Virgin Media 50Mbps cable product in a couple of weeks

Monday 06 October 2008 15:05:08 by Andrew Ferguson

It may be one of the most widely anticipated broadband roll-outs beyond the first products in 1999/2000 but Virgin is just a couple of weeks away from getting people onto its live 50Mbps cable broadband service.

The internet is of course a great place for rumours, and the big difficulty can be separating fact from hearsay. A visitor to our forums has 'leaked' some information on the forthcoming product, and similar information is appearing elsewhere.

The fact the roll-out will take to April 2009 to complete is not major news, but in terms of the state of broadband in the UK it is nice to know that some 40% of us will have a choice of a 50Meg product by then. Price wise the £52 remains unconfirmed and we have talked to Virgin Media who say that the price point is not set in stone yet. Some may be reluctant to sign-up due to the 12 month contract, but a new contract for a major upgrade is not uncommon with other broadband providers, and this does cover the new modem that will be needed.

The area of traffic management is the hardest to cover, as some become very emotive very quickly, but no figures have been set yet, or whether it will be used at all. The main thrust appears to be that the 50Mbps product is on a new network with lots of capacity, so it is likely that Virgin Media will wait to see how people use it.

For those biting at the bit to order the 50Mbps product, one word of warning, to get the most from it you may need to upgrade your home network. 802.11g wireless routers will limit you in terms of speeds for wireless activity, and many routers may not cope well with an Internet connection running at 50Mbps.

Stephen Carter new broadcasting minister

Monday 06 October 2008 14:15:53 by Andrew Ferguson

Stephen Carter left Ofcom back in 2006 and has now been appointed as the junior minister of communications, technology and broadcasting.

In this position his role is split across two government departments, Department for Culture, Media and Sport and Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform. Details of this and other cabinet reshuffles over at The Guardian.

There are many challenges ahead in the broadband and communications arena, which go a long way beyond what many see as the holy grail of fibre to the home. One example raised by Technology Critic Bill Thompson on BBC News Online is regulation of the growing variety of video content online. A clear and present danger is that rules that initially set out to protect children from adult content, may stifle innovation in new media. For example if sites offering online video require certificates, who decides what certificate to give, how long and how expensive is this process? Does the average blogger who puts the odd funny video clip online need to apply?

One big question that is unanswered as yet, is how would any policing of online video content work when a great deal is hosted overseas already, and new rules could force even more abroad. Broadband and the ease of access to information has had a disruptive effect on several established industries, the music industry perhaps being the largest example. Not all change is bad, but some try to stave off the change for as long as possible. Most will agree that how people watch TV is changing, the days of people sitting down to watch a single channel all evening are virtually gone.

The internet and web browsing were created with a view to allow academics to share information, and since the inception of broadband the public has embraced the information sharing aspects. Now with large companies involved we will see their influence increasing, particularly as some may try to protect their profit margins by regulating away new players or ensuring the continuance of an existing status quo.

17 million broadband connections boosted by over 5 million LLU.

Friday 03 October 2008 12:06:56 by John Hunt

The latest Telecommunications Market Report from Ofcom pegs the number of broadband connections in the UK up at 16.2 million for the end of Q1 2008. This is a rise of 592,000 connections since Q4 2007. Recent figures released from the OTA show that LLU numbers are now over 5 million, so this is likely to push the total current broadband connections in the UK, along with other additions to over 17 million.

The BT retail share of the market has stayed fairly stagnant with the same percentage of the total as compared with the last quarter, however LLU is continuing to boost the 'Other' figure which has now exceeded BT retail's share for the first time in 2008. The 'Other DSL' has also seen a continued drop, but this is due to operators migrating more lines over to LLU services.

In more up to date figures released today by the Office of the Telecommunications Adjudicator, September saw the number of LLU connections break through the 5 million barrier to 5.032 million.

The OTA have also announced the release of the long awaited best pratice guide for broadband migrations, which is now available on the Openreach website and advise that continued development will occur to this. One area that needs processes being developed is the migration to and back from 21CN products, including next generation access (NGA) such as fibre to the home, and the existing services already available.

