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	<title>Entanet Opinion: ISP industry news and views</title>
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	<description>ISP industry news and views from converged communications provider Entanet International Ltd.</description>
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		<title>Web monitoring plans – open to abuse</title>
		<link>http://opinion.enta.net/2012/05/16/web-monitoring-plans-open-to-abuse/</link>
		<comments>http://opinion.enta.net/2012/05/16/web-monitoring-plans-open-to-abuse/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 16 May 2012 09:53:13 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Neil Watson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Government]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Privacy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Regulation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Social Networking]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://opinion.enta.net/?p=1876</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The recent Queen’s speech has officially confirmed controversial plans for the Government to expand on the level of monitoring of UK citizens online in a bid to fight terrorism and to keep pace with technical changes such as social networks.  ]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The recent Queen’s speech has officially confirmed controversial plans for the Government to expand on the level of monitoring of UK citizens online in a bid to fight terrorism and to keep pace with technical changes such as social networks.</p>
<div id="attachment_106" class="wp-caption alignleft" style="width: 85px"><a href="http://opinion.enta.net/wp-content/plugins/wordpress-feed-statistics/feed-statistics.php?url=aHR0cDovL29waW5pb24uZW50YS5uZXQvd3AtY29udGVudC91cGxvYWRzLzIwMDgvMTAvbmVpbHdhdHNvbi5qcGc="><img class="size-medium wp-image-106" title="neilwatson" src="http://opinion.enta.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/neilwatson.jpg" alt="neilwatson Web monitoring plans – open to abuse" width="75" height="112" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Neil Watson, Head of Service Operations</p></div>
<p>The new Communications Capabilities Development Programme (CCDP) has been brought into force by none other than The Conservatives, who ironically slammed a similar bill raised by Labour called the Interception Modernisation Programme (IMP). We covered the topic back in 2008, with: <a href="http://opinion.enta.net/wp-content/plugins/wordpress-feed-statistics/feed-statistics.php?url=aHR0cDovL29waW5pb24uZW50YS5uZXQvMjAwOC8xMS8wMy9hcmUtd2UtbGl2aW5nLWluLTE5ODQv" title=\"Are we living in “1984”?\">‘Are we living in “1984”?’</a> and also in July last year with: <a href="http://opinion.enta.net/wp-content/plugins/wordpress-feed-statistics/feed-statistics.php?url=aHR0cDovL29waW5pb24uZW50YS5uZXQvMjAxMS8wNy8yMS9iaWctYnJvdGhlci1yZXR1cm5zLXdpdGgtYS1uZXctbmFtZS8=" title=\"Big brother returns with a new name\">‘Big brother returns with a new name’</a>.<br />
<span id="more-1876"></span><br />
Currently, ISPs are required by the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA) and EU Data Retention Directive to maintain logs of the times, dates and IP addresses of website and email accesses for a 12 month period, which is only accessible via an interception warrant. However, the new plans will see UK ISPs forced to allow the GCHQ (Government Communications Headquarters) ‘real-time’ access to their customers’ online activities without a warrant. The data will include information on contacts, time and duration of communications, telephone numbers used, as well as a person’s whereabouts when making a call. It will also include the monitoring of social networks like Facebook and Twitter, online video games, instant messaging and Internet phone services such as Skype. A warrant will only be required to access the actual content of the data, such as the content of an email.</p>
<p>The Government has outlined a number of safeguards which they hope will relinquish fears about the Bill. These include a twelve month limit on how long the data is held for; measures to prevent unauthorised access; strengthening independent oversight and using tribunals to consider complaints. Somehow, we don’t think this will prevent fear.</p>
<ul>
<li>BBC.co.uk: <a href="http://opinion.enta.net/wp-content/plugins/wordpress-feed-statistics/feed-statistics.php?url=aHR0cDovL3d3dy5iYmMuY28udWsvbmV3cy91ay1wb2xpdGljcy0xODAwMzMxNSM=" title=\"Queen's Speech: Internet monitoring plan to have 'strict safeguards'\">Queen&#8217;s Speech: Internet monitoring plan to have &#8216;strict safeguards&#8217;</a></li>
</ul>
<p>Unsurprisingly this new Bill is facing huge amounts of criticism and is expected to cause fierce debate when it comes to Parliament. Some Conservative backbenchers and their coalition partners, The Liberal Democrats, are against the plans. The Lib Dem’s president, Tim Farron recently vowed the party would “kill” the proposals if they were not watered down. </p>
<ul>
<li>ITV.com: <a href="http://opinion.enta.net/wp-content/plugins/wordpress-feed-statistics/feed-statistics.php?url=aHR0cDovL3d3dy5pdHYuY29tL25ld3MvMjAxMi0wNC0wOC9saWItZGVtcy1wcm9taXNlLXRvLWtpbGwtZ292ZXJubWVudC13ZWItbW9uaXRvcmluZy1wbGFucy8=" title=\"Lib Dems promise to 'kill' government web monitoring plans\">Lib Dems promise to &#8216;kill&#8217; government web monitoring plans</a></li>
</ul>
<p>Already, a proposed amendment could see search engine searches added to the revised bill in a bid to capture paedophiles and sex offenders. This is all well and good, but what about innocent people? The amount of information that can be learnt about someone based on what they search for is immense, which is why we strongly agree with Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the Word Wide Web who says: “The amount of control you have over somebody if you can monitor Internet activity is amazing. You get to know every detail, you get to know, in a way, more intimate details about their life than any person that they talk to because often people will confide in the Internet as they find their way through medical websites … or as an adolescent finds their way through a website about homosexuality, wondering what they are and whether they should talk to people about it.&#8221; </p>
<ul>
<li>Guardian.co.uk: <a href="http://opinion.enta.net/wp-content/plugins/wordpress-feed-statistics/feed-statistics.php?url=aHR0cDovL3d3dy5ndWFyZGlhbi5jby51ay90ZWNobm9sb2d5LzIwMTIvYXByLzE3L3RpbS1iZXJuZXJzLWxlZS1tb25pdG9yaW5nLWludGVybmV0P25ld3NmZWVkPXRydWU=" title=\"Tim Berners-Lee urges government to stop the snooping bill\">Tim Berners-Lee urges government to stop the snooping bill</a></li>
</ul>
<p>Without the use of warrants to view this sensitive information, it’s going to be wide open to abuse. People need to be suspected before they are put under surveillance. Simply spying on everyone without a warrant or court order is not acceptable and should be a breach of people’s privacy rights.<br />
As yet, the Government has not revealed any technical details about the plans. All that is known is that ISPs will be responsible for maintaining a local log of online activities. It has however been reported the use of black boxes or large data centres could be used to store such information, especially from third party services such as websites. What we would like to know is who will be footing the bill? In our view it should not be funded by ISPs in any way. </p>
<p>There is some small hope from the European Commission, who could veto the Bill because it conflicts with the existing European Law. However this is only if there are no ‘safeguards’ put in place to protect the data, although these were promised in the Queen’s speech. </p>
<p>It is our belief this whole Bill is pointless. The true criminals will simply circumnavigate such surveillance by using VPNs and proxy servers. Why would they incriminate themselves when they know they’re being monitored? Instead it will be the innocent general public that will take the brunt. All we can hope for is that someone will see sense before a totalitarian state such as in the classic novel by George Orwell “1984” takes hold. </p>
<p><b>Have your say</b></p>
<p>What do you think about the draft Communications Bill which has been revived by the Conservatives? Do you think they are doing right by our country in their bid to protect us? Or do you think this draft Bill is going too far? We would like to know your thoughts, so please leave us a comment below.  </p>
<p><b>Related Articles</b></p>
<ul>
