UK Broadband Internet Service Provider News: 2007/01

UK broadband Internet service provider news and the latest broadband company press releases. Access the latest new broadband deals and broadband service updates, including broadband news from BT, AOL, Tiscali, Eclipse, Orange, Utility Warehouse, TalkTalk, Virgin & Telewest.

Thursday, January 25, 2007

Be 24Mb broadband complaint upheld by ASA

The Advertising Standards Authority recently upheld complaints against Be Broadband (owned by O2) in respect of an advert for their Be Unlimited unbundled 24Mb (ADSL2) service.

Complaint

A press ad, for Be Un Limited, was headlined "up to 24 Meg broadband". NTL and a member of the public objected to the ad because they believed that the headline speed would be unattainable to most users. They believed that, with distance from the exchange, the service suffered from severe signal attenuation, which rendered the claim misleading.

www.asa.org.uk

Labels: asa, be-broadband

Ofcom research on smaller ISPs

Ofcom today published research into the niche Internet Service Provider (ISP) market. The research focuses on smaller ISPs, typically those serving companies with fewer than 30 employees or a small number of residential customers. The research was commissioned during 2006 following requests from industry stakeholders.

The smaller ISP market has a collective turnover of £1.15 billion per year. It comprises nearly 700 service providers serving 30% of UK business customers and 5% of UK households. Based on interviews with more than 300 smaller ISPs, the research shows that:

- Niche ISPs offer a broad range of services from internet connectivity and web-hosting to consultancy;

- More than half (54%) of niche ISPs surveyed claim their approach to service provision, offering personalised products rather than standard packages, give them an advantage over larger ISPs;

- Around 9 in 10 (90%) of niche ISPs have 30 employees or fewer;
Niche ISPs are relatively geographically dispersed; more than half are based outside London and the South of England.

The research will help inform Ofcom's policy work including the ongoing Wholesale Broadband Access Market Review which assesses the obligations on BT Group plc to provide other ISPs with wholesale broadband services such as IPStream.

www.ofcom.org.uk/research/cm/nicheisp/

Labels: general-broadband-news, ofcom

Virgin Media honesty over past customer service

According to the Telegraph, Virgin Media's head of internal communications, James Weekly, offered some brutally honest perspectives of past customer service to fellow internal communications professionals at the Royal Society of Arts this month.

With particular reference to NTL, Mr Weekly referred to the previously poor customer service and other challenges faced by Virgin Media since a complex merger of NTL and Telewest, under the Virgin brand. His frank references were of a history of "crap service" and "very tired people", along with a "synergy hell", caused by ongoing staff reductions of 6,000.

A spokesman for Virgin Media offered the following comments:

"This shows a brutal honesty about what happened before and the challenges that lie ahead.

"The perception is that a Virgin company generally sails along with no problems at all but becoming a Virgin company isn't easy.

"You can't just stamp Virgin on it and everything suddenly goes well. You are overlaying a very entrepreneurial risqué culture on to what was essentially a utility."

For Virgin Media, these disclosures come at a sensitive time, ahead of their £20m marketing relaunch of NTL as Virgin Media.

Virgin Media

Labels: ntl-broadband, telewest-broadband, virgin-broadband, virgin-media-broadband

Sunday, January 21, 2007

Virgin Media soon to launch

Aligning the services of NTL, Telewest and Virgin.net, Virgin Media will soon launch, bringing their respective TV, broadband, mobile and telephony services under the combined Virgin Media brand. A flavour of the new suite of Virgin Media services is available via a sneak preview PR site - www.knowfirst.co.uk, along with the opportunity to win one of 10 invites to their 'glitzy star-studded' party to celebrate the launch of Virgin Media.

According to this site, it would seem that Virgin Media will launch with a choice of three packages - Medium Virgin TV (incl. 2Mb broadband), Large Virgin TV (incl. 4Mb broadband) and XLarge Virgin TV (incl. 10Mb broadband), each with progssively more TV channels (129 TV channels with XLarge) and an inclusive phone line bundled in with the price. Exclusive content worth £35 per month and he peace of mind of Internet security (PC Guard) is to be included with the Large Virgin and XLarge Virgin packages. It is not clear from KnowFirst.co.uk exactly how the telephone element of each package will work, aside from mention that Virgin Phone services will range from Talk Weekends to Talk Unlimited.

Labels: ntl-broadband, ntl-telewest-broadband, telewest-broadband, virgin-broadband, virgin-media-broadband

Broadband is cheaper than dial-up Internet access

According to analysis carried out by SimplySwitch.com (a price comparison service), broadband prices are now lower than those for dial-up Internet access. Dial-up Internet access has been effectively priced out of the market by the flood of Internet users taking up faster and more convenient broadband services. Currently over 40% of UK households connect to the Internet via broadband and it's no wonder, considering that 8Mb broadband access is 143 times faster than 56 Kbps dial-up, allowing users to download larger files, to watch streamed videos online and access a whole new Internet experience.

Based on a survey conducted by Google during March 2006, the average Briton now spends two and a half hours online each day. Based on this data, SimplySwitch.com calculated that if a user were paying for their Internet access via pay-per-minute dial-up, they would save money by switching to broadband. Similarly, for someone paying a flat rate for unlimited dial-up Internet access, in most cases a cheaper broadband alternative would be available, often with inclusive free telephone calls bundled with the broadband package. For example, a Tiscali dial-up customer paying £14.99 per month could save £33 per annum by transferring to the Tiscali 1Mb broadband service for £9.99 per month (first three months, then £12.99), along with free weekend calls. Savings were also shown with equivalent services from AOL and NTL / Telewest.