Offer for THUS declared unconditional

Wednesday 01 October 2008 14:19:59 by Andrew Ferguson

Cable & Wireless who for many people vanished from the broadband landscape when Bulldog was sold to Pipex in 2006 is now the owner of another broadband outfit in the form of THUS Group plc with its offer of 180 pence per share being declared unconditional in all respects.

THUS owns the retail provider Demon which pioneered dial-up Internet access for small businesses and consumers in the UK. What today's news means for consumers and businesses with Demon is not clear, certainly packages are still being offered for sale but the Demon press room has not been updated since November 2007.

Cable & Wireless offers wholesale broadband access products and a number of smaller providers are known to use their services but it still seems odd to have sold a retail provider and then buy another a couple of years later. Virgin Media has a contract to use the provider for Off-net ADSL access, but this has not gone live yet. It may make perfect sense to the accountants, but many small businesses using broadband may be reluctant to sign up if they believe that the same cycle may happen again. One thing business users want above all other is stability and reliability for a service, so one can expect there to be a series of questions asked of C&W about its intentions with THUS and the retail component that is Demon.

Northern Ireland starts new tendering process for universal broadband

Wednesday 01 October 2008 13:03:21 by Andrew Ferguson

Those using satellite broadband in Northern Ireland to satisfy the DETI promise of 100% broadband coverage have until 31st October to agree to a change of contract or they will lose service on 31st March 2009.

"I am determined that Northern Ireland should maintain its 100% broadband availability status and those living in remote areas should continue to have access to broadband services at a reasonable cost.

My department is therefore issuing an invitation to tender today for a service provider that can offer basic broadband services to those premises that are unable to access a fixed-line solution.

Those customers who are currently in receipt of broadband services via satellite will receive a letter and a form from BT to explain the change of contract. Customers should complete the form and return it to DETI as quickly as possible, to ensure they are registered as a priority for migration to the new service as soon as it is in place.

DETI wishes to reassure those affected customers that the migration process, from one service provider to another, will take place as a matter of urgency and free of charge."

Telecoms Minister Arlene Foster

eGov monitor indicates that while the contract is currently with BT the next five year contract is open to tender. Whether BT are in the running for a renewal is not known, one would presume they would put in a bid, but if a better option was available then the DETI is likely to change supplier.

For those backing the calls for universal broadband which includes the EU, the fact that satellite broadband can meet this is something that perhaps people need to be wary of. Satellite access is good for many internet related tasks, but interactive applications like online gaming will be slow due to the latency involved with satellite communications. It would seem sensible for bodies funding universal broadband to consider the longer term situation, and whether a higher short term cost to install a decent quality wireless network, or subsidise a fibre based solution to communities would be more beneficial and cheaper in the long run. Unfortunately for those in communities with poor broadband access, quick fixes that score good PR points for politicians are often more popular, than longer term fixes.

Final full launch of BT Wholesale I-Plate

Wednesday 01 October 2008 12:53:14 by Andrew Ferguson

News about the BT Wholesale I-Plate is hardly new, it was announced in April 2008. The I-Plate is designed to remove the interference that the ring wire used in telephone extensions can introduce to the ADSL signal.

Todays press release from BT Wholesale informs us that the I-Plate is finally available to broadband providers, but warns it may take some time for providers to start offering the plate. How long this time frame will be is unclear, the I-Plate has been available from a number of sources for sometime, and one would hope all sensible providers had looked into it, and it is just a case of deciding how to retail the product.

The I-Plate is of course only of benefit to those with telephone extensions and a BT NTE5 master socket. If you have an older style faceplate, and you want to fit a master socket this can be done for a fee by Openreach by contacting your telephone line rental provider. People with the newer Openreach branded faceplate will already have the I-Plate components built into the faceplate. The improvements possible will vary greatly from line to line, but the survey by BT Wholesale suggesting typical speed improvements of 1.5Mbps on some 7 out of 10 lines are backed up by the evidence we've seen over the years from people carrying out DIY improvements to their telephone extension wiring.

It has been well known for sometime that simply removing the ring wire (connected to pin 3 on faceplate) at the master socket can improve many peoples ADSL connection speeds. The I-Plate while it may cost some money, may prove simpler for people to fit and given the confusion with the wide variety of wiring methods used in phone extensions this is probably a good thing.

