon she said she was again told the line was unsuitable, even though it had clearly accepted broadband. 'It's frustrating.' she said. 'It seems that BT is using its monopoly position to edit which suppliers can connect to its services.' Thus has found several other cases where customers have been told it is not possible to sign up for ADSL because of technical reasons, only to sign up to BT's own broadband services and find no problems. Ian Hood, regulatory director at Thus, said: 'We have asked Oftel to look into this. We have to establish whether this is incompetence on the part of BT, or part of an orchestrated campaign. Our problem is that this could be affecting other customers we aren't necessarily going to find out about.' According to the report, an AOL spokesman also commented on the issue, saying: "It is supposed to be a level playing field, but it doesn't seem to be that way.' Oftel says it is keen to ensure that no anti-competitive activity is taking place, and that it is keeping an eye on the situation." However, in reaction to the accusation, a BT spokesman said "We contest the suggestion that we have blocked broadband through other Internet service providers. We treat all providers equally.' SOURCE: This Is London AOL Confirm Job Losses According to the report, the spokesman said that half of the cuts were in the company's Northern Virginia offices, together with 60 in California and the remaining in other AOL facilities. Although the job cuts represent just 1.5% of AOL's 18,000-person workforce, they mark the beginning of what is expected to be a series of layoffs aimed at restructuring the ISP as it implements a new strategy laid out by company executives last week. Faced with slowed subscriber growth and plummeting ad revenue, AOL has been trying to shore up its business by focusing on broadband initiatives and exclusive content. Many of the jobs cut on Wednesday were technical posts, such as software developers and engineers, while other reductions were in administrative positions. No job cuts were reported in AOL's broadband unit. The report added that Miller emphasised that cost reductions were in the works, especially given that the company forecast that ad revenue will fall by nearly half next year as the market continues to falter. SOURCE: CW360 BT Openworld offers Security Service NetProtect is the first in its PC security range to be offered to the public. It has been developed in response to increased demand as more people spend longer online. NetProtect is a combination of McAfee VirusScan and ISS Desktop Protector Firewall software. Once customers register for the service, they can download the software straight to their PC. It will be available to all internet users, although it will be targeted at BT Openworld and BT Broadband customers initially. Customers pay a monthly fee of £3.50, making it more flexible than similar services from other ISPs that are only available on an annual basis. The service also complements the free, Brightmail-powered email protection service available to BT Openworld customers. This shields users from internet spam and viruses whilst NetProtect offers a more comprehensive PC-based protection. Together, the products give consumers added peace of mind over internet and PC security. Demand for the service, which is suitable for both broadband and narrowband, is expected to be high, especially amongst broadband users with their always-on connection. NetProtect guards against hackers and viruses even when users aren't connected to the internet. A managed service, it scans for 'worms', viruses and 'trojans'. It then updates its knowledge by connecting automatically to a security server and collecting information on new risks. On the discovery of a virus, the McAfee VirusScan element of NetProtect will take immediate action and attempt to disinfect the affected file with the corresponding anti-virus. VirusScan will either clean, delete or quarantine the infected file. No user intervention is required. Duncan Ingram, managing director at BT Openworld, said: "As people spend more time on the internet and download more files, they naturally become more vulnerable to security threats. ISPs have a duty to help provide protection from these problems and BT is leading the market with the introduction of NetProtect. "At the same time, internet users need to realise that they should take precautions. Just as they invest in security for their homes or cars, so they should for their personal data stored on PCs. They need to protect themselves, fast, and NetProtect is a quick and affordable way to keep hackers and viruses out of home hardware." Home users can protect their hardware by purchasing NetProtect over the Web at: www.btopenworld.com/netprotect. BT Wholesale Launches Office Anywhere Product The solution is a 'white label' offering, which BT Wholesale is marketing to its customer base of more than 500 telecommunications companies, to be branded and resold to small businesses, multi-site businesses, mid-sized corporates and project teams. The launch builds on BT Wholesale's relationship with Simplytrading, the specialist portal services company. Office Anywhere is built on Simplytrading's business portal technology. In managing the technology, and allowing customers to focus on their core activities, BT Wholesale is providing a future-proof technology platform capable of integrating the latest web-based applications and tools to meet changing customer needs. 'Office Anywhere' provides the mobile worker with the same corporate information that is available to office workers. Stuart Horwood, Managing Director of BT Wholesale Markets said "Flexible working is already a way of life in the UK, and individuals need to be given the right tools to increase personal productivity and boost company performance. BT Wholesale teamed up with Simplytrading because the managed portal solution does just that. Its emphasis is on simplicity, speed of deployment and maximum return on investment." By 2005, there will be 8.5 million flexible workers in the UK1 and telecommunications companies who can meet the growing market demand for flexible working solutions are set to benefit. Nominet UK Wins Court Ban The legal action for trade mark infringement and passing off was taken by Nominet following a series of complaints about the way Domain Registrar Services was doing business. The injunction also applies to Scott Denny, a director of Domain Registrar Services, and UK Names Limited and prevents the defendants from:- * using the Nominet name and/or logo to sell or supply domain names or associated internet products or services * passing themselves off as being connected with Nominet * reproducing the Nominet logo At the Chancery Division of the High Court on Friday 29 November, the defendants' solicitors agreed to the interim injunction order being made without a hearing having to take place. The injunction will remain in place until a further order of the court is made. In addition, the defendants have been ordered to give full details to the court of everyone to whom they have offered domain names or other internet services or products using the Nominet name. Nominet UK's managing director, Lesley Cowley, said: "We are pleased with the progress of the legal action so far. "We take any misrepresentation of the Nominet name and logo very seriously indeed and this case serves as a strong warning that we will refuse to allow people to get away with it. None of these defendants had any right or authority to use the Nominet name and we see this interim injunction order as the first legal step towards ensuring they are unable to do so