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News
News Categories: General (Default) | Dialup | DSL (ADSL etc.) | Cable/FTTx | Satellite | Wireless | IPTV | VoIP
28 August, 2008 - 1:31 PM
BT has finally resolved an awkward bug that caused the operators HomeHub broadband routers to crash and reset themselves when subscribers attempted to view BBC iPlayer content and live TV (IPTV) streams.
The issue, which has been in existence since April of this year but does not affect BT's latest HomeHub 2.0, also cropped up in routers used by ISPs O2 and Be Broadband; all three providers base their kit off Thomson Speedtouch hardware.
It's understood that the obscure problem related to Adobe's Flash player and mainly impacted MAC users, with many PC owners being able to resolve it through a simple update to the latest version of Flash. The Register notes that a more detailed history can be found in This Topic on BT's forum.
The issue, which has been in existence since April of this year but does not affect BT's latest HomeHub 2.0, also cropped up in routers used by ISPs O2 and Be Broadband; all three providers base their kit off Thomson Speedtouch hardware.
It's understood that the obscure problem related to Adobe's Flash player and mainly impacted MAC users, with many PC owners being able to resolve it through a simple update to the latest version of Flash. The Register notes that a more detailed history can be found in This Topic on BT's forum.
28 August, 2008 - 9:03 AM
Microsoft has released the second beta test release of its forthcoming Internet Explorer 8 (IE8) browser for public testing. Naturally this is best avoided unless you're a web developer of some sort; otherwise it may be too bugged for your average Joe Internet surfer.
Those seeking to give it a go anyway and that don't wish to wait for a relatively stable release candidate (RC) instead can get it here:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/internet-explorer/beta/
Those seeking to give it a go anyway and that don't wish to wait for a relatively stable release candidate (RC) instead can get it here:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/internet-explorer/beta/
28 August, 2008 - 8:54 AM
Small UK ISP Andrews & Arnold (AAISP) has been forced to delay the launch of its 'up to' 24Mbps broadband ADSL2+ services by several weeks into September due to an unusual problem with BT's ordering system:
It turns out that the problem causing all this delay relates to BT's ordering system having trouble interpreting the ISPs name, specifically the character & in 'ANDREWS & ARNOLD LTD':
AAISP's Blog Post also includes some additional information about the problems they've had with closing existing BT Centrals to save money, an issue we’ve seen echoed by other ISPs too. Credits to Thinkbroadband for spotting the news.
The launch of our ADSL2+ services marks the first milestone. It means we can move around 5% of customers to the new 21st Century network connection we have in Telehouse, and a programme of upgrading customers as each exchange is upgraded. It means the older BT Central links are less heavily used as a result and gives is some room to grow. This will coincide with new tariffs for customers on the new link and the launch of our new professionally designed web site. We are even considering a marketing campaign!
Sadly this has been delayed by BT. We have the links to BT and the equipment we need in Telehouse all ready. We are paying BT for a non-trial service now. However BT still do not have the ordering systems in place, so apart from a dozen or so traillists we simply cannot use the new network yet! We had planned to "launch" 1st September but it looks like some time during September now. The triallists go on to normal billing 1st September.
However, we do now have firm plans for the pricing for the new services, with a view to reducing prices even further when we get to the second milestone.
Sadly this has been delayed by BT. We have the links to BT and the equipment we need in Telehouse all ready. We are paying BT for a non-trial service now. However BT still do not have the ordering systems in place, so apart from a dozen or so traillists we simply cannot use the new network yet! We had planned to "launch" 1st September but it looks like some time during September now. The triallists go on to normal billing 1st September.
However, we do now have firm plans for the pricing for the new services, with a view to reducing prices even further when we get to the second milestone.
It turns out that the problem causing all this delay relates to BT's ordering system having trouble interpreting the ISPs name, specifically the character & in 'ANDREWS & ARNOLD LTD':
MPA should recieve "&" instead of "&" in the string "ANDREWS & ARNOLD LTD", i.e correct xml to MPA should be "ANDREWS & ARNOLD LTD". This & in "ANDREWS & ARNOLD LTD" is causing the parser to fail.
AAISP's Blog Post also includes some additional information about the problems they've had with closing existing BT Centrals to save money, an issue we’ve seen echoed by other ISPs too. Credits to Thinkbroadband for spotting the news.
27 August, 2008 - 1:46 PM
The latest mobile website data released by Bango has revealed that mobile web usage is not only gaining traction in the United States but soon will surpass the UK, where consumers have accessed the Internet from phones for years.
