Those of you with a sneaky broadband addiction might have thought your prayers had been answered when Sky Broadband announced the removal of the fair-use policy from its top end package, “Broadband Max”.

For the uninitiated, most “unlimited” packages are not really unlimited - they usually come hand in hand with “fair-use policies”, which are the source of much contention.

The policies are designed to manage cyber traffic, but they can result in ISPs imposing limits on your downloading either by reducing the speed of your connection, restricting your usage at peak times or charging you for your excess usage.

The announcement from Sky that they have removed their fair-use policy, should mean that their customers with the “Broadband Max” package are now free to make the most of truly unlimited broadband – even 24/7 downloading if they so pleased!

However, there is a catch and as usual, it’s hidden in the terms and conditions, in the ominous “2h”. It reads (at the time of writing) as follows:

“2h. To protect our network and maintain quality of service for all our users we can temporarily or permanently control or restrict your online activities via Sky Broadband where such activities may have a detrimental effect on other customers’ quality of service and it is reasonable for us to do so (e.g. sending “spam” Messages or hosting a website).”

Using “spam” as an example activity is very clever. No-one likes spammers and none of us would object to their broadband being cut off completely!

However, the activities referred to here are not necessarily malicious and would actually include simply overusing your broadband – if you made full use of the “unlimited” service you may indeed have “a detrimental effect on other customers’ quality of service”. Thus, this condition says that if you were to “overuse” your connection, Sky is still allowed to “temporarily or permanently control or restrict your online activities”.

Now, is it just me, or does this sound a lot like a fair-use policy? It may be enforced less frequently, but the threat of targeted control is still there. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve got nothing against fair-use policies (in fact I think they make a lot of sense!), but I like to be told things straight.

If the changes translate to higher download limits then that’s an improvement, but Sky really shouldn’t say “unlimited” unless it means it and shouldn’t announce the ditching of its fair use policy, simply to disguise it in the terms and conditions.

Whether or not Sky will make further changes to these terms and conditions, truly making its broadband “unlimited” remains to be seen…

If you’re worried about overstepping your download limit, check out the BroadbandChoices guides, Top tips for downloaders and Top five ISPs for downloading.

Guilty Pleasures

Your heart starts beating faster…

Your breathing becomes heavier…

You can feel your palms getting sweaty…

That vein in your neck begins to pulsate and your whole body is getting tenser with anger…

“AAAARGH!”

Not being able to get online is annoying for most, but for some it can be painfully frustrating.

New research conducted by YouGov for 118 118 has revealed that as a nation we are officially ADDICTED to the internet. The report revealed that around 44% of internet users are left feeling stressed are confused when they lose access to the internet.

Indeed, Dr Jerald Block (a leading psychiatrist who writes for the American Journal of Psychiatry) asserted earlier this year that internet addiction is now a serious public health issue that should be officially recognised as a clinical disorder.

According to Block, internet addiction has four main components:

• Excessive use, often associated with a loss of sense of time or a neglect of basic drives (i.e. forgetting to eat during your online casino marathon)
• Withdrawal, including feelings of anger, tension and/or depression when the computer is inaccessible (i.e. wanting to throttle your sister when she is hogging Facebook)
• The need for better computers, more software, or more hours of use (i.e. spending seventeen hours playing World of Warcraft)
• Negative repercussions, including arguments, lying, poor achievement, social isolation and fatigue (i.e. “I told you not to look in my private folder!”)

Internet addiction is no joke.

Internet addiction clinics have sprung up around the world and online in an attempt to help people conquer their need for a fix. Indeed, many people have turned (apparently without irony!) to message boards with names such as Internet Addicts Anonymous.

Dr David Lewis, the psychologist who worked on the YouGov study, believes broadband is to blame, suggesting that it is the ever improving availability and affordability of broadband that has fuelled Britain’s obsession with the internet.

