EasyNet Group Plc, the UK internet service provider, announced yesterday it is the latest ISP to join British Telecommunications Plc’s trial of ADSL technology, and that it will offer three months of the service at no charge.
BT is offering three ADSL packages to ISP resellers and corporate clients: IPstream, Videostream and Datastream. The first deal is a 20:1 contention service, meaning 20 ADSL local loop users share one connection from a BT exchange to the service provider’s network/server. Ipstream is, as the name suggests, an internet protocol access service, priced to target the corporate market with download speeds of up to 2Mbps. Videostream allows video-only providers to offer consumer-priced services on a 3:1 contention basis between the service provider and the consumer – UK web surfers’ hopes of getting unmetered internet access for a reasonable price are dashed.
EasyNet will resell the Datastream offering, which has an 8:1 contention ration, which says it will offer a better class of service to the corporate client at corporate prices. EasyNet will offer a six-month contract to its pilot users for 2000 pounds ($3200), which is what EasyNet says is the worst case scenario price for three months service, after the trial ends next Spring.
