| Posted: Wednesday 21st January 2004 by
Sam |
BT Wholesale today announced that they will be offering usage based broadband product to service providers from later this year.
The new system would allow for service providers to select the maximum network bandwidth (similar to what happens now), or the maximum network usage (data transfer) per month.
Both of these new options would be cheaper than the current £13 wholesale IPStream 500 product. The charging structure would be split into three;
(1) A lower end user access charge
(2) Access to the BT network - same as current prices
(3) A usage charge that would vary each month.
You can read the full unadulterated press release from BT at the BT Media Centre.
This wholesale offering is very similar the service that MetroNet have provided for quite some time now. Their service has proved popular amongst light users, as it allows the full speed (i.e. not Tiscali's 128K "broadband") without a huge cost, if you only use a little.
There has been much discussion recently on campaign forums about how to increase broadband uptake once an exchange is enabled. The most common reasons, aside from not having a computer, are that it's too expensive and that they do not use the internet enough to justify the cost. With a significantly reduced monthly charge and a pay-as-you-go style pricing structure, this could enable many more people to afford broadband.
No firm prices have yet been released, nor has any ISP stated that they will offer a product based upon this service. However, it's almost certain that most of them will. This will no doubt create even more competition and drive down prices even further. |