Tag Archives: ISPs

No More Playtime: Children Spend Their Free Time Staring at a Screen Instead

A new generation hooked on digital content is shunning traditional playtime in favour of watching TV and surfing the internet, according to new research from uSwitch.com, the independent comparison and switching service. The report also reveals a high proportion of children using the internet and watching TV unsupervised in their bedrooms after being sent to bed, while an alarming number of parents have yet to set up the necessary control measures to protect them from viewing unsuitable content.

In a typical day, outside of school hours children spend an average of 1.4 hours online and 1.6 hours watching television. Not only does this mean that they are spending 3 hours a day staring at a screen, but it suggests that surfing the internet is set to take over from watching TV as the most popular children’s recreational activity.

But where does this leave old fashioned playtime, and are we creating a new generation of internet addicts? Children today have a plethora of digital distractions whether they are in the form of games consoles such as the Wii, or social networking sites such as Bebo, with traditional playtime all but lost. Worryingly, 29% of children now have a computer in their bedroom and almost two thirds (63%) of these use it before going to sleep. Similarly, nearly half (49%) have a TV in their room and 64% regularly watch this in bed.

Despite nearly a third (30%) of parents worrying about information or images that they have found their child looking at on a website or on TV, just 41% of parents always supervise their children using the internet and 11% never do. Over half of parents (55%) leave it up to their children to decide which websites to visit, based on either guidelines they have set or common sense.

Taking the issue of parental control extremely seriously, all major broadband companies offer filtering facilities in their broadband packages, usually for free, enabling parents to have more control over the information and images viewed by their children. Yet over a third of parents (34%) have not set up any filters or blocks on their home internet: 22% believe that it’s too time consuming, and a further 21% simply haven’t got round to setting it up. A third of parents (32%) are unaware of the parental control features available with their service.

Jason Glynn, communications expert at uSwitch.com, says: “In an age where engaging content such as on-demand TV will only increase the amount of hours our children spend online, we urge parents to contact their internet providers to see what controls are available to them. Speed and price should take second place to safety – but with most broadband services including filtering software for free, there really is no excuse not to take action.

“We fully support the measures being laid out by companies to help families tackle this issue, such as TalkTalk’s plans to classify websites with U, PG, 14 and 18 certificates. Our research shows that 8 out of 10 parents would back such a system.”

Via EPR Network
More Internet & Online press releases

Technology Adoption Fuels Recovery Tipping Point For UK SMEs

According to research from BT Business, supported by the Design Council and Prince’s Trust, small businesses at the forefront of technology adoption have been the least impacted by the recession, with those most reluctant to bring in new technology suffering the most. Companies with a positive attitude to technology adoption had a 69% better than average experience of the recession, whereas technology laggards suffered a 34% worse recession experience than the average.

The survey was conducted by Vanson Bourne on behalf of BT Business and included responses from more than 7,200 small businesses across the UK.

The 2009 Business Pulse report is the UK’s largest survey of SMEs this year. The survey shows widespread recognition of the importance of technology in reducing costs and increasing efficiency and competitiveness. 30% of businesses said that they have saved money through using technology, 32% use technology to network and obtain advice and 28% have found more customers through its use. Nearly one in five cited the use of technology to support flexible working as having one of the most significant impacts on how they have managed the recession.

The Business Pulse survey identified the positive steps firms have taken to manage the downturn. Nearly twice as many technology innovators have seen an increase in turnover of 10+% compared to those small businesses reluctant to embrace new technology, the majority of which have seen their turnover decrease since the recession began.

Mick Hegarty, strategy director, BT Business said: “The small business community has fought bravely to survive the downturn. Our findings show that many small businesses believe we are now at a tipping point with a recovery almost upon us. We can also see that now more than ever technology has a critical role to play in the future success of these businesses, helping them to find new customers, market themselves more effectively and reduce costs. Investing in better technology is emerging as a measure of success in the future for many businesses.”

In terms of the technologies having the biggest impact, 61% said faster broadband speeds have had a positive impact on their business. Better web sites, better e-commerce and mobile devices were also particularly beneficial. More than 1 in 10 small businesses are looking for more advice and support on using technology to manage their business.

Smaller organisations are also increasingly turning to social media to improve the way they operate with one in five respondents turning to support forums, Twitter and blogs to market their business and attract and retain customers.