Luckily, I have the miracle cures:

• 76% said they could not live without the internet (Simple cure - set yourself free with mobile broadband)
• 19% said they spend more time online than they do with their families each week. (Simple cure - get everyone involved with family friendly broadband)
• 17% said the longest they had been without the internet was less than one day (Simple cure – get unlimited broadband and surf to your heart’s content!)
• 20% pay more attention to the internet than their partners (Simple cure – start dating online and kill two birds with one stone!)
• 17% would miss the internet more than their friends (Simple cure – get a reliable service provider, so you’ll never be without the internet and then, who needs friends?)

So are you really addicted? Well, read the statements below and see how many apply to you…

• When someone tells a funny joke, I say “LOL” instead of laughing.
• I no longer type with punctuation, capitalisation or complete sentences.
• I have an identity crisis if someone is using a screen name that’s similar to mine.
• I double click my TV remote.
• When signing important documents I find myself signing my email address instead of my name.
• The only way my friends and family can really get my attention is with an Instant Message.
• When others are using my computer I pace nervously behind them.
• I reach for my mouse during sleep.

If any of the statements above apply to you then yes, I reckon you are addicted and you have my full permission to FREAK OUT.

*Disclaimer*

This is not a scientific questionnaire. Hazel is a joker, not a psychologist.

Heathrow’s Terminal 5, after a few turbulent months, can now proudly stand up and say it has at least one thing right.

Working with internet provider T-Mobile, BAA, announced this week that its WiFi Hotspot technology is available throughout the entire terminal – giving all travellers fast and reliable connections to the internet via their laptops, mobiles and PDAs.

Offering the largest WiFi Hotspot in the UK, spanning the equivalent of approximately 50 football pitches, the T-Mobile service is open to all airport visitors, offering laptop users access to the internet at speeds of up to 8Mbps without the need for a USB stick or a dongle.

T-Mobile customers on pay-monthly price plans such as Mobile Broadband Plus and Max tariffs will have access to fast internet on the move at the UK’s largest airport without racking up huge bills.

Among the 27 million passengers that are expected to pass through Terminal 5 each year, business travellers will benefit the most from these services, helping them to carry on working, reading emails, contacting colleagues and offering constant access to information while waiting for flights. So now there’s no excuse for not replying to that email!

And for all of you (possibly stranded) at the terminal who are not T-Mobile customers, the Terminal 5 Hotspot service is priced at £5 for one hour’s access, or a very affordable £10 for 24 hours, payable by credit card.

Waiting seven hours for a delayed flight to Tenerife suddenly got a whole lot more interesting.

 A big word for the broadband industry

In previous posts, I’ve speculated on the wild inaccuracy of online speed testers, and insisted broadband users should lose the obsession with speed and concentrate on full package value.

However, if you’re on the look out for a transparent, easy to use and immediate online speed checker, why not give the Be Broadband speed estimator a whirl?

I always approach these apps with scepticism, I can’t help it. Once you’ve taken umpteen online speed tests only to be told, time and time again, that your current ISP is a bunch of shoddy no-marks and you really need to switch to the company powering the speed tester you’re using, how can you not be just a little cynical about online speed testers?

However, I think Be might have cracked it.

The secret ingredient? Honesty.

I took the test (located on the Be Broadband homepage), the results of which were a reading of 10.72 Mbps. Not bad at all, I’m quite pleased with that.

The impressive thing is that Be agree with me, stating “you’re off to a flying start”, which is nice. Granted, they’re eager to explain how broadband is about “more than just speed”, but I knew that already.

The point is, I go away happy from this experience having not been given the hard-sell. Although I don’t want to switch to Be Broadband right now, I’ll view them favourably in the future when switching time comes around.

 Nigeria Broadband - Look Beyond the Scams

Plans are afoot in West Africa to boost Nigeria’s ailing internal broadband network, and at the same time repair the nation’s damaged internet reputation.

Due to the high proportion of online scams and fraudulent email activities that stem from Nigeria’s .ng domain, many residential and business broadband users worldwide have blocked all traffic from Nigeria by IP address and domain.

