German surfers say auf wiedersehen, Net

NEWS The 24-hour German Internet strike has been deemed a success by its organisers, DarkBreed. Traffic was reported to have been cut by 70 per cent, with more than 6,000 home pages offline. The aim of the strike is to put pressure on Deutsche Telekom, which runs the T-Online Web service, to reduce tariffs for Internet access. Robin Bosworth director at the Schema consultancy, said: "It won't happen here." He pointed out that, due to a different environment and a more dedicated ISP-dominant market, "it will change in time but for other reasons." Bosworth pointed out that the strike was not business-driven, as it was held on a Sunday. "With the dominant usage in the business market, until businesses take action it will not be too serious," he said. "Traditionally, with the highest rate in Europe, Deutsche Telekom is losing share on services, and around 10 per cent of traffic has been lost due to deregulation. Pricing will come down through competition and pressure from business," he added. The German strike follows recent upheavals in Spain, when Telefonica, the telecoms giant which dominates Spanish telecoms, had to reduce prices in Internet access due to protests. Deutsche Telekom was unavailable for comment.