In a surprise move, ADSLGuide is reporting that BTWholesale has hiked the cost of its business broadband ADSL lines (IPStream Office / S), in some cases by as much as 33% (2Mbps)!

Service - New Price - Rise

BT IPStream Office 500 - £20.41 - £2.41 (13.4%)
BT IPStream Office 1000 - £32.64 - £4.64 (16.6%)
BT IPStream Office 2000 - £57.00 - £14.00 (32.6%)
BT IPStream S500 - £25.41 - £2.41 (10.5%)
BT IPStream S1000 - £37.64 - £4.64 (14.1%)
BT IPStream S2000 - £62.00 - £14.00 (29.2%)

The increases are unlikely to be a problem for most residential consumers (not increased), although they come at a time when industry and government alike are trying to push hi-speed into more businesses and could hit smaller ISP's hard.

The reason appears to be some obscure issue with regulatory obligations. Most of the hikes are so big that many ISP's may be forced to follow suit and increase package costs, while BT's rivals should be a little happier.