Exactly what price providers will charge for the I-Plate is not known, but current retail prices are £10 to £20, suggesting it is supplied for well under £10 at the wholesale level. This price point means providers could add it as a free device to be sent to those with broadband speed issues when their home wiring is suspected as the problem. For those with ADSL2+ the state of your phone wiring in the home is even more important, so fitting an ADSL master socket faceplate, removing the ring wire or fitting an I-Plate may help to squeeze yet more speed from the line, or failing that make things more stable.

Want to work for thinkbroadband? - PHP developer wanted

Wednesday 01 October 2008 04:16:58 by Sebastien Lahtinen

Are you a dynamic enthusiastic PHP web developer? Would you like the opportunity to work for the largest UK broadband information website?

We have never recruited for any positions (staff or volunteer) openly before, until now. This is a unique opportunity for someone looking to bring their enthusiasm and PHP experience to us along with their fresh ideas; i.e. someone who wants to play a more inclusive role in driving the direction of the site.

We are encouraging a wide range of applications and welcome approaches from both those with extensive career backgrounds in web development as well as those with little commercial experience but with the energy to learn quickly and the technical skills to do so on their own. You must be a team player, have a high sense of integrity and be able to manage your own time effectively (and develop in PHP frameworks too!)

    if (preg_match('/php/i',$you->skillset)) { $you->findOutMore() };

Timico and Plusnet start making 21CN moves

Tuesday 30 September 2008 12:06:22 by John Hunt

Timico, the communications provider behind the ISPs KeConnect and Twang.net, have today announced the completion of the install of their WBMC links into BT's 21CN network. The two 1Gbps connections will allow Timico to start providing the ADSL2+ products from BT's 21CN portfolio which give users a potential speed of up to 24Meg (Megabits per second), although this has a maximum speed of about 21Meg in practice. Timico will be looking to start trialing migrations to the new platform for those who are on a 21CN enabled exchange soon.

“As one of the early connectivity trialists for the BT 21CN, we are delighted that we have completed our pipe in such good time and are confident that soon our customers will be able to benefit from the Timico advanced telephony and IP services that we will be able to deliver via our super fast ADSL2+ broadband connection."

Chris Tombs (Chief Executive), Timico Group

In other 21CN news, Plusnet released a progress report on their 21CN services last week via their community blog. They too have their backhauls installed and are currently progressing with trials of staff orders.

European Comission push for blanket broadband coverage by 2010

Monday 29 September 2008 12:33:37 by John Hunt

The European Commission is looking into making broadband access a universal service obligation (USO) by 2010. This would mean that here in the UK, in the same way BT have to provide all households with a telephone service, they would also be required to do the same with a broadband connection. There will not be any specific requirements on technology used to provide services however. Currently around 36% of households in EU member states have broadband Internet access, and this has tripled since 2003, with an annual growth rate of around 20%.

"High-speed internet is the passport to the Information Society and an essential condition for economic growth. This is why it is this Commission's policy to make broadband internet for all Europeans happen by 2010."

Viviane Reding, EU Telecoms Commissioner

Currently, coverage in areas of Europe varies quite widely with Eastern Europe having a lower take up than Western Europe. The BBC reports Denmark, Luxembourg and Belgium have 100% availability of service if desired, although whether this comes at a higher cost using satellite or other technologies in some rural areas isn't clear. Increasing coverage to those harder to reach 'broadband not-spots' will always turn out to be ever more costly and whether providers will be able to reflect this by increased charges under a USO is yet to be seen.

BT Phorm trial begins tommorow

Monday 29 September 2008 10:55:18 by John Hunt

ISPReview have spotted the commencement of the next phase of trials of BT's Phorm system going under the name of BT Webwise. The announcement, made on the BT Community Forums, pegs the trial to begin on the 30th September and ISPReview are expecting around 10,000 users to be involved. For those who haven't been following the Phorm debate, Phorm is a system which monitors websites that you visit and after anonymising the data so it can't be linked back to you, generates targeted advertising which should be of more interest to you. The adverts are only present on participating websites.

