BSkyB’s new advertisement that openly criticised the broadband speeds of competing internet service providers Virgin Media and BT has been banned by the ASA. The advertisement says that both the rivals often slow down internet speeds during peak hours, which does not happen in case of a BSkyB connection.
In response to this attack, BT and an individual complainant approached the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) with their complaints against BSkyB and said that its claim was false, as only those users who over-utilize the internet have to face this problem and not all users. BSkyB in reply said that the traffic management policies of both its rivals are such that the subscribers, irrespective of what bandwidths they use, could face problems of slow connections.
ASA agreed with BSkyB saying that in theory Virgin Media and BT Broadband have such traffic management systems in place, but that they affect broadband speeds only if one downloads large files or browse extensively during peak hours, and not in other cases. Thus, the BSkyB advertisement, which claimed that all users are affected, was found to be misleading. The ASA alleged that BSkyB did not maintain the standard of honesty while comparing with other service providers and hence banned the ad.
For information on your ISP and corresponding broadband speed, try using the broadband check from Broadband Genie to get a snapshot of your current download and upload speeds. It’s a good site to compare broadband prices from the top internet service providers such as Virgin Media Broadband and BT Broadband.
According to the quarterly report released by Carphone Warehouse, the number of TalkTalk subscribers has increased to about 2.85 million.
Charles Dunstone, the Chief Executive at Carphone Warehouse, stated that the company was performing as per their projections. The company has added a net total of about 47,000 customers over this four month period, which is really good given the current economic downslide. The increase in customers in the last quarter was by about 74,000 while the one before it saw an increase by about 36,000.
Dunstone went on to add that the customer spend has increased by about 5 percent and this increase is largely due to the value added features introduced by TalkTalk for its customers, especially high speed downloads, call packages and better security.
Attributing its success totally to its emphasis on customer satisfaction, Dunstone went on to add, that Carphone was committed to providing the best possible broadband service to its customers and the company’s strategy of remaining in the value for money segment is working well - click to compare their service to the other broadband providers.
Over this quarter, TalkTalk has managed to migrate 59,000 customers from other networks to its own, and this figure is without adding the users of Tiscali UK, which was acquired after the current report period. The company claims that about 79 percent of its users are now on its unbundled network, which is a good sign in terms of economies of scale.
There is no fun in being rival internet service providers if there is no indulgence in taking a dig at the competitor. Virgin Media has been doing precisely this to BT lately.
In its recent effort to criticise its competitor, Virgin Media carried out a comprehensive broadband comparison on BT’s latest offer. Virgin analysed all the benefits being offered to customers in the “3 months free” offer, and it has listed out the flaws and loopholes of the deal.
At present, the three months free broadband service provides download speeds of ‘up to’ 8MB. However, Virgin pointed out that this speed becomes progressively lower as the distance from the telephone exchange increases. Besides, one can avail only limited downloads of 10GB and the contract is 18 months long, which effectively traps customers in a service without the flexibility of opting out of it.
It was also mentioned by Virgin that BT throttles streaming speeds, because of which the Option 1 plan customers cannot watch BBC iPlayer’s superior quality programmes on their computers.
Virgin obviously also publicised its own £25 monthly package, saying that it was better as compared to BT’s. This 1-year package consists of unlimited calls to landlines every weekend for numbers with 01, 02, and 03 as prefix, along with unlimited download facilities (subject to fair usage policies). Moreover, the promised speed of 10MB never fails to deliver, irrespective of how far one is located from the telephone exchange.
Swedish Telecoms company Ericsson have had a busy week - as well as gearing up to demo super-fast 56MB HSPA at CTIA Wireless Exhibition in Las Vegas next month, the folks there have also been developing a new mobile broadband module, which is capable of connecting laptops to HSPA, GPRS and EDGE networks.
The new module has three key features which make it particularly news-worthy; support for the new Windows 7 operating system, fifty per cent less power demands compared with the previous version, and a “wake-on wireless” feature which means that users can wake the laptop from sleep mode remotely.
It is this this wake-on wireless which is particularly key, as it integrates with Intel’s Anti-Theft PC Protection technology, allowing the anti-theft module to be remotely activated if the machine is stolen, and enabling security updates to be sent to it. Combined with GPS technology, this smart little pairing means that stolen machines can be disabled, rendering them useless to a thief, and tracked, to improve chances of recovery - all utilising mobile broadband.
The chip will be available to PC manufacturers in June this year, and Jan Backman, a director of marketing with Ericsson, says he expects devices with embedded modules to be on shelves by midway through the second half of this year. Dell, LG and Toshiba are all said to be planning to use the new module in notebooks.
