ISPs to get bandwidth on credit

No more cash up front for unmetered access...

ISPs will no longer have to pay BT in advance for unmetered internet access. ISPs must currently pay BT in advance for any unmetered contract. The government watchdog Oftel is ordering BT to offer payment in arrears, as it already does for metered access. Other changes impact the provision of Flat Rate Internet Access Call Origination (Friaco), by which operators buy wholesale internet access. Dave Edmonds, director general of Oftel, said in a statement: "The UK was the first European country to introduce FRIACO and it has led to some of the cheapest prices for internet access in the world. Calls to the internet now make up over 40 per cent of all traffic carried across the UK's telecoms networks. Over four million homes now use unmetered internet access and Oftel must ensure demand can continue to be met."