<li>Opinion: <a href="http://opinion.enta.net/wp-content/plugins/wordpress-feed-statistics/feed-statistics.php?url=aHR0cDovL29waW5pb24uZW50YS5uZXQvMjAwOC8xMS8wMy9hcmUtd2UtbGl2aW5nLWluLTE5ODQv" title=\"Are we living in 1984?\">Are we living in 1984?</a></li>
<li>Opinion: <a href="http://opinion.enta.net/wp-content/plugins/wordpress-feed-statistics/feed-statistics.php?url=aHR0cDovL29waW5pb24uZW50YS5uZXQvMjAxMS8wNy8yMS9iaWctYnJvdGhlci1yZXR1cm5zLXdpdGgtYS1uZXctbmFtZS8=" title=\"Big brother returns with a new name\">Big brother returns with a new name</a></li>
</ul>
<p><b>Further information</b></p>
<ul>
<li>ISPReview.co.uk: <a href="http://opinion.enta.net/wp-content/plugins/wordpress-feed-statistics/feed-statistics.php?url=aHR0cDovL3d3dy5pc3ByZXZpZXcuY28udWsvaW5kZXgucGhwLzIwMTIvMDUvcXVlZW5zLXNwZWVjaC1jb25maXJtcy1leHBhbnNpb24tb2YtdWstY2NkcC1pbnRlcm5ldC1zbm9vcGluZy1sYXcuaHRtbA==" title=\"Queens speech confirms expansion of UK CCDP Internet snooping law\">Queens speech confirms expansion of UK CCDP Internet snooping law</a></li>
<li>ZDnet.com: <a href="http://opinion.enta.net/wp-content/plugins/wordpress-feed-statistics/feed-statistics.php?url=aHR0cDovL3d3dy56ZG5ldC5jb20vYmxvZy9sb25kb24vcXVlZW5zLXNwZWVjaC11bnZlaWxzLXVrcy04MjE2cGF0cmlvdC1hY3Qtd2ViLW1vbml0b3JpbmctcGxhbi80NjYz" title=\"Queen’s speech unveils UK’s ‘Patriot Act’ Web monitoring plan\">Queen’s speech unveils UK’s ‘Patriot Act’ Web monitoring plan</a></li>
<li>BBC.co.uk: <a href="http://opinion.enta.net/wp-content/plugins/wordpress-feed-statistics/feed-statistics.php?url=aHR0cDovL3d3dy5iYmMuY28udWsvbmV3cy91ay1wb2xpdGljcy0xODAwMzMxNSM=" title=\"Queen's Speech: Internet monitoring plan to have 'strict safeguards'\">Queen&#8217;s Speech: Internet monitoring plan to have &#8216;strict safeguards&#8217;</a></li>
</ul>
 <img src="http://opinion.enta.net/wp-content/plugins/wordpress-feed-statistics/feed-statistics.php?view=1&post_id=1876" width="1" height="1" style="display: none;" title="Web monitoring plans – open to abuse" alt=" Web monitoring plans – open to abuse" />]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Is business good or could it be a lot better?</title>
		<link>http://opinion.enta.net/2012/05/14/is-business-good-or-could-it-be-a-lot-better/</link>
		<comments>http://opinion.enta.net/2012/05/14/is-business-good-or-could-it-be-a-lot-better/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 14 May 2012 15:00:40 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Darren Farnden</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Food for thought]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://opinion.enta.net/?p=1863</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[So, how’s 2012 shaping up for you business-wise? In our January Food for Thought article 'So what's your strategy for 2012?', we highlighted the need for having a clear strategy if your aim is to build upon what you’ve already achieved last year. Now that we’re five months into this year, are you following a specific plan or simply throwing money and resources at activities you hope will work?]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>So, how’s 2012 shaping up for you business-wise? In our January Food for Thought article (<a href="http://opinion.enta.net/wp-content/plugins/wordpress-feed-statistics/feed-statistics.php?url=aHR0cDovL29waW5pb24uZW50YS5uZXQvMjAxMi8wMS8xMC9zby13aGF0cy15b3VyLXN0cmF0ZWd5LWZvci0yMDEyLw==" title=\"So whats your strategy for 2012\">So what&#8217;s your strategy for 2012?</a>) we highlighted the need for having a clear strategy if your aim is to build upon what you’ve already achieved last year. Now that we’re five months into this year, are you following a specific plan or simply throwing money and resources at activities you hope will work?</p>
<div id="attachment_135" class="wp-caption alignleft" style="width: 160px"><a href="http://opinion.enta.net/wp-content/plugins/wordpress-feed-statistics/feed-statistics.php?url=aHR0cDovL29waW5pb24uZW50YS5uZXQvd3AtY29udGVudC91cGxvYWRzLzIwMTIvMDUvc3RyYXRlZ3kuanBn"><img class="size-medium wp-image-135" title="Is business good or could it be a lot better?" src="http://opinion.enta.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/strategy.jpg" alt="strategy Is business good or could it be a lot better?" width="150" height="117" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Is business good or could it be a lot better?</p></div>
<p>A lot of businesses exist because of owner interest in a particular market, product or service. It’s maybe where they have previous experience or a passion. Others have evolved from an earlier idea that changed over time as new customers came on board. Whichever, a common problem that many owners and managers face is knowing where to apply their marketing spend in an effort to create opportunities for new business. Often a limited budget is focused on a limited number of activities that aren’t particularly successful. Furthermore, these activities are trying independently to generate enquiries. Realistically then, what level of success can be expected?<br />
<span id="more-1863"></span><br />
In conversations we have with some in the voice and data channel, those activities often centre around a website and either print or online advertising, as well as perhaps some form of social media activity and a bit of PR. But when these disparate activities don’t generate what was hoped for, they wonder what they should change &#8211; where they should shift marketing spend. This is an entirely wrong approach!</p>
<p>Without suggesting reinventing the wheel, the right approach is being clearer on the sort of business you want, what groups of customers will help you shape that business and deciding how you can be proactive in making contact and developing relationships. In short, don’t get sucked into simply advertising the attributes of products to everybody in the vague hope that someone will tell you they want to buy from you. That’s like waving a flag with your name on it in the hope passers-by will be attracted and ask you what you do. While there’s a place for that sort of activity, the reality is your flag is waving in the wind alongside lots of other similar flags.</p>
<p>Consider then:</p>
<ul>
<li>Ideally, what does your business look like? Are you looking to grow revenue or profit or, uncommonly, both?</li>
<li>What sorts of customers do you want to work for and where are they?</li>
<li>What problems or aims do the products you currently sell overcome or achieve that these types of customer have? Talk their language and they’ll be attracted by what you say.</li>
<li>Are there related needs that you could address with additional products that you don’t sell already but have access to? These are new revenue streams.</li>
</ul>
<p>Even from these simple steps you can have a clearer picture of what you want to achieve, who you want to sell to, what marketing messages will create an affinity between you and them and what activities you can do to present those messages. With this knowledge, review where you talk to customers today. Do you need to refresh the content on your website for example? Your activities shouldn’t just be passive either. Flag waving isn’t enough – you need to identify specific potential customers and, armed with an understanding of their business, be proactive in making contact. This might be through email or by directly calling them. Either way requires a consistent follow-through. Remember, it can take several points of contact for a new prospect to become familiar with your name and what you do. For this reason, proactively targeted and co-ordinated marketing usually yields stronger results than just blind sporadic advertising but still requires you talking to someone at the end of it. </p>
<p>And remember your existing customers of course. Examine critically how close you are to them, how often you talk to them and how aware you are of their current and looming business needs. Tell them what you say to potential customers and uncover new opportunities. The more you do, the more they’ll become an advocate of your business and the more ‘free’ word-of-mouth marketing comes into play.</p>
<p>Entanet can help you make business better. Get in touch on 0333 101 0808, email us at <a href="http://opinion.enta.net/wp-content/plugins/wordpress-feed-statistics/feed-statistics.php?url=bWFpbHRvOm1hcmtldGluZ0BlbnRhLm5ldA==" title=\"email Marketing\">marketing@enta.net</a> or use the contact from below. </p>
<p>Read our previous article <a href="http://opinion.enta.net/wp-content/plugins/wordpress-feed-statistics/feed-statistics.php?url=aHR0cDovL29waW5pb24uZW50YS5uZXQvMjAxMi8wNC8xMS9nZW5lcmljLW5lZWRzLWFuZC1zcGVjaWZpYy1kZXNpcmVz" title=\"Read the full article\" />‘Generic needs and specific desires’</a> or take a look at our <a href="http://opinion.enta.net/wp-content/plugins/wordpress-feed-statistics/feed-statistics.php?url=aHR0cDovL29waW5pb24uZW50YS5uZXQvY2F0ZWdvcnkvZm9vZGZvcnRob3VnaHQv" title=\"read previous articles\">previous articles</a>.</p>