again in the future." Lesley Cowley appealed to anyone who has been approached by the defendants since the interim injunction order was made, and who believes the terms of the injunction are not being met, to contact Nominet. Anyone looking for an ISP or registration agent can find further advice on choosing an ISP, which can be downloaded from the web site at www.nominet.org.uk/howto/choosing-isp.html. Bulldog Launch Fastest Residential Broadband Service Bulldog has specifically designed new products to address the growing consumer demand for higher-speed broadband Internet services. Consumers increasingly desire faster downloading of emails, file attachments, video, film, and music. The 2 Mbps speed will also appeal to gamers who want better performance, faster games downloading and a better peer-to-peer game experience. In addition to offering the consumer with greater speed, Primetime 2000 has a unique 'time-of-day' feature. This industry-first feature gives the residential customer the highest speeds when they are needed: weeknights (6pm - 8am), all weekend (6pm Friday - 8am Monday), and Bank holidays. During the weekdays (8am - 6pm), the residential customer has unmetered 'always on' access at a competitive speed of 512 kbps. The Primetime 2000 product is based on ADSL technology which means customers are free to chat on their telephone while they surf. Richard Greco, CEO of Bulldog, stated, "This innovative product underscores the value to the consumer of network-based DSL competition. Because we manage our own broadband network, we are capable of providing consumers with unique services not available from BT or other broadband service providers. The consumer needs and deserves to have a DSL alternative. And now, he does." Bulldog's Primetime 2000 service is available exclusively through Bulldog's Central London network of DSL-enabled telephone exchanges covering up to 400,000 residential customers. Web Filtering Bad for Your Health The findings indicate that blocking of health content rises sharply when filters are set at their most restrictive levels. The Kaiser Family Foundation studied Web filtering software used by schools and libraries in the US. and found that Internet filters set at the least restrictive level incorrectly block an average of just 1.4 percent of health sites. However, when set at the most restrictive level, filters block 24 percent of health websites. Blocking of sites on sexual health issues such as condoms and safe sex was higher at all levels: from nine percent at the least restrictive setting to as much as 50 percent of all sites at the most restrictive level. At the same time, the amount of pornographic content blocked was found to increase only marginally, from 87 percent at the least restrictive configuration to 91 percent at the most restrictive level. The study also found that blocking of sites with information on breast cancer did not appear to be a significant problem for the filters studied, while incidental exposure to pornography while searching for health information was highly infrequently. UK Trailing Behind in Broadband Take-up A recent study carried out by fdtm on behalf of Reed, rated the UK 13th in Europe’s broadband league. According to the research, just four percent of urban households in the UK are currently connected to broadband, a figure that is expected to rise to 10 percent by the beginning of 2004. However, the UK was responsible for a quarter of all Europe’s 115,000 new broadband connections in September. Sweden currently boasts the highest penetration rate with 25.7 percent of urban households in Sweden having a broadband connection. Belgium follows with 19.4 percent of urban households being connected, while 18.1 percent of urban households in Denmark have high speed Internet. Rounding out the top five Western European countries are Austria and the Netherlands with 16.3 percent and 11.6 percent of urban households in both countries having broadband connections. Special Offers From BT Wholesale On Broadband The offer will run from January 10 until the end of March. Bruce Stanford, director of wholesale products at BT, said: "We're constantly looking at ways to help service providers stimulate the market for broadband. Recent advertising campaigns from BT and its service providers have really boosted awareness and demand, and with these special offers resellers will have the opportunity to start the new year with some even more attractive prices. It was BT's massive cuts to wholesale ADSL rental prices in April this year that really kick-started the whole UK market. Offers like the one announced today will similarly benefit the entire broadband industry." BT now has more than half a million ADSL broadband connections, which are sold to customers by the 150-plus internet service providers that characterise the UK's highly competitive market. The offer involves half price connection for BT's two most popular products - BT IPStream Home and BT IPStream Office - cut to £25 from £50. Also covered are the BT IPStream S range of services, with connection charges for these BT-installed products halved from £260 to £130. To qualify, lines must be installed before the end of April. Practical Internet Reader Awards For the first time ever, Practical Internet have made it possible to vote on the Net. So discard the postcard once and for all, and prepare to get your opinion across with a couple of mouse clicks. To vote, simply click on the link below, then make your selection on each of the following pages. Each page is devoted to one category, and gives you five choices. Once you’ve voted, simply click on the ‘vote’ button to be taken to the next page. http://www.practicalinternet.co.uk/ THUS Launches National Ethernet Broadband Service National Ethernet addresses an ever-increasing need for all the services available on a company's Local Area Network (LAN) to be quickly and easily accessible to all employees of a company, regardless of their location. This demand has been accelerated as companies look towards storage area networks and disaster recovery providers for hosting mission critical data and as the workforce becomes increasingly more mobile. Ethernet already powers most company LANs, but for the majority of these companies when this traffic enters the leased line Wide Area Network (WAN) to travel to another office, it can slow to less than 10% of the LAN speed. National Ethernet removes this bandwidth bottleneck and opens the door to improved performance, greater usability and new ways of working whilst at the same time, simplifying the overall network architecture that a company has to manage. "National Ethernet will become the first choice broadband platform for UK companies with serious bandwidth requirements. Customers will be able to use National Ethernet to reduce communication costs and achieve greater flexibility and agility within their businesses," said Bill Allan, Chief Executive, THUS. "With an ever increasing need to share applications and data across wider areas, THUS National Ethernet makes it simple for companies to build and manage cost effective multi-site networks without having to incur the overhead of running completely different technologies and systems." Alphaphe Drop 0845 Dial Number "We regret to inform our customers that this is 14 days notice of the removal of our 0845 dial up numbers. As of the 19/12/02 customers will no longer be able to dial up using our 0845 access numbers." Alphaphe ended their unmetered service back in August http://www.net4nowt.com/comments/1029318723,54100,.shtml Warning: eBay Subscribers Please Read The scam involved e-mails that asked recipients to log on to a Florida-based Web site, ebayupdates.com, and re-enter financial data for eBay, said Dean White, the Asia-Pacific coordinator of a U.S. group, SANS Institute Internet Storm Centre. "Once you've got the credit card information you can use it for everything," White said on Wednesday. The scam site sported the eBay logo and colours but did not appear to have any connection with California-based eBay, White told Reuters.