Broadband ISP PlusNet has launched a radical new promotion today that claims, no matter where you live in the UK, to guarantee you the lowest price standalone broadband internet access in your area. Full stop. The original news was first posted on Tuesday, although PlusNet then delayed the official launch until today.

As you might expect there is a small catch. The price promise is only valid for customers taking PlusNet's Value Broadband package versus the lowest cost standalone broadband product available from a competitor.

The "price beat" proposition also covers the total cost of ownership for broadband (subscription + setup costs) over the competitor contract length, up to 24 months. The ISP also promises to monitor rival packages so as to ensure that they always offer the lowest price.

In addition PlusNet has also announced the introduction of a new price for its broadband services in some Market 2 telephone exchanges, where competitors are currently selling at a lower price. PlusNet had previously only sold its broadband at a lower price point on Market 3 exchanges.

New pricing for Value, Extra & Pro

Plusnet will be introducing a new third price for Plusnet Value for customers in non-low cost areas. Depending on where a customer lives they will pay either:

1. Plusnet Value £6.49 every month
2. Plusnet Value £6.49 for 3 months then £10.79 (new price point)
3. Plusnet Value £6.49 for 3 months then £12.99

** PlusNet Value = 20Mb download speeds, 10GB usage allowance (Unlimited overnight usage), free wireless router and a 12 month or no contract option.

Whilst Plusnet only guarantee prices on the Value package, they will also be offering a lower cost on both Extra and Pro in some Market 2 exchanges where they are cutting the price on Value, so the upgrade is only £5, like today.

1. Plusnet Extra £11.49 every month
2. Plusnet Extra £11.49 for 3 months then £15.79 (new price point)
3. Plusnet Extra £11.49 for 3 months then £17.99

** PlusNet Extra = 20Mb download speeds, 60GB usage allowance (Unlimited overnight usage), free wireless router and a 12 month or no contract option.

1. Plusnet Pro £16.49 every month
2. Plusnet Pro £16.49 for 3 months then £20.79 (new price point)
3. Plusnet Pro £16.49 for 3 months then £22.99

** PlusNet Pro = 20Mb download speeds, 20GB usage allowance (Unlimited overnight usage), free wireless router, all traffic prioritised at all times, 240 minutes of VoIP calls to make at any time and a 12 month or no contract option.

At present Ofcom classifies different parts of the country based upon the amount of competition, with highly competitive areas (e.g. Market 3) being able to benefit from lower prices due to softer regulation. Note that the current benchmark for this (below) could change in the very near future (here).

Ofcoms UK Broadband Market Definitions
* The Hull area: (0.7% of UK premises);
* Market 1: exchanges where only BT is present (14.2% of premises).
* Market 2: exchanges where two or three ISPs are present or forecast (13.8% of premises).
* Market 3: exchanges where four or more ISPs are present or forecast (71.3% of premises).

This new promotion, which is so hot off the press that at the time of writing PlusNet had not yet fully updated their website to reflect the changes, will also lead a new marketing campaign commencing today. On Thursday (7th October) PlusNet will also launch its first ever TV advert to promote the deal.

It is of course incredibly difficult to gauge the true value of one particular package against another since price alone is not the only deciding factor. Speed, support quality and extra services all play a part and are a lot harder to quantify.

UPDATE 2:12pm

Those TV adverts they were talking about.



The first one seems quite good but the second is somewhat, unique.