In the boldest move yet to grab customers in the internet market, NTL, the cable TV operator and telephone company, today unveiled plans for Britain's first totally free service.
The company said subscribers to the service - to be called ntlworld - would pay no subscription fee, no fee for connection to the net and no phone charges. Barclay Knapp, chief executive of NTL, said: "ntlworld will help the UK in a drive to lead the world in making e-commerce, e-entertainment and e-education available to everyone."
NTL's announcement came just one day after AltaVista, the US internet search engine, promised unlimited access for an initial fee of no more than £50, with no phone charges. These two initiatives, coming in quick succession, underline the quickening pace of competition to get people online, and they coincide with a promise by prime minister Tony Blair for every British citizen to enjoy unhampered access to the internet within five years.
"There was a lot of talk that the telecommunications business was holding back the internet," Mr Knapp said, "our announcement today proves that is just not true. We can economically provide this service on a free basis to the British consumer."
NTL said "ntlworld" would start on April 17 for net access via personal computers, with a TV internet service coming soon after. Homes in areas covered by NTL cable will get net access as part of a package of phone and TV services that starts at £9.25 a month.
Other users with British Telecommunications phones will pay a one-off charge of £10 for an adapter and would be required to spend at least £10 a month on voice calls via NTL. NTL's acquisition of Cable and Wireless Communications is pending government approval and NTL said CWC customers would be covered by the offer if the takeover goes through.
The offerings from NTL and AltaVista set a new standard for cheap web access in the UK, which the government says lags the US for internet use because people have to pay phone charges for every minute online. Analysts believe that unmetered access could treble the time UK users spend online.
The plans for unmetered access plans are likely to spark a price war among internet service providers (ISPs), causing pain for established players, such as Freeserve, Britain's largest internet service provider (ISP). Freeserve's stock fell 13.4% to 762 pence in morning trading, extending a loss of 5% on Monday in reaction to AltaVista's move.
But Freeserve and American Online UK, its nearest rival, are understood to be working on plans to match AltaVista's commitment to offer unlimited access to the web in return for an upfront fee. The big two players could have their offerings in place by the time AltaVista's package is expected to come on stream in June. But now they have to contend with NTL's gambit.
Useful links
Guardian e-finance special report
