The Federation Against Software Theft (FAST) has today urged government MPs not to delay the controversial Digital Economy Bill (DEB), despite widespread opposition. Concern over the bill mounted after it rushed through proposals aimed at forcing UK broadband ISPs to block copyright infringing websites and disconnect "suspected" illegal ISP file sharers.


Many would probably disagree that the bill has had "scrutiny in the Lords to excess," especially after the significant website-blocking Amendment 120A surfaced and gained approval within the space of around two weeks.

Few would disagree that copyright infringement does need to be tackled but, as it stands today, there are more than a few problems with DEB. Not least over the lack of detail in how those "checks and balances" or the appeal process itself will work.

Those living on the islands of Guernsey, Alderney and Sark look set to benefit after Cable & Wireless Guernsey (C&WG) announced a major broadband network upgrade to its Bailiwick’s wholesale operations. Broadband users on the islands can initially expect speeds to double, with even faster performance to follow.

From 1st May customers of all local Internet Service Providers (ISPs) could get up to double the broadband speed for the same price. All 2Mbps residential broadband lines will be enhanced to 'up to' 4Mbps and all 4Mbps lines will be upgraded to 'up to' 8Mbps. We note that the 8Mbps service will not be upgraded until the next stage of the programme but the current wholesale price of 8Mbps is to be reduced by 37%.


C&W last upgraded Guernsey’s broadband network in 2008 from 1Mbps to 2Mbps and has been busy rolling out new street boxes (MSAN's) closer to population centres. Sadly some 5% of households will not be within reach of the improved network and no timetable has been set to resolve this problem.


Residents will no doubt be pleased at the news and C&W claims to be investing more than £1 million per year into its access network for ongoing network maintenance and upgrades. However it is still many years behind mainland UK, where up to 8Mbps ADSL based broadband products have been common for quite a few years.

Mobile operator and ISP O2 UK (Telefonica) has accused rights holders and their hired lawyers of bullying and threatening their customers. The outburst centre’s around letters from ACS:Law solicitors, which use questionable methods to identify "suspected" illegal p2p file sharers before gaining personal details from ISPs. ASC:Law then demand hundreds of pounds in compensation or threaten a day in the courts.


The practice of sending such letters has been widely criticized by consumer groups, judges and ironically even Rights Holders; often the very same ones who seek to use a similar practice themselves. The data they use to identify users is also prone to error and even when correct it can only identify the owner of a connection and not necessarily the individual responsible.

ACS:Law tracks abuse by monitoring the Internet Protocol ( IP ) address of online users, which is assigned to your computer each time you go online. However this is not an effective way of determining a computer user’s true identity. IP’s can easily be faked, hijacked, redirected and generally abused and used in ways that the systems employed by such trackers cannot detect.

During June 2009 the UK Internet Service Providers Association ( ISPA ) said that they were "not confident in [ACS:Law's] ability to identify [ILLEGAL] users", a position matched by consumer magazine Which? and many others.


We doubt many people receiving such letters would treat such a harsh demand for cash or court action as "an enquiry". ACS:Law also refers to copyright infringement as "stealing", which would be criminal and thus a matter for the police, though at the present time it remains a civil issue. This is of course very debatable.

In the meantime ACS:Law and its practice of sending such threat letters is, much like its predecessor Davenport Lyons, currently under investigation by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA). The SRA could end up referring ACS:Law to a disciplinary tribunal, again just like Davenport Lyons (here).

A new Paris-based TERA Consultants study of internet piracy in the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain has revealed that illegal file sharing could cost European states 1.2m jobs and £215bn by 2015. The study was commissioned by the Business Action to Stop Counterfeiting and Piracy (BASCP) and has been endorsed by trade unions and rights holders alike.

It claims that in 2008 the European Union's creative industries contributed 6.9%, or approximately £770 billion, to total EU GDP, and represented 6.5% of the total workforce, or approximately 14 million workers. However in the same year the EU allegedly lost £8.94bn and 186,000 jobs to internet piracy.

In the UK alone it was estimated that 39,000 jobs and £1.4bn in retail revenue were lost to internet piracy. If no action is taken then the study predicts that this figure will climb to reach 254,000 by 2015, and see losses of £6.98bn in retail revenue.


Naturally Jim Killock of the Open Rights Group (ORG) has already branded this report as little more than the usual "corporate propaganda being deployed in order to justify intrusions on our rights to freedom of speech, privacy and to a fair trial," which is a reference to the current Digital Economy Bill (DEB) controversy over ISP disconnection and website blocking proposals.

Interestingly almost none of the other reports on this story have mentioned the global economic crisis. We suspect that the outbreak of a certain global recession in that very same year might have been opportunistically overlooked. In any case the sale of legal digital music downloads continues to grow (here).