Karen Darby, founder of SimplySwitch.com, comments: "The advantages of switching from dial-up to broadband are obvious. With an 8Mb connection, broadband is 143 times faster than dial-up*. You can download far larger files, watch videos online, use a wireless connection and you’ll even save money as well. Anyone who ditches dial-up will see a vast improvement to their online experience.

"One of the major barriers to switching is that many people still believe broadband requires the installation of extra cables. This is not the case as 99.8% of UK households have ready access to broadband through their existing telephone landline**. Basically, if you currently have a home telephone, and don’t live in an isolated area, you should have access to broadband. Unlike when changing broadband suppliers, you won’t need a MAC (Migration Authority Code) to switch from dial-up to broadband and, if you use a service like SimplySwitch, the whole process is free and takes less than five minutes.”

Check out the UK's best broadband deals

Labels: aol-broadband, general-broadband-news, tiscali-broadband

Thursday, January 18, 2007

Pipex Wireless to trial new WiMAX

Working with National Grid Wireless, Intel® Solutions Services and Warwick District Council, Pipex Wireless launches second commercial trial. Pipex Wireless is to launch a second commercial trial of its WiMAX services, working with National Grid Wireless, Warwick District Council and Intel® Solutions Services. The trial will involve three sites in the Leamington Spa and Warwick area, and will deliver products including, leased line replacement, voice over IP, home workers broadband and dedicated broadband connectivity using WiMAX.

As the UK’s first wireless solutions provider to launch WiMAX services - with Milton Keynes currently being implemented - Pipex Wireless intends to initially deliver trial services to Warwick District Council and subsequently approach businesses and home-users in the Warwick area. The trial network will be commissioned in Q2/07 and the trial will run for six months. Other towns and cities are planned for deployment later in 2007.

High-speed broadband will be delivered over Airspan’s HiperMAX WiMAX base stations, one of which will be located on the National Grid Wireless’ headquarters in southern Warwick. Intel Solutions Services is working with the council providing support for the introduction of wireless and other technologies, and evaluating performance.

Chris Elliott, Chief Executive, Warwick District Council, comments, “Attracting the latest wireless broadband and voice services to the area is great news. We are looking to make the District a technologically advanced area to live and do business in. Working with Pipex Wireless on this trial and beyond is a vitally important step to achieve this aim.”

Stephen Marshall, CEO National Grid Wireless, says, “We are pleased to be working with both Warwick District Council and Pipex Wireless to deliver WiMAX services in our home town. Our business is founded on the delivery of infrastructure and managed service solutions to the wireless and broadcast industry and we believe the roll out of wireless broadband networks will be complementary to the wide range of technologies already deployed by our organisation.”

Mike Read, CEO, Pipex Wireless, adds, “Following the initial success of our Milton Keynes trial, we are delighted to expand our WiMAX services into new towns and cities in the UK. Working with National Grid Wireless and Warwick District Council further develops our wireless capability and we are looking forward to more organisations, businesses and consumers using WiMAX.”

About Warwick District Council

The District Council serves a population of over 140,000, covering the main towns of Royal Leamington Spa, Warwick and Kenilworth. An annual budget of £113.5m is managed by four main departments with responsibility for services including Planning, Environmental Health, Leisure and Housing.
Home to Stoneleigh Park (National Agricultural Centre), Coventry Airport, Pro Drive F1 and Roccaro, the area has an enviable attraction for prestigious business development, including leading gaming software developers.

The Council has consistently taken an innovative, partnership approach to developing and implementing new IT solutions. Our clear aim is to provide the highest quality services to our customers. Integral to this is equipping our staff with cost effective technology, maximising potential savings and taking full advantage of recent technological developments.

Currently rated as ‘Excellent’ by the Audit Commission’s Comprehensive Performance Assessment, the Council is placed in the top 10% nationally, and as the best District in the Midlands.

About Intel® Solution Services

Intel® Solution Services is Intel Corporation's worldwide consulting organization, focused on driving business transformation and competitive advantage to companies through the practical application of new technologies.

About National Grid Wireless

National Grid Wireless is a wholly owned subsidiary of National Grid and is the leading independent provider of infrastructure to the mobile telecommunications operators in the UK.

National Grid Wireless is also one of two UK providers of terrestrial infrastructure for the transmission of analogue and digital television and radio broadcasts in the UK and as such achieves a 98% population coverage. In addition to the traditional analogue services, National Grid Wireless has a strong position in the growing digital television market, owning two of the six digital terrestrial television licences and providing infrastructure services to all the Freeview channels and the BBC and BSkyB.

About Pipex Communications plc

Pipex is a multiple award-winning provider of integrated telecommunications and Internet services. With a broad customer base including small/home-offices and blue chip companies, Pipex provides a comprehensive range of consumer, business and corporate voice, broadband, security domain name registration and shared and dedicated hosting solutions.

Pipex’s focus is simple: enabling businesses and consumers to achieve their aspirations through proven communications services and emerging technologies. This is achieved through an extensive portfolio of high-speed Internet connectivity, managed services and hosting, security and voice products - combining exceptional performance, innovation and a commitment to customer service.