# Representatives of eBay in Australia were not immediately available for comment, but the company has issued a general warning on its Web site, urging caution over e-mails seeking passwords or credit card numbers." Some members have reported attempts to gain access to their personal information through e-mail solicitations that are falsely made to appear as having come from eBay," the company said. "These solicitations will often contain links to Web pages that will request that you sign in and submit information...eBay employees will never ask you for your password. "The scam e-mail, provided to Reuters by White, is headed "Ebay (sic) billing error" and begins: "Dear Ebay Member, We at Ebay are sorry to inform you that we are having problems with the billing information of your account." According to the report, the email, aimed at eBay's registered customers but possibly mass-mailed to other Internet users, began appearing on December 6, and the company hosting the fake Web site on its computers had been informed and by Wednesday the site was unavailable on the Internet. Australian banking officials have warned consumers to be especially vigilant about Internet fraud and identity theft over the big spending Christmas period. SOURCE: Yahoo! Finance (Sydney - Reuters) NTL Ireland Announce Cable Subscription Price Increase The nine per cent price hike brings the monthly cost up from E15.68 to E17, an increase NTL says is in line with inflation between January 2001 and October 2002. However, during that period, NTL's prices have increased by 40 per cent. RTE reports that NTL claimed the increase was a retrospective one, and a "fair and reasonable response to inflation". It is reported that NTL also announced some reductions on digital TV packages at the same time. SOURCE: Europemedia Citibank Offer Free Broadband Modem And Connection With Freeserve The Citibank offer consists of a free broadband modem worth £84.99 plus a free broadband connection worth £65.00 for new Citibank users until 28 February 2003. Sanjeeb Chaudhuri, group managing director, Citibank global consumer bank, commented: "Citibank is always looking for ways to introduce new technologies that are a win for the customer and for the bank." "We were the first to launch PC banking in the UK, and most recently, we introduced account aggregation to the UK." Users who take up the offer will be charged the standard monthly £27.99 Freeserve Broadband subscription fee. SOURCE: Finextra ASA Uphold Four Complaints From BT Regarding NTL Advertisement "SAVE £201 when you join ntl:home*". The asterisked footnote stated "Saving £10.50 a month on standard Family Pack price, when you take all Sky Sports and Movies channels and Family pack, applicable for 12 months only. Saving includes free installation, normally £75. Terms and conditions apply". The back of the mailing stated: "Great Sports and Movies, Great channels, Great savings Come to ntl:home for your digital TV and Telephone service and you'll get GREAT SPORTS & MOVIES and a TELEPHONE LINE INCLUDED for less than you would pay SKY and BT. Here's how you get MORE for LESS" and featured two tables. Under the headline "Sky & BT you get Two suppliers, twice the hassle", the first table featured the claims "Installation fees apply (up to £100) Over 90 TV channels Sky Sports and Movies Interactive Services (12p connection + 1p per minute) E-mail (12p connection + 1p per minute) BT Line Rental £47.50 Total monthly cost". Under the headline "ntl:home One supplier, half the hassle", the second table featured the claims "FREE Installation Over 90 TV channels 1/2 price Sky Sports & Movies FREE Interactive Services FREE E-Mail (no call charges) Telephone Line Rental FREE number transfer £36.50 Total monthly cost". The claims "Nearly 3 million people have chosen ntl:home for their TV, Telephone and Internet services " and "So much more for £11 less a month" appeared below the tables. BT challenged the claim "Installation fees apply (up to £100)" because Sky and BT charged a maximum of £30 until December 2002 and also challenged the implication that ntl customers pay 50% less than BT and Sky customers for Sky Sports & Movies; BT also challenged whether the savings claims were misleading and confusing and whether the claim "more for less" was misleading; they objected that the advertisers had compared their direct debit price with Sky and BT's non-direct debit price, and also challenged the claim "nearly 3 million people have chosen ntl:home for their TV, Telephone and Internet services". The claim "Installation fees apply (up to £100)" was upheld and the ASA told the advertisers to ensure they printed correct information in future advertisements. The Authority considered that consumers were likely to understand that for Sky Sports and Movies they would pay half the price charged by BT and Sky. The Authority noted Sky Sports and Movies was available to ntl customers for half the price charged by BT and Sky and did not uphold this claim. The Authority considered that the claim on the front of the mailing was explained by the footnote. It considered, furthermore, that, because the back of the mailing made clear that the advertisers were referring to a comparison between ntl and BT and Sky, the distinction between the savings stated on the back of the mailing and those on the front was clear. The Authority did not object to the mailing in that respect and did not uphold the complaint. However, the ASA considered that implications that customers would get more features for less money was misleading and told the advertisers to remove it. The Authority also noted that the footnote merely stated "BT price before payment discounts" and did not make clear that BT offered discounts for people paying by direct debit. Although it noted the advertisers had changed their pricing structure, the Authority was concerned that, despite a ruling in 2001 that stated that such a comparison was unfair, the advertisers had, once again, compared their direct debit price with BT and Sky's non-direct debit price and upheld the complaint. The authority reminded the advertisers, once again, that they should ensure they compared their payment method with their competitors' closest possible payment method. The Authority considered that consumers were likely to understand that nearly three million people took all three services from ntl from the wording of the mailing, and, because they did not, the Authority concluded that the claim was misleading and told the advertisers to amend it. Oftel Publishes Latest Consumer Complaints Information The report sets out the number of consumer complaints received by Oftel about companies in the different markets between 1 April and 30 September 2002, against an industry average. It also sets out the top three most complained about issues. Oftel's Consumer Representation Section receives around 100,000 complaints and enquiries per year. 11 per cent of complaints received so far this year have been about Internet service providers. These complaints have been included as a separate section in the publication for the first time. The complaints cover issues such as consumers not being able to get hold of their Internet service provider or not being happy with the terms of their contract. Research also published today shows that the majority of consumers contacting Oftel's Consumer Representation Section are happy with the service they receive. 