Oftel cuts prices for wholesale unmetered Internet access

Oftel has published a final Determination requiring BT to cut the cost of its wholesale unmetered dial-up Internet access products by eight and a half per cent.

Oftel's decision follows a review of the volume of unmetered Internet traffic carried over BT's network

When Oftel first introduced wholesale unmetered Internet access (FRIACO), it based BT's charges on estimated volumes. Now information on these volumes is available, Oftel has been able to reassess these charges, bringing them down.

Other telecoms operators buy wholesale Internet capacity from BT which enables them to offer unmetered Internet access products to residential consumers in competion with BT.

Since Oftel introduced unmetered Internet access in 2000, five million UK households have taken up one of the many unmetered products on offer from different providers and the UK leads Europe on unmetered access.

For further information contact Brian Malone (tel: 020 7634 5349 / e-mail: brian.malone@oftel.gov.uk).