BT Hopes Broadband Price Cuts Will Deliver
BT has announced that it is cutting the cost of its high speed internet connections for both consumers and businesses in an attempt to drive broadband take-up in 2003.
All new broadband accounts in the first quarter of the year will now be activated free of charge and the cost of modems will also be reduced.
According to BT, the new measures, which will run between 13 January and 31 March, will save consumers up to £100 on their start up costs and businesses up to £260.
Last year BT ran a number of campaigns to promote its broadband services, including a deal with Sky to give Sky subscribers discounted broadband access (see BT Teams Up With Sky For Cut Price Broadband Promo). BT also faced mounting competition from other broadband providers such as Freeserve and AOL, which also offered a variety of discounted packages throughout the year (see Freeserve Ups Stakes With Broadband Price Cut).
It is hoped the special start up packages will build on the momentum achieved by BT’s broadband campaign to attract one million wholesale broadband customers by the summer of 2003. BT is already well on the way to achieving that target, having hit the milestone of 500,000 ADSL connections in December 2002.
Pierre Danon, chief executive of BT Retail, said: “Broadband is absolutely central to everything we do and we are committed to breaking down every barrier to adoption. We have been pushing Broadband Britain forward with our marketing and regional campaigns and we are confident that these initiatives will increase the momentum.”
However, BT’s Broadband business was placed under the microscope after Freeserve successfully appealed to the Competition Commission over complaints it made against the telecoms company in March last year (see BT Broadband Faces Competition Commission Inquiry).
BT: 0207 469 2337 www.bt.com
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