Fixed line broadband internet provider PlusNet has leaked preliminary details of its new and revamped range of packages for April 2010. We have has also informed that customers who order an existing package before 29th March will get a price freeze for the next 12 months.

The changed packages will be introduced on 12th April and there will be a new Pro product going live too. Please be aware that the details we're posting below are just a sneak peak and could still be subject to change.

Plusnet Value

* Market 1&2: £6.49 for 3 months, then £12.99 after
* Market 3: £6.49
* 10GB usage allowance between 8am – Midnight
* Free usage between Midnight – 8am
* Dynamic IP only
* Post-pay £5 per 5GB
* Up to 8Mb (ADSL Max) Speeds

Plusnet Extra (replaces Premium)

* Market 1 & 2 £11.49 for 3 months, then £17.99 after
* Market 3 £11.49
* 60GB of usage allowance between 8am – Midnight
* Free usage between Midnight – 8am
* Up to 20Mb (ADSL2+) where available
* Post-pay £5 per 5GB
* Static IP available

Plusnet Pro

* Market 1 & 2: £16.49 for 3 months, then £22.99 after
* Market 3: £16.49
* 20GB usage allowance from 8am – Midnight
* Free usage from Midnight – 8am
* Up to 20Mb (ADSL2+) where available
* Static IP available
* Post-pay £5 per 5GB

We note that the Value package is more or less unchanged and will see a slight price rise, similarly the new Premium package replacement (Extra) is also slightly cheaper, though the 80GB usage allowance has been swapped for 60GB.

By contrast the new Pro package details appear to charge significantly more for significantly less than Extra, which leads us to believe that the information for this package is incorrect or missing something. Take the Pro info. with a pinch of salt until PlusNet's official reveal.

PlusNet typically charges based off Ofcom's "Market" 1, 2 and 3 classifications. This is directly connected to BT and its regulation. For example, customers living in Market 3 areas have plenty of ISP choice and thus services are usually cheaper. Put your phone number into our 'Broadband Coverage Checker' to find out which market your line falls into.

Regulator Ofcom UK has announced strict new mandatory rules designed to stop the mis-selling and slamming of landline services, which will come into effect from tomorrow. Telecoms companies and ISPs that fail to comply are likely to face fines of up to 10% of their turnover.

One of the most abused forms of mis-selling is known as slamming and we detail it HERE. Slamming is where customers are switched from one ISP to another without their knowledge or consent. In some cases you might only be aware of this once you’ve received bills from a different company.

The new rules will:

•prohibit telecoms providers from engaging in misleading and inappropriate sales and marketing activity and slamming;

•require telecoms companies to keep better records of their sales and marketing activities;

•confirm the type and level of information that needs to be made available to new customers both at the point of sale and after the sale has been concluded (but before the service has actually been transferred). This includes providing important information about the key terms and conditions of the service, including contractual liabilities and cancellation rights;

•introduce new rules to make clear when providers are allowed to cancel orders placed by other providers. Cancelling orders for purposes other than those expressly specified by the regulations will be prohibited.

The rules, known more technically as General Condition 24 (GC24), will be accompanied by a standard monitoring and enforcement programme to help keep tabs on any violations. Slamming and mis-selling are the most complained about issues to Ofcom in the fixed line market, averaging about 750 complaints per month over the last year.

Examples of mis-selling issues reported to Ofcom by consumers include:

•receiving calls from telecoms providers pretending to be another company;

•telecoms providers incorrectly advising consumers of package costs; and

•telecoms providers not properly informing consumers of any Minimum Contract Periods and Early Termination Charges that might be applicable.

Ofcom has previously investigated 14 companies for breaches of the current regulations and even fined two companies the maximum 10% of turnover for failing to comply.

General Condition 24:
http://www.ofcom.org.uk/telecoms/ioi/nwbnd/statement.pdf

Software giant Microsoft has released the first platform preview version of Internet Explorer 9 (IE9), which promises to match Firefox's commitment to standards (HTML5, CSS3 etc.). IE9 will also introduce a new JavaScript engine to improve rendering speed and web application performance; it claims this will faster than most of its rivals, except Google Chrome and Opera.


The preview can be downloaded below but, being a limited engine-code test, it is only of use for developers and does not yet comprise what you would expect from a fully fledged website browser. There are also likely to be many bugs. Further details can be found on Microsoft's IE Blog.

Download IE9 Platform Preview:
http://ie.microsoft.com/testdrive/info/ThankYou/Default.html

The UK Performing Rights Society for Music (PRS), which represents 65,000 songwriters, composers and music publishers, has today announced a 2.6% rise in annual revenues to £623m. Online revenues from legal licensed digital music services grew 72.7% to £30.4m. Wait, wasn’t illegal P2P file sharing by broadband ISP users supposed to be killing music? Hmm.

