ClaraNet are widely regarded as being one of the strongest commercial ISPs in the UK and other countries around Europe. A combination of good support, high speed services, reliability and on occasion, price, makes them a formidable opponent to any profit making consumer ISP. In fact they are ISPr's current benchmark, the only one of its kind to win a SILVER award at our hands. Almost all our ISPs are tested against them, however the recent upsurge in FreeCall ISPs has caused something of a wake, one that ClaraNet are failing to keep to with.

Almost all the BIG ISPs have now announced a well-priced FreeCall package to be launched or that has already launched. Packages like the now cheaper, BT Surftime2 are likely to be taken up by several hundred UK ISPs alone. In between this, all ClaraNet have to show for the changes are a £49.99 per month package of Off-Peak (yes 100% off-peak, not to midnight etc.) and Weekend freecall access. The only reason it has been well received is thanks to ClaraNets top quality speed, service and support.

The Interview

So ISPreview decided that it was time to ask ClaraNet just what they planned for the future, after all they are an extremely popular ISP. We got in touch with 'Nick Wells', ClaraNets Marketing Manager to see just what was up behind the scenes and put a few questions to him:

Ques 1)
Firstly, who are you and what do you do at ClaraNet?

My name is Nick Wells, I am ClaraNet's UK marketing manager. I oversee the marketing of both our consumer and business services, involving advertising, product development, online marketing, research and business development.

Ques 2)
ClaraNet is well know for offering a wide range of packages that appeal to people from all walks of life, will this trend continue into the future or are you planning to stick to a more set format?

There is no doubt that we'll continue to develop our range of services. As you are aware the market for dial-up access is very fast moving and as such we need to keep offering the best in terms of service and value in order to remain competitive.

Ques 3)
What are your thoughts on the likes of CallNet0800, X-Stream and the new BT Surftime and Telewest SurfUnlimited offers that give 24/7 FreeCall access (The later two have no kick off limit)?

It remains to be seen as to the long term success of such an offering, with continuing issues of poor quality in terms of connection and customer service. After all, there is little point in offering freecall access if you cannot access the service in the first place.

Ques 4)
ClaraNets own Freetime Unlimited had and still does have people worried due to its excessive price tag of £49.99 per month. You can already get FULL 24/7 FreeCall access for a lot less through several providers, not to mention their general services offer a lot more than ClaraNets, what plans do you have to rectify this?

Don't forget that Freetime unlimited was only ever introduced as a trial of unlimited off-peak access, and was never intended to be launched as a full product.

We are currently reviewing both the pricing and usage patterns of all our Freetime users to see where we can make any improvements (price or otherwise) to the service.

Ques 5)
How much has ClaraNet grown or shrunk since it first started out all those years ago?

In the last year alone Claranet grew by over 300 % in revenue terms, and almost from the start was a profit-making organisation, unlike many of the current competition. We opened our Paris office in October 1997, and are either planning or already establishing subsidiaries in other European countries.

Ques 6)
Other than anything you might have already mentioned, what other plans do you have for ClaraNet expanding into the future (ADSL / Multilinked ISDN on the FreeCall System and New Packages etc.)?

At Claranet we don't tend to announce new packages and products until they are actually ready for launch - we have seen too many of our competitors disappoint potential customers by failing to deliver or delivering very late - but you can safely assume that a technology as important as ADSL is likely to be part of our future plans.

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