80 per cent of those whose complaint or enquiry was dealt with by Oftel were satisfied with the overall handling. David Edmonds, Director General of Telecommunications said today: "There is an strong incentive on the companies to quickly address any problems faced by their customers. "For the first time we have included Internet service providers in our complaints publication because of the increasing number of complaints received. "We received nearly 7,000 complaints about ISPs between April and September and their inclusion in the publication is an added incentive for them to address these issues efficiently. "Our research shows that Oftel has a high success rate in resolving the problems faced by consumers who come to us. "We act quickly to raise issues of concern with the telecoms companies and I expect a prompt response from the companies to address the cause of complaint. "But it is important that companies do not simply wait for Oftel become involved, and take responsibility for their own customers' satisfaction." THUS Wins Broadband Contract for Sunderland Schools THUS was able to significantly reduce the costs associated with connecting schools to the new service because the City of Sunderland Council has concurrently asked THUS to provide a 1-gigabit link between its ICT headquarters and Sunderland's Civic Centre. This enabled THUS to undertake a single extension to its network capable of reaching both new customers rather than develop separate extensions for each customer. 99 percent of UK schools are now connected to the Internet but the vast majority rely upon narrowband connections some 15 to 30 times slower than broadband. One of the key targets of the Government's National Grid for Learning(NGfL) Programme was to have at least 20 per cent of schools including all secondary schools connected to the Internet at broadband level by 2002. Today the picture is mixed, with October figures from the National Statistic Office showing that currently 9 per cent of primary schools, 66 per cent of secondary schools and 10 per cent of special schools have a broadband connection. In spite of recent improvements, Sunderland has very high deprivation levels, ranking 15th out of 354 districts in the Government's Index of Multiple Deprivation (Source: Department of Transport, Local Government and the Regions, Index of Multiple Deprivation, 2000). This places a proportionally higher responsibility on schools to help close the digital divide by providing children from low-income families with access to broadband at school. "Schools without broadband are suffering from a 'connectivity bottleneck'with their Internet access too slow and incapable of handling the number of users they have," said Bill Allan, Chief Executive of THUS plc. "There are proven links between the standard of education, pupils' results and the quality of technology provision. The Government must accelerate its investment in broadband and commit to connecting all schools to broadband by 2004, so that all children can benefit from the advantages now available to the children of Sunderland." "ICT is central to the national curriculum and to children's futures and broadband will certainly help in raising standards and improving their enjoyment of school, " David Staples, Head of Strategy and Performance, Sunderland Education Authority. Broadband can enable pupils of all abilities to take much greater control of their learning. It enables them to tailor their learning to reflect personal interests by delivering access to a wide range of curriculum options. This includes remote delivery of courses by world-class teachers and access to high quality digital learning resources. In addition, it provides pupils with access to enhanced peer-to-peer support, including the chance to participate in virtual communities with learners with similar interests on a global scale. Other innovations in learning enabled by broadband include helping pupils to: * Create and publish portfolios of digital resources (including video, music and presentations). * Enjoy a rich blend of learning experiences beyond the boundaries of their school, including: collaborative learning through virtual communities; distance learning using techniques such as video-conferencing; and the use of virtual reality to complement and enhance field trips. * Acquire a better appreciation of citizenship through access to a broad range of cultural resources and by closer interaction with members of the local and global community. Such contacts will also enhance and invigorate the teaching of foreign languages. * Receive accreditation for their skills as well as their academic knowledge, for example through online 'just in time' testing to assess ICT skills. Broadband Users Responsible for 49% of Web Usage According to new research from comScore Media Metrix, 46 million Americans now connect to the Internet via broadband. However, despite still being in the minority, broadband users accounted for 44 percent of total usage minutes in October. The study indicates that broadband users go online virtually every day of the month on average versus 18 days for the average dial-up Internet user. Around 86 percent of US work users connect to the Web via broadband, and many of the leading website categories among broadband users are work related sites. comScore’s research also indicates that 80 percent of broadband users visited retail sites during October. 3G Mobile Services to Cost £60 per Month Hutchison 3G, will be the first to launch 3G services in this country despite a series of delays and being the most recent operator to enter the market. Monthly subscriptions will start at £59.99, rising to £99.99, and handsets - which are sold separately - can be bought from £399 upwards. Consumers will receive a 'bundle' of voice and video call minutes; text, picture and video messages; and email and multimedia content and services, with further pricing options to be announced soon. A visit to www.three.co.uk enables visitors to see the new handsets and services available. Services are expected to go live in the next few weeks. VIA NET.WORKS UK Launches Advanced Broadband For Businesses VIA's new SDSL Business Network services are specifically designed to provide small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with secure, reliable, high-performance Internet connectivity and are ideal for firms that rely on the Internet for communications and commerce. VIA's SDSL Business Network services allow businesses to both send and receive large amounts of data quickly and are provided with Service Level Agreements (SLAs) that establish network availability and customer support response times. VIA SDSL Business Network service is available in a range of bandwidths and performance levels for 'standard' and 'power' users. VIA is also providing businesses with a 'Secure SDSL' option that includes Internet security services that are managed and monitored 24 x 7 x 365 by VIA Security specialists to protect business networks from hack attacks. In addition, VIA is offering freeTeleworker packs with free VIA dial-up services for up to five remote users with all SDSL orders placed before 28th February 2003. VIA's SDSL service utilises the network of high-speed data communications provider, Fibernet UK Ltd, and the company has already launched SDSL services in North West England, Bristol,Glasgow and Leeds. For further information, please click HERE. Ask Jeeves