The top five countries accessing the mobile web via Bango in July 2008 were:
"The US share of the browsing market has grown as an increasing number of phones come with bigger screens and service contracts that include unlimited internet access," said Adam Kerr, VP of Bango North America at Bango. "We fully expect the US will overtake the UK in this ranking as early as this month."
The top five countries accessing the mobile web via Bango in July 2008 were:
- UK at 19.35%
- US at 18.88%
- India at 10.82%
- South Africa at 8.82%
- Indonesia at 4.08%
27 August, 2008 - 1:39 PM
Businesses in the Welsh town of Penrhyndeudraeth (Gwynedd) claim that the area is in dire need of a telephone exchange upgrade. The call follows a major outage of broadband connectivity, which has so far lasted for over a week and is the third such incident since late last year.
BT claims that its engineers are investigating the problem and have advised locals to contact their ISP, though residents complain that the exchange is common to all of them regardless of which provider they use:
Sadly residents of small Welsh villages seem to be at the bottom of BT's support pile when it comes to broadband problems. In May residents of Gwytherin near Llangernyw in Conwy threatened to take BT to court unless it could resolve the areas woeful broadband and phone connectivity problems (news). More @ BBC News Online.
BT claims that its engineers are investigating the problem and have advised locals to contact their ISP, though residents complain that the exchange is common to all of them regardless of which provider they use:
"The first time this happened was in November, then the system went down in January and now it's happened again in August. This affects businesses, people who bank online and people who are trying to arrange their university courses," said County councillor Dewi Lewis.
"There is a great demand for broadband by now, but the exchange is clearly not fit for purpose. BT are slow to respond. In the short term, they need to repair the kit there, but in the long term they need to upgrade the exchange."
"There is a great demand for broadband by now, but the exchange is clearly not fit for purpose. BT are slow to respond. In the short term, they need to repair the kit there, but in the long term they need to upgrade the exchange."
Sadly residents of small Welsh villages seem to be at the bottom of BT's support pile when it comes to broadband problems. In May residents of Gwytherin near Llangernyw in Conwy threatened to take BT to court unless it could resolve the areas woeful broadband and phone connectivity problems (news). More @ BBC News Online.
27 August, 2008 - 9:17 AM
Troubled UK ISP Orange has reintroduced its free broadband promotion, which will be available in-store to customers that take one of the operators £30 per month or more mobile phone contracts. The move is being seen as an attempt by the ISP to halt its churn, which over the past few quarters has seen many customers leave for rivals (here).
There were a total of 1.063 million Orange UK broadband (ADSL) subscribers at 30th June 2008, a 2.5% decline in relation to 30th June 2007. The operators Internet access division has suffered as a result of the competitive market, network congestion, support issues and other problems. However, it claims the situation has now improved:
It's not clear what scores Orange are referring to, although consumer magazine Which? recently put them in second to last place on its "Don't Buy" list for broadband ISPs. Customers that do choose to adopt Orange's free broadband promotion will receive the providers basic 'Home Starter' package.
This includes speeds of 'up to' 2Mbps, a respectable 6GB monthly data allowance, inclusive evening and weekend UK home phone calls, the McAfee® Privacy Service and a wireless router among other things. Expect to be locked into a lengthy 18 month contract though.
There were a total of 1.063 million Orange UK broadband (ADSL) subscribers at 30th June 2008, a 2.5% decline in relation to 30th June 2007. The operators Internet access division has suffered as a result of the competitive market, network congestion, support issues and other problems. However, it claims the situation has now improved:
"We can now say that line stability is better, provisioning speeds are faster and there are significantly less service faults reported than before. Those changes have led to a massive improvement in broadband customer satisfaction scores compared to 12 months ago," said an Orange spokesperson.
It's not clear what scores Orange are referring to, although consumer magazine Which? recently put them in second to last place on its "Don't Buy" list for broadband ISPs. Customers that do choose to adopt Orange's free broadband promotion will receive the providers basic 'Home Starter' package.
This includes speeds of 'up to' 2Mbps, a respectable 6GB monthly data allowance, inclusive evening and weekend UK home phone calls, the McAfee® Privacy Service and a wireless router among other things. Expect to be locked into a lengthy 18 month contract though.
27 August, 2008 - 8:47 AM
BT is reportedly hoping to help turn the London area of Shoreditch into a free wireless (Wi-Fi) broadband Hotzone by October. The operator claims it can achieve this feat by supplying 1,000 of its Fon based routers to residents and local businesses for free.
