I am pleased to announce that our first Performance Monitoring report is ready (finally!).
The report is available in PDF format using the link below. Apologies for the relatively large file size - many of the images are at a higher resolution, so you can zoom in for a better look. A one page “executive summary”
Long time readers of the site will be aware that our Availability Checker is available as an XML web service, and this web service is used extensively by the comparison websites, amongst others. Indeed, this is primarily how we fund the operation of the website.
One flaw, from a retail perspective, with our existing Availability Checker
Yes that’s right, in order to support our ever increasing developments we’re hiring a new full-time programmer.
There’d be opportunities to work on all aspects of Samknows, including the website, the availability checker API and the rapidly growing performance monitoring network.
The ideal candidate would:
Have excellent PHP, shell scripting and SQL skills (particularly MySQL)
Be very proficient in
Yes, it’s finally happened - we’ve had a face lift. I’ve frequently received comments on the design, but the final nail in the coffin was when someone answered the survey and said that the style was “just too geeky”!
Seriously though, we’re just trying to make the website a bit more usable, particularly for new users.
Firstly I’d like to say a big thank you to everyone who answered the survey we put up on the site in February. The response has been far better than expected and I can only apologise that I can’t respond to everyone individually.
I thought I’d share some of the most pronounced results below:
1. Predictably, the
It’s a brand new year and I’d like to bring some brand new features to the website. I’ve already added the mapping engine and the address based availability checker since the start of the year, and now I’d like to get your feedback on what else you would like to see.
In this spirit, I have
Our wholesale broadband checker now supports address based checking. This is ideal if you don’t have a BT phone line but want to receive an accurate result! Address level resolution data is available for all BT Wholesale based ADSL services, BT Wholesale SDSL and Virgin Media cable services.
The Availability Checker API has been updated to
This boxing day sees the release of a much needed new mapping engine on the site. The new system offers a whole host of new features that many of you will hopefully find useful. These include:
Dynamic browsing of the map - Exchanges will now load automatically as you browse around the UK, no matter how
Yesterday saw the launch of Simplifydigital, a new digital services advice company. They aim to take the complexity out of choosing broadband, TV and phone services by tailoring a package to suit your individual needs. Whilst there are parallels between Simplifdigital and online comparison sites, Simplifydigital are breaking the mould by offering impartial advice
Firstly, apologies for the lack of visible updates as of late. I’ve recently started a new job and have been working horrifically long hours! Rest assured that ISP data is still being updated in the background, so your exchange pages should be right up to date. With that said I’ll move on to a few
As you may have already noticed, the website has undergone a makeover. The old look had been there for four years now, so we decided to have a bit of a change. We have tried to keep a similar feel to the site, and hope that both new and existing users find the updated layout
Two changes have been made to the availability checker today. Firstly, AOL LLU data has now been fully incorporated in to the checker (and the rest of the site). The checker will now report whether or not AOL has unbundled your exchange. Similarly, you can view this information on your exchange page as well.
Sadly, the
I’ve added a couple of new LLU providers to the listings today - Lumison (a business ISP based operating in Scotland) and WB Internet. I’ve also updated the Carphone Warehouse / TalkTalk data en-mass, thanks to an update provided by the company themselves. In an effort to help out users of the site who are
Many of you have reported to me that the Bulldog data on the site is not truly reflective of what the Bulldog residential checker displays. This is because we take a feed from their wholesale checker, and whilst you might expect the information to tally closely, in quite a few cases it does not.
For this
The various API’s provided on the Samknows.com website allow end users and companies to incorporate some of our functionality in to their site completely transparently. One such API is the Availability Checker API. This allows you to query availability for all the providers we contain on the website using either a phone number or postcode.
As many of you have noticed already, we have added email notifications and RSS feeds for exchange updates. Therefore as soon as we notice that the status of your exchange has changed (e.g. an LLU provider has unbundled it or moved a date), then you will be notified. Keep in mind that we do not
If you haven’t noticed, the map section has been updated. With so much press about LLU and the current state of broadband it is sometimes hard to remember how rapidly the face of broadband in the UK has changed. From 1999 till the present day the change in the amount of exchanges enabled for ADSL
A much needed update of the Availability Checker has finally been completed. This adds support for ADSL Max, Be, Wanadoo, Zen, Edge and also improved data for Now wireless services. There are also a few other additions that will be completed over the coming weeks.
The updated checker builds directly on top of a new Availability
We’ve received an update on the rollout of ADSL Max today, and can report the following figures:a
Max enabled exchanges: 75
Exchanges with “Green” enablement dates: 3376
Exchanges with “Amber” enablement dates: 1857
Exchanges with “Red” enablement dates: 44
Exchanges not due to be updated (”Black”): 239
Green exchanges can be treated as very likely meet their target date. Amber exchanges
Following recent requests, I’ve added an RSS feed for the news published on this website. This will allow you to read our news using an RSS news aggregator such as Mozilla Thunderbird. I have to admit that it’s something I’ve personally managed to avoid for the past few years, but have recently tried it and