With the recent police investigation into Phorm being dropped BT are perhaps happier to continue progressing the development of the system with the knowledge that UK law seems to be on their side. As the system is opt-in, users can decline to run the trial which was not possible in previous tests. Concerns still exist that if there are multiple users of a computer, one could opt in all the users without their knowledge. More details including a sample opt-in form can be found on the BT Webwise pages. Phorm also sent an announcement of the commencement of the BT trial to the markets this morning.

BT Openzone-Cloud roaming deal comes to an end

Friday 26 September 2008 15:10:25 by John Hunt

The Register is reporting that BT Openzone and The Cloud customers will have less hotspots to connect to from Thursday following the end of a roaming deal between the two companies. The Cloud is offering BT Openzone users 30 days free Wi-Fi if they take out a subscription to try and win some customers from the ending of the BT agreement.

"It's disappointing for BT Openzone customers that they will no longer be able to benefit from the convenience of our hotspots - we are disappointed that BT could not reach acceptable commercial terms, though we are certain everyone will understand that our service partners, O2, Orange, AT&T, iPass and many others are happy to do business with The Cloud."

Statement from The Cloud

This doesn't bode well for the Wi-Fi market, particularly considering the news yesterday that mobile broadband has overtaken Wi-Fi in Internet usage away from home or the workplace.

Is your mobile data secure?

Thursday 25 September 2008 19:19:10 by John Hunt

Research performed by BT, the University of Glamorgan in Wales and Edith Cowan University in Australia has revealed that mobile phones and PDA bought second-hand still contain a large amount of sensitive company and personal information. The survey looked at 160 different devices and found a range of information including salary details, financial company data, bank account numbers as well as details of board meetings and personal medical files.

The worst offending devices were Blackberrys which, although having security features such as encryption, were often left unprotected. 43% of these were found to contain information from which the individual, their organisation or specific personal data could be identified. 23% of mobile phones still contained information to identify the phone's previous owner and employer.

In one example, a Blackberry was examined and it was found that the device had previously belonged to a sales directory of a major Japanese corporation. It was possible to recover:

• Call history and address book
• The business plan of the organisation for the next period
• The identification of the main customers and the state of the relationships with them
• The relationship of the individual with their support staff
• Details of the personal life of the individual including details of their children and their occupations, movements, marital status, addresses, appointments and addresses for his dental and medical care providers
• Bank account numbers and bank sorting code
• Car make and registration index

"Given the level of exposure that the subject of security and identity theft has recently received, and the availability of suitable tools to ensure the safe disposal of information, it is difficult to understand why organisations are not taking the necessary precautions when disposing of hand-held devices. These everyday items now contain sophisticated digital memory capable of storing huge amounts of sensitive data. Organisations must ensure that adequate procedures are in place to destroy any data and to check that these procedures are effective."

Dr Andy Jones, (Head of Information Security Research) BT

As a basic step, all users should ensure that data is wiped from mobile devices before disposal. This is generally easy to do with an option to reset it to factory defaults. If the device has ever held sensitive company or personal data the safest option is to destroy it (and dispose of the electronic waste according to the WEEE directive). This also applies to old SIM cards which can store data as well as possibly being linked back to you and who you have called.

Point-Topic Survey shows mobile broadband overtakes Wi-Fi hotspots

Thursday 25 September 2008 15:13:06 by John Hunt

Mobile broadband is more popular than using Wi-Fi hotspots, according to a survey by Point-Topic. The statistics show that the mobile networks in the UK managed to increase their share of Internet usage on the move up to 47%, just getting ahead of Wi-Fi usage which was at 42%.

Although O2 top the tables of number of users, perhaps due to the success of the iPhone, Vodafone managed to just skip ahead with 24% against O2's 23% in the 'dongle' market which covers USB dongles and data cards used in laptops.

Perhaps one reason for the mobile networks overtaking Wi-Fi is the ability to get online from anywhere allowing you to catch up on news and e-mail, or check train times. Wi-Fi is often limited to a single location like a coffee shop and can work out expensive if you want to use it on a PAYG basis.

