BT and Yahoo! have formally launched their new high-speed internet service, BT Yahoo! Broadband.
The co-branded offering, which became available yesterday, is designed to be the UK’s most advanced broadband internet product, combining high-quality access with a range of content and services for £29.99 per month.
BT announced the joint venture with Yahoo! back in June (see BT Goes Down Broadband Road With Yahoo!) and revealed that its Openworld internet service would be merged into the new product. It will compete directly with AOL and Freeserve by offering subscribers access to previously unavailable applications and services.
Commenting on the launch, Duncan Ingram, managing director of BT Openworld, said: “For broadband to be as pervasive and life-changing as it promises, three things are crucial: widespread availability, quality of service, and compelling content and services.”
He added: “Until now, no single provider or partnership has managed to fulfil these aims in the UK market. Through the launch of BT Yahoo! Broadband, we are not only stealing a march on our competitors but elevating the whole online experience to a completely new level.”
The new product will provide a much wider range of services for the same price as the existing BT Openworld Broadband offering. It will include intelligent personalisation, a radio service that anticipates users’ music preferences and a range of anti-spam and anti-virus applications.
The launch will no doubt increase competition in the rapidly expanding broadband internet market, which recently saw Freeserve launch an integrated cross media advertising campaign to raise awareness of its new broadband promotion.
Rival internet service provider, AOL, has also signed a high-profile deal with Dixons to promote its dial-up internet services in the electrical retailer’s 1,100 stores throughout the UK.
