BT cuts Basic broadband by £2

Bows to competition

By Tim Richardson • Get more from this author

Posted in Telecoms, 4th October 2004 10:24 GMT

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BT has cut the monthly cost of its entry-level broadband service in a move that underlines the competitive pressure in the UK's broadband sector.

The telco has shaved £2 off BT Broadband Basic cutting the cost of the service from £19.99 to £17.99 a month.

BT reckons the move "proves our commitment to delivering the best possible value broadband to our customers and to as wide an audience as possible". It also reckons that BT Broadband Basic is "now cheaper than a number of our major rivals and extremely competitive against other entry level broadband products".

While a host of smaller ISPs have cut the cost of broadband, a move by one of the big three shows that competitive pressure is working. In August Wanadoo UK doubled the speed of its broadband service (now 1 Megabit (Mb) ADSL) while keeping the cost of the service the same at £17.99 a month.

So what of the other of the top three ISPs - AOL UK? Does it have any plans to cut the cost of its service to match its closest rivals?

A spokesman for the company said: "No, we're happy with our price for the time being - we still think it represents the value option compared to the bargain basement." ®