Lord Digby Jones, said, “The Business Pulse highlights that optimism is on the rise. Equipping firms with the right technology and support will help tip the economy from recession onto the road to recovery in 2010.”

Full findings of the Business Pulse will be revealed in Small Business Week 2009 and debated by a business leadership panel including business experts Peter Jones and Lord Digby Jones at the launch.

Via EPR Network
More Internet & Online press releases

Research: Brits Spend 30 Hours a Week Online

Brits just can’t get enough of the internet when it comes to both their professional and personal lives, according to new research from uSwitch.com, the independent price comparison and switching service. By using the web for work, rest and play, they are clocking up an astonishing 30 hours a week online, with every indication that this is set to soar even higher.

On a typical working day, the average person now spends 5 hours online – 2 hours for professional or work purposes and 3 hours for pleasure and leisure, including online shopping, managing their finances, socialising and emailing family and friends.

Brits are also addicted to the web at the weekends too, spending an average of 3 hours a day online during their ‘down time’. And this looks set to grow in the future as younger age groups come to the fore. 18 – 24 year olds already spend 7 hours a day online during the week, but they supplement this with 5 hours a day at the weekend too. However, almost two in ten 18 – 24 year olds (19%) now spend more than 8 hours a day online at the weekend – barely leaving time for anything else and possibly contributing to rising obesity levels amongst the young.

The social networking boom is one of the main reasons why Brits now spend so much time online. A quarter (25%) of adults say they need to use sites such as Facebook and Twitter at least once a day and almost a third of 18 – 24 year olds (30%) spend more than 5 hours a week on them. People even have to log in while on holiday with over a third of under 25s (36%) admitting to checking these sites while away.

But, while the influence of these sites cannot be under estimated, only 27% of people think that social networking is a good thing – almost half (46%) are still weighing it up saying that for them, at least, the jury is still out. Social networking has also led to a new generation gap – while 41% of over 65s agree that social networking is the future and they should get used to it, over two thirds (67%) aren’t joining in, preferring not to socialise online.

With the recession pushing people to hunt for bargains and people keen to save both time and money, 93% of the population now shops on the internet. Over 38 million people (79%) spend up to two hours a week doing so. Brits are also spending time managing their money online – just 18% say they don’t use their bank’s online services. Over a quarter (28%) spend between one and two hours a week banking online while nearly half (44%) spend up to an hour a week.

Jason Glynn, communications expert at uSwitch.com, says: “This research shows the huge impact that the internet is having on British life. Broadband is rapidly becoming a necessity – as important to our quality of life as gas or electricity. Our reliance looks set to increase dramatically over the coming years as younger generations come to the fore, putting the Government under even more pressure to deliver universal broadband access across the whole country.

“However, we are also seeing growing signs of a ‘digital divide’ and the risk of social exclusion for those who are unable or unwilling to go online. As we move towards ‘Digital Britain’ some groups, such as the elderly, are in danger of being left behind – more work needs to be done to encourage greater take-up amongst these groups, who could otherwise be left disadvantaged.

“As usage increases it is going to become even more important that consumers fully understand broadband packages so that they are able to choose one that is cost-effective and right for their needs – at the moment this could save them up to£140 a year. Ofcom should be pushing suppliers to ditch the small print, tell people exactly what they are getting for their money and be upfront about any limits to their service – unlimited broadband should be exactly that.”

Via EPR Network
More Internet & Online press releases

Nationwidesatellite, HughesNet HighSpeed Satellite Internet Reseller, Is Playing A Major Role In New Business Developments In The Remote Areas Of Northern Texas

HughesNet HighSpeed Satellite Internet Reseller, Nationwidesatellite, is playing a major role in new business developments in the remote areas of northern Texas and many other states. In this economy internet access is not just for family entertainment and staying in touch, there is a major shift for remote area highspeed internet access to start or run a business where many jobs just don’t exist. HughesNet in Texas is Big business and Hughes Net in Texas is a lot of small businesses.

Retirement funds for many have fallen short of their original projections, many retirees that re-located to remote areas for either peace of mind or lower cost of living are now looking for ways to generate an income. Hughes Net highspeed internet for a small business start-up is one of the lowest costs of an online business, compared to creating a website and promoting it to get it in the top of the search engines results page for what your business is offering for sale.