Next year, the picture may be a bit different amongst mobile operators. Virgin are set to embrace the mobile broadband market in time for Christmas which may introduce a bit of a shakeup and churn between providers as those with Virgin television or broadband services at home may be able to take advantage of a bundle to get services at a lower cost. If Wi-Fi operators don't start increasing coverage and reducing costs soon, services such as T-Mobile's new Pay per day mobile broadband starting at £2 for a day and £10 for 7 days, may start to entice more Wi-Fi users away. With BT Openzone Wi-Fi hotspots charging 20p a minute, or £10 a day on a pay as you go basis, it is easy to see why users are favouring mobile broadband.

BT suffers another exchange break-in

Thursday 25 September 2008 13:54:30 by John Hunt

BT have suffered a second break in this month at another London telephone exchange, this time Stepney Green in East London, causing an outage to 21CN services in the area. Earlier in September, the Mayfair exchange suffered a similar break where various kit was stolen.

The outage is believed to affect ISPs taking WBMC services in the London Docklands area and Andrews & Arnold (AAISP), an ISP who provide services using the new 21CN products, are seeing a loss of service to these customers.

"I am writing to let you know that we have had a break-in at our Stepney Green Exchange and it will have an affect on your WBC/WBMC network.

I do not have too many details at present, other than the police are involved and are currently carrying out their investigations.

Please be assured that we are doing everything we can to replace the missing hardware and bring you back into service.

There will be a briefing published shortly with more information on it."

BT statement posted on AAISP status page

There is at this time, no estimated time for service to be restored. We would hope that BT will be re-evaluating the security at its telephone exchanges which appear to be being targeted for the high value equipment inside.

Update 14:20
Andrews & Arnold have confirmed that service has been restored to its customers. A further update from BT was released that gave a bit more detail.

"Preliminary investigation suggests that at, 03.44 GMT on 25th September, Stepney Green Exchange in London experienced a suspected breach of security, involving physical break in. This resulted in the theft of 9 network cards and caused service failures on 21C WBC Broadband services for a number of BT customers.

Police, and BT investigation teams, are on site at present.

Restoration of service is dependant on the conclusion of current police investigation on site, the arrival of replacement cards, and the assessment of any further technical damage to the equipment and connections.

BT very much regret and sincerely apologise for the impact of this event and we wish to assure you that we are doing all we possibly can to implement appropriate remedies to ensure both full restoration of service and protect resilience for our customers and services."

Further BT Statement

Virgin to introduce Mobile Broadband services

Wednesday 24 September 2008 15:12:36 by John Hunt

Virgin are to add an HSDPA broadband service to their product portfolio following a contract renewal that extends the contract for 6 years. Virgin are believed to have been in discussions with another wholesale partner but renewed the deal with T-Mobile. The renewal of the contract is thought to be on more favourable terms which could lead to the Virgin mobile products being more competitive. They will be able to provide mobile broadband services using HSDPA on both contract and a pay as you go basis.

"We signed a contract amendment with them back in June to include the provision of HSDPA services. We have a strong relationship with Virgin Mobile under a long-term contract."

T-Mobile spokesperson

Virgin mobile broadband products are thought to be available by Christmas.

BT 21CN WBC/WBMC IPStream Connect update

Wednesday 24 September 2008 12:09:35 by John Hunt

Following our article yesterday in relation to potential delays to some services available on 21CN, we've been advised of some errors in the details that we released. BT have advised us that there are no delays or problems with the rollout of either WBC or WBMC which are available to order now. IPStream Connect, which provides the stepping stone from 20CN to 21CN is available if you provide your own backhaul for the service, but is not expected to be launched on WBMC until Q2 2009, with some suspecting this to be August. This means that service providers cannot move their existing IPStream customer base onto the WBC/WBMC platform without deploying their own backhauls, and have to maintain the existing links as well at extra cost.

"Like many small ISPs we were led to believe that IPStream Connect was like "throwing a switch" to just connect all of the existing lines to the new network. It was launched 31st July! We expected that to be the date it would all happen."

"It is fair to say we are 'disappointed' by this, and feel 'misled' by BT. We can't say BT have broken any commitments as BT never formally committed to any of those dates."

Adrian Kennard, Andrews & Arnold (AAISP)

AAISP have been participating in trials of the new WBC/WBMC service and are moving customers over on to this as their exchanges get enabled, with 40% of the population expected to be covered by March. More details over in the AAISP blog.

