Posted: 14th Jan, 2004 By: MarkJ
ADSLGuide reports that BT Yahoo! \ Retails broadband ADSL service is expected to introduce a 1Mbps package come the start of next week (19th January 2004), despite rivals having it for over a month already:
The pricing is nothing to get excited about, BT Yahoo 1Mbps comes in at £40.99 a month, and BT Retail 'no frills' 1Mbps service at £38 a month. This ensures the same margins are retained over the wholesale cost of the service. One interesting point will be whether BTs competitors feel this price is too competitive in which case we may see new complaints to Ofcom, just as we saw with the Home 500.
It seems BT Retail have considered the contract issue, and for existing users migrating over to the 1Mbps service, a new minimum contract of 3 months or the balance of the old contract (whichever is longer) will apply.
One sting in the tail that is either good or bad depending on your own personal views, is that an advisory 1GB per day average is now being introduced on the 1Mbps products. This brings this new range into line with the existing BT Retail 1GB/day guidance limit. The limit is not enshrined in the T&Cs at this time, but is simply in the FAQs for the product.Please note that BT isnt saying anything official about the new products until after the launch.
1Gb/per day on a 1Mbps service also seems a little too restrictive, especially for something that costs more than many of its rivals.