Hughesnet authorized resellers like Nationwidesatellite have been facilitating the changes for many business owners from their physical store fronts to their new frontier; their Website store. Because Hughesnet can service any area in the nation, there are significant advantages of partnering with Hughesnet. Authorized Resellers like Nationwidesatellite, provide Internet access to business owners who are planning on running both a physical store and a web based store, or, just their web based store. In either case, they can be run from any place in the world, and remote access is where resellers like nationwidesatellite excel. HughesNet internet service for remote areas is the least economic way of capturing the best of both worlds; family entertainment and business.

Nationwidesatellite offers the best small business Hughesnet starter plan there is, the “ProPlus”. Nationwidesatellite offers high value Hughesnet deals to help the small business start-up. Lease it for the lowest upfront costs and, for a limited time, get their standard installation free, or, own it at the lowest cost available and get a $100.00 mail in Rebate.

Nationwidesatellite goes even farther with their relationships, they offer every customer a $100.00 Referral Reward. When someone from a referral by one of our customers has Hughesnet installed, they get paid $100. Hughenet authorized resellers like nationwidesatellite have their own stimulus package for small business owners, and it’s all satisfaction guaranteed for 30 days.

Via EPR Network
More Internet & Online press releases

BT Business And Google Today Announced An Agreement To Offer Digital Marketing Services To Small Businesses

The alliance will involve BT Business becoming a Google AdWordsâ„¢ Authorised Reseller. Small businesses can now access Google’s base of millions of UK users and receive professional, full-service AdWords account management, from account setup and activation to ongoing campaign monitoring and optimisation, through BT Business.

More than one million businesses already served by BT Business, including the 350,000 members of BT Tradespace, will benefit from the agreement.

“Small businesses are looking to the internet to compete and grow in these tough economic times,” said Bill Murphy, managing director at BT Business. “Our own research across 700,000 small business websites shows that the majority need help to optimise search and effectively use search engine marketing. They don’t often have the skills internally to manage this and need affordable services and support. Working with Google AdWords will enable us to help smaller companies promote themselves and engage with customers, partners and suppliers online as well as larger businesses.”

The addition of the Google AdWords online advertising platform means BT Business can now offer customers a complete range of digital marketing services to help them promote their businesses effectively on the Web. From setting up a website and managing an online marketing campaign to ensuring they can effectively extend their business relationships through customer management tools and business social networking profiles such as BT Tradespace and other business applications.

Matt Brittin, Managing Director at Google UK & Ireland said: “Many businesses already use Google AdWords to reach new customers locally, across the UK and across the world. BT Business can now offer targeted, accountable and cost effective AdWords advertising to more than a million small businesses in the UK. We look forward to working with BT to help more small businesses get the most out of the online opportunity.”

About BT Business
BT Business understands the challenges that businesses face in the current climate, and supports cost control, improved productivity and winning business with technology including business broadband & internet, domain names and web hosting packages, IT support and mobile services including BlackBerry.

Via EPR Network
More Internet & Online press releases

A Free Trial Security Scanner That Identifies Security Weaknesses In Web Applications

GamaSec has launched a free trial option of its web vulnerability scanner, which allows companies to check for Cross Site Scripting (XSS), SQL injection, Code Inclusion etc.. ) as well as site exposure risk, ranks threat priority, produces highly graphical, intuitive HTML reports, and indicates site security posture by vulnerabilities and threat exposure

Security Scanner

The GamaSec Free trial of Web Vulnerability Scanner (WVS) is available immediately at: https://www.gamasec.com/gsf/FreeTrial.aspx

According to the Gartner Group, “97% of the over 300 web sites audited were found vulnerable to web application attack,” and “75% of the cyber attacks today are at the application level.”

Everyday there are thousands of new internet users online. Despite the fact that more people all the time are making purchases on the internet, there are a great deal of consumers who remain uneasy about the process and because of that are timid about the internet. Consumers are becoming more and more smarter, more savvy and more guarded about what can put them at risk. Online customers need to be confident that their personal information is safe and that their privacy will be upheld at all times.

