BT Slashes Broadband Price To Compete In Budget Market
Telecoms giant BT has announced a drop in price for its entry-level broadband service to £17.99 per month in a move that brings it in-line with its competitors in the budget broadband market.
BT’s Broadband Basic package was previously priced at £19.99 per month, giving customers internet access at 512k with a monthly usage limit of 1GB. The newly priced offering makes BT’s package more comparable with those of rival internet service providers such as Wanadoo and AOL.
BT recently announced a milestone 3 million high-speed internet customers, claiming to be signing up an average of around 6,000 new customers each day. The internet giant also revealed that over 91% of British homes and businesses are now connected to broadband enabled exchanges, with this figure expected to reach almost 100% by next summer (see BT Helps Broadband Britain Become A Reality).
Commenting on the price cuts for entry level broadband access, Duncan Ingram, managing director of BT Openworld, said: “BT is now extremely hard to beat in terms of combined service and value. For example, BT Broadband Basic is now cheaper than a number of our major rivals and extremely competitive against other entry level broadband products.”
He added: “Now, for just a few pounds more than a dial-up service customers can enjoy the benefits of surfing and email at ten times the speed, whilst freeing up their phone line to make and receive calls.”
However, many of BT’s rivals have reduced their rates to make high-speed internet a viable option for users on a budget. Last week saw Virgin.net launch a similar package, also priced at £17.99 per month but with a higher monthly allowance of 3GB and a £19.99 connection fee. Lesser known provider Plus.net also offers a budget broadband solution, twice as fast as BT’s package and £3 cheaper at £14.99 with the same usage limits.
One of the UK’s best known service providers, Wanadoo, recently reduced its prices, offering a 1Mbps service for £17.99 per month with a 2Gb usage cap ahead of the launch of several connection-hungry products from the company, including its Livebox and television streaming service (see Wanadoo Slashes Prices For Broadband Users).
Research released earlier this month indicated that more than one in five UK households now has a broadband connection with the broadband market topping 5 million subscribers in September. The study, undertaken by Informa Telecoms Group’s Baskerville unit, also showed expected growth of 64% over the next fifteen months (see One In Five UK Homes Now Have Broadband Access).
BT: 0207 469 2337 www.btplc.com
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