Tiscali UK is to offer an always-on high-speed Internet service for £19.99 a month, it confirmed today.

The service is a 256 kbps ADSL service, which is five times faster than a bog standard dial-up connection. The cost of activating the line is £50. It will be available to almost everyone who can obtain BT-based ADSL services.

The ISP claims this new service bridges the gap in the market between unmetered dial-up services (which typically cost around £15 a month) and full-on ADSL broadband services provided by the UK's big ISPs.

At £19.99 a month, Tiscali's high-speed Internet service may be cheaper than full-on services from rivals BTopenworld, AOL UK or Freeserve, but it is about the same as some ISPs that have led the field in low cost 512 kbps ADSL.

Sergio Cellini, CEO of Tiscali UK, told The Register "It is time to move on with broadband Britain."

He believes the pricing of the product will prove attractive and help Tiscali grow its share of the ISP market in the UK. The service is being provided thanks to a interconnect agreement that allows its to cut costs by using a combination of its own and BT's network. ®