Freeserve reveals its broadband sweetener

Freeserve is the latest internet service provider (ISP) to join the fray in offering affordable broadband access.

But rather than merely cutting costs, it has opened up a new front in the battle to win the hearts and minds of the UK public.

As well as reducing the price of its broadband subscriptions from £29.99 to £27.99 per month, Freeserve has bundled the service with a little introductory sweetener.

The ISP's free package is aimed at seducing users away from the narrow view of broadband as an always on service, to the idea that "content is king".

Worth £25, it is intended to demonstrate the benefits of a high-speed, always-on connection.

This includes 150 text messages, 20 uploads to the Freeserve digital photography service and two months' membership of the Freeserve Music Club, which offers music downloads.

Peter Cowley, the ISP's portal strategy and marketing director, told vnunet.com: "It is to give people a taste of what broadband can offer through three quite different services.

"We have signed a deal with music download service OD2 that normally costs £4.99 a month, which allows users to download and stream music.

"We have also incorporated the facility to upload photographs, share them with friends and family and order prints through our Photobox service, and the ability to send 150 SMS messages."

This latest volley in the broadband battle follows hard on the heels of a plethora of ISPs offering cost-cutting incentives.

However, Angus Porter, BT Retail's managing director for consumer services, suggested that ISPs should not be the ones to choose content for their customers.

Freeserve users will have to pay for the content after the initial offer, and Porter said that consumers prefer to pick and choose the services they want from a wide variety of content providers.

"Bundled content from ISPs at the moment isn't really of huge value. What they offer might not be to everyone's taste," he explained.

"For example, broadband is great for digital photography but, if you are not interested in that area, a bundled package won't be of much use to you.

"[BT Retail] recognises that the only way to get compelling services and content is from a whole range of partners."