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		<title>The EU Cookie Law &#8211; Bureaucracy at its worst</title>
		<link>http://opinion.enta.net/2012/04/24/the-eu-cookie-law-bureaucracy-at-its-worst/</link>
		<comments>http://opinion.enta.net/2012/04/24/the-eu-cookie-law-bureaucracy-at-its-worst/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 24 Apr 2012 09:47:18 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Darren Farnden</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Advertising]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Government]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Regulation]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://opinion.enta.net/?p=1833</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[As if the latest ASA/CAP guidelines dictating how broadband should and shouldn’t be advertised weren’t enough to disarm UK Internet Service Providers’ marketing, another new law is about to come into effect that will cripple all UK companies trying to make best use of the Internet to market their products and services. It’s known as the EU Cookie Law and it comes into force from May 26 2012. ]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>As if the latest ASA/CAP guidelines dictating how broadband should and shouldn’t be advertised weren’t enough to disarm UK Internet Service Providers’ marketing, another new law is about to come into effect that will cripple <u>all</u> UK companies trying to make best use of the Internet to market their products and services. It’s known as the EU Cookie Law and it comes into force from May 26 2012. </p>
<div id="attachment_85" class="wp-caption alignleft" style="width: 85px"><a href="http://opinion.enta.net/wp-content/plugins/wordpress-feed-statistics/feed-statistics.php?url=aHR0cDovL29waW5pb24uZW50YS5uZXQvd3AtY29udGVudC91cGxvYWRzLzIwMDgvMTAvZGFycmVuZmFybmRlbi5qcGc="><img class="size-medium wp-image-85" title="darrenfarnden" src="http://opinion.enta.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/darrenfarnden.jpg" alt="darrenfarnden The EU Cookie Law   Bureaucracy at its worst " width="75" height="112" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Darren Farnden, Head of Marketing</p></div>
<p>Under the new law, every single company or individual in the EU using cookies on their website will have to alert every visitor and give them the choice to continue with or without the use of cookies. Failure to comply could result in a fine of up to £500,000! This will result in website owners having to use pop up boxes or splash pages to inform visitors and gain their consent. As a result, websites will now run the risk of their visitors declining all cookies, which in effect stops them from working all together. No more logging into secure sites, no more adjusting text sizes and remembering preferences and no more Google Analytics to help marketers produce websites that are helpful and relevant for visitors.<br />
<span id="more-1833"></span><br />
The law first originated as an EU Directive in May 2011, which introduced a new piece of privacy legislation that requires website owners to obtain consent from visitors to store or retrieve cookies on devices such as a computer or mobile. Cookies, reportedly used on 92 percent of websites (<a href="http://opinion.enta.net/wp-content/plugins/wordpress-feed-statistics/feed-statistics.php?url=aHR0cDovL3NpbGt0aWRlLmNvbS9jb29raWVsYXc=" title=\"Click to read the article\">Silktide.com: Cookie Law</a>), are small text files that are dropped onto devices that are commonly used for a whole host of reasons &#8211; from logging into websites; storing your preferences such as accessibility text sizes; enabling you to purchase items online; to tracking visitors. The list is extensive. At the same time, the UK introduced the changes to its Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations. Although the law is already in effect in the UK, The Information Commissioners’ Office (ICO) obtained one year’s grace period before it must be implemented by all UK businesses. </p>
<p>Whilst we commend the Government and EU for attempting to protect people’s privacy, this new law will not only worsen the experience of website visitors and lessen companies’ marketing effectiveness but also hit them financially, especially where they rely heavily on behavioural adverts. It’s not going to be easy for these businesses to gain consent from visitors to track them in order to make advertising more effective. But the truth is behavioural adverts are very effective and sometimes extremely useful to those who see them when browsing. Imagine if Google, who make over 97% of their revenues from targeted ads, had to ask permission each time they used a cookie. They would surely not survive long. Maybe the Government has got it in for marketers; we’re certainly starting to think so after the ASA and CAP guidelines. </p>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://opinion.enta.net/wp-content/plugins/wordpress-feed-statistics/feed-statistics.php?url=aHR0cDovL2Jsb2cuc2lsa3RpZGUuY29tLzIwMTEvMDYvd2h5LXRoZS1jb29raWUtbGF3LWlzLXRvdGFsLWNsb3duc2hvZXMv" title=\"Silktide: Why the cookie law is total clownshoes\">Silktide.com: Why the cookie law is total clownshoes</a></li>
</ul>
<p>Furthermore, the Government has given no specific recommendations to how they would like UK organisations to comply with this law, other than an in-depth privacy notice being needed to specify what cookies a website uses and why, along with some sort of method to gain consent. Surely logic would show that there is only a need to give people the choice about the cookies which track individuals and use spyware. </p>
<p>Rather than asking for visitors consent to install cookies across every site that uses cookies, what’s actually needed is for visitors to be educated and for them to use modern browsers that have the ability to change cookie settings, including third party cookies often used for targeted ads. Instead the Government has taken the least effective approach of applying a one-size-fits-all approach to all website owners, with little regard for ‘normal’ websites. </p>
<p>In actual fact, what’s most annoying about this is the two-faced approach the government are taking. It wants us to make cookies more transparent to protect the privacy of users online and yet it has recently been found that it is planning to monitor the calls, emails, texts and website visits of everyone in the UK. More on this topic another day!</p>
<p><strong>Have your say!</strong></p>
<p>What do you think about the new EU Cookie Law? Do you think the Government is right to protect the privacy of online users but are going about it the wrong way? Or do you think the Government could cause more harm than good for the online businesses? We would like to know your thoughts, so please leave us a comment below. </p>
<p><strong>Further reading:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://opinion.enta.net/wp-content/plugins/wordpress-feed-statistics/feed-statistics.php?url=aHR0cDovL3d3dy5pY28uZ292LnVrL2Zvcl9vcmdhbmlzYXRpb25zL3ByaXZhY3lfYW5kX2VsZWN0cm9uaWNfY29tbXVuaWNhdGlvbnMvdGhlX2d1aWRlL2Nvb2tpZXMuYXNweA==" title=\"ICO's Guide to cookies\">ICO.gov.uk: Cookies</a></li>
<li><a href="http://opinion.enta.net/wp-content/plugins/wordpress-feed-statistics/feed-statistics.php?url=aHR0cDovL3d3dy5pbnRlcm5hdGlvbmFsLWNoYW1iZXIuY28udWsvYmxvZy8yMDEyLzA0LzAyL2xhdW5jaC1vZi1pY2MtdWstY29va2llLWd1aWRlLw==" title=\"International Chamber: ICC UK cookie guide\">International Chamber: ICC UK cookie guide</a></li>
<li><a href="http://opinion.enta.net/wp-content/plugins/wordpress-feed-statistics/feed-statistics.php?url=aHR0cDovL3NpbGt0aWRlLmNvbS9jb29raWVsYXc=" title=\"Silktide: Cookielaw\">Silktide: Cookielaw</a></li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Related articles:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://opinion.enta.net/wp-content/plugins/wordpress-feed-statistics/feed-statistics.php?url=aHR0cDovL29waW5pb24uZW50YS5uZXQvMjAxMS8xMC8wMy9hc2EtYnJvYWRiYW5kLWd1aWRlbGluZXMtd2hhdC13aWxsLWl0LW1lYW4tZm9yLXJlc2VsbGVycy8=" title=\"Opinion: ASA broadband guidelines - What will it mean for resellers\">Opinion: ASA broadband guidelines &#8211; What will it mean for resellers</a></li>
</ul>
 <img src="http://opinion.enta.net/wp-content/plugins/wordpress-feed-statistics/feed-statistics.php?view=1&post_id=1833" width="1" height="1" style="display: none;" title="The EU Cookie Law   Bureaucracy at its worst " alt=" The EU Cookie Law   Bureaucracy at its worst " />]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Generic needs and specific desires</title>
