ADSL for £20 a month
Published: 29 Sep 2000 12:14 BST
As BT's roll out of ADSL continues to be slated, one firm is rolling out a fast Internet service for £20 a month.
Video Networks launches its Homechoice broadband service this week. It uses BT's ADSL technology but the videostream version rather than the IP version other ISPs are using.
As a consequence the Internet service is a lot slower than the 512kbps achievable with traditional ADSL. It has a bandwidth of 115kbps up and downstream but users will also get access to video-on-demand services. These operate on a pay-per-view basis, ranging from £1.49 to £3.49 per film. There is also a pop video and TV archive which users can subscribe to from £6 a month.
Video Networks has also slashed the installation price. Normally £150, Homechoice customers pay £80 or £40 if they take the video-on-demand service. Currently it is only available in London but there are plans for a nation wide rollout next year. It is also planned to increase bandwidth to 512kbps but it is undecided whether this will mean a price increase. "It depends on what the market is doing at that time," says product manager Steven Philips.
Philips is as unhappy as the rest of the industry over BT's roll out of ADSL. "It is a lot slower than we would like and Oftel is coming under a lot of pressure to give BT a kicking," he says.
Customers can subscribe at the Homechoice Web site
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