“Companies don’t realize the danger their web sites are under and are therefore reluctant to invest in web vulnerability scanners. Consequently, security officers don’t have the tools to protect their websites. The GamaSec free trial scanner will give security officers access to a professional security tests of web applications and detects Cross Site Scripting, SQL Injection and other web application vulnerabilities and produces recommended solutions that can fix or provide a viable workaround to the identified vulnerabilities, when you need them, not when it is already too late,” said Avi D.Bartov, GamaSec CEO.

GamaSec vulnerabilities scan requires no installation, no set-up, no hardware purchases, no software development, and no IT security expertise. Customers do not need any special training to use it.

About GamaSec Web Vulnerability Scanner
GamaSec web application scanner crawl the entire website, analyze in-depth each & every file, and display the entire website structure. The GamaSec Scanner built from the ground up on a completely different technology backbone than its competitors; GamaSec goes beyond signature-based tools to find more “real” vulnerabilities.

Via EPR Network
More Internet & Online press releases

BT Business Cuts The Price Of Web Hosting

BT Business has announced a major price cut to its web hosting Starter Pack to encourage small businesses to get online.

 Web Hosting

The cost of a 5GB web hosting package with BT Business has been reduced by 40 per cent to an exclusive online price of £2.99* per month, including a host of extra business tools to help small businesses promote themselves with a professional and secure web presence.

With enough web space to create hundreds of pages, a professional business domain name and business email for up to 10 accounts, the price cut makes the BT Business Starter Pack one of the most high value web hosting packages specifically designed for small businesses in the UK offering 24/7 support.

One in five small businesses don’t have their own web site, despite 25 per cent -£78 billion – of UK retail spend in this year projected to come from online sales. According to BT Business research the vast majority that do are also not getting the most out of their websites or using them effectively to attract customers.

Helen Costello, founder of Aardvark Cakes in St Helens, Merseyside, has been a BT web hosting Starter Pack customer for three years. The mother-of-two, who works from home, said: “My business is my website and it is important for me that it is easy for customers to find what they are looking for and place orders. Having a trustworthy web hosting provider is vital to me as the site is an indispensable tool of my trade. In the past 12 months, trade has really escalated, showing just how important it is for a small business to have an online presence in this day and age.”

“Having a professional web site presence could mean the difference between winning and losing customers in the current climate,” said Jerry Thompson, director online, BT Business. “We are listening to small businesses that are citing overall cost, ease of use and 24/7 support amongst their top considerations when getting online. By offering a complete range of high value digital marketing services we want to ensure that small businesses can compete as effectively as bigger companies and can grow their online presence with them.”

The BT Business Starter Pack is available immediately. Additional features include free web site building software with 400 templates to get businesses started on creating their own web site without the need for technical expertise.

*Pricing on a 12 months contract. Price reverts to £5 after first 12 months. Terms and Conditions apply

About BT
BT is one of the world’s leading providers of communications solutions and services operating in 170 countries. Its principal activities include the provision of networked IT services globally; local, national and international telecommunications services to our customers for use at home, at work and on the move; broadband and internet products and services and converged fixed/mobile products and services. BT consists principally of four lines of business: BT Global Services, Openreach, BT Retail and BT Wholesale.

In the year ended 31 March 2009, BT Group’s revenue was £21,390 million.

British Telecommunications plc (BT) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of BT Group plc and encompasses virtually all businesses and assets of the BT Group. BT Group plc is listed on stock exchanges in London and New York.

Via EPR Network
More Internet & Online press releases

Free 20Mb/s Broadband Boost By BT

BT has announced that millions of homes and businesses are set to enjoy a free broadband boost as BT will more than double the headline speeds for its residential and business customers.

broadband

Given BT is the UK’s largest retailer of broadband with 4.8 million customers, the move, which comes in advance of Lord Carter’s Digital Britain Report, will lead to an increase in average broadband speeds.

Over 60,000 consumers already have the faster speeds through a BT trial and the upgrade to ADSL 2+ technology will be available to other homes in the summer. BT Retail broadband customers already enjoy speeds of up to 8Mb/s. The plans will see consumers and business in enabled areas receive faster speeds of up to 20Mb/s as part of their broadband service at no extra cost.

Based on BT’s 21CN platform, the faster speeds will initially be available from 549 telephone exchanges, serving more than 40% of UK homes and businesses. BT plans to extend that coverage to 55% by March 2010 subject to customer demand.