		<link>http://opinion.enta.net/2012/04/11/generic-needs-and-specific-desires/</link>
		<comments>http://opinion.enta.net/2012/04/11/generic-needs-and-specific-desires/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 11 Apr 2012 11:39:43 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Darren Farnden</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Food for thought]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://opinion.enta.net/?p=1814</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Organisations tend to exist to provide products and services as a way of generating revenues that in turn make profits, provide people with an income for the long term, and serve society in some way. If you look behind these raisons d’être, you find a myriad of organisational needs. ]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Organisations tend to exist to provide products and services as a way of generating revenues that in turn make profits, provide people with an income for the long term, and serve society in some way. If you look behind these raisons d’être, you find a myriad of organisational needs. Businesses are looking for commercial differentiation to ensure they win new customers instead of losing out to competitors; for quicker decision making by those in charge or given key responsibilities; for peace of mind among stakeholders who have a vested interest in their success, whether in time or money terms.</p>
<div id="attachment_135" class="wp-caption alignleft" style="width: 160px"><a href="http://opinion.enta.net/wp-content/plugins/wordpress-feed-statistics/feed-statistics.php?url=aHR0cDovL29waW5pb24uZW50YS5uZXQvd3AtY29udGVudC91cGxvYWRzLzIwMTIvMDQvYnVpbGRpbmdfc21hbGwuanBn"><img class="size-medium wp-image-135" title="Generic needs and specific desires" src="http://opinion.enta.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/building_small.jpg" alt="building small Generic needs and specific desires" width="150" height="100" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Generic needs and specific desires</p></div>
<p>In both the public and commercial sectors, organisations want to ensure efficient, smooth and co-operative interaction between teams to make sure things happen when they should; they also want to create an environment that people enjoy working in, so that productivity and customer service are as good as they can be and staff turnover is minimised.<br />
<span id="more-1814"></span><br />
It’s important to communicate familiarity and understanding with these and other common denominators if you’re going to sell connectivity solutions successfully. This doesn’t mean however, that thinking about or actually identifying the needs of specific markets and offering a service that meets them won’t be useful or effective. On the contrary, this can be a good way of targeting a group of customers – particularly if you have some experience or an established track record in their sector.</p>
<p>In financial markets for example, speed, reliability and security are key for almost every business. Cost may well be a secondary consideration to ensuring that they can conduct business on behalf of their clients swiftly, accurately and securely. Traders will need the very top performance they can get (latency will be a particularly important issue) and will want a steadfast guarantee of service availability and sustainability. They may also be streaming video and voice across the web, so the notion of guaranteed and un-contented bandwidth will be highly attractive. </p>
<p>For retailers, it’s all about decision-making and being able to pick up on changes in the market swiftly so that marketing messages and pricing can be altered to match current trends and ensure that the customer experience is constantly improved and enhanced. Making sure that they can always get the up-to-date information they need from their stores – quickly and reliably – is proving to be crucial.<br />
In health the focus is on patient care but there is also an urgent need to reduce costs. There is also currently a high level of concern over the impact of government reforms and how these changes will affect the way services operate, so keeping your finger firmly on the pulse here and making sure you understand the current mood of healthcare professionals is vital. It could well be the case that communications become much more important in this sector as decision-making and budget responsibility are divested down to a more local level. </p>
<p>For schools and colleges concerned with nurturing young people and improving learning, IT and online resources play an increasingly important role in the classroom. With pupils regularly accessing rich content and sharing experiences with other schools, there is a growing need for services that can cope with the peaks of demand at a price that can be justified to the governors and the Local Education Authority. </p>
<p>And in government, services to citizens are the focal point – and here there is a real drive for authorities to provide more online access, so there may be a need for communications services that can cope with very large volumes of traffic at certain times. Round-the-clock availability and reliability of service will also be very important to local government. </p>
<p>Communications and connectivity, access to email and the web and to hosted applications and services are central to the every-day running of just about every commercial and public sector body. The message then is understand your customer. It’s important to comprehend and consider how the broader needs of an organisation relate to the particular sector they are in, but also their specific requirements and what they’re trying to achieve. Understand their challenges as well as their goals and objectives. Establish what ‘good’ looks like and then ask them what ‘bad’ would look like. Identify their core needs and relate to what they’re really trying to achieve.</p>
<p>Entanet can help you grow whichever market you’re in. Get in touch on 0333 101 0808, email us at <a href="http://opinion.enta.net/wp-content/plugins/wordpress-feed-statistics/feed-statistics.php?url=bWFpbHRvOm1hcmtldGluZ0BlbnRhLm5ldA==" title=\"email Marketing at Entanet\">marketing@enta.net</a> or use the contact form below. </p>
<p>Read our previous article <a href="http://opinion.enta.net/wp-content/plugins/wordpress-feed-statistics/feed-statistics.php?url=aHR0cDovL29waW5pb24uZW50YS5uZXQvMjAxMi8wMy8xMi9ldGhlcm5ldC1pcy1pdC1hLXBpZWNlLW9mLWNha2Uv" title=\"Read our previous article\">‘Ethernet: is it a piece of cake?’</a> or take a look at our <a href="http://opinion.enta.net/wp-content/plugins/wordpress-feed-statistics/feed-statistics.php?url=aHR0cDovL29waW5pb24uZW50YS5uZXQvY2F0ZWdvcnkvZm9vZGZvcnRob3VnaHQv" title=\"read previous articles\">previous articles</a>.</p>

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		<title>Poll: What do you think of the new ASA/CAP speed advertising guidelines?</title>
		<link>http://opinion.enta.net/2012/04/10/poll-what-do-you-think-of-the-new-asacap-speed-advertising-guidelines/</link>
		<comments>http://opinion.enta.net/2012/04/10/poll-what-do-you-think-of-the-new-asacap-speed-advertising-guidelines/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 10 Apr 2012 11:45:21 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Claire Dutton</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Polls]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://opinion.enta.net/?p=1820</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The new ASA (Advertising Standards Authority) and CAP (Committee of Advertising Practice) guidelines, which are set to change the way providers advertise broadband speeds and ‘unlimited’ broadband, are now in full force.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The new ASA (Advertising Standards Authority) and CAP (Committee of Advertising Practice) guidelines, which are set to change the way providers advertise broadband speeds and ‘unlimited’ broadband, are now in full force. We covered the topic back in October: Opinion: <a href="http://opinion.enta.net/wp-content/plugins/wordpress-feed-statistics/feed-statistics.php?url=aHR0cDovL29waW5pb24uZW50YS5uZXQvMjAxMS8xMC8wMy9hc2EtYnJvYWRiYW5kLWd1aWRlbGluZXMtd2hhdC13aWxsLWl0LW1lYW4tZm9yLXJlc2VsbGVycy8=" title=\"Click to read the full article\">ASA broadband guidelines – What will it mean for resellers?</a></p>