Owning one of the UK’s most extensive communication networks, Pipex boasts more than 100 Points of Presence (PoPs) nationwide. In addition, state-of-the-art data centres, which are manned and monitored 24x7, ensure the security of Pipex’s customers’ business critical applications. Its commitment to investing in its technology infrastructure ensures that Pipex continues to deliver the most scalable, resilient, secure and reliable services.

Pipex broadband deals

Labels: pipex-broadband, wifi-broadband, wimax-broadband

New BT broadband packages just for business

BT Business delivers Total Broadband to UK SMEs. BT today announced BT Business Total Broadband, its most complete broadband package, specifically designed just for small businesses.

Powered by business-grade broadband with download speeds of up to 8Mb 1, BT Business customers now get more value for money through a free Broadband Voice additional line offer 2 , which gives customers capped UK and international calls over the internet, and our latest suite of security software, Internet Security Pack, which includes anti-virus and firewall software for all the PCs in the office.

BT Business Total Broadband also gives new Option 2 and 3 customers the freedom to use the internet wirelessly outside of the office with 250 free BT Openzone wireless minutes per month 3. This gives customers access to the internet at any of the 30,000 BT Openzone Wi-Fi hotspots in places such as cafes, hotels and airports in the UK and around the world.

Customers also receive the Business Essentials package, designed to make it easier for SMEs to run their business. The package includes ten Business Email Lite mailboxes and 20MB of Webspace, along with access to BT Workspace Lite, its latest collaboration tool that allows everyone within the company to store, access and share information.

As well as the comprehensive package, BT Business Total Broadband customers have a dedicated UK-based helpdesk that is reached via a free 0800 number.

New Option 3 customers will enjoy over £400 worth of additional value, this includes free access to IT Support Manager, BT Business’ advanced telephone support service, where software and configuration problems can be remedied remotely over the internet.

Bill Murphy, managing director of BT Business, said: “For business customers in particular, broadband is much more than just being able to send e-mails and having high speed access in the office. By taking advantage of the latest technologies, the internet opens up a world of possibilities for smaller businesses, meaning that teams can be more efficient and work together no matter where they are – whether in the same office, at home or in an airport lounge.

“Customers have told us that they want a broadband package which is designed with their business in mind. By launching our most complete broadband package just for business, we’re giving customers everything they need – business-grade broadband and support, security, collaboration tools and wireless access – which will allow them to concentrate on their business, rather than worrying about the technology.”

BT broadband

Labels: bt-broadband, business-broadband

Tuesday, January 16, 2007

ISP Finalists - Best Consumer Broadband

ISP Finalists Announced For The 9th Annual UK Internet Industry Awards - The 2007 ISPAs

The Internet Services Providers' Association (ISPA UK) - the UK's leading Internet trade association - can today reveal the finalists in the ISP Division of The 2007 ISPAs - The 9th Annual UK Internet Industry Awards in association with Epitiro.

Kate Allen, Director of Amnesty International UK, will be the keynote speaker at The 2007 ISPAs. Ms Allen will address the Internet industry, Government and media representatives about the power of the Internet to help campaign for human rights, and Amnesty's IRREPRESSIBLE.INFO campaign, which is fighting to defend freedom of expression on the Internet.

For those categories related to broadband and other Internet related services, the finalists at The 2007 ISPAs are:

Best Dial-up

Biscit
ntl:telewest
Orange
Waitrose
Zen Internet

Best Consumer Email

Biscit
Madasafish
Namesco
Seriously Internet
Tiscali

Best Business Email

Biscit
Entanet
Exa Networks
Namesco
Zen Internet

Best Streaming

Astream
Groovy Gecko
Keen Computers
Mydeo
Streaming Wizard

Best Internet Telephony

Entacall
Keen Computers
Lumison
Seriously Vocal
Tesco

Best Wireless ISP

BOZII
Community Internet
The Cloud
West Somerset Internet

Best Portal

ntl:telewest
Madasafish
SidNet
Tiscali
Virgin.net

Best Consumer Broadband

Be Unlimited
Eclipse Internet
Entanet
Namesco
Seriously Internet

Best Business Broadband

Datanet
Eclipse Internet
Entanet
Kingston Communications
Namesco

Best Consumer ISP

Biscit
ntl:telewest
Orange
Tiscali
Virgin.net

Best Business ISP

Claranet
Datanet
Entanet
UKFast
Zen Internet

ISPA UK has been organising The ISPAs since 1999 to celebrate innovation and best practice in the Internet sector.

Board members from the Internet industry and Government representatives will gather to recognise the industry's achievements over the past year.

The ISPAs scheme is renowned for its independence and objectivity, reinforced for the fourth year by ISPA's research partner Epitiro. ISPA commissioned Epitiro to conduct tests and monitor the Internet services of entrants in the ISP Division over a three-month period. Following analysis of the data, the shortlists were selected for the coveted awards in the ISP Division.

Labels: biscit-broadband, business-broadband, general-broadband-news, nildram-broadband, ntl-broadband, ntl-telewest-broadband, orange-broadband, telewest-broadband, tiscali-broadband, virgin-broadband

Sky Broadband + Sky Talk + Sky TV

Sky recently launched a tempting 'broadband triple deal' of Sky broadband + Sky Talk (inclusive weekend & evening calls) + a Sky TV package for just £26 per month.

Takers of this innovative broadband deal get a fast broadband connection of up to 8Mb, a monthly usage allowance of 40Gb, along with inclusive evening andweekend calls to UK landlines and in excess of 100 digital TV channels. With this deal, there is an activation fee of £20 and users would have to continue paying BT a line rental charge of £11 per month.

