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It looks like NetImperative, the new media and technology information website has risen again, after its owners Heltward Limited went into receivership last month. The buyer of the site, which is now operating at www.netimperative.info, is ICP Europe, owner of BusinessEurope.com, where former Sunday Times editor Andrew Neil is co-founder and chairman and former Observer editor Jonathan Fenby is on the advisory board.Those involved with NetImperative are hoping it will be third-time lucky: when NetImperative launched in early 2000, it only survived a few months before having to get new backers. Last year it introduced fee-paying services by charging subscribers £50 for six months’ access to its service, including archive. Those who have been without NetImperative for the past month will also be getting a two-month extension to the service.

If you are looking for your own web space with a domain name, internet provider Claranet (www.clara.net) has a very good deal for £29.99 a year. The Clarahost Lite offering is a good package for those who want their own site without having to commit too much money. It offers a respectable 1GB of data transfer, 10MB of web space and 10 Pop e-mail boxes, which means you can have 10 different anything@yourname.com and collect them as individual accounts. Also useful is the ability to read and send your e-mails via the web so instead of using a Hotmail account, you can have a web-based e-mail with your own domain. The only thing not included is a web-design package tool, but there are countless packages available at little or no cost around to get you started.

Is there really any need for internet access providers to offer content these days? After all, when you use a telephone you don’t get bombarded with information before you get through to the person you want to call. According to reports, BT is trialling a high-speed service which offers access without any content services and is likely to be cheaper than other packages. Of course, it makes perfect sense to offer net users just access, but of course, the main reason why net providers wanted to offer content was to create an additional revenue stream – advertising. If subscribers need certain content, they are likely to go direct to sites that specialise in that area. Rather than trying to compete with content providers, internet access providers should focus more on improving their infrastructures to make the internet more useable without it being so slow. After all, isn’t that what net users pay a monthly subscription for?