<p>The new guidelines will mean broadband providers are no longer able to advertise speeds based on the theoretical maximum the technology can achieve e.g. ‘up to 24Mbps for ADSL2+’. Instead, providers must advertise their packages based on the speeds that at least 10 percent of their customer base can achieve. Providers must also ensure this information is updated every six months, whilst reiterating that the customer may not actually achieve such speeds.<br />
<span id="more-1820"></span><br />
We would like to know what your views are on these new guidelines and have therefore added a new poll to gather your thoughts. Please also feel free to leave us a comment below.</p>
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		<title>Poll: Do you think the BDUK objectives will be achieved in 2015 as planned?</title>
		<link>http://opinion.enta.net/2012/03/20/poll-do-you-think-the-bduk-objectives-will-be-achieved-in-2015-as-planned/</link>
		<comments>http://opinion.enta.net/2012/03/20/poll-do-you-think-the-bduk-objectives-will-be-achieved-in-2015-as-planned/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 20 Mar 2012 13:36:47 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Claire Dutton</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Polls]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://opinion.enta.net/?p=1810</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The Government’s Broadband Delivery UK project (BDUK), which aims to deliver superfast broadband to 90% of the country by 2015, has become a highly topical subject over the past few months. The Government has set aside an initial budget of £530 million, with another £100million recently added for super-connected cities and a further £100million from [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The Government’s Broadband Delivery UK project (BDUK), which aims to deliver superfast broadband to 90% of the country by 2015, has become a highly topical subject over the past few months. The Government has set aside an initial budget of £530 million, with another £100million recently added for super-connected cities and a further £100million from European funding. However, we would like to know what your thoughts are on this subject and whether you believe the BDUK will be successful. Therefore, we have created a new opinion poll to gather your thoughts. Remember you can also leave us a comment below. </p>
 <img src="http://opinion.enta.net/wp-content/plugins/wordpress-feed-statistics/feed-statistics.php?view=1&post_id=1810" width="1" height="1" style="display: none;" title="Poll: Do you think the BDUK objectives will be achieved in 2015 as planned?" alt=" Poll: Do you think the BDUK objectives will be achieved in 2015 as planned?" />]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Ethernet: is it a piece of cake?</title>
		<link>http://opinion.enta.net/2012/03/12/ethernet-is-it-a-piece-of-cake/</link>
		<comments>http://opinion.enta.net/2012/03/12/ethernet-is-it-a-piece-of-cake/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 12 Mar 2012 16:27:23 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Darren Farnden</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Food for thought]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Reselling]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://opinion.enta.net/?p=1800</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Increasingly we’re seeing more and more resellers moving into the Ethernet market. Leased line and EFM (Ethernet in the First Mile) deals are delivering greater margin and higher revenue. But surely selling such a high value solution means much more work, right? Wrong! So what is the big deal with selling Ethernet and why is it appearing on more resellers’ radar?]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Increasingly we’re seeing more and more resellers moving into the Ethernet market. Leased line and EFM (Ethernet in the First Mile) deals are delivering greater margin and higher revenue. But surely selling such a high value solution means much more work, right? Wrong! So what is the big deal with selling Ethernet and why is it appearing on more resellers’ radar?</p>
<div id="attachment_135" class="wp-caption alignleft" style="width: 160px"><a href="http://opinion.enta.net/wp-content/plugins/wordpress-feed-statistics/feed-statistics.php?url=aHR0cDovL29waW5pb24uZW50YS5uZXQvd3AtY29udGVudC91cGxvYWRzLzIwMTIvMDMvcGllY2VvZmNha2UuanBn"><img class="size-medium wp-image-135" title="Ethernet - Is it a piece of cake?" src="http://opinion.enta.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/pieceofcake.jpg" alt="pieceofcake Ethernet: is it a piece of cake?" width="150" height="112" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Ethernet - Is it a piece of cake?</p></div>
<p>Those that have been part of the channel long enough will know that leased lines have been around for a long time, around 40 years in fact. For years they were hugely expensive and out of reach of many businesses, who had little choice but opt for lesser solutions to meet their connectivity needs.  However as time has progressed, so have technological advancements and market forces, making Ethernet connectivity much more accessible and affordable.<br />
<span id="more-1800"></span></p>
<p>You may be interested to know that selling Ethernet brings with it longer term customer tie-ins which, in turn, equals greater stability of income. Not only that, Ethernet opens up other opportunities for additional business. For instance, Ethernet circuits form the central components of IP Virtual Private Networks, perfect for customers needing to create secure connections between multiple sites and remote workers. Given there’s always a reason for the technology adoption, Ethernet is usually a catalyst for related IP based services such as Internet telephony, virtualisation and hosted application delivery. It regularly creates demand for supporting, or backup, services such as additional broadband lines and PSTN line rental. </p>
<p>Importantly, leased lines and EFM give you the opportunity to offer flexibility to your customers. Some will need a solution that accommodates not only today’s requirements but also future growth, without requiring complete re-investment.  As their solution provider, you’re able to meet their bandwidth requirement today on a circuit that’s ready to meet demand down the road. For example, many customers start off at only 10Mbps on a circuit capable of delivering 100Mbps, easily increasing it in increments months later. </p>
<p><strong>So how do you sell Ethernet successfully? </strong><br />
Selling Ethernet really is a piece of cake, as long as you understand what your customers are aiming to achieve and you’re knowledgeable enough and equipped to show them how. Remember that customers buy technology for one or several reason(s). Faster, dedicated, resilient and fully supported connectivity can, quite simply, mean creating peace of mind among stakeholders, commercial advantage in competitive markets, better interaction among teams, quicker decision making and an environment that staff enjoy. The features of leased lines and EFM can help to deliver all of these and more.</p>
<p>Selling Ethernet is a learning curve and in Entanet’s case it’s something we help our partners with directly through training, account management assistance, pre-sales guidance and provisioning and technical support. Knowing that you’re supported by an experienced and trusted supplier gives you the peace of mind to sell Ethernet’s confidently. </p>
<p>Become an Entanet partner before the 27th March and you can learn more by joining in on our Ethernet and EFM webinar at 10:00am. Join us. </p>
<p>If you can’t make the webinar and want to know how you can benefit from selling Entanet’s Ethernet solutions, simply provide your details and we’ll get in touch. Alternatively, call us on 0333 101 0808 or email us at <a href="http://opinion.enta.net/wp-content/plugins/wordpress-feed-statistics/feed-statistics.php?url=bWFpbHRvOm1hcmtldGluZ0BlbnRhLm5ldA==" title=\"email marketing\">marketing@enta.net</a>.</p>
<p>Read our previous article <a href="http://opinion.enta.net/wp-content/plugins/wordpress-feed-statistics/feed-statistics.php?url=aHR0cDovL29waW5pb24uZW50YS5uZXQvMjAxMi8wMi8xMy9hcmUteW91LXJpZGluZy1hLXRob3JvdWdoYnJlZC1vci1hLWRvbmtleS8=" title=\"Click to read our previous article\">‘Are you riding a thoroughbred or a donkey?’</a> or take a look at our <a href="http://opinion.enta.net/wp-content/plugins/wordpress-feed-statistics/feed-statistics.php?url=aHR0cDovL29waW5pb24uZW50YS5uZXQvY2F0ZWdvcnkvZm9vZGZvcnRob3VnaHQv" title=\"read previous articles\">previous articles</a>.</p>

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		<title>Mobile operators must follow net neutrality principles, says ITSPA</title>
		<link>http://opinion.enta.net/2012/03/08/mobile-operators-must-follow-net-neutrality-principles-says-itspa/</link>