This combination of products for £26 is only available to 70% of the UK population, customers currently in our network area (50%) those out of the network we will reach before July 2007 (20%). Availability is subject to location, compatible line, equipment, and survey.

Labels: sky-broadband

TalkTalk broadband reaches 2.2 million

The Carphone Warehouse (TalkTalk) gave a third quarter trading update for the 13 weeks to 3oth December 2006 on the 12th January and with them, group revenue figures up by 31%.

This update shows the impact of the aquisition of the AOL's UK broadband business last year, with the groups overall number of broadband customers now at 2.12 million, of which 413,000 (132,000 TalkTalk broadband customers and 281,000 AOL broadband customers) are via an unbundled connection.

Charles Dunstone, Chief Executive Officer, said:

“We have had another very good Christmas period. Delivering profitable like-for-like growth after last year’s very strong performance is a great achievement, reflecting all our people’s efforts, and driving market share gains through the strength of our customer proposition.

“The completion of the AOL deal makes us the clear number three player in the UK broadband market with 2.2 million residential broadband customers, giving us the scale we need to deliver significant profitable growth in the medium term. Our immediate focus continues to be on improving our processes and customer service, where we have made good progress in recent months.

“In just its first nine months, Virgin Mobile France has established itself as the fastest growing virtual network in the market with 379,000 active customers, and customer acquisition is accelerating as the brand becomes more prominent and distribution becomes broader. In addition, Best Buy Mobile, our US joint venture, has enjoyed a promising start.

“Overall we anticipate a full year result in line with current market expectations.”

TalkTalk Broadband deals

Labels: talktalk-broadband

Saturday, January 13, 2007

BT reaches 1 million VoIP customers milestone

BT today announced it had gained more than one million registered consumer customers for its Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services, BT Broadband Talk and BT Softphone, representing more than a third of BT’s consumer broadband base.

BT has reached this key milestone more than six months earlier than projected, having set out in July 2006 a target of achieving a million VoIP customers within twelve months.

Gavin Patterson, managing director of consumer at BT Retail, welcomed the news: “We now have more than a million customer accounts for our VoIP services – and to achieve this in six months is nothing short of spectacular.

“UK consumers are clearly happy to embrace internet telephony when it is straightforward to use and offers great value, and through BT Total Broadband our customers are getting all the benefits that broadband has to offer.”

The June 2006 launch of BT Total Broadband placed internet telephony at the heart of the UK’s most comprehensive, value-packed broadband packages. Following a major revamp, BT unveiled three new VoIP services under the BT Broadband Talk banner, allowing customers to make calls through their PC, a videophone or a phone.

BT Broadband Talk enables customers to use their broadband connections as an extra line, getting inclusive evening and weekend calls to UK* landlines. Customers on BT Broadband Talk get a separate phone number and can choose a high value monthly calling plan alongside calling features such as 1471 and BT Answer. International calls cost from 1.25p per minute plus 3p set up fee and mobile calls from just 5p per minute.
BT Softphone is easy to download, and gives free global PC-to-PC chat at any time of day. It is compatible with BT Broadband Talk through one calling plan and one phone number. All customers of BT’s prior PC-based service, BT Communicator, can now make their calls with BT Softphone.

BT Total Broadband

Labels: bt-broadband, voip

Monday, January 08, 2007

Broadband with no limits from Vodafone now available

As announced in November, Vodafone UK's new premium broadband service, Vodafone At Home, is commercially launched today.

Available nationwide to Vodafone contract consumer customers, the service costs just £25 per month including the landline rental. Vodafone At Home customers will receive up to 8 Mb unlimited broadband, free 24/7 support and inclusive calls at anytime to UK landlines. In addition, customers will have a 25% discount versus BT standard rates for call to mobiles.

Vodafone broadband should be available on any exchange that BT Wholesale offers its Max (up to 8Mbps) product, and includes free connection and a free Netgear Ethernet ADSL modem. A wireless router is available for an extra one off payment of £25. Technical support can be contacted for free via a Vodafone mobile. Vodafone broadband carries an 18 month contract, and whilst unlimited, a fair use policy does apply. If you cancel your Vodafone mobile contract while you have the At Home service, your monthly fee will increase to £35 a month.

Labels: vodafone-broadband

Nokia and The Cloud to offer free WiFi access with Nokia N800 Internet Tablet

The partnership is launched with the new Nokia N800 Internet Tablet, announced earlier today at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. Anyone purchasing the device in the UK will be given free access for one month, enabling them to go online, check email and access a wealth of new media content on the go. The offer will be available exclusively to users of the Nokia N800 and Nokia 770 Internet Tablets before being rolled out to other Nokia devices.

The Nokia N800 has been purpose-built to deliver the best possible, always-with-you internet experience, combining quick and easy access to the Internet with a high resolution, widescreen display. With the Nokia N800 you can enjoy all your favourite Internet services and applications anytime, anywhere, including Web browsing, instant messaging, email, Internet calling, podcasting, blogging and much more.

The Nokia N800 will be available at independent retailers including John Lewis, DSGi and Comet, as well as online channels, including Expansys.com, Play.com, and Dabs.com. The jointly branded sales package will include a coupon inside that enables consumers to take advantage of the service.

Ari Virtanen, vice president, convergence products, Nokia said “This partnership brings together a device developed specifically to offer one of the best possible mobile Internet experiences with a key player in the growing development of public WiFi hotspots. We are pleased to be able to offer our customers this compelling proposition.”

