This article is more than 1 year old

Pipex slams rip-off broadband charges

'Blatant liberty-taking' apparently

The MD of PIPEX has launched a scathing attack on ISPs that charge too much for broadband.

In particular, David Rickards singled out BT and its planned introduction of a stripped down "no frill" service which, when launched later this year, will still be more expensive than Pipex's own fully-provided service.

The BT Broadband service is due to cost £27 a month. A full ISP offering from the telco's ISP, BTopenworld, costs £29.99.

Pipex's ISP ADSL service - which has 20,000 users - costs £23.44 a month.

Mr Rickards believes that if punters are paying more than £25 a month for DSL then they're being overcharged.

And he's warned that if ISPs continue to "blatantly overcharge" for broadband then the UK's digital future could be put at risk.

Saving his harshest words for BT Mr Rickards said: "The BT Retail "no frills" Broadband access only services due to be released late autumn have certainly not been priced to match their "no frills" service.

"At £27 inc VAT per month, this limited Broadband service has been ridiculously overpriced and I believe they know it. Do they really believe the British public are so naive?

"In my opinion, this is blatant liberty-taking of their dominant and unfair market position.

Widening his attack he went on: "I believe that these large residential ISPs are squeezing every last penny out of dial-up services at the expense of their customers.

"The margins available with ADSL are workable and it is possible to offer a quality service at an affordable price whilst remaining profitable.

"We believe that Broadband is the future of the Internet and now is not the time to be counting the profits but rather we should be concentrating on promoting awareness and educating Britain on the benefits a fast, always on Internet connection can bring," he said.

A spokesman for BT said that BT's pricing is fair but that the telco is always looking at prices. ®

More about

More about

More about

TIP US OFF

Send us news


Other stories you might like