		<comments>http://opinion.enta.net/2012/03/08/mobile-operators-must-follow-net-neutrality-principles-says-itspa/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 08 Mar 2012 11:06:48 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Guest</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Government]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Net Neutrality]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://opinion.enta.net/?p=1790</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The issue of net neutrality has been regularly debated over the years and is something we’ve covered many times on this blog, but a recent report by ITSPA (the Internet Telephony Service Providers’ Association) identifies clear breaches of net neutrality by mobile operators with regards to VoIP traffic and raises new concerns for the industry. ITSPA have kindly agreed to share their concerns on this issue with us… ]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The issue of net neutrality has been regularly debated over the years and is something we’ve covered many times on this blog, but a recent report by ITSPA (the Internet Telephony Service Providers’ Association) identifies clear breaches of net neutrality by mobile operators with regards to VoIP traffic and raises new concerns for the industry. ITSPA have kindly agreed to share their concerns on this issue with us… </p>
<div id="attachment_135" class="wp-caption alignleft" style="width: 210px"><a href="http://opinion.enta.net/wp-content/plugins/wordpress-feed-statistics/feed-statistics.php?url=aHR0cDovL29waW5pb24uZW50YS5uZXQvd3AtY29udGVudC91cGxvYWRzLzIwMTIvMDMvSVRTUEEuanBn"><img class="size-medium wp-image-135" title="Guest article from ITSPA" src="http://opinion.enta.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/ITSPA.jpg" alt="ITSPA Mobile operators must follow net neutrality principles, says ITSPA" width="200" height="69" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Guest article from ITSPA</p></div>
<p>“VoIP (Voice over IP) is the future of voice services. As readers will know, VoIP provides new added-value applications and cost benefits to both businesses and home users. It will only continue to grow as the UK’s next generation network rollout continues. The technology has developed significantly in recent years, to the point where in many instances the customer experience exceeds that of traditional circuit-switched telephony.<br />
<span id="more-1790"></span></p>
<p>Yet the thorny issue of network neutrality and traffic management has the potential to threaten the success of VoIP and other Internet-based services. As the UK’s VoIP trade association, ITSPA (Internet Telephony Services Providers’ Association), believes that the blocking of Internet services such as VoIP is fundamentally anti-competitive and comes at a significant detriment to the consumer. Whilst there is no evidence to suggest that the fixed-line ISP community does not follow open Internet principles, there are documented examples of mobile network operators (MNOs) who block the use of VoIP clients on their networks, even though their customers are paying for the data traffic. </p>
<p>In the age of the smartphone – when customers are paying for their data traffic – ITSPA believes it is anti-competitive to restrict bandwidth for VoIP simply in order to protect mobile operators’ own voice revenues. And it comes at a grave cost to innovation, growth, and productivity in the UK.<br />
VoIP in particular requires very little bandwidth – circa 100Kbps – compared to other traffic such as video streaming or peer-to-peer sharing. We cannot foresee any real justification to restrict bandwidth for traffic management purposes concerning these types of services.</p>
<p>A December 2011 ITSPA study concluded that most major UK MNOs either i) prohibit VoIP in their terms and conditions; ii) charge a premium for using it; and/or iii) actively block it. Furthermore, these policies were not transparent to the customers at the time of purchase.</p>
<p>Of course, this issue is of major concern to our members. But because the current situation will only deter investment in an ever increasing mobile data market, it ultimately results in less competition and innovation as well as higher prices for consumers. </p>
<p>ITSPA welcomes the Government’s desire to maintain an open Internet and believes that Ofcom’s position in its statement on net neutrality is an important step forward. However, significantly more work needs to be done to provide consumers with adequate information with regards to traffic management policies. </p>
<p>The industry is currently discussing potential self-regulatory solutions with the Government. ITSPA members are concerned as to whether a self-regulatory model concerning blocking and traffic management can be truly enforceable and whether Ofcom has effective powers at its disposal to act when required.  Despite its frustrations, the Government is continuing discussions in March with industry and will then consider the action required to keep the UK Internet open for innovation and competition. ITSPA will continue to engage and push to ensure the most effective solution can be reached. </p>
<p>Finally, ITSPA is committed to making the case for a 4G spectrum license process that does not block or discriminate against third party VoIP or messaging operators. While the usual caveat applies that restrictions are understandable when necessary to preserve the quality of service of the network, unfortunately there is still no indication 4G would not suffer from the same blocking issues.</p>
<p>Quite simply, companies across the communications industry should play fair when it comes to VoIP and other legal Internet services, and help grow the UK economy in the process.”</p>
<p><strong>Entanet’s View</strong><br />
We’re with ITSPA on this, even though we understand why mobile operators want to protect their voice revenues. As we’ve stated on this site many times before, we believe net neutrality should be protected and the blocking and restriction practices of MNOs that has been identified by ITSPA’s report are clear breaches of it. Such anti-competitive practices clearly illustrate the reasoning behind calls to enforce net neutrality. </p>
<p>It’s encouraging to hear that the Government is continuing its discussions with industry and we hope that the suggested self-regulatory solutions will solve this issue. If they don’t though, Ofcom will need to be prepared to step in and enforce this in order to protect innovation and eliminate this anti-competitive behaviour. Whether or not Ofcom has the power to do so effectively remains to be seen. </p>
<p><strong>About ITSPA</strong><br />
Since 2004, the Internet Telephony Services Providers’ Association (ITSPA) has represented network operators, service providers and other business involved with the supply of VoIP services to business and residential consumers. Visit www.itspa.org.uk. </p>
<p><strong>Have your say!</strong><br />
What do you think about net neutrality and in particular the effects on VoIP from mobile operators? Do you think mobile operators should be forced to treat VoIP traffic fairly or do you think they are justified to restrict or even block it? Let us know your thoughts by leaving us a comment below. </p>
<p><strong>Related Articles</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Opinion: <a href="http://opinion.enta.net/wp-content/plugins/wordpress-feed-statistics/feed-statistics.php?url=aHR0cDovL29waW5pb24uZW50YS5uZXQvMjAxMS8xMC8yMC90aGUtbmV0LW5ldXRyYWxpdHktYmxhY2stbGlzdC0yLw==" title=\"The net neutrality black list\">The net neutrality black list</a></li>
<li>Opinion: <a href="http://opinion.enta.net/wp-content/plugins/wordpress-feed-statistics/feed-statistics.php?url=aHR0cDovL29waW5pb24uZW50YS5uZXQvMjAxMS8wMy8xNy93aWxsLXRoZS1iaWctYm95cyVFMiU4MCU5OS1jb21taXRtZW50LXRvLXRyYWZmaWMtbWFuYWdlbWVudC10cmFuc3BhcmVuY3ktaGVscC1jb25zdW1lcnMv" title=\"Will the big boys’ commitment to traffic management transparency help consumers?\">Will the big boys’ commitment to traffic management transparency help consumers?</a></li>
<li>Opinion: <a href="http://opinion.enta.net/wp-content/plugins/wordpress-feed-statistics/feed-statistics.php?url=aHR0cDovL29waW5pb24uZW50YS5uZXQvMjAxMC8xMS8xOS91cGRhdGUtdmFpemV5LWRpc2hlcy1hbm90aGVyLXBhaW5mdWwtYmxvdy10by1uZXQtbmV1dHJhbGl0eS8=" title=\"UPDATE: Vaizey dishes another painful blow to net neutrality\">UPDATE: Vaizey dishes another painful blow to net neutrality</a></li>