As well as boosting download speeds, upload speeds will increase to up to 1Mb/s. The faster service will enable customers to surf, upload or download data in a fraction of the time, even when several users are on the same connection. This means less waiting around for complex web pages to download and graphics to upload. It is also good news for BT Business Broadband customers looking to use rich media or boost their websites.

BT research has shown that one of the major causes of slower broadband speeds lies in customers’ home wiring. To address this, BT is also set to offer the BT Broadband Accelerator (BT I-Plate) that eliminates electrical interference from telephone-extension wiring, and can improve broadband speeds and reliability. BT will be giving away the devices free to consumers (subject to £2.50 P&P) and businesses that are likely to benefit. Crucially, this will mean more customers with marginal broadband speeds will exceed the 2Mb/s threshold required to benefit from the full range of new internet services, something Lord Carter’s report is set to address.

Gavin Patterson, chief executive officer, BT Retail said “Unlike other providers, BT is upgrading customers to 20Mb/s for free. High-speed broadband provides a faster and more reliable service that will transform the way we live, work, learn and play. We believe the true value of broadband is in helping customers enjoy the exciting new services that it makes possible. In line with the Government’s Digital Britain review, we will be making higher speeds more widely available.”

In a separate move, BT Retail will begin the first trials of up to 40Mb/s super-fast fibre-based broadband in Whitchurch, South Wales and Muswell Hill, London this summer. Openreach is already delivering speeds of up to 100Mb/s to customers in the Ebbsfleet Valley in Kent, using fibre-to-the-premise (FTTP) technology.

New or re-contracting BT Business Broadband and BT Total Broadband customers in an enabled exchange area will automatically be eligible for the ADSL2+ service at no additional cost. The new ADSL2+ service will be available to business users from the initial launch, and non-business customers from early summer. The BT Business Total Broadband tariff remains the same and includes BT Openzone Wi-Fi minutes.

About BT Business
BT Business understands the challenges that businesses face in the current climate, and supports cost control, improved productivity and winning business through product collections including business broadband & internet, domains & web hosting, data & voice networks, IT solutions and mobile services.

Via EPR Network
More Internet & Online press releases

BT has launched the new BT Business Total Broadband hub, the first business broadband package to provide a free public Wi-Fi hotspot

Any business can now offer Wi-Fi to visitors – either as a free service or by selling BT Openzone vouchers to create a new revenue stream.

Perfect for firms including restaurants, hotels, cafes, doctor and dentist waiting rooms, the hotspot is automatically enabled in the new BT Business Total Broadband hubs at no extra cost. Hub owners buy BT Openzone access vouchers from BT and can choose to pass the vouchers to their customers or resell the prime business service and add revenue.

Users can check email, surf the web or make VoIP calls using a separate, secure internet channel at broadband speeds. The owner’s traffic is always prioritised and the owner and guest wireless network identifiers (SSIDs) are separately listed for security.

Visitors can get online using a BT Openzone voucher. In addition, all BT Openzone customers, BT consumer Total Broadband members of the BT FON community and BT Business customers with a mobile broadband service receive inclusive BT Openzone minutes as part of their broadband package.

In addition to the BT Business Total Broadband hotspots, customers can choose from more than 120,000 UK and Ireland commercial and residential locations including airports, railway stations, leading hotel chains, motorway service stations, coffee shops, marinas and extensive coverage across 12 major city centres.

The innovation means BT Business now provides the most complete broadband experience for customers, both inside and outside their homes. It follows a recent 35 per cent discount for Option 3 mobile broadband customers and savings of up to 34 per cent on the BT Talk Time mobile package, which now includes free mobile email offer and a BlackBerry Bold® when you sign up for 24 months.*

Bill Murphy, managing director BT Business said: “Offering Wi-Fi adds value and is good customer service. It can also allow businesses to make incremental revenue. The service is helping our customers stay online and keep productive during these times.”

20,000 existing customers have already received firmware to enable the hotspot in theirBT Business Hubs and a further 200,000 will receive the upgrade this quarter.

BT Business Total Broadband customers who wish to switch off the hotspot capability can do so using the Hub Manager on their desktops.

* The Free Blackberry BIS Email subscription excludes any additional services e.g. Satellite Navigation, Internet Calling or BT Business Email (charges apply). Offer extended until 31.3.09. Normal bolt-on price £5. BT Talk Time Subscription from £20.25 a month. Excludes Roaming. Requires 24 month term. Customers taking this offer can also take Satellite Navigation for the reduced rate of £5 a month. Conditions apply.

