British Telecommunications Plc has launched what it claims is the most comprehensive Internet access service available, calling it Btnet. A wide range of connection options are to be available, says the company, from dial-up to high-speed broadband: by the end of the year, connection via the public switched telephone network, Integrated Services Digital Network, private circuits, Frame Relay and Switched Multimegabit Data Service should be available, with X.25 coming on line early next year and modem access some time in the summer. Initially, there will be Points of Presence in Manchester and London, with others being added if there is demand. US communications is provided mainly through MCInet, while European service providers are accessed via EBONE. Each access method, apart from dial-up via modem, will have two service options. Basic consists of an interface to a customer’s own networking equipment, while Plus includes a router which British Telecom will own and maintain. But the services are not cheap: the V.32bis access version has a connect fee of UKP500, with an annual charge of UKP3,000; a private 64Kbps circuit’s connect fee is UKP1,000, the annual charge UKP5,000. Sean Phelan, a senior analyst with the Yankee Group Europe, said, Many people are going to describe it as very expensive, but that is a little unfair to British Telecom. It is intended as a business service for multi-site users. However, the firm does not seem to have caught on to some of the Internet’s advantages: Phelan noted that it was unable to send him public relations material over the Internet.
