By Jo Best, 19 March 2004 16:55
NEWS The broadband price war that saw BT drive monthly access costs to under £20 has seen fees take a further tumble to £17.99.
Freedom2Surf announced the cut on Friday, touting the new offerings as broadband "a complete package" for dial-up prices - but like rivals' plans, there's a catch: users will have to have a limit on their traffic.
The two new packages, Connect and FamilyConnect have a cap of 1GB and 2GB per month respectively. Both come with 20 email addresses and 50MB of web space. The issue of a data limit has raised questions about exactly how users will know when they've reached their maximum downloads but Freedom2Surf's subscribers will be able to check out how much they've used via a special area on the company's website.
There's also the opportunity for download-happy broadband fans to buy an extra 1GB for £2.99 a month.
Earlier this month, Tiscali announced a broadband product for the same monthly price but at a slower speed 256Kbps.
Chris Panayis, managing director of Freedom2Surf, said that the company was aiming the product at those wanting to take their first foray into ADSL. "We expect this new package to be particularly attractive to dial-up users looking to upgrade to broadband and enjoy the benefits of an always-on connection and increased connectivity," he said in a statement.
Comments
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1. anonymous
i,ll tell you what, you at silicon try taking a survey of all the people who suscribe to an dsl line,no matter how cheap it is at 512kbps and see how many complaints you get. i bet the main complaint is the slow speeds compared to what isps' say they supply. in one word, RUBBISH! they funnel that many new customers that the contention slows down the speeds anywhere from less than dialup to 400 ish, mostly down at 200mhz for wich they charge 512 prices.i pay 24.99 for 512kbps, i get 200 ish and less.ALL the time. rarely does it go above 300.which incidently is another price bracket for these speeds.and my pc's settings are optimized by my isp.......the line is ok . my isp simply wont acknowledge its there greed for new customers.so i will change isps.but i bet the same problem arrises with a new one.maybe god forbid i will try the most popular in the uk.good old BT.and get capped into the bargain
2. anonymous
heres one, the government should fine an isp every time they send a customer below a certain speed.surely it's a case for fair trades when a company doesnt deliver the speeds they promise on the television. some of these isps in the BIG setup dont give the speeds they promise. mainly becuase of there greed for new customers clogging up the system. sod the prices! make them give the speeds they promise consistantly because they are FAR from consistent.cheap prices mean clogged up bad conections high contentions and down right ignorence of customers paying out good money for shitty service. come on tony blaire MAKE EM GIVE US THE SERVICE WE PAY FOR! bt is rated as the best consistantly simply cos they deliver on broadband, acording to adsl.org's rateings.which does the speed testing for any customer of broadband on most isps.
3. Iain Quest
First, please let me rant a little: broadband prices in the UK are still high ... way too high.
Similar services in North America and Continental Europe are much cheaper and often provide more bandwidth. All inclusive telephone or TV cable packages provide excellent value for money.
There are no excuses to defend UK's high prices: broadband does not require right-hand drive, VAT is cheaper in the UK (e.g. vs. Continental Europe), North American and Continental European markets are equally, if not more, fragmented, a company in a monopolistic position such as BT can manage economies of scale not possible elsewhere.
So, what is wrong with the UK? Simple: (1) BT's monopolistic broadband wholesale position allows it to do almost what it wants; (2) the Government has not really put pressure on pricing; (3) alternative technologies have been kept in the drawer (e.g. Broadband over Power Lines); (4) cable is not widely spread, which makes it a weak competitor to DSL; and, (5) UK buyers are used and happy to pay extortionate prices for average services ... and companies take advantage of that. It is true in many sectors, why not broadband?