Let me start by saying that I love technology. I have sold consumer electronics since the early 1990s, including the first Intel 286-based Personal Computers and progressed onto business electronics and technologies like mobile phones and phone systems from then until the present day ...
I have been watching the world with trepidation as to what pitfalls would come our way as we get more and more immersed and submerged into all things Internet. This week there have been two significant worries that I have been following, the second of which I knew may be inevitable about six months ago.
For those who don't know, Starlink is an Elon Musk company, delivering ultra-high speed internet connections via a satellite dish. It appears that user accounts have been hacked. Because of the way the Starlink database stores credit card details, it has been easy for hackers to lock users from their accounts.
They then use the credit card to order thousands of dollars worth of new Starlink equipment, have it shipped to other addresses and re-sell it through Amazon or eBay. In general, you cannot buy new Starlink equipment in this way, only directly from the Starlink website; allegedly 'second-hand' stuff can be resold.
The main problem is that you cannot email or call the company. You can only log a ticket via the App. This is a fat lot of good if you have been blocked for fraudulent activity on your account! There are calls for change in the way you can communicate with Starlink, they must have hundreds of people working in the company?
Account holders are also demanding 2 Factor Authorisation (2FA) so that they either get a text message with a code to enter as verification or use something like an Authenticator app as a fail-safe.
These are private companies, funded by speculative investors, who have been installing their own pure fibre networks into the UK's bid to become a Gigabit nation. The largest fibre providers are Openreach (BT Group), City Fibre and Virgin Media. TalkTalk, the fourth largest network, is struggling with a massive £1.1 BILLION debt issue and has recently sold off TalkTalk Business Direct to their own shareholders.
They also have a Wholesale and direct residential business where competition is aggressive from the other three suppliers. There are also dozens of smaller players around the UK who have installed dedicated fibre networks in a bid to capture the public's business and have spent millions on laying infrastructure in the hope that their network is chosen over the likes of BT to gain back revenue returns from the massive investments made over the past few years.
We all know how much of a financial crisis there is in the UK at the moment and there is a real danger of many of the companies going into liquidation with millions of pounds in debt and leaving customers with no internet at all!
Our reliance on internet technologies as the only source of connectivity for both voice and data as well as the numerous connected devices and cloud-based business applications we now rely on needs a proper re-think by the industry.
Finding a good independent consultant like me who knows the marketplace and will be able to advise your business accordingly is now more important than ever.
If you feel inspired to find out more then do call me on 07555 807700 or leave a comment below and I'll be in touch as soon as I can.