Tesco Enters Cut-Price Broadband Market
Supermarket giant Tesco has fired the latest salvo in the increasingly fierce cut-price broadband war with the launch of a new service costing less than £20 per month to complement its existing dial up, mobile and home telephone products.
The high-street stalwart’s 512k service, pitched at entry level broadband users, ranks behind its rivals in terms of speed, but offers unlimited use where many rival broadband providers impose download limits. Tesco’s offering is also bundled with 30 days free customer service to entice new or inexperienced users.
The new product will be given a boost by Tesco’s massive high-street presence, as the supermarket will stock installation CD-Roms in its 700 stores. Customers will also be able to request an installation CD from Tesco’s website.
The move makes Tesco only the second of Britain’s supermarkets to offer customers high-speed internet access, following a similar offer by rival Waitrose earlier this year. However, the package offered by Waitrose is far more expensive, costing £27.99 per month and charging for the required broadband modem.
The battle for cut-price broadband customers has become increasingly fierce recently. Earlier this month French-owned internet giant Wanadoo slashed the price of its standard broadband package to a market-low of £17.99 per month, imposing download restrictions but operating at twice the speed of Tesco’s package (see Wanadoo Slashes Prices For Broadband Users).
Elsewhere, BT has created both satellite and long distance cabling networks to deliver broadband services to more rural and remote areas of the country. AOL has also fuelled the price war by cutting the cost of its broadband packages for home users, as well as developing a system to deliver television and film content to PC screens via their internet connections (see AOL Raises The Stakes In Broadband Price War).
Tesco: 01992 632222 www.tesco.com
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