John Lewell

Culture Secretary Chris Smith has set up an inquiry panel to find out why some creative firms are more successful than others at using the Internet. The panel, which will be part of the Government’s Creative Industries Task Force, is to be chaired by Robert Devereux of Virgin Publishing with 19 industry experts including Tom […]

A new international consortium has been formed to promote the HiperLAN2 high-speed wireless connectivity standard. The HiperLAN2 Global Forum includes representatives from Bosch, Dell, Ericsson, Nokia, Texas Instruments and Telia. The forum will promote the HiperLAN2 standard as the global broadband wireless technology in the 5 GHz band. It is aimed at bringing seamless connectivity […]

BT has introduced a total Internet package that includes its own Fujitsu PC for an all-inclusive monthly charge of £25.99 ($42) over three years. The new package, called BT Internet PC, is aimed at consumers who do not want to make a capital outlay for a system. The deal includes free weekend calls to the […]

Premium Petcare raised funding to create a portal named PetsPyjamas.com, with the aim of taking a substantial bite out of the £10 billion ($16 billion) European petcare market. Premium Petcare has agreed the funding with leading venture capital group 3i. It plans to build on its existing e-commerce Web site, expanding its range of services […]

Financial news provider GlobalNetFinancial.com Monday announced that is has struck a partnership deal with World Online International (WOI), the largest pan-European ISP. GlobalNetFinancial will provide Money and Finance Channels to existing and future Internet portals operated by WOI. The channels will be similar to the highly successful www.UK-iNvest.com Web site which GlobalNetFinancial provides to Freeserve […]

Wall Street online news provider TheStreet.com has formed TheStreet.com (Europe) Ltd., and will launch TheStreet.co.uk in early 2000. Backing the new venture is a team of investors led by Chase Capital Partners that includes Barclays Private Equity, ETF Group, and 3i. Chase Capital Partners previously led the initial investments into TheStreet.com and has now put […]

Sponsored jointly by IBM and business software supplier JBA, “just-auto” has launched in the UK, aimed at IT and business professionals in the automotive industry. Calling itself the “Online Automotive Supplier Industry Magazine,” just-auto carries breaking news from Reuters, guest writer features, industry statistics and surveys, best practice articles, publications and a diary of all […]

African Lakes Corp., a company listed on the London Stock Exchange, has raised £17.5 million ($28 million) capital for the primary purpose of expanding its Africa Online Internet service. With a larger African territorial reach than other ISPs, Africa Online operates in six countries: Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Swaziland, Tanzania and Zimbabwe. Via acquisition and […]

BT has announced an E-mail Forwarding Service that delivers important email direct to a pager. With the new service, users need never miss a vital email message when they are out and about, says BT. To use the service, customers will need to upgrade their pagers to the new BT Message 2000 8-line unit manufactured […]

AOL UK this week became the first ISP in the UK to offer children their own “Kids Only” Internet accounts within a customised surfing environment. Aimed at children from age 2 (yes, AOL gets them surfing at just two years old) to 12, the accounts provides a safe online experience, with easy-to-use parental controls. No […]

Concentric Network Corp. has agreed to purchase the UK ISP Internet Technology Group plc (ITG) for $215 million. The deal will give Concentric, a top provider of e-business services in the U.S., a foundation for expanding in the UK and Europe. ITG’s revenue was $17.6 million in the year to October 1998, and $14.2 million […]

Supermarket chain Iceland has leapfrogged its rivals by launching a free online food shopping service that covers the whole of the UK. Customers will be able to shop at the new site, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, from October 4 1999. They will need to spend at least £40 ($64), but delivery […]