Niall Murphy, CTO of The Cloud said: “We are delighted to partner with a market leader like Nokia at this important stage for the mobile industry. Delivering access to content on consumer devices is an emerging market and we are proud to be doing this in conjunction with a major brand like Nokia.”

The Cloud offers sophisticated WiFi coverage at over 8,500 locations including airports, hotels and railway stations across the UK, Germany, the Nordics and The Netherlands with hundreds of new hotspots coming online every month. The Cloud also operates large scale networks in Canary Wharf, Amsterdam and in 9 other UK cities including Manchester and Edinburgh. The Cloud is currently deploying a network across the entire City of London that will go live early in 2007.

Labels: wifi-broadband

THUS announces enhanced firewall protection for SMEs

Demon customers to benefit from Unified Threat Management, providing extra protection against online attacks. THUS plc today launched an enhanced security portfolio aimed at protecting its SME customers from web-based security threats. The upgraded Demon CPE Firewall Solutions will provide small and medium-sized enterprises with a state-of-the-art, all-in-one approach to preventing viruses, spyware and online intrusions. The new portfolio features products from leading firewall manufacturers including Check Point, Juniper Networks and WatchGuard, providing businesses with the flexibility to choose the security solution that best fits their business needs.

The enhanced product range has been designed to offer the highest levels of security based on next-generation Unified Threat Management (UTM) technology. THUS is one of the first operators to deploy solutions based on UTM, which provides multiple security features in a single box, and is one of the most advanced integrated security technologies available today.

Demon's CPE firewall enhancements also offer improved security for businesses that need remote access to their networks. The solutions provide cost effective network security for remote offices with feature-rich appliances that integrate multiple security functions. For example, stateful and deep inspection firewalls, IPSec VPN, denial-of-service protection and web filtering. With remote working gaining in popularity, businesses will be able to offer employees full access to the corporate network with the knowledge that the connection has as stringent protection as the office LAN.

Nigel Stevens, product director at THUS, commented: "As businesses become increasingly reliant on their networks for the storage and distribution of sensitive data, they offer a tempting target for malicious web-based attacks. Businesses need to know that their critical data is protected from outside interference and the enhanced Demon firewall solutions can contribute to that peace of mind. Demon solutions enable business to have a flexible network with the most robust defences, all from the same provider in one easy-to-use package."

The new portfolio will provide an affordable package to SMEs based on anti-virus, anti-spyware, intrusion prevention and application firewalling. The benefits of this unified security approach include ease-of-use and cost savings on hardware, enabling businesses to interact over the Internet with the knowledge that their critical data is protected against multiple threats through a single product

Labels: business-broadband, demon-broadband, thus-broadband

THUS enhances Demon Broadband security suite

THUS plc today launched a new range of anti-phishing, anti-virus and anti-spam solutions to address the rise in Internet attacks. The services will be available to THUS customers who have Demon products, including small to medium-sized businesses and home workers, and will help to protect subscribers from the growing threat posed by Internet crime. THUS is the first provider to launch an anti-phishing service free with Internet access in the UK.

A surge in phishing, the use of spoof emails to trick Internet users into divulging confidential information to steal identities, in the first half of 2006 has produced a sharp increase in the amount of money being lost to online banking fraud. UK banks reported a 55 per cent increase in losses from fraudulent online transactions for the first half of the year. Losses attributed to phishing totalled £22.5 million, up from £14.5 million in the first six months of 2005, according to APACS, the UK payments association.

THUS' anti-phishing, anti-virus and spam solutions will be included as standard with all entry level and mid-range products and services on both dial-up and broadband packages, providing users with additional protection and support. The services will be provided in collaboration with leading messaging anti-abuse company Cloudmark, leveraging real-time reporting and data collection from Cloudmark's global network to deliver the fastest, most accurate blocking of phishing attacks, spam and widespread virus outbreaks. In addition, all email scanning is carried out while in the THUS network before coming into contact with the workstation, whether it be a Mac, Windows PC or PDA.

Nigel Stevens, product director at THUS, comments: "Between 60 and 80 per cent of emails being sent are now spam. Messaging abuse has become one of the biggest obstacles to customer satisfaction and now has a direct impact on a business' bottom line. Whether you consider the time and cost associated with targeted phishing attacks and spam or the potential effects of a widespread virus attack – today's businesses cannot accept the resulting damage to reputation and revenue.
"The service now being offered to Demon customers cross-references suspicious emails with known phishing and spam sites. Cloudmark's unique methodology allows us to predictively block spammers and detect new threats at wire speed, before they reach user inboxes. A similar technique identifies and stops new virus outbreaks prior to mass distribution, reducing the response time from days down to minutes without delaying the arrival of legitimate mail and slowing down productivity."

THUS' new suite of solutions are complementary to traditional desktop anti-virus software which is able to block known viruses but can remain vulnerable to new outbreaks until an update or patch is installed. The new suite of solutions from THUS offer an additional layer of security for Demon customers and works in an automated fashion, quickly identifying, analyzing and blocking new virus outbreaks, phishing or spam email attacks before they propagate . Intelligent fingerprinting algorithms are able to identify spam and phishing even in a mutated form (for example, changes in text, code, URL, sender or image) giving users the fastest level of email protection available.

