Alta Vista – It Lives!

AltaVista's flat-fee Net access service is now up and running, The Register is delighted to confirm.

The service was due to go live at 10.30am this morning but the birth was delayed for some two-and-a-half hours. The cause of the delay is not known.

Still, in the scheme of things, what's two-and-a-half-hours between friends when British Net users have been waiting for almost four months to get anything solid from AltaVista?

The important thing now is that the talk is finally now over and the real business of supplying quality Net access begins.

"AltaVista is keen to maintain a level of quality and integrity within its service at a time when access to the Internet in the UK is fundamentally changing and public demand is high," says Britain's newest ISP on its site.

"In the upcoming weeks, we are offering the service to those people who have already expressed an interest," it says.

The ISP's tone today is so soft and understated, it's barely audible - a far cry form the headline-grabbing cacophony that accompanied its initial announcement back in March.

Anyone who registered for the service and has received a username and password from AltaVista can pay their 60 quid and sign-up to the service. The rest will have to take their turn. ®