FTTH Subscriber figures for the US released

Wednesday 24 September 2008 08:27:32 by John Hunt

Figures released by the Fibre to the Home council show that the US is now second globally in connections of fibre to the home (FTTH). The US is a few years ahead of the UK in fibre roll outs so the numbers should give some indication of services and take up that could be achieved here in the UK.

Of US citizens, 61% currently have a broadband connection, 22% no Internet, and 17% still use dial-up. Fibre to the Home is available to 12% of US homes, and only 3.5% of those are connected (equating to approximately 5.7% of all broadband connections in the US). These statistics are for full fibre to the home deployment where each individual home receives a fibre to their premises, and excludes hybrid networks such as Fibre to the Cabinet that use copper for the connection to the actual home.

The figures projected forward for the end of September 2008 show that 13.8 million homes in North America will be passed by a FTTH service. Of those, 12.3 million are actually being marketed a service, and 3.7 million have taken it. That equates to a 30.4% take up rate, i.e. 30.4% of homes are taking a service where it is being actively marketed to them. 2.2 million of those using FTTH receive television services over it. The difference between 'homes passed' and 'homes marketed' is due to the continued build out of networks, and shows where a provider will market to a whole town at once rather than individual streets or communities.

Of those under 35, the application people were most looking forward to is more feature-rich websites with full screen video. Of those over 55, it was face to face medical services with a doctor or nurse from home.

More than 80% of new housing developments are being deployed with FTTH technology. The cost of actually connecting up homes varies. It is based on two factors- the cost to connect a home, and the cost to pass a home (i.e. deploy fibre to an area). The average cost to connect each home generally lies within a range of about $1100 to $2500 depending on take up of service in the area.

One interesting point to note is that rural areas that are currently under served by existing services tend to have high take up rates of FTTH. This could apply well to areas in the UK such as the valleys in Wales where digital terrestrial television services can suffer poor signal quality, and a fibre based product offering television, high-speed Internet access and telephony services could prove popular. Comparing this with bustling towns and cities that already have access to ADSL2+ and cable broadband services, there could be little incentive for users to change to a fibre service without new applications.

Of some concern is the average download speed achieved by FTTH servces. In March 2008 the median was 7.0Mbps, up from 5.2Mbps in March 2007.

BT Wholesale to delay 21CN WBMC broadband rollout

Tuesday 23 September 2008 14:46:10 by Andrew Ferguson

21CN is a massive project and these always carry risks of slipping schedules. It seems BT Wholesale is running into further problems with its Wholesale Broadband Managed Connect (WBMC) product. It is thought that broadband providers will hear news of the delay at an ISP forum meeting with BT Wholesale today.

BT IPStream Connect is an ADSL product that provides a stepping stone from the legacy 20CN IPStream products that have been on sale since 2000 to the 21CN product range. The main change being that providers can take over the bandwidth at a 21CN node. The end-user would see no difference in their connection speeds. This product is available to purchase now and requires the ISP to provide their own backhaul from the BRAS in the BT network to their own equipment.

WBMC is a product from BT Wholesale aimed at the small to medium sized provider that incorporates IPStream Connect as well as allowing the provision of the 21CN ADSL2+ products. It lets the ISP terminate broadband connections in a similar way to the IPStream Central pipe system currently used by service providers, but instead uses a WES (wholesale extension service) from one of 100 BT 21CN metro nodes. This is what many providers would be expecting to migrate to eventually, however the launch appears to have been delayed by up to 6 months with a release planned now for summer 2009.

It is thought the reason behind the delays have been down to problems in getting the systems set-up to deal with the volumes of orders expected, and for those who got ADSL early in 2000, will sound familiar.

Any delays by BT Wholesale play into the hands of their competitors such as Virgin Media or LLU providers, who enjoy the delays as it gives them a longer advantage in the speed and usage allowance competition. Unfortunately for around one third of UK households, BT Wholesale broadband connections remain the only choice.

Boris wants to make a Wi-Fi London

Tuesday 23 September 2008 14:04:49 by John Hunt

London Mayor, Boris Johnson wants to create London into a Wi-Fi city he told the radio station BBC London 94.9, today. He suggests beginning in Stratford, the site for the 2012 Olympic games. The notion comes somewhat in response to the £300 million that the government intend to put forward to help low income families who can't afford broadband access at home, a plan which the Mayor called "a bit like a desperate bribe".