However, as the NIRA (Nigerian Internet Registration Association) surfaces from only its fourth ever AGM, a scheme has been devised to authenticate Nigerian net traffic and effectively assure the rest of the world that not all Nigerian net users are trying to defraud people.

Under the new scheme, local Internet communities and the law enforcement agencies will be given heightened powers and resources to deal with reported cases of fraud.

At present in Nigeria, the government is paying specific attention to broadband connectivity in both rural and urban regions of the country. It is estimated by West African tech observers that Nigeria will boast a million broadband users by 2010. It is hoped by the NIRA that this increased online presence will lead to an increase in authentic domain registrations by Nigerian internet users.

Nigeria has a population of over 140 million; therefore less than 1% of Africa’s most populous nation has broadband access.

 On your marks, set, BOLTBAND

This is no April 1st skit; Virgin Media are seriously considering renaming their new 50Mb super-fast broadband product after Jamaican running sensation Usain Bolt.

The sprinter, who is to athletics what Rupert Murdoch is to news publishing, looks set to sign a rights deal with Virgin Media which will lead to a creation of the ‘Boltband’ brand.

Whether Virgin Media will offer mobile boltband, wireless boltband and set up a separate boltband customer service helpline has yet to be divulged. News on potential bespoke boltband dongles is also scarce.

Our man Bolt, 22, took the gold medal in the men’s 100m and 200m finals in Beijing this week, setting world record times in both events. Had Tyson Gay taken the sprint crown, then we could have been looking at a very interesting endorsed broadband product indeed. Gayband, anyone?

The rollout of Virgin Media’s 50Mbps service on its fibre optic network will take place during the middle part of next year; with the cablenet ISP looking to offer its customers speeds of 200Mbps by 2012.

  Friends or colleagues?

Hands up who’s heard of Facebook? Hands up who’s heard of My Space? And hands up who’s heard of  Bebo? Chances are (unless you’ve been living life like a recluse hermit in a deep, dark cave somewhere in Outer Mongolia…) that you’ll have heard of at least one of these social-networking sites, if not all three.

Yes, it seems that social-networking is now a phenomenon that simply cannot be escaped. Users can chat with friends, post photos and videos, and even buy other users a pint (well, who wouldn’t want a pint of cold cyber Carlsberg?), all with the click of a button. And if the user’s settings aren’t set to private, their online actions are visible to every other user, of which there are 35 million on Facebook in Europe alone.

But when it comes to privacy settings and choosing who and isn’t your online friend, should there be a safety cut-off point?

Causing controversy around the world, social-networking sites have seen many an office worker and naughty student rapped over their very public displays of anti-social behaviour. There are even stories of employers vetting potential employees using the sites, looking for tell-tale signs of mischievous misdemeanour and tomfoolery before hiring someone.

So then, hands up who’s heard of LinkedIn? Well now fans of Facebook who don’t want the whole of the office knowing, and laughing, about their weekend escapades can register with the site and enjoy an entirely new social-networking experience, one that’s tailor-made for colleagues and business associates.

The site, already with over a million users, has claimed 47% of the UK’s web users are mixing their social and professional lives by accepting networking invitations from “frolleagues” - colleagues who send friendship requests. And apparently, this should I/shouldn’t I “frolleague” dilemma is becoming so common that the Oxford English Dictionary is considering adding the term.

Do I think it’s a good idea to separate business and pleasure? Sure, especially if your endeavours are that crazy that they need to be ‘censored’. Having your entire Outlook address book knowing that you went wild with tequila last Thursday and spewed all over the floor doesn’t look very professional does it?

But what you publish online is really just a matter of common sense. I don’t think I’d go shouting from the roof top (or in this case lap top) about what I did last Saturday night. Probably because, quite pitifully, it was staying in and watching X-Factor…

So, “frolleagues”, a yes or a no? I say, if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em… And if you don’t want to join ‘em, register with LinkedIn.