Fon is a Wi-Fi sharing service that allows Internet connected customers to freely share out their broadband access with other residents in the area using wireless links:
The Absolute Gadget article doesn't include much detail and we noted that the domain appears to have been registered through a USA host that protects the owners identity, while the form on its site is not offered via a secure connection. Caution is advised.
Fon is a Wi-Fi sharing service that allows Internet connected customers to freely share out their broadband access with other residents in the area using wireless links:
“Shoreditchwifi.com is working on the behalf of BT and Fon to give away free wireless routers called La Fonera+, that plug in to your ISP (internet box) at home or at work and are Free for anybody who lives or works in Shoreditch until the product launches UK wide at the end of October,” said a spokeswoman.
The Absolute Gadget article doesn't include much detail and we noted that the domain appears to have been registered through a USA host that protects the owners identity, while the form on its site is not offered via a secure connection. Caution is advised.
26 August, 2008 - 2:01 PM
Simon Bransfield-Garth, an analytics expert on the mobile industry for CarrierIQ, has warned that Mobile Broadband services could run out of capacity if demand continues to grow at its current rate.
T-Mobile reported earlier this year that data traffic on its UK network had already exceeded that of voice for the first time, with Three (3) and Vodafone being expected to announce a similar situation before the end of 2008:
Capacity issues have cropped up before, though they've been largely brushed aside and several mobile operators, especially Vodafone, have also been investing a lot of money into their platforms.
Analysys Mason's Matt Hatton echo’s Bransfield-Garth's comments, warning that operators will need to go even further than Vodafone if they wish to survive in a market where their chief competition is from more flexible land-line ISPs:
Both appear to predict that existing investment should tide most of the operators over for the next three to five years, although after that the future looks less certain. It's feared that mobile operators are failing to look far enough ahead and don't yet quite understand the market they're moving into.
Stop us if any of this sounds familiar because it is, we saw an almost identical situation with early land-line broadband services too, although they had more room to breathe. Like it or not, mobile operators have stepped on a new product that people really want and they’ll need to manage that or risk breaking it. More @ The Register.
T-Mobile reported earlier this year that data traffic on its UK network had already exceeded that of voice for the first time, with Three (3) and Vodafone being expected to announce a similar situation before the end of 2008:
"Their pricing plans make no sense to me. I think the carriers have little, or no idea of what people do with mobile broadband. Contention will definitely become an issue," Bransfield-Garth warned.
"Already, phone users will be familiar with the 'network busy' sign when they try to place a call at rush hour. What we need to know is whether it really is better for the MNOs to keep one BBC iPlayer viewer going, and to prevent 40 phone calls going through."
"Already, phone users will be familiar with the 'network busy' sign when they try to place a call at rush hour. What we need to know is whether it really is better for the MNOs to keep one BBC iPlayer viewer going, and to prevent 40 phone calls going through."
Capacity issues have cropped up before, though they've been largely brushed aside and several mobile operators, especially Vodafone, have also been investing a lot of money into their platforms.
Analysys Mason's Matt Hatton echo’s Bransfield-Garth's comments, warning that operators will need to go even further than Vodafone if they wish to survive in a market where their chief competition is from more flexible land-line ISPs:
"Mobile Network Operators need to review their requirements for network capacity immediately in response to this rapid change in traffic composition," he wrote. "They will need to invest further in their RANs as well as the ongoing upgrade to HSPA. The demand for additional network capacity – from reallocation of GSM spectrum, the 2.6GHz expansion band and the digital dividend spectrum – will be substantial."
Both appear to predict that existing investment should tide most of the operators over for the next three to five years, although after that the future looks less certain. It's feared that mobile operators are failing to look far enough ahead and don't yet quite understand the market they're moving into.
Stop us if any of this sounds familiar because it is, we saw an almost identical situation with early land-line broadband services too, although they had more room to breathe. Like it or not, mobile operators have stepped on a new product that people really want and they’ll need to manage that or risk breaking it. More @ The Register.
Previous News Stories
August 28 2008
August 27 2008
August 26 2008
August 23 2008
August 22 2008
August 20 2008
August 19 2008
August 18 2008
August 27 2008
August 26 2008
August 23 2008
August 22 2008
1:27 PM - PC Pro Reveals 2008 Awards Shortlist
August 21 2008August 20 2008
August 19 2008
August 18 2008
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