Consumer Concierge Service Launches In The UK The service is intended to save members valuable time that would otherwise be wasted by personally researching, securing services, or organising a whole project ab initio to final completion. The ‘virtual butler’ service offers a team of experts and accredited suppliers in a multitude of fields, waiting behind the scenes to solve problems and efficiently deal with members’ requests. The service is aimed primarily at busy office professionals who need efficient and helpful assistance from a team of available experts who are on call to help with anything, whenever and wherever. Specialist services include: travel, special occasions, eating out, beauty, domestic help, entertainment, shopping, sports, motoring and home maintenance – thus providing one of the most comprehensive concierge services in the UK. Advice and information, like city details, hotel and foreign restaurant recommendations, is provided free of charge. So for less than £25 per month members will have full access to the extensive services of the Ask Jeeves Member Assistance Centre. Annual subscription to Ask Jeeves Concierge costs £299 (incl. VAT). There are no hourly charges, and members only pay for the costs of individual tasks or for the goods and services they have requested. For more information, please click HERE. BT Clarifies Future Of BT Openworld The current business will be divided with the BT Openworld Internet access and portal services ISP, reporting to a new managing director, Duncan Ingram. All other parts of the BT Openworld portfolio will move to BT Retail, including the Internet operations, development and customer service team, and other Internet value-added services currently available to both BT Openworld and BT Broadband customers such as sportal.com, GamesDomain and dotmusic: These changes see BT effectively move to a business model common amongst other ISPs where the ISP focuses on its core business and "buys in" added-value services. Ben Verwaayen, chief executive of BT, said: "Today's exciting move will allow us to work smarter and create a more customer focused business by removing unnecessary overlaps and realising synergies. "The decision to bring the added-value services into BT Retail comes at the right time in their evolution and is a clear sign of their maturity. At BT Openworld's inception it was right to manage those services separately, but now it is right to realise the benefits of joint management. "With Alison Ritchie taking on her new role as chief broadband officer I have asked Duncan Ingram to take management responsibility for BT Openworld and to report to Pierre Danon." Pierre Danon, BT Group main board director, and chief executive of BT Retail, said: "I am firmly committed to the future of BT Openworld, which is a strong brand and has made a significant impact in the UK's dial-up and broadband markets. My strategic intent is to increase further its focus on customer satisfaction and service and I am convinced that customers will see real benefits as a result. BT Openworld will be run under my wing as a separate business, independent of the rest of the BT Retail offering. "Bringing the operations, and customer service team, and other internet value-added services under the same roof is a smart move. These services are already available to both BT Openworld and BT Broadband customers and so combining the operations will generate greater customer focus and realise synergies. "The people behind these value-added services at BT Openworld have already demonstrated their tremendous creativity and flair and I am looking forward to welcoming them to my team." The changes, which will result in some cost savings - the main benefits coming from the avoidance of the duplication of activities in the future - will take place from January 1, 2003, and will not result in any alterations to the terms and conditions of BT Openworld customers. Free Net4Nowt Newsletter The mailing list may also be used to keep you updated of any important announcements from net4nowt.com. You will not receive advertisements from other companies, our list remains confidential and will not be sold/rented to others. Instructions on how to unsubscribe can also be found at the end of every mailing. http://www.net4nowt.com/mailing/index.htm Fear Of Spam Could Cause Communication Catastrophe For UK Companies Rainier PR has analysed the number of e-mail details for press, analysts and investors removed from the Web in recent months, and managing director of the company, Stephen Waddington, commented: “Taking down your e-mail details because of concerns over spam is like leaving your shop shut because you fear a burglary. In marketing terms, companies that do so are facing a communication catastrophe,” “Companies need to wise up and take preventative measures, not bury their heads in the sand. Ultimately this issue requires Government action, but in the interim, companies should adopt intelligent software filters that stop spam from getting through.” A survey by Rainier PR of 100 corporate Web sites during November, and the six previous months, found that nine per cent had removed e-mail contact details from their Web sites during that time. As a result of the research, the company has developed a 10-point plan for avoiding e-mail spam as listed below: 1. Don’t post your e-mail addresses in public on a Web site or in a newsgroup. Most spammers compile lists by using automatic applications that harvest addresses from the Internet 2. If you must post your email address in public alter it, if possible before posting such as firstname_surnameATrainierpr.co.uk or firstname_SENDNOSPAM_surname@rainierpr.co.uk. Most people will know to remove any annotation whereas computer harvesting software will not 3. Use e-mail aliases on Web sites for press, investor and customer communication such as press@rainierpr.co.uk and investor@rainierpr.co.uk, and change them as soon as you start to receive spam 4. Use an alternative e-mail address for non-business communication 5. Never respond to spam, even to unsubscribe. Spammers use returns to confirm that an email address is in use 6. Review all user agreements before signing up for Web based services. You may discover that you are signing away the right for your email address to be circulated onwards 7. Consider using contact forms, preferably in Java script, as an alternative to publishing e-mail addresses on your Web site 8. Avoid posting information on how to generate your employees email addresses such as firstname_surname@rainierpr.co.uk 9. Introduce unstandardised personal email addresses at your company, intial_surname@rainierpr.co.uk and first_name_surname@rainierpr.co.uk and surname_intial@rainierpr.co.uk 10. When registering your Web site, provide general e-mail addresses for domain administration, technical and billing contacts. UK Stamp Restructure Service Due To 'Exploitation' Service restructure due to exploitation UKStamp`s main aim throughout the past 3 years, was to provide an excellent, quality assured Internet access service at affordable realistic prices. Unfortunately, during peak times, our service quality has deteriorated tremendously and we have made a firm board decision to rectify this problem! Throughout the last few months, other market leaders have been forced to throw out their unmetered access services and issue a set time limit per month for all users. Due to this new concept of users having a set limit, each minute used was accountable, and therefore customers respected the connection time online and disconnected when they did not use the system. This released more modem ports (mainly