March 18, 2009 at 11:16 am · Filed under Cell Phones
An astounding and unexpected number of people are dropping their (POTS) plain old telephone system, for the latest trends in phone service, VoIP. According to Frost & Sullivan there were 100,000 VoIP users at the end of 2003. Just halfway through 2004 the number jumped to more than 500,000.
The draw to such a change is most often cost related. Traditional phone companies charge use fees and by the minute charges, coupled with long distance fees. VoIP companies are charging a flat fee somewhere between $15.00 to $30.00 US per month, for unlimited calls to anywhere in the US and Canada.
VoIP works by digitizing voice signals from your phone and sending them over the Internet via your home or business computer. While people are scrambling to make the switch and begin to count the money they are saving, they may not realize that there is a good possibility that they are cutting the link between their alarm system and the monitoring station. Another link that is lost in most cases is traditional 911 services, as VoIP does not capture data for emergency response.
When your alarm goes off due to an attempted break in, is no time to find out that the monitoring response that you have been faithfully paying for is not available for you. The Alarm Company has no way of knowing that you switched services. You should be sending a test signal monthly, to assure yourself that the system is working properly, no matter who you are connected through. Be advised that if you are using VoIP and the signal goes through, it does not mean that it will always be as clear. The volume of traffic on the Internet can and will vary the quality of the digitized signal it sends.
If you find yourself intrigued by this revolution in phone services and are dependent on alarm system dispatch as part of your security plan, you should consider the pitfalls and options.
* If power fails to the premise it is likely that your VoIP will fail also, unless your PC has a backup power source.
* You may not be able to use 911 services.
* Your signal may go through giving you a false sense of security, as it may not work next time.
* You may have already switched to VoIP and not realize that your alarm is not being monitored.
I myself have elected to utilize VoIP to save money on long distance. I also maintain a standard limited use phone line to take care of my security communications, 911 and phone backup should power fail. The (limited use) phone line, cost me less than $15.00 per month and is offset by the savings on my long distance bill.
Cellular communicators are available that will make your alarm call over any available cellular network. The device will have to be purchased for about $200.00 to $500.00, and an additional fee of approximately $10.00 per month is added to your monitoring bill.
Some alarm companies offer radio signal transmitted monitoring services, which do not depend on phone lines of any sort to transmit your alarm signal. The availability of such services is limited and depends where you live.
Alarm companies of all sizes are working with manufactures and providers of VoIP services to find ways to properly integrate Alarm Systems with these phone communications industry changes. I would expect many changes in the near future as this does not seem to be a passing fad. Be on the lookout for information on these changes, so that you can always make an informed decision.
Matthew Francis Alarms@expertsknow.com
22 year veteran of the alarm industry
Installer, salesman, licensed alarm company owner, monitoring station designer, promotions and marketing director with one of the worlds largest security dealers. He now works as a consumer advocate, teaching consumers how to buy or get systems for free (without being taken). He is committed to being unbiased.
Gasoline costs are rising and this causes business cash holdings are spread short harder than previously. Considering our nations economic output sputters and credit remains rare, intelligent directories acknowledge redundant accounts should cut. Business people everywhere have to make more than a couple weighty decisions to shrink unnecessary spending. But theyll find that the easier plan to cut company expenses is to cut down on unnecessary travel expenses, and the solution is online conference calling.
Online conferencing permit anyone to communicate with stakeholders virtually in a meeting in another metropolis, in another time zone or especially in another continent. Your every day web conference calls utilize state of the art networking services. Since that they are streamed online, they merely better utilize existing business capital. Only by going to the Internet, may an executive conduct a overseas conference from literally any locale with Internet access. Not only is it convenient, it can save travel costs thousands.
Break throughs in networking technology make Internet conference calls so easy for people to give and receive presentations and information simultaneously. Web conference attendees can see and hear as though they were really there, despite the fact that halfway around the earth. The look and sound of the presentations audio and video is very accurate due to the highest standards in web architecture.
Dont miss how almost any business can save money by switching to Internet conference calls instead of blowing thousands dispatching an employee on a expensive trip. You shouldnt waste money on meals, hotels and even transportation costs. These trimmings matter over a year. Any dollar saved means increased flexibility for your business. Most everyone knows that many businesses are deciding on Internet conferencing to reduce budgets on low-priority sales journeys.
The “Health Protection Agency” reveals the fact that more than 65 million people use mobile phones in the UK. The system has been popular from a long period of time and is improving to serve people better. A method of recycling has replaced the value of an unused mobile. Earlier these mobiles were dumped along with the rubbish in land fill sites. Now they are recycled to be used again.
