AOL UK extends unmetered service to all

AOL UK will make its unmetered internet access service available to the general public next week, following a successful roll-out to existing subscribers in September.

Trial CDs for the £14.99 a month flat-rate service are being distributed in 240 Asda stores from 13 November, as part of a deal agreed in August which gave the supermarket chain preferred retailer status on AOL's food and drinks channels.

The CD offers 50 hours of free access during the first month, and unmetered access for £14.99 per month thereafter. The service was launched to selected AOL subscribers in September.

"This is 100 per cent, across the board, unmetered access for all UK consumers," AOL spokeswoman Sasha Chisholm, told vnunet.com.

AOL's offering follows a year of uncertainty and frustration for consumers who signed up for unmetered deals, often having to jump through hoops or wait for months on end, only to find that their ISP could not, or would not, offer the service they signed up for.

Terms, prices and service quality have deteriorated across the board, but AOL has promised that it is not repeating the same mistakes by expanding too fast, too soon.

"It was always the plan to wait until we could deliver a quality, sustainable service before launching rather than simply trying to be first," said Chisholm.

"It is an unmetered service open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and if our members choose to use it as such they are welcome to do so. However, we will be monitoring the service to identify cases where users may be sub-letting the service," she added.