during peak times) and enabled everyone to use the service, if and when they wanted to! The users that were exploiting the unlimited access, left these companies in their thousands and many joined UKStamp for the assured quality and connection. The majority of these new users now use an average of 8-14 hours per day on the UKStamp service, with continuing reconnection by various software methods (even when not actually using the service), hence clogging up modem ports. Due to the service being exploited by such users, UKStamp has decided to limit the monthly access to 90 hours per month, which is ample for 95% of our current customers, with the aim of stopping the exploitation. Compared to BT local call rate (0845) internet charges, UKStamp will still be 95% less (BT 4p/min, UKStamp 0.2p/min) during the daytime and 81-85% less during evenings & weekends. So we ask you the question, honestly...... ......do you over abuse the system? If the answer is no, then feel free to continue using the service and see the added improvements of the new “90 Hours Per Month” service with 1st time connections at all times. *** ADDED BENEFIT *** – We now allow you to use the service from ANY BT telephone line (not just one home/office number). If the answer is yes, please cancel immediately and we suggest you go onto broadband (UKStamp service coming February 2003) and receive the added benefit of a fast always-on connection. Customers on the 2 hours/day service will be transferred to the new 90 hours/month service with a price increase to £9.99 per month. Business customers on the £12.99 service will continue to have unlimited access. These changes will take effect from 16th December 2002. There is no need to contact us unless you wish to cancel. We hope you will continue to enjoy our service and look forward to your continued custom. Regards, Admin New Net4Nowt: Testers Wanted! If you are interested in a sneak preview of the new site and would be happy to do some testing for us, please send an email to the following address and reply to the confirmation message: net4nowt-testers-subscribe@topica.email-publisher.com We will then be in touch soon. Peter Harris Editor, Net4Nowt peter.harris@net4nowt.com OFTEL: Broadband Take Up In UK Faster than Europe Oftel’s latest benchmarking of telecoms services shows that the current rate of growth in the UK for new broadband services is higher than in France, Germany, Sweden and also the USA. Oftel’s research also found that residential broadband prices in the UK are as cheap as in France, Germany or the USA. DSL prices have fallen 27 per cent since February 2002, with cable modem prices continuing to be cheaper than DSL prices. And for basic broadband business services, the UK is still cheaper than all of the other countries surveyed. The total number of broadband connections is below these other surveyed countries, mainly because they began rolling out broadband services before the UK. David Edmonds, Director General of Telecommunications, said today: "This research shows that consumers continue to benefit from the action taken by Oftel to promote competition. "Broadband connections have now reached 28,000 a week in the UK. This puts the UK in a strong position to build on the one million connections it passed recently during October. "The price of broadband remains on a par with France, Germany and Sweden and in many cases, particularly for businesses, the UK is the cheapest of all the countries surveyed. "Broadband fixed wireless access and satellite are developing broadband platforms, and the number of unbundled local loops is increasing as businesses sign up to services offered by operators. Oftel has included these in its research for the first time and will continue to track their development in the future. "The UK broadband market benefits from competition between the network suppliers, BT and the cable companies. There is also a flourishing level of competition between service providers which means UK consumers have a choice of around 200 DSL providers, and cable modems." Oftel’s research showed that for basic, dial-up Internet access, UK consumers continue to get a good deal, particularly for unmetered packages. Oftel has also published a benchmarking report for the mobile market which shows that UK prices are, on average, similar to those in France, Germany, Italy and Sweden. Handset prices and tariffs have fallen in the UK, strengthening the UK’s relative position against the other surveyed countries. AOL & NTL to Extend Broadband Offering AOL and NTL Business also announced an extension to their existing strategic narrowband agreement, which will see NTL Business continue to provide managed flat-rate network capacity for AOL dial-up customers. The contracts are worth a combined total of up to £85m over four years. The news follows the launch of the AOL Broadband service in June this year. The deal with NTL Business will enable AOL to extend its AOL Broadband service to all the 7.2 million broadband-enabled households on NTL's network. Combined with AOL's existing broadband coverage, this represents the largest potential customer base of any UK online service provider. The deal is an important milestone in NTL Business' wholesale Internet strategy. The company is already one of the UK's leading providers of wholesale Internet solutions, delivering broadband and narrowband services to leading online brands. The deal with AOL marks the launch of the first wholesale cable broadband proposition for a UK online service provider. Karen Thomson, Chief Executive of AOL UK, said: "This agreement will give AOL the widest coverage of any broadband service provider in the UK and help us to build a leadership position in the high-speed market." Paul Rusby, Director Wholesale Internet Services at NTL Business, said: "NTL Business has established its leadership in the wholesale Internet solutions market by adopting a partnership approach with leading providers such as Virgin.net and Tesco. We believe that consumer choice is vital in driving the rollout of broadband, and our partners are increasingly recognising the opportunities offered by our world-class broadband network. We look forward to continuing to work closely with AOL to deliver a high-quality service to its members." Mindy Mount, Executive Vice President and Co-Managing Director of AOL UK, added: "We are delighted to be extending our relationship with NTL Business as part of our continued drive to enhance the service we offer to AOL members. In particular, the expanded reach of AOL Broadband will help drive further development of the content and features consumers really want on high-speed services." 