Freeserve announces consumer ADSL package

Posted on 23 Aug 2000 at 11:13

Freeserve is set to launch its consumer ADSL package at the start of next month, several weeks before BT will be ready to debut its own service.

FreeservePlus, which is based on BT's ADSL (asymmetric digital subscriber line) service, is intended for home use on a single PC. Available from September 4th, it will be priced at £39.99 per month (including VAT), with a one-off £150 installation charge.

As a promotional offer, the first 1,000 customers who pre-register for the service before September 4th will get their installation absolutely free of charge.

FreeservePlus gives users download and upload speeds of 512Kbps and 256Kbps respectively. The service will initially be available in a number of cities, including Birmingham, London, Manchester, Cambridge, Coventry, Edinburgh, Cardiff, Glasgow, Newcastle, Leeds and Milton Keynes. Freeserve claims to have 25 per cent of the UK covered from day one, and plans to increase this figure to 52 per cent by April.

Availability of the new service will coincide with the launch of Freeserve's new portal, which provides a variety of content designed to take advantage of the high-speed access afforded by ADSL. Users will receive news from ITN, music from Virgin Records, Peoplesound.com and Music Choice, and online gaming from Gameplay.com.

"Being able to deliver ADSL before anyone else shows how Freeserve is able to exploit new technologies and gain competitive advantage to the benefit of our members," said Freeserve chief executive John Pluthero.

Author: Joel Harrison