Huge growth, slow speeds

On a global grand scale, the broadband fortunes of China and Germany couldn’t be more polarised.

While China Telecom adds a further 810,000 broadband subscribers in one month alone (Sky sees an average increase of 200,000 broadband subscribers per quarter), it’s been revealed German citizens are struggling to get any kind of service at all.

820,000 Bavarian households are unable to access the national broadband network, leaving around 4% of the German population with zero broadband options in the home. Indeed, according to Bitkom, only 14 in every 100 German households utilises a broadband connection.

This inertia demonstrated by German broadband users is widely blamed on the nation’s satisfaction with ISDN dial-up!

Vorsprung durch technik? Nein danke.

The Chinese telecoms take-up statistics on the other hand are startling.

The merging of China’s leading telecoms companies, China Unicom and China Netcom, has resulted in a company that boasts 259 million subscribers (128 million GSM, 109 million fixed line and 23.36 million broadband).

China Mobile, another leading telecoms company, has 430 million existing subscribers, and is estimated to be adding seven million new users on a monthly basis.

However, with current home broadband speeds in China reaching a ceiling of 2Mbps, the country would need an increase in bandwidth before these companies can offer such facilities as HD video, online gaming and flawless VoIP and IPTV services.

The Broadband Olympics

At a time when ISPs seem hell bent on alienating customers with false promises, restricted services and hidden charges, it’s so refreshing to see a progressive and forward thinking ISP putting their customers first for a change.

Building on a respectable second place in the Broadband Choices Spring/Summer speed test awards (with an average speed delivery of 4.86 Mbps), O2 have been awarded the two most coveted prizes at the Top 10 Broadband awards.

Claiming gongs for fastest broadband and customer satisfaction, O2’s exemplary customer service and delivery on its promises were cited as the driving force behind the awarding of these prizes.

Additional accolades were handed out to the following:

Best Mobile Broadband Provider: 3 Mobile

Best Wireless Broadband: BT

Small ISP Award: Plusnet

Best Short Contract Provider: AOL

Best Value: TalkTalk

Best Bundle: Virgin Media

Best Gaming Broadband: Be Broadband

Best Student Broadband: Vodafone

While I’d agree with most of these, there are a few winners and categories I take exception to.

First up, I don’t think Plusnet can still be referred to as a ‘small ISP’. Having celebrated its 11th birthday this year and being steered ‘hands on’ by BT, this no longer constitutes a ‘small ISP’ in my eyes. The prize should have gone to either Zen or Karoo, with Plusnet rightfully pitched against the big boys.

Secondly, how can AOL, with typical minimum contract lengths of 18 to 24 months, be considered a genuine contender for best short contract provider? The marketing team up at AOL must be delighted, and more than just a little surprised. Short-term contracts are where Plusnet comes into its own, and I think this should have been recognised.

Finally, in the student broadband category, O2 were unlucky to miss out on a third gong. Their policy of rewarding existing mobile phone customers with discounted premium broadband packages is an attractive prospect to students, particularly those in shared households where broadband connections are heavily strained and compromised.

One last thought, what happened to Sky and Tiscali?

For those of you disappointed with your broadband provider’s false promises and poor download speeds, spare a thought for your confederate cousins across the pond.

The US broadband market has reached a virtual standstill in terms of product development, with take-up now at a seven year low. In fact, adoption in the first quarter of 2008 was the lowest on record since broadband was introduced to the 50 states (and one district).

What’s more, it’s likely to take the US 101 years to catch-up with the future facing broadband networks of Japan and South Korea if they continue to develop their broadband technologies at a snail’s pace.

The average US netspeed is 2.3Mbps, which would rank second last on the recently published Broadband Choices ultimate speed league table. Taking my cue from accumulated Broadband Choices speed test data, i’d say the UK is currently enjoying/bemoaning an average netspeed of 3.4Mbps by comparison.

Who’s at the bottom of our table? America Online of course.