Internet Service Providers

A Conservative promise to address the way fibre optic broadband networks are taxed will be broken, with Ed Vaizey, minister for culture, communications and creative industries, saying that a review will not take place, despite a pledge that it would in the run-up to the election.

Having met with HM Revenue and Customs, which is responsible for the taxation in question, Vaizey said that instead new guidelines would be issued, although these will make few changes.

Vaizey himself has said that the current situation has caused ‘huge damage’ to the UK’s telecoms network and the government has previously said that by the end of their term in office, the UK will have the best broadband network in Europe. However, very little money is being provided to help attain this goal.

Chris Smedley, who is the chief executive of network operator, Geo, said:

“If the government cannot provide funds to help roll out networks because they expect the market to do it, the least they could do is not put direct disincentives in our way.”

This view was supported by Vtesse chief executive, Aidan Paul:

“They simply cannot expect us to invest in an area, and then tax it so that it is not economically viable.”

The Advertising Standards Authority has banned BT’s ‘instant’ broadband advert, saying there was no proof behind the claims being made.

The ASA received complaints after BT claimed its Infinity service constituted the ‘birth of the instant internet’ and ruled that though the service was quick, it could not be deemed ‘instant’.

The ad, which ran in the national press, also claimed that photos and videos could be shared instantly. BT say a 6Mb photo takes around five seconds to upload and a 9Mb video takes eight seconds.

BT pointed towards instant coffee and instant hair removal creams as being products that make use of the term in similar ways, but the ASA said that there was no substantiated evidence that the time stated by BT could be achieved. They also said that it might not be possible to attain those speeds at peak hours or with certain computers. The conclusion drawn was the advert was misleading, hence the ban.

Following a report by Ofcom, it has been revealed that broadband providers are frequently offering connection speeds far in excess of what they will actually be in reality.

The report also shows that this disparity has actually widened over the last year. Average connection speeds are now only 46 per cent of what is promised to users before signing up. It was 56 per cent this time last year.

Ofcom say that some of the maximum speeds mentioned by broadband providers aren’t experienced by anyone.

Ed Richards, the chief executive of the telecommunications regulator, said:

“There is a very big difference between the headline services that are advertised and the actual speeds that are delivered.”

Consumer groups are of the opinion that users should get what they pay for with Peter Vicary-Smith, the chief executive of Which? describing the claims being made as ‘misleading’, saying that the speeds mentioned bear little relation to reality.

As internet users increasingly rely on their service for online TV and games, speeds have needed to increase. Promises of 20Mpbs speeds however, seem unlikely within the country’s current network structure.

Following an Ofcom study that found that most people received internet speeds far lower than those advertised by their providers, the telecommunications regulator has suggested that advertising rules be changed so that typical speed ranges are stated.

Ofcom says that around 25 per cent of people complain of slower connections than they had expected. Virgin Media received least criticism due to its cable network, but providers reliant on BT’s local network all suffered. The average speed for a 20Mbps cable service was found to be 15.7Mbps, but the same speed offered via DSL clocked in at 6.5Mbps. The copper phone lines between homes and telephone exchanges are being stretched to their limits, according to Ofcom.

Another advertising change that has been suggested by the watchdog is that internet service providers only be able to advertise speeds that at least some users can get, rather than stating a theoretical maximum that has no relationship to reality.

Virgin Media’s executive director of broadband, Virgin Media, agreed:

“We need to ensure people are not being ripped off, as the lack of transparency in broadband advertising risks damaging consumer confidence in superfast broadband. The Advertising Standards Authority has announced a review into the way broadband is advertised and the need for change is now urgent.”

Last week, Stephen Wolfram, the founder of Wolfram Research debuted the online ‘computational knowledge engine’ of his company, but search giant Google also launched their own service which bears considerable resemblance.

The Wolfram Alpha search engine is a web service that has been designed to process data from vetted, controlled data sources - many of which are not on the web - and present results in a manner that allows people to dig deeper into the subject. The engine is something of a cross between repositories of scientific data, a graphing calculator and an interpretive system for posing questions in human terms.

For example, people can ask about the location of a gene in the human genome, about the molecular weight of caffeine, the amount of fish produced in France, the number of people named Peter born in a particular year, the performance of Microsoft stock and then dig more into the results.

Stephen Wolfram, the founder of Wolfram Research is a recipient of the MacArthur genius grant and got his Ph.D in theoretical physics when he was just 20 years old. The alpha site will be available in a few weeks, with subscriptions for users who want to use the system for processing their own data and with free access to all users with support from sponsors.