NTL extends low-cost ISDN service

NTL has extended its low-cost ISDN for SMEs (small to medium sized enterprises) offer for another three months, claiming exceptionally high levels of business demand for the product.

NTL has been offering ISDN Select - which cuts the normal price by 30 per cent - since April. The promotion was due to finish in mid-July, but the company has decided to extend the offer until 15 October, saying that the original product had stimulated a 300 per cent increase in demand from businesses.

Fachtna Mylod, ISDN product manager at NTL, said: "More and more companies are realising that ISDN can deliver major benefits to the speed at which they work and the way in which they communicate, keeping staff all over the world in close contact. Through this offer we're arming smaller businesses with the technology to compete with larger organisations."

ISDN Select incurs a one-off installation fee of £98, and a monthly rental of £19.98. It is restricted to businesses within "easy access of NTL's local fibre network" which limits its accessibility to certain areas of the UK.

NTL bought the UK operation of Cable & Wireless last year, and now claims to be the third largest cable operator in the country, reaching 360,000 businesses and 5.2 million homes.

Many SMEs are opting for 'here and now' ISDN services rather than waiting for forthcoming high-speed (and initially high-cost) ADSL services. Both are digital offerings that greatly speed up access to the internet.

"ISDN provision is rapidly becoming an overcrowded market and our success in attracting customers is due to offering the complete discount package that covers rental charges as well as installation fees," said Mylod.