ISP kills off country-ban dodge after just 48 hours

A new ISP has withdrawn its "global mode" that allowed punters to evade country-based blocking of web content - just 48 hours after switching on the service.

FYX launched just two days ago, telling New Zealand residents that they can now access geo-blocked internet services. However, it informed customers today that "there are matters that require further consideration before continuing the service".

Limiting what netizens can view on the web by their location, an approach favoured by big media corporations, frustrated FYX's founders, who vowed to "'FYX' the internet by removing some of the barriers that were getting in the way of great choice" with global mode.

Reportage of the service quickly queried whether or not global mode would incur the legal wrath of Big Content - which now seems to have happened rather rapidly: Chief FYX'er Andrew Schick has posted a statement that his company "has a made a decision to withdraw its popular ‘global mode’ service from the market for the time being".

The service shuts down at 11.59pm on Friday night, New Zealand time.

FYX "sincerely apologises to our customers and the New Zealand internet community for putting a halt to ‘global mode’," Schick writes, adding that while Kiwi lawyers felt the service was legal it seems a good idea to pull the product for now.

The ISP has also dropped its prices, perhaps to lure customers now unlikely to be lured by global mode. ®