About BT
BT is one of the world’s leading providers of communications solutions and services operating in 170 countries. Its principal activities include the provision of networked IT services globally; local, national and international telecommunications services to our customers for use at home, at work and on the move; broadband and internet products and services and converged fixed/mobile products and services. BT consists principally of four lines of business: BT Global Services, Openreach, BT Retail and BT Wholesale.

BT Business understands the challenges that small and medium businesses face in the current climate, and supports cost control, improved productivity and winning business through core product collections including business broadband & internet, domains & web hosting, data & voice networks, IT solutions and mobile services.

Via EPR Network
More Internet & Online press releases

PC Net & 85 Under announce the launch of their new brand identities to more effectively communicate their breadth of IT and data security services to the marketplace

PC Net & 85 Under announce the launch of their new brand identities to more effectively communicate their breadth of IT and data security services to the marketplace.

“We’ve been in business for over 20 years in the Springfield market,” said Greg Clift, owner of PC Net/85 Under. “We attribute this success to the fact that we’re always innovating and expanding our services to stay ahead of our customers’ growing needs.”

Because the PC Net and 85 Under companies have a symbiotic relationship, the branded identities needed to family. The result is a clean, powerful branding and icon structure that quickly and easily communicates a comprehensive array of services. “Some clients know us for IT, some as a data center, but not everyone sees the whole picture,” said Clift.

This was an important connection to make with customers since organic growth is important to their company prosperity. For example, a small start-up business may first establish a relationship with PC Net. “We’ll help new businesses solve connectivity, networking and systems,” said Clift. As the company grows, they may tap PC Net’s Pulse IT Management Services to help them manage their growing IT needs. And as they become even larger, the company will need a data center solution to service their back-up and collocation needs. Customers need to know that they can grow without having to deal with multiple IT and data security partners.

To deliver the new image with clarity and impact Clift identified all key branding touch points, from technician apparel and company vehicles to their web site, collateral and presentation materials. An icon language was designed and incorporated to not only reinforce the visual identity but to facilitate site navigation. The new http://www.pcnetinc.net and http://www.85under.com web sites were designed with a content management back-end to facilitate communication between technicians and clients as well as between management and technicians.

The result is a powerful branding system that clearly communicates all that PC Net and 85 Under can offer clients.

PC Net, Inc. has been providing best-in-class IT services to the Springfield community for more than 20 years. The company’s new Pulse IT Management offers growing businesses a cost-effective yet highly responsive way to outsource IT services that feel like they’re in-house. Located in Springfield Underground, 85 Under is a state-of-the-art data center offering data security, backups and collocation services to businesses throughout the country. For more information, contact Greg Clift at (417) 831-1700 or log on to http://www.pcnetinc.net and http://www.85under.com.

Via EPR Network
More Internet & Online press releases

Welcome to EPR Internet News

EPR Internet News is a new blog, part of EPR Network, that is going to be focused on and will be covering the Internet news and stories from press releases published on EPR Network.

EPR Network (EPR stands for express press release) is one of the nation’s largest press release distribution networks on Web. The EPR’s nationwide network includes 12 State based PR sites, one major PR forum and a number of industry specific PR blogs and what started as a hobby on Internet years ago turned out to be a rapidly growing business today. EPR Network is also known as one of the most trusted (human optimized, published, edited and monitored, spam/scam/low quality PR content free) PR sites on the web with more than 10,000 company and individual press releases distributed per month. EPR Network is putting your press releases on top of all major search engines’ results and is reaching thousands of individuals, companies, PR specialists, media professionals, bloggers and journalists every day.

EPR Network has thousands of clients around the world including global 500 corporations like Hilton Hotels, Barclays Bank, AXA Insurance, Tesco UK, eBay/Skype, Emirates, just to name a few. The network’s PR web sites are currently reaching from 150,000 to sometimes 500,000 unique visitors per month while our viral reach could possibly go to as much as 1M people per month through our presence across various social media sites. EPR Network was established in 2004 and as of May 2008 it had more than 800,000 press releases (pages) published on its network.

If you have a press release to be distributed, you can do it over here: press release distribution