Entanet Refuses Broadband Price Hike
Posted: 10th Aug, 2004 By: MarkJ
UK business ISP Entanet has taken a stand and refused to increase its broadband ADSL prices following BTWholesale's unexpected hike in charges last week:
Entanet, one of the UKs leading providers of business Internet services, has announced to all its Partners that despite the ridiculous price increases for business ADSL imposed by BT Wholesale, Entanet WILL NOT be increasing its prices.
On Monday, 2nd of August, BT Wholesale announced to their business ADSL customers and all ISPs in the UK that the prices for the IPStream ADSL Office range of ADSL services are to increase by up to 33%, effective on the 1st of September, 2004, only giving UK ISPs the mandatory minimum notice of 28 days.
At a time when ADSL prices are being reduced to encourage take-up in the UK, it is difficult to understand why BT Wholesale would raise its prices of ADSL for UK businesses, and at such short notice. BT Wholesale has ambiguously cited their regulatory obligations according to OFCOM as the motivation for the price increase.
While various government initiatives and regional campaigns like Broadband for Britain and UK Broadband are trying to increase the acceptance of broadband and keep the whole of the UK technologically ahead of our European peers, BT Wholesale appears to be sabotaging our ability to promote broadband for businesses, says John Tsai, Vice President of Entagroup. While other ISPs may choose to raise their prices accordingly, we are firmly going to say NO to price increases and refuse to capitulate to BT Wholesales price bullying tactics.
John Tsai continues, We have a commitment to our Partners and our business customers to ensure that not only we provide the very best and highly available service to our customers, but that they receive these services at the very best value for money.
The services affected include the Office 500, Office 1000 and Office 2000, with price increases of 13%, 17% and 33% respectively. Many ISPs have already released their new increased prices for their business ADSL services so that their customers can have enough notice. While the fact that many ISPs have already announced their new prices for business ADSL services is not entirely unexpected, ultimately it is the business ADSL users and early adopters who will suffer.
Carol Davies, the ADSL Sales Manager in Entanet says, In light of many ISPs unwilling to lose money or absorb the price increases, Entanet are making a stand. Through our experience with our Partners and business customers, we know that running a business is already difficult enough without having to pay more money for basic services such as a connection to the Internet. Some businesses are entirely dependent on their Internet connection, and therefore would have no choice but to pay more for their Office services. Making sure that the little guys are not squeezed anymore is our top priority.
Entanet is already actively involved in a number of talks with various UK Internet associations as well as joining forces with a few like-minded ISPs and business leaders, to understand how to make BT Wholesale retract the price increases. At the very least, it is clear that the paltry 28 days notice given by BT Wholesale is not enough and efforts are also being undertaken to increase the notice as well.
Itll be interesting to see if Entanet is able to maintain their stance, especially on the 2Mbps option (30%+), if BTWholesales decision can not be reversed.
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