"I certainly think there is a case for dealing with people who are information technology-poor, and trying to help people get online, [but] what we need is a city where anywhere you go, you can log on, you can get on the web. They've done it in other parts of the world; why on earth can't we do it?"

Boris Johnson, Mayor of London

London has already had various initiatives as well as other cities to create it into a Wi-Fi haven. The Westminster Wireless City proposal has seen the growth of Wi-Fi coverage in the Westminster area with BT Openzone deploying a network to support Westminster council, and The Cloud launched a network across The City of London in April 2007. Creating a seamless network so you can gain access anywhere in London would be a step forward, helping keep everyone up to date with news and in touch with friends and colleagues. Boris made no indications as to whether he thought the Wi-Fi access should be available for free.

Ofcom release action plan for super-fast broadband

Tuesday 23 September 2008 12:18:43 by John Hunt

Ofcom have today announced an action plan that encourages investment and competition to help deliver next generation access (NGA) to homes and businesses in the UK. Ofcom will ensure that measures are in place to protect consumers ensuring continued availability of services and to allow a seamless move from copper to new fibre networks.

One of the main ways Ofcom plans to encourage investment and competition is to provide certainty on the regulatory environment that will exist so any providers planning on providing NGA will know exactly where they stand from the offset. The five main areas to address this that are proposed for consultation are:

• developing clear standards for wholesale products, thereby allowing communications providers to compete and innovate in the super-fast broadband market;
• allowing pricing freedom where there is effective competition, giving companies the flexibility to price services that reflect investment risk and generate a return on investment;
• understanding the scope for competition based on access to existing telecoms infrastructure, building on the success of local loop unbundling;
• facilitating transition by ensuring the smooth and timely move from traditional copper to fibre networks for both industry and consumers as services take off; and
• communicating the next steps for Ofcom: how we will work with other interested parties including industry, the UK Government and the European Commission.

Ofcom have recognised that there is not a single solution to providing next generation access. Whilst everyone would prefer fibre was deployed to every home in a full fibre to the home (FTTH) roll out, this is not economical and other technologies such as WiMax and LTE (when it is out of development) need to be deployed to fill in the gaps to ensure that everyone has access to some form of fast broadband.

There is also value in public sector backing such that we have seen already in both Wales and Scotland where the governments have encouraged and aided investment to provide access to those areas where BT had originally deemed it not commercially viable to deploy ADSL services. Similar things also happen abroad, particularly in America with municipalities encouraging FTTH by making it easier for the companies to deploy fibre there and therefore encouraging local business growth, working from home and attracting home buyers.

Another major point covered by the consultation is a re-iteration of the new build fibre policy which requires replication of existing regulatory products and uninterrupted access to the emergency services. Ofcom envisage that both active (shared termination equipment at exchange between wholesale providers) and passive (dedicated termination equipment) wholesale services will need to be provided, as well as ensuring capacity is available in ducts for further deployments of fibre should it be needed to aid competition.

To try and get as much feedback on next generation broadband as possible, Ofcom have created a superfast-broadband blog which allows end users and companies alike to comment on the article, and you can also respond interactively with in-line comments to the Executive Summary as well as the usual formal consultation response process which ends on 2nd December.

Brown says Broadband for all

Tuesday 23 September 2008 11:05:16 by John Hunt

Gordon Brown is releasing plans of a £300m scheme that will provide broadband Internet access, software and computers to low income families.

The means-tested "Educational Technology Allowance" voucher scheme will see a million of the poorest families receiving between £100 and £700 to help plug the gap of the approximately 1.4 million children who do not currently have access to a broadband connection at home. The scheme is to be piloted in two local authority areas late this year with a view to roll out across England in 2010 and 2011. Families in Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland will have to hold out to see if their local authorities will roll out a similar scheme without the backing of the central UK government. There doesn't appear to be any plans within this to help fill the gap where broadband isn't available, either due to being too far from the local exchange, or the exchange not being enabled, so it could be those that need support may still not benefit.

