MSN in low-cost access promo

Completion is hotting up in the US after discount e-tailer MyShoppingClub announced it is to give new club members access to MSN for nothing, according to a report by TechWeb Consumers joining the $59 a year discount shopping club will not have to pay a cent to get online using MSN -- a saving of $19.95 a month. On Friday US discount store Costco Online began offering MSN access to its members for just $11.99 a month. There was speculation that MSN could cut the cost of its service following a report last week in the Wall Street Journal. The WSJ claimed Microsoft bosses were looking into low-cost Net access for the US. "We intend to be aggressive with access," said Brad Chase, VP of Microsoft's new consumer and commerce group. Despite MSN's aggressive stance AOL has no plans to cut the cost of its service. A spokeswoman for AOL told The Register that AOL had no plans to follow suit and enter a price war with MSN. "AOL continues to be the dominant [Internet] service of mainstream consumers," said Trish Primrose of AOL Corp. People continue to opt for AOL even when we put up our price to $21.95, she said. ®