Labels: demon-broadband, thus-broadband

Sunday, January 07, 2007

World-first BT Fusion embraces next-generation Wi-Fi

Deal with Phones4u takes Fusion to the High Street

BT today announced a next generation of BT Fusion Wi-Fi handsets, which will use the company’s growing network of hotspots and Wireless Cities to offer customers thousands of extra places to get great value on their mobiles.

Mobile phone lovers will be able to make guilt-free calls at home or out and about at BT Openzone hotspots and get four minutes talk for the price of one*.

For the first time, BT Fusion will be available to buy on the High Street this Spring in over 400 Phones4u stores across the UK, after the chain signed up to be the partner for the Wi-Fi launch.

BT’s extensive BT Openzone network in the UK and Ireland means that it is in a unique position to offer a truly converged fixed-mobile service.

The company’s plan to build a first phase of 12 Wireless Cities by the end of March next year means that most of the UK’s major city centres will soon offer widespread Wi-Fi coverage and the same four-for-one tariff will cover these locations.

It is expected that the introduction of the Wi-Fi handsets, the Nokia 6136, Motorola A910 and Samsung P200, will boost sales of this innovative mobile service.

Free internet surfing on the Wi-Fi handset is also part of the offer for Fusion customers, who can email or surf the web on their mobiles at home and at BT Openzone hotspots at five times faster speeds than GPRS.

Steve Andrews, BT chief, Mobility and Convergence, said: “Today, Fusion takes another huge step forward with an exciting new evolution offering even more places to get great value mobile calls. These latest free handsets will allow customers the freedom to just make the calls and surf the web via BT broadband without having to think twice.

“It is great sitting on the sofa at home and not having to worry about the cost of a convenient call made from your mobile. It is even better to get the same freedom when you are out and about, maybe in a hotel, at the airport or even shopping in a city centre. It knows where you are and connects automatically to Wi-Fi when you are at home or at a BT Openzone hotspot.

“BT Fusion was the world’s first and we believe it is the best. And because we have a large estate of BT Openzone hotspots and plans for a first phase of 12 Wireless Cities, customers can easily see the opportunity for savings. Our deal with Phones4u will make Fusion available on the High Street for the first time, as well as online and by calling BT. This mobile service is a great example of our convergence strategy to keep customers well connected wherever they are.”

BT Broadband

Labels: bt-broadband, wifi-broadband

Thursday, January 04, 2007

Consumers predict the end of traditional TV

Tiscali TV Trends Report 2007 reveals consumer hunger for TV freedom

British consumers will be trading in the traditional broadcast model of TV scheduling in favour of on-demand TV over their broadband connection, according to new, independent research commissioned by Tiscali, the broadband and media company.

The Tiscali TV Trends Report 2007 reveals that despite not knowing what the term 'IPTV' means, 63% of UK adults would prefer to watch on-demand programmes on their TV sets, via their broadband connection.

Brits want TV freedom

Such is the British population's confidence that broadband delivered television on-demand is the way forward that 42% believe today's traditional television schedules will be a thing of the past in ten years' time. The research shows that choice is key and will have a significant impact on who succeeds. A further one in four people believe that the big commercial broadcasters, like ITV, will be struggling to survive amidst a myriad of small, fast-moving independents who can give consumers what they want, when they want it.

However, the choice and lifestyle freedom that on-demand television provides will not turn Britain into a nation of square-eyed couch potatoes. 42% of those who view on-demand content actually watch less TV as a result, and a further 41% watch about the same amount. The implications for television advertisers are significant and broadcast campaign planners will have to become much more specific in their targeting.

Sport alone is not enough

Remarkably, almost one in five (17%) of UK adults have already downloaded content on-demand to their television sets and the good news for employers is the majority (97%) are viewing this content at home and not on a work PC. The remaining 83% said that movies on demand were the most compelling reason to try out a broadband television service (71%) followed by TV shows or soaps (49%) and sports (32%).

Being able to watch the right movie at the right time is so important to British consumers that more than half (51%) would prefer to rent a movie by downloading it through their broadband connection rather than go to a video rental store.

Londoners shown to be early adopters

28% of Londoners watch on-demand content via their internet connection making them the UK's early adopters, in sharp contrast to Wales and Northern Ireland where just 12% of people have viewed on-demand content via their internet connection. When it comes to the battle of the sexes, men are watching the most on-demand content via broadband - 21% compared with 16% of all women.

Tiscali, which bought Video Networks International Ltd earlier this year, conducted the research as part of its preparation for its TV product rollout in early 2007.

Neal McCleave, managing director of media services for Tiscali UK says, "There is obviously a big demand already among British consumers for the freedom and choice IPTV will give them, even if they don't know the jargon yet. Conventional broadcasters should heed the warning and will need to adapt significantly in the coming years to retain their market share.

"IPTV will create a whole new force in broadcast and digital entertainment distribution and Tiscali's TV service will be the broadest and most flexible. It's all about choice."

"The good news for consumers is that with all the extra choice and freedom, we're not all going to become couch potatoes. While the growing adoption of IPTV may mean we watch less TV overall, the time we spend in front of the box will be of a higher quality."

Research methodologyThe survey commissioned by Tiscali was conducted by research specialist Tickbox.net and polled a representative sample of 1,465 adults in the UK.

Labels: broadband-IPTV, tiscali-broadband

ISPA Announces Internet Hero, Villain And IWF Nominees

The Internet Services Providers’ Association (ISPA UK) – the UK’s leading Internet trade association – today reveals its nominations for the ‘net’s heroes and villains of 2006.

