BT Broadband has arrived

BT has started flogging its "no frills" broadband access product a couple of months ahead of major launch in the Autumn.

The product slipped out quietly on BT's Web site on Wednesday without any fanfare, but was spotted by those vulture-eyed folks at ADSLGuide.

BT Broadband - which is purely an access product with no ISP services such as email or newsgroups - costs £27 a month and is charged directly on subscribers' BT bills. There's also a £60 activation fee to get the thing started.

BT reckons this product could generate some serious revenue if it becomes a mass market product. However, analysts at investment bank J P Morgan are not keen/ They say he discounted price does not compensate for the "lack of bundled content and services, notably email and web space".

Although the service is available now, BT does not want people signing up for in droves as it is still working to ensure the "customer experience is right"..

News that BT has gone live with BT Broadband is likely to further strain relations between the monster telco and rival ISPs.

Yesterday, Freeserve warned that BT was being allowed to dominate the broadband marketplace and exploit its dominant position as the leader of fixed telephony services, a position strongly denied by BT.

Freeserve chief exec John Pluthero told the Telegraph: "We all share the Government's ambitions of 'Broadband Britain' but it musn't be at any cost, particularly a competitive marketplace. As we have seen in the past, if BT dominates, consumers are the only ones who ultimately suffer." ®

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