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By Ben King, 15 November 2001 16:00

NEWS Clara.net is considering going head-to-head with BT with its own broadband DSL services following a secret six-month trial in Clerkenwell, London. The company joins a very small band of firms offering DSL using their own equipment with BT's local loop - a model which most companies have dismissed as unworkable. Last month, two of the remaining companies in the local loop unbundling process, Colt and Energis, announced plans to withdraw from the local loop unbundling, leaving a mere handful still actively trialling DSL services using their own kit. Clara.net's technical director Steve Rawlinson said: "The technology is great but the economics is very complicated, and we're still seeing whether we can make it work. But my own opinion is that it is a goer." Clara.net hosts the DSL equipment in its own premises and leases a copper line from its premises to the customer from BT - a similar model to the one used by companies like Fibernet and Redstone. Half a dozen customers connected to Clara.net's premises in Clerkenwell receive a 2Mbps symmetrical DSL service from Clara.net. Rawlinson didn't name exact prices but he said the service will be "significantly cheaper than getting the equivalent service via a leased line". Clara.net is a private company, and though it is considering further deployments in London, it has ruled out anything that would require it to borrow money.