The scheme is to last for 3 years. Whether a new scheme will be announced to coincide with the end of this is unknown, particularly as a different political party may be in power then. Some may question how useful it will be to the poorest families who may then be faced with higher charges for keeping what will hopefully be by then, faster broadband services, particularly if they have come to rely on it.

Police investigation into BT/Phorm dropped

Monday 22 September 2008 16:15:14 by John Hunt

City of London Police have decided not to pursue BT and Phorm over adware trials carried out last year citing implied consent. The Register uncovered the autumn 2006 trials of the Phorm system which was originally denied by BT, earlier this year. The Police were handed information about BT and Phorm from campaigners who protested at BT's annual shareholder meeting in July.

"The matter will not be investigated by the City of London Police as it has been decided that no Criminal Offence has been committed. One of the main reasons for this decision is the lack of Criminal Intent on behalf of BT and Phorm Inc in relation to the tests. It is also believed that there would have been a level of implied consent from BT's customers in relation to the tests, as the aim was to enhance their products."

"The matter is considered a civil dispute, and your desire to elicit clarity around the wording of the relevant acts would necessitate senior Counsel involvement and it is thought this would be inappropriate for Police to use public funds to pursue civil issues where there is no suggestion that Criminal Intent exists."

E-mail to Alex Hanff (anti-Phorm campaigner) from City of London Police

FIPR, the Foundation for Information Policy Research deemed the Police findings as "pathetic".

"City of London Police's response expresses massive disinterest in what occurred. Saying that BT customers gave implied consent is absurd. There was never any behaviour by BT customers that could be interpreted as implied consent because they were deliberately kept in the dark.

"As for the issue of whether there was criminal intent, well, they intended to intercept communications. That was the purpose of what they were doing. To say that there was no criminal intent is to misunderstand the legal requirements for criminal intent."

Nicholas Bohm, (Lead Counsel) FIPR

Hanff intends to make a complaint about the disappointing decision. It may be possible to pursue a case via the European Commission who are currently analysing the UK governments position on why the Information Commissioner's Office (who enforce privacy laws) did not take up a case against BT.

More information in the continuing Phorm saga can be found at The Register.

Carphone try and snap up a bargain

Monday 22 September 2008 11:04:01 by John Hunt

Carphone Warehouse are reported to have indicated renewed interest in the purchase of Tiscali UK's operations following the failed sale of Tiscali that was supposed to take place earlier this year. Talks broke down after Vodafone pulled out of the bidding in June, followed by BT and BSkyB.

The Sunday Times reports the Carphone bid at £450 million for the UK arm of Tiscali, down £100 million on their previous rejected offer. With the Tiscali share price down 34% in the last 3 months, and the economy in a shaky state, Tiscali may jump at the renewed interest allowing Carphone Warehouse to snap up a bargain. The acquisition would bump Carphone to being the largest broadband provider in the UK with around 4.6 million customers just ahead of BT with 4.5 million of based on July 2008 figures.

Be trial 40Mbps ADSL2+ bonding

Friday 19 September 2008 16:13:46 by John Hunt

ISPreview are reporting that ISP Be, owned by O2, are inviting its users to trial a bonded ADSL2+ solution which will see users reaching speeds of up to 40Mbps. Due to the variable speed of ADSL based technologies, speed will be dependent on the distance from the exchange, but in most circumstances users can probably expect near double the current speed of their ADSL2+ line. Be will provide a suitable router and 2 additional telephone lines for the service. Details to sign up to the trial are as follows:

If the sound of getting up to 40meg excites you then here’s what you need to do:

• Contact Be on 0207 479 5029 by Friday 26 September 2008 at the latest to book your place on the trial.
• Once you’re confirmed on the trial we’ll even contact BT to order your 2 new telephone lines (incoming calls only) so you don’t have to.
• And finally meet us in a pub near our offices to get your new free router. Meeting venue and details will follow once you’ve contacted us to be part of the trial

For further information on this trial please contact Be by e-mail at: linebondingtrial@beunlimited.co.uk

Apart from the benefits of trialing the faster service for a month, users will also receive a month free broadband, and have the use of the two phone lines for a year (although inbound calls only).

Update 22nd September, 10:40
We have confirmed that this bonding trial is only open to existing Be Members that are on the Paddington exchange in London and is limited to between 20 and 30 participants.