22-11-2004 • VOLUME 7 • NUMBER 44 • £2.60
WWW.ITWEEK.CO.UK
21 INTERNET Threatening
messages require response
29 NETWORK Ericsson PBX
for IP-only traffic
35 MANAGEMENT Flexible
and mobile IT really pays off
CONTENTS
ENTERPRISEWEEK
IBM enhances Lotus Workplace 15
Better single sign-on technology 15
How to boost apps development 16
INTERNETWEEK
Christmas heralds seasonal spam 21
CRM host builds tailored systems 23
CLIENTWEEK
Adobe Acrobat 7.0 protects PDFs 25
Wireless tools to rival BlackBerry 25
Firms mull challengers to Office 26
NETWORKWEEK
Cheap, fast WAN links for cities 29
Better beams boost bandwidth 31
WiFi Watchdog 4.0 finds rogues 32
MANAGEMENTWEEK
BMC Magic improves helpdesks 35
IT strategy for governance rules 36
Should security staff be certified? 36
Ofcom to tackle BT bias
Martin Courtney
espite years of efforts to foster fair
competition in UK broadband provision, telecoms regulator Ofcom
last week ruled that BT’s retail arm still
enjoys unfair advantages. The watchdog
outlined tough new measures that would
require BT “to allow its competitors to gain
genuinely equal access to its networks”.
However, Ofcom appeared to reject full
deregulation or an investigation of BT
under the Competition Commission in its
report on phase two of the Strategic Telecommunications Review.
The watchdog indicated it may review
regulation of the fixed-line voice and leased
line markets, which could make it easier for
rival carriers and service providers to offer
a range of better value, converged voice and
data packages to large corporate customers.
Ofcom’s intention is to force BT to give
rivals access to its local loop network on a
basis “truly equivalent” to that enjoyed by
BT’s own retail operation. The move should
result in rival carriers being able to offer
D
but others said Ofcom
customers the same levTHE BROADBAND PROPOSALS
would retain the option.
els of service and quality
Thus’s Sweet said, “Ofavailable to BT’s broadForce BT to give rivals equal
access to its network
com is retaining the nuband subscribers, thus
clear option of referral
addressing a long-standMake it easier for customers
under the Enterprise Act
ing source of contention.
to switch service suppliers
and potential breakup of
“It is often perceived
Deregulate corporate telecoms
BT to keep some leverage
that BT’s competitors
services to increase flexibility
over it [BT].”
are better on price but
Source: Ofcom
Ofcom has also pubpoorer on service,” said
lished consumer research that suggests few
Serafine Abate of analyst Ovum. “The
broadband subscribers switch suppliers, a
equivalence proposal should make sure that
trend it hopes to change by simplifying the
if BT provides a 24-hour fix to its own cusmigration process. It also wants improvetomers, it should do the same for those of
ments in the accuracy and availability of
alternative operators.”
information to help users select providers.
Richard Sweet of carrier Thus said rivals
Ofcom is set to confirm its intentions in
would only be able to compete with BT in
February, publish proposals in spring and
the broadband market when they can offer
oversee implementation later next year. BT
parity in terms of service.
chief executive Ben Verwaayen said regulaOvum’s Abate said, “There has been an
tory certainty would encourage investment
attempt to get prices the same, but the terms
and innovation. “We will engage construcand conditions and service level agreements
tively with Ofcom and the industry during
are often not identical. The idea of equivathe final phase of the strategic review.”
lence is to make them all the same.”
Ovum believes that the report finally
Broadband choice increases, p5
buries the idea that BT should be split up,
WAN links, p29 www.ofcom.org.uk
Nokia ships
Wi-Fi phone
Email policy dogs giant
Nokia will ship its 9500
Communicator at the
end of this month.
The Symbian
device offers
802.11b and Blue- The 9500 has
tooth connectivity 80MB of memory
and functions as a
tri-band phone. Like earlier Communicators, the 9500 opens to reveal a
qwerty keyboard and colour screen. It
is expected to cost about £500.
Mobile IT, p4 www.tinyurl.com/4lfff
T
Martin Veitch
he need for formal mechanisms for
storing important emails was underlined last week, as Microsoft stood accused
of improperly disposing of messages relevant to an ongoing court case.
Documents in a US lawsuit involving
media streaming software firm Burst.com
allege Microsoft ordered the destruction of
emails. Burst claims Microsoft used technology without permission in Windows
Media Player 9 and altered Windows so that
it would not work with Burst’s product.
“Emails are discoverable in legal proceedings and should therefore be treated in
the same way as any other documents,” said
Stephen Ollerenshaw, an IT lawyer at Technology Law Alliance. “We err on the side of
retaining documents wherever relevant.”
Earlier this year Microsoft admitted that
some relevant emails were missing. The latest evidence suggests email
deletion was deliberate
policy. Richard Lang,
chief executive of Burst,
said his firm had found a
four-year-old email from
Microsoft group vice-presi Allchin: email
policy in question
Oracle shifts
patch cycle
Oracle is moving to a quarterly schedule for security fixes, just three months
after adopting a monthly system.
From 18 January, the database giant
will issue four updates a year, which it
said would make patches easier to
deploy. Fixes for severe flaws could still
be released outside this schedule.
The timing of the releases also ensures they never fall awkwardly for the
firm’s financial results, which will appear
a month before the patches. Share
prices are typically most volatile close
to quarterly results, and the patching
schedule means Oracle will not have to
explain flaws at sensitive times.
Sherief Hammad of research firm
Next Generation Security Software
said many firms would welcome less
frequent patching as it reduces costs.
“[But] it’s a question of whether these
benefits outweigh the risk of waiting up
to three months for patches,” he said.
Security watch, p8
dent Jim Allchin that instructed staff to
purge emails every 30 days.
“This is company policy. Do not archive
your email. Do not be foolish. 30 days,” the
message allegedly read. However, experts said
messages relating to business contracts
should be archived for several years.
Microsoft told IT Week that Allchin later
tempered that demand by adding that staff
should keep mail relating to legal, contractual and tax issues. Microsoft spokeswoman
Stacy Drake said the company followed this
policy, but could not keep all messages.
“I don’t know how much email we generate in one day but it’s got to be millions,”
she said. “Email systems would get clogged
up [if messages were not deleted].”
Bill Gates details software plans, p8
Transparency for corporate governance, p36
NEWS INSIDE: WIRELESS Kit, p4 • EMAIL Safety, p5 • WLAN Control, p6 • LINUX Update, p6 • MICROSOFT Plans, p8 • BLADES Dell, p10 • CRM Advance, p10