Freeserve announced today that it is to offer unmetered access to the Net, as reported by The Register last week. Hedging it's bets the monster ISP has decided to opt for BT's discredited SurfTime product and offer users unmetered off-peak access for £6.99 a month. This option will be made available from May. It's also extending its "Freeserve Time" offer in association with the telco, Energis. Users who spend more than £10 a month routing their voice calls via Energis will receive unmetered 24/7 access to the Net. To prevent the service being swamped with users, it is restricting registrations to just 10,000 a week. This combined telephony and Internet model is taking the lead as the way ISPs can offer users unmetered access to the Net. What's clear is that Freeserve has been forced to act -- and act quickly -- following a spate of announcements concerning unmetered Net access. Far from the being the innovator in this marketplace (apologies to The X-Stream Network) Freeserve has had its hand forced. It has had no choice but to react. Last week Freeserve's share price fell by a third. By mid morning it had rallied somewhat, up 35.25p. No one from Freeserve or Energis was available for comment this morning. ® Related Stories Freeserve dampens Observer speculation on toll-free times Freeserve strikes back with unmetered service Freeserve hops on board the free calls bandwagon AOL hits out at BT