Broadband users increasingly dissatisified with service levels

User satisfaction with the leading UK broadband providers has declined over the past six months, according to two surveys. ADSL Guide's aggregation of more than 60,000 readers' customer service, reliability and speed ratings shows that only the cable provider NTL Telewest managed to maintain the same level of satisfaction between April and September 2006. The rating for BT Retail, which has a third of the DSL market, slumped by nine per cent, although not by as much as PlusNet, down 10 per cent, Talk Talk, 12 per cent and Pipex and Virgin, 14 per cent. ...more

AOL closes deal to put Flat Rate in every high street

AOL UK has teamed up with European retail group Kingfisher to distribute co-branded software for AOL's unmetered access package Flat Rate. The software will be made available in Kingfisher's 2,000 Comet, B&Q, Woolworths and Superdrug stores throughout the UK. In return, Kingfisher will get B&Q's range of home and garden goods promoted on AOL's online shopping sites, which include Netscape Online and CompuServe. ...more

iPhone released - by Cisco

The iPhone has been released - but not by Apple. Cisco, which it seems has long held the rights to the name, has stuck it on a range of VoIP hardware. Released today in the US, the range comprises a range of cordless handsets offering a choice of standard phone calls, Skype calls and Wi-Fi Internet access. ...more

Google and Microsoft seen together in public

Microsoft has been making overtures to Google within the last two months, exploring possibilities for partnership or takeover, according to the US press. Google is said to be preparing to launch itself as a public company. Executives met with investment bankers last week to discuss how to take the company public as early as March next year. ...more

Microsoft poised to open Times Square store

Microsoft is poised to follow Apple into the US retail market by opening a store in New York's Times Square. The New York Post reports that the company is currently 'on the prowl' for a suitable location in which to create a 'branding experience'. Microsoft declined to comment on the report, which said that real estate broker Jones Lang LaSalle has been asked to supply information about One Times Square, the building made famous every New Year's Eve. ...more