大象传媒

Will opt-in 'phinish' Phorm?

• Rory Cellan-Jones
• 9 Apr 08, 18:34 GMT

- is the web tracking software business a big brother intent on snooping on your broadband line or a helpful service keeping you secure from web danger while serving up delightfully targeted ads?

Some of the finest minds in the world of privacy, encryption and the law, have turned their minds to these issues - including most recently - and I certainly don't have the technical knowledge to pick apart their arguments.

But now comes what could be a killer blow to Phorm's ambitions in the form of new guidance from the , Britain's data protection watchdog. I bet executives from Phorm scanned through to the end and felt pretty chirpy about the Commisioner's conclusion that their products can operate in compliance with the data protection legislation.

But it's a couple of paragraphs in the middle that really throw a spanner in the works, when the suggests that the Webwise product should only be offered to consumers on an "opt-in" basis if the firm doesn't want to fall foul of something called PECR - Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations.

Now tell me, what do you do when you come across one of those online forms that tells you about some fantastic new service your bank/online retailer/ISP is offering for nothing and invites you to tick a box if you DON'T want it - in other words opt out?

I suspect most people don't bother - and so they get the service.

But what if you are asked to tick a box if you DO want it - to opt in? Equally, I suspect people are reluctant to make even the minimal effort that's required to opt in, and take-up is much smaller.

Then imagine that the service in question has been the subject of major controversy with a high volume of web noise suggesting users should avoid it all costs.

What's more one of Phorm's three clients , and decided it will only implement Phorm's webwise product on an opt-in basis. Surely then, an "opt-in" Phorm will be a minority taste - and that won't be of any use to ISPs hoping to sell advertising on the back of it?

When I phoned , Phorm's chief executive, he strongly disputed this analysis. First of all, he insists that the Information Commissioner's document does not mean "opt-in" is the only option.

Secondly, he believes the process of telling customers about Webwise will fulfil the requirement for "valid, informed consent" that the law requires, with a web page giving all the details of what's involved and inviting customers to say yes or no, followed by later reminders that the service is switched on.

Finally, he rejects my suggestion that Phorm has lost the PR war long before it gets off the ground.

"We've only heard from a small group of vocal opponents so far. The public has answered very clearly in neutral polling that this is something they want."

The BT trial of Webwise is about to start and Mr Ertegrul is confident it will prove his case - that this is an attractive way of blocking unwanted adverts and internet fraudsters.

But is it really likely that BT and Virgin will choose to bring in Phorm on an opt-out basis when their bitter rivals at Carphone Warehouse are promising it will be opt-in? And in that case, who'd like to calculate how many of these firms' eight million or so broadband customers will say yes to Phorm?

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Mobile net takes off - but can you afford it?

• Rory Cellan-Jones
• 9 Apr 08, 11:39 GMT

It was quite an extraordinary graph in the middle of quite a dull PowerPoint presentation.

The line started last October last year at a low level, and then leapt to a point 14 times higher by this March. What the was showing a group of journalists and telecoms analysts was the flow of data over its network.

Now 3 has been a bit of a disaster, pouring billions into building Britain's first 3G network, then twiddling its thumbs nervously as customers used it mainly for calls, rather than video or web-surfing.

So what's behind the sudden explosion of data use? , those plug-and-play devices that give your laptop mobile broadband wherever you go.

3 says that while users may have been , that involved minimal amounts of data compared with the industrial quantities consumed by home workers now plugging their laptops into the mobile internet.

And 3 is not alone - has since it started pushing dongles.

What's driving all this is that the 3G networks are getting faster. 3 claims its network, which is now merging with that of in the UK, can deliver 3.6 Mbps right now, and will accelerate to 7.2 Mbps later this year and to 14.4 Mbps by the end of 2009.

With those kinds of speeds on offer no wonder there's excited talk of .

But hold on a minute - two things need to be sorted: price and speed.

We all know that the speed claims by the fixed line operators have been, well, dodgy. Kevin Russell, 3's UK chief executive, describes the advertising practices of the broadband industry as "not much better than estate agents or second-hand car dealers."

He also concedes that that his 3.6 Mbps network will only deliver between 1 and 2 Mbps to users. I've been testing one of the dongles, and have found coverage pretty patchy and slow - and of course indoors it can disappear completely.

Then price. A Google executive was at the same event pressing home the message that the mobile industry had to make its pricing much simpler if the mobile internet was really going to take off.

He put up a slide showing an advert from one mobile operator explaining a supposedly simple data tariff:

鈥淲hen it comes to understanding the costs [we] have made things easy. Basically, you're charged per page you look at, not per minute spent browsing. Each page costs between 1p-5p, depending on the number of images it contains.

鈥淏rowsing and downloading is charged at 拢x per megabyte (a megabyte being equal to roughly 250 pages).鈥�

Point taken. Anyone reading that would have no idea what it was going to cost them to surf on the move.

The operators know that flat-rate, all-you-can-eat data tariffs are the future - but they are still worried about just how much we will want to eat and whether their networks can cope.

So while 3G mobile broadband is really taking off, it's unlikely - as even Mr Russell concedes - that it will replace fixed broadband.

But the technology it really threatens is , commonly known as Wi-Fi on steroids.

BT's new boss is to cover the big mobile gap in its portfolio.

But by the time that investment is in place Britain will be covered in High-Speed Downlink Packet Access () 3G networks - and they may just be fast enough to satisfy the appetite of most mobile broadband users.

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