<li>Opinion: <a href="http://opinion.enta.net/wp-content/plugins/wordpress-feed-statistics/feed-statistics.php?url=aHR0cDovL29waW5pb24uZW50YS5uZXQvMjAxMC8xMC8yNy9wb2xsLXNob3VsZC1vZmNvbS1lbmZvcmNlLW5ldC1uZXV0cmFsaXR5Lw==" title=\"Poll: Should Ofcom enforce net neutrality?\">Poll: Should Ofcom enforce net neutrality?</a></li>
<li>Opinion: <a href="http://opinion.enta.net/wp-content/plugins/wordpress-feed-statistics/feed-statistics.php?url=aHR0cDovL29waW5pb24uZW50YS5uZXQvMjAxMC8xMC8xMi91cGRhdGUtbmV0LW5ldXRyYWxpdHktJUUyJTgwJTkzLWlzLW9mY29tLXRvby10aW1pZC8=" title=\"Update: Net neutrality – is Ofcom too timid?\">Update: Net neutrality – is Ofcom too timid?</a></li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Further Information</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>ITSPA.org.uk: <a href="http://opinion.enta.net/wp-content/plugins/wordpress-feed-statistics/feed-statistics.php?url=aHR0cDovL3d3dy5pdHNwYS5vcmcudWsv" title=\"ITSPA homepage\">ITSPA homepage</a></li>
<li>ISPReview.co.uk: <a href="http://opinion.enta.net/wp-content/plugins/wordpress-feed-statistics/feed-statistics.php?url=aHR0cDovL3d3dy5pc3ByZXZpZXcuY28udWsvc3RvcnkvMjAxMi8wMS8yNi9lZC12YWl6ZXktcmVzY2hlZHVsZXMtbmV0LW5ldXRyYWxpdHktbWVldC1hcy1pdHNwYS1zbGFtcy1tb2JpbGUtdm9pcC1ibG9ja3MuaHRtbA==" title=\"Ed Vaizey Reschedules Net Neutrality Meet as ITSPA Slams Mobile VoIP Blocks\">Ed Vaizey Reschedules Net Neutrality Meet as ITSPA Slams Mobile VoIP Blocks</a></li>
<li>Ofcom.org.uk:<a href="http://opinion.enta.net/wp-content/plugins/wordpress-feed-statistics/feed-statistics.php?url=aHR0cDovL3N0YWtlaG9sZGVycy5vZmNvbS5vcmcudWsvYmluYXJpZXMvY29uc3VsdGF0aW9ucy9uZXQtbmV1dHJhbGl0eS9yZXNwb25zZXMvSVRTUEEucGRmIA==" title=\"ITSPA response to Traffic Management and ‘net neutrality’\">ITSPA response to Traffic Management and ‘net neutrality’</a></li>
</ul>
 <img src="http://opinion.enta.net/wp-content/plugins/wordpress-feed-statistics/feed-statistics.php?view=1&post_id=1790" width="1" height="1" style="display: none;" title="Mobile operators must follow net neutrality principles, says ITSPA" alt=" Mobile operators must follow net neutrality principles, says ITSPA" />]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Do we really need ‘super-connected’ cities?</title>
		<link>http://opinion.enta.net/2012/03/01/do-we-really-need-super-connected-cities/</link>
		<comments>http://opinion.enta.net/2012/03/01/do-we-really-need-super-connected-cities/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 01 Mar 2012 11:55:44 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Steve Lalonde</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Digital Divide]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Government]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://opinion.enta.net/?p=1781</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Politicians are fond of grand gestures and the plans to create 14 ‘super-connected’ cities in the UK with networks that will run at up to 100Mbps could easily be seen as just another arrangement of fine words that, in the end, will have little in the way of substance. Following the recent debates over the need for superfast broadband in the UK, do we really need to focus on making connectivity in a handful of selected urban areas especially good? Or could this investment be better spent elsewhere? ]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Politicians are fond of grand gestures and the plans to create 14 ‘super-connected’ cities in the UK with networks that will run at up to 100Mbps could easily be seen as just another arrangement of fine words that, in the end, will have little in the way of substance. Following the recent debates over the need for superfast broadband in the UK, do we really need to focus on making connectivity in a handful of selected urban areas especially good? Or could this investment be better spent elsewhere? </p>
<div id="attachment_135" class="wp-caption alignleft" style="width: 85px"><a href="http://opinion.enta.net/wp-content/plugins/wordpress-feed-statistics/feed-statistics.php?url=aHR0cDovL29waW5pb24uZW50YS5uZXQvd3AtY29udGVudC91cGxvYWRzLzIwMDgvMTAvc3RldmVsYWxvbmRlLmpwZw=="><img class="size-medium wp-image-135" title="Steve Lalonde, Chief Technical Officer" src="http://opinion.enta.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/stevelalonde.jpg" alt="stevelalonde Do we really need ‘super connected’ cities?" width="75" height="112" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Steve Lalonde, Chief Technical Officer</p></div>
<ul>
<li>Thinkbroadband.com: <a href="http://opinion.enta.net/wp-content/plugins/wordpress-feed-statistics/feed-statistics.php?url=aHR0cDovL3d3dy50aGlua2Jyb2FkYmFuZC5jb20vbmV3cy80OTQ3LWxpc3Qtb2YtcG90ZW50aWFsLXN1cGVyLWNvbm5lY3RlZC1jaXRpZXMtcHVibGlzaGVkLmh0bWw=" title=\"Click to read the full article\">List of potential super-connected cities published</a></li>
</ul>
<p>It is all too easy to be cynical about such schemes of course, especially when the £530m set aside to help bring superfast broadband to the more remote areas of the UK has yet to be properly exploited, even though the four pilot areas were announced as long ago as autumn 2010. According to the BBC none of these areas have yet spent any money or even chosen a supplier for the proposed network.<br />
<span id="more-1781"></span></p>
<ul>
<li>BBC.co.uk: <a href="http://opinion.enta.net/wp-content/plugins/wordpress-feed-statistics/feed-statistics.php?url=aHR0cDovL3d3dy5iYmMuY28udWsvbmV3cy90ZWNobm9sb2d5LTE2MjY5MjY3" title=\"Click to read the full article\">Government announces list for &#8216;super-connected&#8217; cities</a></li>
</ul>
<p>However, from a positive perspective, at least the government is trying to make something happen. Without schemes like this, the UK is likely to slip behind many other countries in terms of the broadband access speeds on offer. But will that actually matter a great deal? What exactly are businesses going to do with super-fast broadband access? </p>
<p>While there are plenty of communications providers (ourselves included) suggesting ways to apply superfast broadband, there’s not an overwhelming amount of evidence of businesses asking the question.<br />
Will superfast broadband simply mean that companies currently in leased line contracts in those cities will be able to give them up and save money? On the surface, that would look like bad news for communications providers and their resellers who generate a healthy income from Ethernet. In reality, superfast broadband will be unable to deliver the guarantees and un-contended service that a leased line can provide, making it a potentially unsuitable replacement for most business customers reliant on their business critical connectivity. </p>
<p>Do businesses need superfast broadband so that they can adopt IP-based voice? Whilst faster connectivity will undoubtedly help support VoIP connections, many businesses are already successfully utilising current broadband services for VoIP, so this alone isn’t enough to warrant the investment in super-connected cities.  </p>
<p>Will it mean that more businesses can adopt video over the network and video conferencing? Again, yes, but this is still perfectly feasible for many companies already using broadband. What about unified comms and cloud computing? Again, the same answer applies. Increased speeds will definitely help, but again, such services can already be delivered using existing connectivity. </p>
<p>Businesses interested in using cloud solutions meanwhile, will undoubtedly be willing to invest in a more secure, guaranteed and dedicated Ethernet connectivity solution rather than rely on a standard, albeit superfast, broadband service. </p>
<p>What about video and audio streaming then? According to Ofcom, this is where the real demand for superfast broadband lies. Ofcom chief Ed Richards recently warned that superfast broadband uptake was slow and the only demographic showing any significant interest in it are families with teenagers who fight for bandwidth within the household. If this is true then you could argue that video and audio streaming is the most likely activity to require superfast broadband in these ‘super-connected’ cities, but is that really what the government had in mind for their extra £100m investment? I very much doubt it. </p>
<p>When announcing the plan, culture secretary Jeremy Hunt said: &#8220;Transforming communities into super-connected cities will enable them to compete with the world&#8217;s top digital cities. It will help them attract new jobs and new investment and make the UK a place where digital businesses look to come.&#8221; I don’t think he is aiming this at residential households with teenagers fighting over bandwidth somehow. </p>
<ul>