The telephone system has a composition of cadmium in it and so it produces harmful effects. Components of silver are easily reducible and can be extracted to recycle it. Companies like ‘Envirofone‘ use this technology and produces new devices by the process of ‘recycle’.
Plastic is extracted from other components and outer plastic is melted by the heat produced in incineration. Other parts like LCD screen, aerial, keypad, integrated circuit, battery connectors, lenses, phone houses, microphone, speakers and sim card assemblies. The recycle process helps in creating a new device and aids to keep the planet waste free.
During transit, mobile are safely kept in cushioned boxes so as to protect the mobile from any kind of damage. Mobiles should be free of financial and contractual commitments while the mobile is processed for recycling. Battery and charger should be placed along with it.
Around fourteen WiFi VoIP handsets and phones have been tested by top security experts, who say that security problems range from potential DoS attacks to more serious problems that allow “deep access” to the device that lets a hacker read any sensitive information on the phone.
Problems like this inevitable. So who should sort it out? It has been suggested that if we see practices like this grow as these devices become more prevalent then the manufacturers will only have themselves to blame when the security backlash comes back to haunt them.
VoIP hacking is the modern days version of war dialing - a method of automatically scanning telephone numbers using a modem, frequently ringing all telephone number in a local area to find where computers or fax machines are available, then attempting to access them by guessing passwords.
Still there are precautions customers can take to protect themselves. Here’s a list of WiFi VOIP security issues, and some effective ways to protect against them:
Multiple points of attack:
As the phones get more advanced, so could the points of entry for would be hackers. Email, client Web browsers, Bluetooth, SMS, WiFi, media players, and image viewers could all provide a window of opportunity for hackers. Though users can use open-source and commercial tools to regularly test their phones and networks, they’ll ultimately have to rely on vendors to also do proactive testing on these devices.
Targeting phones in public environments:
For example a Bluetooth scanner could be concealed at the entrance to a major airport or train station and be used to grab user data. It may be best to keep Bluetooth and other wireless features swicthed off when not needed.
Rogue access points:
Other than this when at the office or on the road, users will have to always be wary and scan for rogue access points. Unscrupulous individuals will set up access points to target specifically WiFi phones in the corporate space as well as at hotels and other places business people like to come together. Decent device authentication and encryption can help provide protection here.
Targeted attacks:
Select attacks on specific voice-over-wireless networks could also be an issue, albeit one that the victims may prefer to keep quiet.
July 21, 2008 at 9:02 pm · Filed under Cell Phones
The 1200 is not the best phone Nokia have ever produced, but it remains worth looking at. For the money the Nokia 1200 is really basic. Nokia have done a outstanding job on the overall design of this handset.
A Li-Ion 700 mAh (BL-5CA) battery cell is supplied with the Nokia 1200. The Nokia 1200 has a battery cell duration of 390 hrs standby time and talk time of 7:00. The display type is Monochrome graphics. The Nokia 1200 has support for 2G GSM 850 / 1900 - US version . Polyphonic (32 channels) ring-tones are enabled on the Nokia 1200 along with a vibrating alert. When compared to other mobile phones the Nokia 1200 is very small. The 1200 weighs in at 77 g. If colour is important to you you may like to know that the 1200 can be bought in, Blue and Black. Additional features of the Nokia 1200 include:
Calendar
Flashlight
Currency converter
Calculator
Built-in handsfree
Even though this is a pretty new model, more advanced rivals have already been released. This means it is fairly easy to pick up a fantastic deal on the 1200. Because there are now so many online stores it has never been more convenient or more cost effective to buy a mobile. Purchasing online can lead to some big cost savings, surprisingly, it is possible to get a Nokia 1200 with a free line rental option , which may not cost anything at all.
Normally it is considered polite to turn off your wireless devices during a public show, but a recent development will have you flipping them open out of pure respect. Verizon will soon be inquiring moviegoers regarding their musical preferences. Rather than merely viewing commercials during pre-movie procedure, viewers will be allowed to flip open their electronics and send in survey responses.
The promotion, which plans to begin in mid-June, will precede film showings in the US and possibly in the United Kingdom. Moviegoers will be asked questions about musical preferences, and will be allowed response by email and text. Following their response, moviegoers will view a series of adverts from Verizon, followed by a statistical display of the audience’s preferences.
These innovative advertisement viewings, made possible by Screenvision, allow mobile broadband users the ability to respond to local advertisements. The capability to do this is gained through relative digital distribution, making statistical advertisements possible without printing individual copies of material. This will replace many traditional Verizon slides in movies and email distribution. The deployments of these adverts are expected to work similar to Google Adwords, allowing advertisers to bid for ads per viewing and customer, linked to films of a specifically chosen genre.
