Telewest trials faster broadband in Scotland
Published: 23 Apr 2002 12:55 BST
Telewest has launched a customer trial of its 1 megabit per second (mbps) broadband product, and is claiming that the service will be much more popular than BT's ADSL product due to its higher speed.
The cable company said on Tuesday that it is rolling out a pilot version of its faster broadband product in Scotland. According to Telewest, around 1,500 existing subscribers to its blueyonder broadband service now will be able to surf the Internet at speeds up to 1mbps, for no extra charge. The company has not yet indicated how much it will charge for the final product once the trials have finished. A nationwide rollout of the product is planned for later this year.
Until now Telewest has only offered its residential customers a 512kbps broadband service, the same speed as BT's consumer ADSL product, which is sold by about 200 UK ISPs. Telewest claims that its 1mbps product will "easily outperform" BT's ADSL.
Philip Jansen, managing director of Telewest Broadband's consumer division, said in a statement that Telewest would focus on customer feedback in an attempt to give users "an unparalleled multi-media experience."
"We all feel the need for speed, but our 1-megabit service will be about more than bandwidth alone. By concentrating on the overall quality of the customer experience, the trial will help us deliver a service that leaves ADSL providers dead in their copper tracks," said Jansen.
Telewest's Scottish cable network covers areas such as Edinburgh, Dundee, Glenrothes, Motherwell and Dunbarton.
Rival cable company ntl recently said that it was launching a nationwide 1mbps broadband service that will cost £49.99 per month for existing subscribers, or £59.99 per month for new customers.
BT, though, recently told ZDNet UK that home users would rather pay less for a 512kbps service. Following recent price cuts, ISPs are selling ADSL services to residential customers for between £23 and £30 per month.
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