Easynet lands broadband blow against BT

Easynet has recorded its first success in its attempt to loosen BT's grip on the UK's broadband market with its latest wholesale ADSL product.

The telco announced on Tuesday that Onyx Internet, an ISP based in North-East England, has signed up for its LLUStream service.

LLUStream, launched earlier this month, is a wholesale broadband product that allows Internet service providers to offer connection speeds of up to 8Mbps to users. Easynet hopes it will tempt ISPs away from BT Wholesale, which has yet to commercially launch a 2Mbps service nationally.

David Rowe, chief executive of Easynet, said earlier this month that several unnamed ISPs were lined up to buy LLUStream. Onyx is the first ISP to announce a deal publicly.

"LLUStream means that ISPs, carriers and system integrators can finally offer their customers innovative LLU services provided by someone other than BT," said Justin Fielder, Easynet's business development director.

"It gives organisations access to a unique portfolio of great value, incredibly fast connectivity speeds and stringent SLAs. Onyx Internet and its customers will benefit enormously from these products, driving them towards true business transformation."

Easynet does not offer LLUStream across the whole country, which could hamper its attempts to compete with BT Wholesale. At present it can offer services from 240 of BT's 6,000 local exchanges, which means it can reach 4.4m homes and 700,000 businesses.

This means that ISPs who use LLUStream will probably have to also use one of BT's wholesale products in areas where Easynet's network isn't available.