The ISPA Council have nominated individuals or organisations that have helped or hindered the Internet Industry, to receive either the Internet ‘Hero’ or ‘Villain’ award at The 2007 ISPAs – the 9th annual UK Internet Industry Awards in association with Epitiro

The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) Award is selected by the IWF, an organisation created to combat child abuse images and criminal material online. It will recognise an individual or organisation that has fought against child abuse content online

The nominations for the IWF Award, sponsored by Imtech Telecom are:-

Annie Mullins , Vodafone’s Global Head of Content Standards

“For protecting users, with particular emphasis on young users when accessing new content services through mobile telephones and her continuing work in child protection and welfare issues.”

BT

“For developing and implementing the world’s first Internet system to block URLs of websites that were publishing potentially illegal child abuse content.”

Home Secretary’s Task Force for Child Protection on the Internet

“For providing a hugely successful multi-agency forum to enable a vast array of experts to contribute towards policies and good practice documents to make the internet a safer place for children.”

John Carr, NCH Internet Consultant

“For his work on the “digital divide”, seeking to ensure all children and young people can benefit from the wonderful opportunities presented by new technologies.”

Nicholas Lansman, Secretary General, ISPA UK

“For his involvement in the process that established the Internet Watch Foundation in 1996 and his longstanding support of the notice and take-down service provided by the IWF; as well as his steering of the Internet Crime Forum (ICF) and active participation in the Home Office Child Protection Task Force.”

This year’s ‘Hero’ nominees, sponsored by UKFast, are:-

Annie Mullins, Vodafone

"For her work with the Home Office Task Force on Protection of Children on the Internet and the European Union's Safer Internet Programme."

OFCOM

"For arguing that Europe's Television without Frontiers Directive should not be applied to the Internet, as it would stifle creativity and investment in Internet video as well as requiring Government regulation for little benefit.

Simon Watkin and the Home Office team

"For standing up to the European Union and recognising the need to reimburse ISPs for the additional costs that are incurred in meeting data retention requirements, helping to maintain effective industry liaison and recognising the need for Government to work with industry and not against it."

Stephen Carter, Former Ofcom Chief Executive

"For over seeing the Strategic Review of Telecommunications and building a good working relationship between the Internet industry and Ofcom since his appointment in 2003."

The EU

"For considering legal action against protectionist barriers planned by France, Italy, and Austria that would potentially ban foreign online gaming and investigating nine other EU member states."

This year’s Villain nominees, sponsored by Abbotsbury
Software, are:-

Commissioner Vivianne Reding and European Commission

"For foisting the most arcane set of rules yet seen for prior registration of .eu domains, requiring UK registered companies to submit legal affidavits to justify the authenticity of their
business."

e360 insight

"For attempting to use a court in Illinois with no UK jurisdiction to obtain a Restraining Order on Spamhaus, a company that provides dependable real-time anti-spam protection for Internet networks."

Peter Black, Executive Chairman Next Generation Networks UK

"For making the Next Generation Networks UK body, an independent body looking at next generation networks and services, too elitist and not allowing smaller ISPs to be involved."

The British Phonographic Industry

"For applying pressure on Cable & Wireless and Tiscali to reveal the names and addresses of customers who the BPI believed to be file sharing, with poorly prepared evidence."

The US Government

"For imposing prohibition like restrictive legislation against legitimate European gaming sites."

The winners from the above nominees will be awarded their titles at
The 2007 ISPAs alongside
14 other categories, entered by the UK’s leading Internet companies.

Winners will be presented with a coveted ISPA Award at a gala dinner held at the London Marriott Hotel in Grosvenor Square on the 15th February
2007.

Labels: general-broadband-news

Wednesday, January 03, 2007

Survey reveals clothing is merely an option for Brits on the phone

New research from BT Broadband Talk today has lifted the lid on some of the nation’s more unusual talking habits, and has revealed that almost half of Brits regularly talk on the phone when they’re not wearing any clothes!

49 per cent of people questioned as part of the survey admitted that they were happy to talk to friends and family when naked in the privacy of their own home, and this also was the situation where most respondents are pleased that the recipient of their call couldn’t actually see them! British women are much more likely than men to do this, with 57 per cent of females questioned, and 40 per cent of males, regularly making phone calls when naked.

A quarter of people questioned also said that they used phone calls as a way of pretending they were elsewhere – this figure rises among males, 30 per cent of whom regularly use the advantage of not being seen to make the person they are speaking to think they are somewhere else.

The BT Broadband Talk research shows that the majority of Brits are ‘talking multi-taskers’ with 83 per cent of people questioned saying that they carry out other activities while speaking on the phone. Women (86 per cent) are more likely to do this than men (78 per cent) and the research showed a female slant towards carrying out more practical tasks while making phone calls – popular responses from women included preparing food (64 per cent) and ironing (43 per cent). Men, however are more likely to be found watching television (63 per cent) while talking on the phone.

A number of other differences in the talking habits of the opposite sexes were also highlighted by the research. Women are more than twice as likely as men to pick up the phone to speak to their parents, while men are more likely than women to be found speaking to friends of the opposite sex.

Wendy McMillan General Manager, BT Broadband Talk, said: “Talking on the phone is an everyday activity for most people, what’s interesting about this research is the variety of different ways in which we go about it. Some of the facts revealed here might make us think about our phone calls a bit more and start to wonder what the person at the other end of the line is actually doing!”

