BT bows to pressure over broadband

BT boss Ben Verwaayen has promised to make UK broadband high speed internet access cheaper. The telco's new chief executive has told reporters that it will "embrace" broadband, with details of wholesale ADSL price cuts likely to be revealed in around two weeks.

In an interview, Verwaayen promised "major strides into broadband" and said it was all about "improving customer service".

Yesterday, the UK's two largest internet service providers (ISPs), AOL UK and Freeserve, told vnunet.com that price is the dominant factor holding back the adoption of ADSL broadband in the UK, and demanded price cuts which they say is necessary to stimulate demand.

"We have got to get the product out now ... our members clearly want it," said Matt Peacock, communications director at AOL UK.

Subscribing to broadband in the UK costs significantly more than in France and Germany. The latter has two million subscribers compared to the UK's 150,000.

Only 59 per cent of telephone exchanges in the UK are currently able to effectively supply the technology.

Both AOL UK and Freeserve, and BT's own ISP BTopenworld, have been conducting trials of self-install ADSL lines, the cheapest form of ADSL available.

All three are likely to launch products soon after the details of BT's new wholesale price structure are finalised.

Cable firms NTL and Telewest offer their own high speed internet access through cable modems at £20 to £30 per month, but the service is even less widely available than ADSL.