Similarly back in January the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) issued its Digital Music Report 2010, which revealed that global digital music trade revenues reached £2.6 billion (up 12%) in 2009 (here). IFPI still managed to blame piracy for a decline, despite the obvious contradiction.


Unlike most other reports the PRS does at least manage to avoid making the same contradictions as IFPI and other rights holders have; often speaking of decline at the alleged behest of piracy while at the same time reporting growing revenues from digital downloads. Presenting the worst case scenario is obviously beneficial for them and helps when writing the government’s copyright policy, but it may not be an entirely accurate representation.

Network operator Entanet UK has today joined several major ISPs, Internet firms and the ISPA in condemning the lack of proper debate over the Digital Economy Bill (DEB) and specifically Amendment 120A, which was passed out of the Lords and into the House of Commons last night.

Amendment 120A would force broadband ISPs into blocking any site deemed to contain "a substantial proportion" of content that infringes copyright. However the wording and method leaves far too much room for differing interpretations.


The blog goes on to warn that the strategy itself will most likely not even work, with copyright infringers simply adapting to circumnavigate such strategies. Entanet concludes by calling on Rights Holders to stop fighting the Internet and adapt by "[developing] new distribution models."

Satellite ISP Avanti Communications has revealed more details about the planned launch of its first next generation broadband Satellite - HYLAS 1. Under ideal conditions HYLAS 1 should be able to deliver download speeds of ‘up to’ 8Mbps around the UK and Europe.

Avanti has been advised by Astrium UK, the manufacturer, that its satellite will now be delivered to the launch site in July 2010. Arianespace, the launch service provider has separately now confirmed that it will be ready to launch HYLAS 1 in August (a "launch campaign" lasting several weeks from delivery to the launch site is typical).


The satellite itself will launch from a dedicated Soyuz vehicle and the ISP is confident that its program will deliver HYLAS 1 into operation successfully by September 2010. However HYLAS could be a tough sell in the UK and will need to beat Eutelsat's prices and usage allowances (e.g. 3.6Mbps with a 2.4GB usage allowance for around £30 per month) if it is to stand a good chance of breaking into remote and rural communities.

Tonight's episode of the current affairs BBC TV show Panorama, which airs at 8:30pm on BBC One, is called 'Are the Net Police Coming for You?' and covers the impact that the Digital Economy Bill (DEB) could have on home broadband use.


Panorama has a history of failing to get to grips with issues that can often be a lot more technical than they may first appear, such as the woefully inaccurate report on wireless (Wi-Fi) radiation. Never the less it will be interesting to see whether they understand the problems or only scratch the surface.

Elsewhere the Digital Economy Bill is currently undergoing the final stage of its third reading in the House of Lords. Readers can check out a live video stream here: http://tinyurl.com/ydocwp8 .

UPDATE - 5:30pm

The Bill has been passed and will now move over to the House of Commons for its first reading.

BT Wholesale has confirmed 148 new telephone exchanges (999 total) which will bring its 'up to' 24Mbps ( ADSL2+ ) Wholesale Broadband Connect (WBC) service to more than 16.2 million UK homes and businesses by winter 2010. The new exchanges represent a further 6% of UK homes and businesses, bringing the total of enabled and to be enabled named exchanges to 61% (coverage is currently nearing 55% for the end of March).

Subject to demand, BT Wholesale intends to roll out these higher speed copper based services to telephone exchanges serving around 75% (20 million end users) of the country by Spring 2011. BT claims that 800,000 of its end users are already taking its ADSL2+ service, which grows by around 20,000 - 30,000 each week.

Running over BT’s 21st Century Network ( 21CN ), WBC is not just about ADSL2+ broadband services and is also designed to support the operators latest 'up to' 40Mbps Fibre-to-the-Cabinet ( FTTC ) next generation broadband technology. FTTC itself is aiming to reach at least 10 million (40%) UK homes and businesses by summer 2012. All WBC enabled exchanges are connected by Gbit Ethernet fibre links.

The list of exchanges is a bit too long to post in this news item so instead we've uploaded them to a temporary page - HERE. The list includes exchanges in the East Midlands, East of England, London, North East, North West, Northern Ireland, Scotland, South East, South West, Wales, West Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber.

In terms of ADSL2+ technology, BT is still playing catch-up but it is gaining ground. Broadband ISPs, such as Be Broadband UK, have been offering 'up to' 24Mbps ADSL2+ technology quite successfully since 2005 and already cover about 70% of all BT lines. Similarly TalkTalk is another ISP offering ADSL2+ technology and can reach an impressive 80%.