Posted: 12th Feb, 2010 By: MarkJ

Broadband provider Zen Internet has warned UK consumers that it will be difficult for BT Retail's rivals to match the operators 'up to' 40Mbps
Infinity fibre optic broadband package prices. Infinity was the first next generation access product in the country to use BT’s latest FTTC technology, which officially began its commercial rollout last month.
Fibre-to-the-Cabinet technology ( FTTC ) delivers a fast fibre optic cable to the operators street level cabinets, while the remaining connection - between cabinets and homes - is done using VDSL2 (similar to current ADSL broadband but faster over short distances) through existing copper cable; FTTC will initially deliver speeds of up to 40Mbps and uploads of up to 10Mbps.
However many commentators, including ourselves, were pleasantly surprised that BT had been able to price such an early and pioneering service so low. It's normally the opposite way around, with products based off new technology costing far more. Pressure from its closest technology rival Virgin Media , which offers a strong 50Mbps product , probably played a part. BT Infinity prices are as follows.
BT Infinity Option 1 - £19.99 Per Month
Download Speed: Up to 40Mbps
Upload Speed: Up to 2Mbps
Connection Charge: £50
Usage Allowance: 20GB (GigaBytes)
Wireless Router: Free BT Home Hub
Security: Basic security
Storage: 5GB Digital Vault
Wi-Fi Minutes: 250
Contract: 18 Months
BT Infinity Option 2 - £24.99 Per Month
Download Speed: Up to 40Mbps
Upload Speed: Up to 10Mbps
Connection Charge: FREE
Usage Allowance: *** Unlimited *** (Fair Usage Policy TBA)
Wireless Router: Free BT Home Hub
Security: Advanced security
Storage: 5GB Digital Vault with auto back-up
Wi-Fi Minutes: Unlimited
Contract: 18 Months
However, in a brief comment to PC Pro magazine, Zen's Andrew Saunders (head of product development) warned consumers that it would be difficult for them to match BT's "
very aggressive" pricing. Saunders would not be drawn on how much they planned to charge but admitted that BT had set the stall for everybody else to follow.
We expect more ISPs to unwrap their packages soon and it will be interesting to see whether there will be many differences between them. At present most are busy running the numbers, adapting their networks and waiting until coverage improves before full committing to a new product launches.