AOL denies unmetered report
Reports Wednesday claim AOL will launch its own unmetered Internet service as early as next week, but according to a spokesman the service will not arrive on 18 April, as reported in the ISP Review.
AOL, the UK's second biggest ISP, has always supported the call to bring unmetered access to Britain. It backed CUT (Campaign for Unmetered Telecommunications) and has been an outspoken critic of BT, accusing the telco of holding back the development of the Internet in the UK and "ripping off" consumers.
Currently AOL users pay a monthly subscription of £9.99 with a one penny per minute charge for both peak and off-peak access. IDC analyst Jame Eibisch thinks it is "inevitable" AOL will move to an unmetered model. "All major service providers will offer unmetered services," he says.
The ISP has come under pressure from the glut of "free" providers surfacing in the wake of Alta Vista's one-off payment for unlimited surfing. There are now around 20 unmetered offerings either launched or about to launch in the UK.
AOL launched Netscape Online in August last year in response to the free access model popularised by Freeserve.
Updates will follow
Free and unmetered internet access has been on the agenda for some time -- right now the battle is on. Go to AnchorDesk UK to get the news comment from Tony Westbrook.
Take me to the Unmetered Access Special
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