250,000 Broadband Customers at Telewest Telewest research this week also indicated that eight out of ten customers choose cable for broadband services where both it and ADSL are available. VISPA Launch Broadband in a Box For £99.99 you get free connection/line activation, a high quality ‘branded’ modem, intelligent line filter (splitter), manuals, drivers, cables, regular updates about your installation, welcome information pack in the post and: Static IP Address as standard, Unlimited Email Addresses, 50Mb Webspace, Usenet access to over 80,000 groups, Vispa WebMail, Vispa Tucows Mirror, Pre-Installed CGI Scripts, Unlimited Domain Names Hosting and a minimum 3 month contract. Every user that signs up will receive Vispa’s special voucher booklet deal. These include 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 and Norwich Union The final part of the deal is that we will enter every user into our DVD player and 3 top title DVD’s prize draw being held in December and January. To take advantage of this offer, customers can go to http://www.vispa.net/broadband-home500.php If you require any further details email sales@vispa.net or call 08701 624 888 BT Wholesale Announce Content Strategy Deal With AssetHouse By incorporating AssetHouse's carrier-class Content Services Infrastructure (CSI) solutions into BT Wholesale's offering, service providers, cable, DSL and 3G companies together with owners of multimedia digital content will be able to collaborate and deliver chargeable, revenue generating services - such as video on demand (VoD), interactive television (iTV) and e-learning. The agreement comes as a result of AssetHouse's expertise and technology leadership in content services delivery, gained through the Colchester content trial in 1995. AssetHouse's leading software enables the rapid creation of revenue-generating content services via any network to any device, this being an attractive proposition to BT Wholesale's customers. Stuart Horwood, Managing Director BT Wholesale Markets, commented: "In a marketplace that is realising that revenue streams will need to be generated from new media channels, the future of new broadband, digital TV and 3G services will depend on the ability to deploy a wide variety of content services across multiple platforms." "The secret to building profitable content services lies in the ability to deliver them cost-effectively and quickly. The AssetHouse solution adds exactly this capability to our core network." As part of the agreement BT Wholesale, BTexact Technologies (BT's advanced research and technology business), and AssetHouse are currently building a demonstration facility, using music and games content, to highlight the capabilities of the service. The facility will be located at BTexact's Adastral Park headquarters in Suffolk. BT Wholesale has set ambitious goals for the integrated offering and will be primarily targeting the licensed operator market. This listing encompasses almost 500 companies including service providers, 3G, cable and fixed line service providers. The package will also be sold through existing BT Group channels including BT Ignite, BT Openworld and BT Retail. ASA Warns Consumers Of Bogus 'Charity' Advertisements The ASA has received a series of complaints from members of the public about door drop leaflets and regional press ads appealing for charity donations that misleadingly imply the advertisers are a registered charity. One such leaflet, distributed by HK & Associates, read: "Can you spare your old unwanted clothes for the people of Eastern Europe. All items collected will be distributed in Charity Shops in Lithuania, Ukraine and Belorussia." Another, dropped through letterboxes by Golden Tree Union Ltd, said: "Not everyone and especially young families can afford to buy new, often expensive clothes and household things. Thank you for helping us to help others." However, both leaflets failed to make clear that donated items would be sold for profit by the advertisers themselves. Only last week, the ASA upheld complaints that a local press ad for North East Community Link, based in Newcastle, misleadingly implied that the advertiser was a charity that gave free furniture to the homeless. As a result of these adjudications, the Compliance team, which is responsible for ensuring that advertisers comply with the rules governing non-broadcast advertising, is working with publishers of newspapers, magazines and other media owners to stop these misleading advertisements from appearing. ASA Director General Christopher Graham said: "Companies who advertise in this way are exploiting the public's goodwill in order to generate profit for themselves." "By stating that donations will be distributed to those in need or by adding a misleading business registration number to door-drop leaflets, they are attempting to pass themselves off as genuine charities." The ASA's warning coincides with the launch of the Charity Commission's seasonal 'Safer Giving' campaign, and Simon Gillespie, Director of Operations at the Charity Commission, commented: "We welcome the ASA's move to warn members of the public about bogus ads for clothing collections. There are cheats who prey on the generosity of people - especially at Christmas but charity fraud is rare." "This week we launch our nationwide safer giving campaign, which helps members of the public to donate safely to genuine charities. Our message is 'Be generous but be wise. And don't get caught out by the Christmas conmen'." A "Frighteningly Real Internet Access Crazy Offer" (FRIACO) From Bloomley UK Stop Press FRIACO (Frighteningly Real Internet Access Crazy Offer) Calling ISP's, got FRIACO, want FRIACO, now here’s an offer that cannot be passed by: For a very limited period we can give ISP's the chance to break into the flatrate market or boost sales by offering crazy prices for a two month period on FRIACO products. "Flat rate internet access is still a growing market and a key product for all UK ISP's" said Simon Strode of Bloomley UK Ltd. "But it is often difficult and costly to enter the market, Bloomley UK are able to provide flexible offers on a per user of port basis." "Right now we are able to offer crazy prices for the coming two months to any ISP wanting to offer flat rate services." We can deliver rapidly, normally within 48hrs, but the current offer is limited so we would urge anyone wanting a great deal to call now. To hear more about this silly offer call Bloomley on 0870 754 2113 Bloomly UK is currently in the process of updating their Website with their latest offerings including ADSL and broadband services. Nthellworld Recieve NTL Price Confirmation For 1MBit Access Certain customers had been able to get the 1Mbit service for £34.99 for the last few months as part of a special offer, although there has been increasing concern recently that ntl would increase the price of the 1Mbit serviceback to £49.99, although ntl today confirmed that this was not the case. The 1Mbit service also provides you with additional online broadband only content from content partners such as BBCi and RealOne, all accessible through ntlworld´s broadband portal. NTL subscribers who wish to upgrade to the 1Mbit service at the reduced price, please click HERE. SOURCE: nthellworld Thus Launches Demon Express Total Demon Express Total provides permanent Internet access with high bandwidth capability of up to 500kb/s downstream and 250kb/s upstream, and comes with a bundled modem for easier connection to the Internet. Phil Male, Chief Operating Officer at THUS commented: "Self-install broadband has been the key to encouraging widespread adoption of broadband by cutting the cost of connections and removing some of the delays associated with installation." "The availability of more reliable and user-friendly modems like the SpeedTouch 330 makes self-install the logical choice for homeworkers." "The SpeedTouch 330 is one of the easiest-to-install ADSL modems on the market making it the ideal choice for single PC-users. By offering an ADSL package with a bundled modem we can offer an even greater level of customer care and better assist customers with their connection." Demon Express Total compliments THUS's existing range of ADSL products offering SOHO, SME and corporate customers a complete self-install ADSL access solution. Click HERE for more information. Fordyce Offer FreeSIP Service The service, which is open to everyone, does not require a broadband connection to use Voice over IP, instant messaging or presence, although the voice quality and general performance will be degraded. Microsoft Windows XP (which is SIP enabled) is required