UK ISPs Freeserve, AOL and Tiscali have all welcomed the principal behind BTs new 'Basic' £20 broadband ADSL service. However they also criticise it for being more limiting and expensive than it seems at first glance:

A spokeswoman for Freeserve (where 512k currently costs £15.99 a month for the first three months, £27.99 thereafter plus free modem and activation: total first year cost £300) told The Register: "We welcome any move to drive the UK broadband market but we don't quite understand BT's pricing, given that this offer is only six quid cheaper than their current offer and Freeserve is a whole twenty quid cheaper a year for a full service."

Likewise, a spokeswoman for Tiscali (currently costs £24.99 a month plus free modem and activation: total first year cost £300) said: "We're happy that BT is recognising that people want cheap broadband. But our full service is still £20 a year cheaper and there is no capping."

A spokesman for AOL said: "In practice, because of the substantial up front charges this product is virtually the same total cost as BT Retail's original service over the first year - and more than many rivals - but with the additional severe restrictions on usage."

BTOpenworld (Isn't it now supposed to be BT Yahoo! or just BT? Confused - too many changes) has denied that it's trying to mislead people.

The operator also says that its price is a breakthrough for 512Kbps services, yet others did it long ago and with far fewer limits.

1Gb per MONTH is actually LESS than some broadband satellite providers offer, which should not be the case. More @ The Register.