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MSN Europe to go subs-free

UK's MSNFreeWeb sets example

Microsoft is looking to drop subscription charges for its service provider across Europe, MSN confirmed today. Following the success of the subscription-free model in the UK, Georges Nahon, senior director for network solutions at Microsoft's Europe, Middle East and Africa business, said that MSN could not ignore that the models for Net access had changed. In essence, he was admitting that unless MSN adapted to the new order it would not survive. His views, expressed this week in Geneva, have been confirmed by Natalie Taylor, MSN's marketing manager in the UK. She said that MSN's operations in France, Germany and Italy were all to be examined to see whether it was viable to introduce a subscription-free alternative. Any changes would most likely be introduced within six months, she said. Taylor said that any new service would be based on MSNFreeWeb, which was launched in the UK in June this year in reply to the market domination of ISPs such as Freeserve. However, subscription-free services are not the be-all and end-all of Net access and there still appears to be a hardcore of users happy to pay for their services. For although MSN recommended to its subscribers to switch to the new subscription-free service only 15 per cent have done so, said Taylor. Who knows, there could be hope for AOL after all... ®

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