By Graham Hayday, 8 November 2000 13:30
NEWS AOL Flat Rate will cost consumers £14.99 per month, to include all subscription and dial-up costs, together with unlimited freephone support. It is based on Friaco, the controversial wholesale tariff BT offers to ISPs. AOL has signed a deal with Asda to distribute the necessary software throughout its 240 stores, and is encouraging new members to join up by waiving the first-month subscription fee and offering up to 50 hours of usage with no subscription or internet telephone charges. Karen Thomson, managing director of AOL UK, said: "AOL Flat Rate is the fruit of our efforts to reform the outdated UK metered telecoms regime so that consumers everywhere can truly make the internet a central part of their daily lives." AOL UK - which now has one million users - claims this is the first unmetered offering based on Friaco. World Online scrapped its unmetered offering on 20 September, just one day after AOL kicked off Flat Rate for its existing customers. The company blamed BT for not rolling out Friaco quickly enough. BT could still face legal action for allegedly failing to keep its promises over wholesale access charges. A spokesman for World Online said at the time: "When we launched [our unmetered offering] we expected Friaco would be rolled out by July. The time between that promise and commercial reality has grown. But this is a short-term action. Once Friaco is widely available we will revise the pricing structure." Analysts believe that more ISPs will follow AOL's lead, if unmetered access based on Friaco does prove viable. Consumers can obtain free AOL Flat Rate software by calling 0800 376 5588 or on the web at www.aol.co.uk.
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