By Tony Hallett, 15 January 2003 17:15
NEWS FT.com and BT have finally fixed a problem that has dogged certain recipients of the FT.com daily email since Christmas. The website, like other well-known business and technology news services, sends out links to readers who opt to get daily updates. However, for a number of weeks some readers have complained about not being able to click through to articles. silicon.com reader Paul Nedas, who runs Virtual Corporation, complained that though he pays a 'Level 1' subscription to FT.com of £65 annually - brought in last year alongside a £150 option in a bid to make the site profitable - he had not been able to click through to stories for about four weeks. The site's customer service desk explained by email and via a helpline that the problem lay with BT installing certain email filtering software at an ISP level over the Christmas break, meaning "the problem actually lays with BT". Offers were made to refund one month's subs. The upgrade to a spam filter - brought on by bulk emailing from an unnamed third party and adversely affecting FT.com IP addresses - meant anyone with a BT email address would not receive the FT.com email while those readers using BT as their ISP, including Nedas at Virtual Corporation and others, could see the email but not click through. An FT.com spokeswoman this week told silicon.com: "We can only apologise and promise to resolve things ASAP. BT made infrastructure changes and as a result a small proportion of our readers were affected." A BT spokesman said: "Defences were put in place to deal with what looked like a spam attack. These had a side effect of preventing some users contacting certain websites."
In order to post a comment you need to be registered and logged in.
Log in or create your silicon.com account below