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By editorial@silicon.com, 18 September 2001 17:30

COMMENT BT has cut the cost of installing ADSL in the UK. Well done. It's a move anyone interested in ebusiness and the internet should welcome. Now we know what you're thinking - silicon.com loves to bash BT and next up we'll say the telco hasn't gone far enough. Of course it hasn't, but it would be wrong for us right now to be overly critical when things are moving in the right direction. BTopenworld, the division that sells ADSL to users, has halved its installation charge. From today until the end of the year, getting ADSL will cost £74.99, including VAT for consumers, excluding VAT for business users. Users then pay £39.99 per month for the high-speed service. An advertising campaign telling us just what a great deal this represents will be upon us soon. At this stage, it wouldn't be fair for us not mention cable competitors NTL and Telewest. Their costs for broadband cable modem-based services are generally cheaper. (Telewest, with its Blueyonder service, charges £50 installation, £33 per month, or £25 for users also taking cable and telephone services. NTL charges £20 installation and £24.99 per month.) What's more, we've heard good things about Telewest's customer service and internet-over-cable in general, even if these offerings are more limited in reach nationally than BT's ADSL. But that's a digression - DSL versus cable modem will be central to an upcoming Showdown column on these pages. What we should say is that, putting aside ridiculous hype and mostly valid criticism from the cable operators, BT's attitude to ADSL may just be changing for the better. Industry insiders we speak to tell us about big changes at BT Ignite and BTopenworld. The latter, for one thing, has had to go through a year of huge losses and having to deal with the wholesale arm of its parent firm with all the accompanying claims of favouritism from smaller rivals. Now there's truth in allegations that ADSL is still too expensive and that local loop unbundling - to give all operators a fair chance - has been a disgrace. But there will be no widespread alternative for fast access anytime soon. This means there is little alternative but to see if those at the helm of BT can show us more evidence of trying to turn the tanker. It won't be fast, but over the next few weeks we'll be meeting with some of the key executives in a position to make the necessary changes. Here's hoping.