A bitter turf war is set to explode as two more leading UK Internet service providers prepare to offer unlimited Internet access.

Freeserve - the largest ISP, with nearly 1.7 million users - is poised to unveil its own unmetered package, perhaps as soon as this week, when it announces its latest results. It is understood to have been working on a number of schemes for some time.

The UK's fifth-largest ISP - breathe, which has 330,000 users - today offered unlimited Net access for life in return for a one-off £50 fee. In addition, mobile phone users who sign up will be able to use their handsets to surf the wireless web for free.

Sean Gardner, breathe's chief executive, admitted its target was to attract a critical mass of customers to whom it could then sell a range of added-value mobile phone services. 'The Internet is a land grab and everyone is staking their claim,' he said.

Telecom firms BT and NTL, and Internet portal Alta Vista last week announced their own unlimited packages. The UK's second-largest ISP, Line One, which is jointly owned by BT and United News & Media, unveiled its unmetered service last Friday, claiming that it will be the first to go live, at the end of this month.

Freeserve's intention to go unlimited was hinted at by chief executive John Pluthero last month. He told The Observer: 'BT's Surftime product [its unlimited access package] takes us in that direction. I'm sure we will get to the position in the UK where people are being charged a sensible, fixed amount per month for as much Internet use as they want.'