BT Broadband Talk is an easy way to make and receive calls, all you need is a broadband connection and a normal touchtone phone. Customers simply plug the phone into the broadband enabled router and make and receive calls in the normal way.

With BT Broadband Talk, inclusive evening and weekend calls and great UK landline, mobile and international call rates are available and these apply whether callers are clothed or not. Callers using BT Broadband Talk can enjoy Hi-Definition Sound capability for high quality voice calls (provided both caller and recipient have a broadband connection with BT Home Hub and BT Home Hub Phone or BT Broadband Talk Softphone), as well as benefiting from a second virtual phone line and separate phone number.

BT Broadband Talk Customers can make calls from their computer using BT Softphone or via the BT Videophone.

BT Broadband

Labels: bt-broadband

Channel 4 Radio and The Cloud first to offer podcast content over public WiFi

Channel 4 Radio will be the first broadcaster to target its audience via a WiFi network through a deal announced today with The Cloud. To coincide with Celebrity Big Brother, from the 3rd January 2007, 4Radio will provide radio programming over The Cloud's Public WiFi network, designed specifically for the PSP, and other mobile devices with complementary functionality. Available free of charge for a two month trial period users will be able to download 4Radio podcasts, including Celebrity Big Brother, and listen to them whilst on the move.

The partnership will allow 4Radio to provide a virtual “breakfast show on the go”: thousands of commuters will be given the choice to create their own breakfast show, on demand, through The Cloud’s network of 7,500 public WiFi hotspots, located in high foot-fall locations including coffee shops, hotels, train stations, pubs and airports.

Every day Commuters will be able to choose from a selection of Channel 4 Radio content including Morning News, Celebrity Big Brother and SlashMusic, 4 Radio’s innovative music show. This venture enables PSP users to take full advantage of the device’s rich platform for media consumption on the move. When a PSP user walks into a Cloud hotspot and then clicks on the Internet browser on their device they will be automatically directed to the landing page and one click away from a Cloud/4Radio branded portal fully optimised for the PSP.

Nathalie Schwarz, Director of Channel 4 Radio, said: “Radio has the potential to be the most powerful and influential medium in broadcasting, but to achieve this in a digital world it needs to start innovating and fast. Making 4Radio’s content available on demand, on the go through The Cloud’s WiFi network enables us to target listeners who want bold and mischievous radio programming but don’t have time to tune in before they leave the house. We are providing it at their convenience – to fit in with our listeners’ busy lifestyles.

For the digitally savvy generation too much radio programming feels tired and formulaic. Becoming the first broadcaster to make radio content available wirelessly on PSPs will help 4Radio connect with a young, mobile audience making our programming easily available whenever and wherever they want.”

Niall Murphy, The Cloud’s CTO, commented: “There is an explosion in consumer WiFi devices around the corner and leading edge content providers are already starting to prepare for this large new market. WiFi usage is starting to shift from business to consumer devices and by the end of 2007, 80% of WiFi enabled devices are expected to be targeted at consumers. WiFi users will be demanding entertaining and unique content which they can access on the way to and from work, university or school. As the leading WiFi provider across the UK and Europe, we have already proved ourselves as being second to none in terms of offering access. Partnering with 4Radio to offer innovative content is therefore very exciting for us.”

Labels: wifi-broadband

Tuesday, January 02, 2007

BT to smash broadband target

BT will this week break through the ten million broadband barrier, smashing its initial target of five million connections by the end of 2006. That target, viewed as highly ambitious at the time, was set in April 2002 when there were fewer than 150,000 DSL connections. Broadband availability at that time was 66 per cent whereas it is now more than 99.8 per cent.

The ten million wholesale connections are shared between BT Wholesale and Openreach. BT Wholesale supplies services to more than 8.7 million customers (via service providers including BT Retail) whilst Openreach supplies more than 1.3 million lines to customers via local loop unbundlers. Every one of these ten million connections brings revenues to BT.

Broadband has become the fastest growing consumer product in recent years vastly outpacing the growth in televisions, CD players, video recorders or mobile phones. More than 13 million people in the UK (including cable customers) now use the service, making the UK one of the fastest growing markets in the G8. The success of Broadband Britain has resulted in the UK leading Europe in online shopping and ecommerce – a trend that has been evident over the festive season. 1

Ben Verwaayen, Chief Executive of BT Group, said: “2007 is beginning with broadband firmly established at the heart of the UK economy, helping businesses to compete and enriching people's lives. The UK now has over 200 service providers making it the most competitive broadband market in the world. That means fantastic choice and value for consumers, and a constant stream of new and innovative applications.”

Broadband over BT’s network is fast outpacing broadband over cable. Whereas three years ago, more than half of all new connections were carried over cable, that percentage had declined to just 11 per cent for the quarter ending September 2006 meaning 89 per cent of new connections use BT’s network.
In an intensely competitive environment BT Retail’s share of the total broadband market (including cable) has remained steady at around 24 per cent. This figure reflects its share of the total market at the end of September 2006 and is exactly the same as it was one year previously. BT Retail now has more than three million broadband customers.

Going forward, broadband speeds are set to increase with the roll out of BT’s 21st Century Network. This will see the speed of broadband increase across the UK and not just in the city centres where local loop unbundlers are focusing their investment. Speeds of up to 24Mb/s will be increasingly available across the UK from January 2008 although actual speeds will depend on a variety of factors including distance from the exchange.

BT broadband

Labels: bt-broadband

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