Mirror Group In Talks To Launch Free Internet Access

The Mirror Group is likely to be the next company to provide free internet access as discussion with potential business partners are nearing completion. Although a spokesperson at the group could not confirm the project as yet, Mirror Group is currently believed to be tying up the deal with other groups involved, and the free internet service is expected to launch in the spring.

Tesco also recently joined the growing number of free ISPs (see Newsline), and yesterday the Internet Technology Group (ITG) also announced that it is interested in entering that market sector. Dixons was the first retailer to launch a free internet access service last September. The Dixons Freeserve provider has recently broken the million customer barrier.

The Mirror Group has recently been involved in a number of takeover discussions recently. Talks between it and Trinity broke down in early January and Regional Independent Media (RIM) offered £913 million for the group, an offer which the Mirror Group rejected. The then-chief executive of the group David Montgomery, stepped down during the rumpus, and there is speculation that Trinity plans to place another offer for the group in the near future.

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