for video conferencing. Click HERE for further information and details of how to register your username on the free Sip server provided by Fordyce. Opera 6 Beta 3 For Macintosh Released Currently, Opera for Windows is available in 32 different languages, however, this is the first time the Macintosh version of the Opera browser is available in languages other than English. Mary Lambert, product line manager desktop, Opera Software ASA commented: "Our extensive language support on Windows has been very important for our success on the platform, and we have been working hard to implement this feature for the Mac version as well." Please not that Opera 6 for Mac Beta 3 beta is a pre-production release and may contain bugs. Users can download Opera for Mac Beta 3 from here ASA Upholds Objections To Offensive Easynet Advertisment The first advertisement featured a photograph of a man being punched in the face by another man and was headlined "When your MD finds out you're spending up to 85% too much on your Internet connection." The other showed a man being punched in the face by a woman and was headlined "When your employees discover that their Internet connection could be 140* times faster." The advertisers believed the photographs provoked a strong reaction without trivialising violence. They said they had changed the campaign in response to comments from people in focus groups; pictures of a boxing contest had been replaced with pictures of people in business suits set against a black background that reinforced the business setting and gave the advertisements a surreal, humorous quality. The advertisers also believed the humorous context set the advertisements apart from scenes of real violence seen in the media. They said people in the focus groups had not believed the advertisements condoned violence. The publishers said their readers would find the advertisements humorous. They believed the advertisers were trying to advertise in an eye-catching but responsible way. However, the ASA concluded that the advertisements would not generally be seen as humorous and that they were likely to cause serious or widespread offence. The ASA also considered that the advertisements would be seen as condoning violence and anti-social behaviour, and asked the advertisers not to repeat the advertisements. Broadband in Ireland - Limited Take-Up Reported According to the Irish telecoms regulator, ComReg, 700 lines were added since September, bringing the total number of DSL lines in the country to 1,900. However, just 10 percent of the DSL connections are non-incumbent lines. Around 25 percent of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) operating in Ireland have indicated that they are likely to upgrade from IDSN to DSL in the near future, says the report. The study also indicates that Ireland broke the three million thresholds for the number of mobile phone subscribers during the third quarter. Ireland’s mobile penetration rate now stands at 77 percent making it the eighth highest in Europe. Mobile phone subscribers send on average, 65 text messages per month – an increase of 55 percent since December 2001. The study reveals that data revenues now form a substantial part of Irish mobile operators’ turnover, a phenomenon that is reflected in the fact that Ireland has the highest ARPU levels in the European Union at EUR44 per month, up from EUR39 in September. Romance before Christmas with BT Openworld The tie-up with the global online dating agency will enable the ISP's 1.7 million customers to find last minute dates or long-term love on its dating channel. The service will be provided over BT Openworld's popular Lifestyle service from December 2. uDate already has more than 670,000 UK users and the deal with BT Openworld will enhance its visibility and increase traffic. The deal will last for one year initially. Martin Clifford, Chief Operating Officer at uDate, said: "We've been advertising with BT Openworld for several months and the campaign has consistently delivered high quality traffic. This deal allows us to build on that relationship and extend our UK distribution further. BT Openworld's customers will be able to access millions of uDate members in the UK and around the world." Martin Clifford continued: "uDate was set up in 2000 as a dynamic and entertaining way to meet new people over the internet. It's the largest online dating service in the UK and has 13 million members in 100 countries. Our subscribers tell us that the site is very effective in enhancing their social lives." Nick Hazell, director of communications at BT Openworld, said: "Online dating is really taking off in the UK. This strategic deal with uDate provides a valuable extra service to our customers. BT Openworld is pleased to be working with a company that is such a well established, experienced player in what is an obvious, and rapidly developing, use for the internet. Both BT Openworld and uDate stand to maximise traffic and revenue from this online dating channel." You can access the web site at: http://www.btopenworld.com/lifestyle Asia's Largest Independent ISP Teams Up with 3G The alliance marks the opening of Pacific Internet’s service Davao and boosted its coverage in the Philippines to seven cities. It has existing business operations in Metro Manila, Cebu, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and Batangas and is now considered as one of the largest independent ISPs by reach. With this partnership, Pacific Internet Philippines and 3G Communications are pooling their strengths and expertise in premier Internet solutions and knowledge of the local market and channels to provide comprehensive Internet Services to customers. Under this agreement, 3G Communications will resell Pacific Internet's access services to corporate customers in Davao and companies with commercial interest in the area. These services include leased lines, dial-up access, IP-VPN and roaming services, among others. AOL on Track to Cut European Losses "Europe is on path to break even, and we expect to cut losses by two-thirds in 2002," Miller said in an address to analysts and reporters at a conference in New York where he outlined the company's turn-around plan. Earlier, America Online's corporate parent, AOL Time Warner Inc. AOL.N , forecast that 2003 revenue for its Internet unit would be little changed from 2002 as advertising and electronic-commerce sales show no sign of recovery. AOL shares were down more than 11 percent at $14.65 in morning trade on the New York Stock Exchange. Industry Analysts Undecided Over Incumbent Telecoms Groups Analysts and rivals argue that BT's control over its network into homes and businesses coupled with a market share of about three-quarters of British homes gives it an unfair advantage. Some want a separate company to be formed. Although no clear consensus emerged from the debate, the panellists -- an academic, a venture capitalist and an industry boss -- ended their discussion on a note in favour of leaving BT Wholesale and BT Retail under the same roof. A show of hands in the audience at the FT World Telecommunications Conference also narrowly supported the way things were. Philip Nolan, the head of former Irish telecoms monopoly eircom who once worked for British Gas's former network Lattice, said his experience splitting Britain's wholesale and retail gas provision gave him good insight into the debate. He pointed out that unlike the gas industry, BT's network faced competition from the cable networks owned by NTL and Telewest Communications and, increasingly, wireless networks for voice and data provision. Nolan also said regardless of whethe | ||