<li>V3-uk: <a href="http://opinion.enta.net/wp-content/plugins/wordpress-feed-statistics/feed-statistics.php?url=aHR0cDovL3d3dy52My5jby51ay92My11ay9uZXdzLzIxMzM5NzAvZ292ZXJubWVudC1jcmVhdGUtMTQtc3VwZXItY29ubmVjdGVkLXVrLWNpdGllcy1nYnAxMDBtLWJyb2FkYmFuZC1pbnZlc3RtZW50" title=\"Click to read the full article\">Government to create 14 &#8216;super-connected&#8217; UK cities with £100m broadband investment</a></li>
</ul>
<p>Before you think we’ve lost the plot in questioning the need for super-fast cities, let me explain. The real objective behind this is to boost the economy by providing key cities with an enviable infrastructure in the hope of attracting new businesses, generating more income and creating more jobs. While it’s a step forward, investment into 100Mbps superfast broadband isn’t enough. The chances of it encouraging businesses to scrap their existing Ethernet and leased line services are low. Nor will uptake of VoIP and cloud services kick-start demand to a sufficient degree – especially when businesses can easily support these applications with their existing connections. </p>
<p>To really compete effectively, UK businesses need a connectivity platform that gives them the capacity to do all of these things at the same time. Superfast cities can be a good thing, but the key to their success lies in businesses’ individual requirements. 100Mbps broadband is suitable for many businesses but, in our experience, many others are only truly confident when they have a dedicated connection in place with a Service Level Agreement. We think Ofcom’s comments that uptake of superfast broadband has been slow is premature and based solely on the residential market. Whilst residential customers may find it hard to justify the additional expenditure for superfast broadband services, business users are already demanding faster connections to support a multiple applications and requirements. We have seen strong demand for our FTTC services, since they were launched in September. Whilst it’s true that VoIP and cloud services can be supported by existing connections, the extra bandwidth and speed fibre offers, gives businesses more confidence to adopt new services. </p>
<p>However, some might well argue that the UK’s cities already have access to decent broadband speeds, while more rural areas are still struggling with sub-2Mbps connections. While efforts to change that are being made, progress is slow and investing in cities could potentially widen the digital divide. There may be some advantages in driving broadband development in major urban areas, but we would argue that the whole of the UK needs to be ‘super-connected’ – not just a handful of cities. </p>
<p><strong>Have your say!</strong><br />
Do you think ‘super-connected’ cities will help to boost the UK economy? Or do you think they will simply widen the digital divide further and that this extra £100m investment should be focused towards rural communities? What are your experiences in terms of demand for superfast broadband? Let us know your thoughts by leaving us a comment below.</p>
<p><strong>Related Articles</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Opinion: <a href="http://opinion.enta.net/wp-content/plugins/wordpress-feed-statistics/feed-statistics.php?url=aHR0cDovL29waW5pb24uZW50YS5uZXQvMjAxMS8xMS8yMi9pcy10aGlzLXRoZS1iZWdpbm5pbmctb2YtdGhlLWVuZC1mb3ItdGhlLWJkdWsv" title=\"Click to read the full article\">Is this the beginning of the end for the BDUK?</a></li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Further Information</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Thinkbroadband.com: <a href="http://opinion.enta.net/wp-content/plugins/wordpress-feed-statistics/feed-statistics.php?url=aHR0cDovL3d3dy50aGlua2Jyb2FkYmFuZC5jb20vbmV3cy80OTQ3LWxpc3Qtb2YtcG90ZW50aWFsLXN1cGVyLWNvbm5lY3RlZC1jaXRpZXMtcHVibGlzaGVkLmh0bWw=" title=\"Click to read the full article\">List of potential super-connected cities published</a></li>
<li>Culture.gov.uk: <a href="http://opinion.enta.net/wp-content/plugins/wordpress-feed-statistics/feed-statistics.php?url=aHR0cDovL3d3dy5jdWx0dXJlLmdvdi51ay9uZXdzL21lZGlhX3JlbGVhc2VzLzg3MzAuYXNweA==" title=\"Click to read the full article\">Fourteen cities eligible to be super-connected cities</a></li>
<li>TheRegister.co.uk: <a href="http://opinion.enta.net/wp-content/plugins/wordpress-feed-statistics/feed-statistics.php?url=aHR0cDovL3d3dy50aGVyZWdpc3Rlci5jby51ay8yMDExLzExLzA5L3N1cGVyZmFzdF9zbHVnZ2lzaF91cHRha2Uv" title=\"Click to read the full article\">Ofcom boss warns of low interest in &#8216;superfast&#8217; broadband</a></li>
<li>ISPReview.co.uk: <a href="http://opinion.enta.net/wp-content/plugins/wordpress-feed-statistics/feed-statistics.php?url=aHR0cDovL3d3dy5pc3ByZXZpZXcuY28udWsvc3RvcnkvMjAxMS8xMS8wOC9vZmNvbS11ay13YXJucy1vZi1jb21wZXRpdGlvbi1jb25jZXJucy13aXRoLWxvdy1zdXBlcmZhc3QtYnJvYWRiYW5kLXVwdGFrZS5odG1s" title=\"Click to read the full article\">Ofcom UK Warns of Competition Concerns with Low Superfast Broadband Uptake</a></li>
</ul>
 <img src="http://opinion.enta.net/wp-content/plugins/wordpress-feed-statistics/feed-statistics.php?view=1&post_id=1781" width="1" height="1" style="display: none;" title="Do we really need ‘super connected’ cities?" alt=" Do we really need ‘super connected’ cities?" />]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Poll: It’s suspected that Ofcom wants to change the current broadband migration process so that the gaining provider leads the process with third party verification. What do you think about this?</title>
		<link>http://opinion.enta.net/2012/02/21/poll-its-suspected-that-ofcom-wants-to-change-the-current-broadband-migration-process-so-that-the-gaining-provider-leads-the-process-with-third-party-verification-what-do-you-think-about-th/</link>
		<comments>http://opinion.enta.net/2012/02/21/poll-its-suspected-that-ofcom-wants-to-change-the-current-broadband-migration-process-so-that-the-gaining-provider-leads-the-process-with-third-party-verification-what-do-you-think-about-th/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 21 Feb 2012 09:36:12 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Claire Dutton</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Polls]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://opinion.enta.net/?p=1776</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The UK communication regulator, Ofcom, has recently launched a second consultation outlining potential changes to the current broadband Migration Authorisation Code (MAC) process. To replace the current methods, the regulator has presented three options including a Gaining Provider Led (GPL) solution, which includes a third party verification process; a Losing Provider Led solution, which is similar to the current MAC process but addresses problems with the back end systems; and a third option which basically just enhances the Gaining Provider and Losing Provider Led processes.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The UK communication regulator, Ofcom, has recently launched a second consultation outlining potential changes to the current broadband Migration Authorisation Code (MAC) process. To replace the current methods, the regulator has presented three options including a Gaining Provider Led (GPL) solution, which includes a third party verification process; a Losing Provider Led solution, which is similar to the current MAC process but addresses problems with the back end systems; and a third option which basically just enhances the Gaining Provider and Losing Provider Led processes.<br />
<span id="more-1776"></span><br />
However, it seems that the regulator is favouring the Gaining Provider Led option with the use of using a Third Party Verification system, despite it being the more costly option. Following on from this, we would like to know what your thoughts are on their favoured choice and we have added a new poll to gather your responses. Remember you can also leave us a comment below. </p>
<ul>
<li>ISPReview.co.uk: <a href="http://opinion.enta.net/wp-content/plugins/wordpress-feed-statistics/feed-statistics.php?url=aHR0cDovL3d3dy5pc3ByZXZpZXcuY28udWsvc3RvcnkvMjAxMi8wMi8wOS9vZmNvbS11ay1wcm9wb3Nlcy1zaW1wbGVyLWJyb2FkYmFuZC1pc3AtYW5kLXBob25lLW1pZ3JhdGlvbi1zb2x1dGlvbnMuaHRtbA==" title=\"Click to read ISP Reviews article\">UPDATE Ofcom UK Propose Simpler Broadband ISP and Phone Migration Solutions</a></li>
<li>Ofcom: <a href="http://opinion.enta.net/wp-content/plugins/wordpress-feed-statistics/feed-statistics.php?url=aHR0cDovL3N0YWtlaG9sZGVycy5vZmNvbS5vcmcudWsvY29uc3VsdGF0aW9ucy9zd2l0Y2hpbmctZml4ZWQtdm9pY2UtYnJvYWRiYW5kL3N1bW1hcnk=" title=\"Click to read the consultation from Ofcom\">A consultation on proposals to change the processes for switching fixed voice and broadband providers on the Openreach copper network</a></li>
</ul>
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