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It has already begun a small trial in London but the number of exchanges and locations that the ISP plans to unbundle is not known. The move to LLU was not unexpected as AOL has been dropping hints for some time and it will enable it to offer both faster and cheaper services.

However it has some catching up to do with Tiscali, up and running on LLU some time back, while Wanadoo has begun moving customers in Leeds over to its first fully operational LLU kit in 15 exchanges across the city. It plans to take the total to 150 before the end of the year, offering maximum speeds of 8Mbps.

BT's move to 8Mbps services will take a little longer, with the next phase of its trials kicking off at the end of this month, although wholesale prices have already been supplied to ISPs.

Unlike LLU-based services, BT's 8Mbps will not be restricted to cities and large towns and its more 'cautious approach is sensible', according to ADSL Guide, given the number of people it will hope to reach, the wide geographic spread of exchanges and the much longer phone lines it has to serve.