PlusNet announce today that, to celebrate 20 months at sub-£20
for its entry-level 512k broadband product (Home Surf), it is introducing
a special offer, by including a free USB modem*.
Home Surf offers broadband at 512k access speeds with local rate
help desk, as well as comprehensive online support. At £18.99
Inc VAT this product turns the leap from dial access to broadband
into a small step.
"PlusNet welcomes today’s announcement by BT, which
is indicative of the usual suspects (FreeServe, AOL, BT) starting
to recognise the pricing realities needed to drive full broadband
take up. However, it is surprising that BT are claiming to take the
lead on a sub-£20 product, especially when everyone is aware
of each others’ product offerings - and we have been offering
Home Surf for almost two years," said Marco Potesta, Marketing
Director at PlusNet.
"It’s encouraging to see someone else joining us in selling
a true broadband product at under £20 and not just promoting
their low speed, low priced broadband products, the emphasis on which
only serves to confuse and take the whole market in the wrong direction,"
he continued.
PlusNet offer a full range of broadband products that have been well
thought out to meet the need of today’s consumer and business
user. All of these products come with a fully featured customer self-serve
portal, with NO hidden support costs.
BT’s new product attempts to deliver what the broadband mass
market needs, but does so with a sting in the tail. By wrapping the
product in premium-rate customer support and a download limit of 1Gb
per month, they still fall well short of the PlusNet
option of HomeSurf.
| |
PlusNet Home Surf |
BT Broadband Basic |
| Speed |
Up to 512kbps |
Up to 512kbps |
| Faster than dialup |
10x |
10x |
| Telephone Support |
Local-rate |
Premium-rate |
| Online Support |
Yes |
Yes |
| Modem included |
Yes |
Yes |
| Home Network Compatible |
Yes |
No |
| Email |
Unlimited email addresses, webmail |
No |
| web space |
25MB |
None |
| Online Games Compatibility |
Yes |
No |
| Monthly Bandwidth Limits |
None |
1Gb a month |
| Upfront Costs |
£59.99 |
£80 |
| Monthly Costs |
£18.99 |
£19.99 |
"BT is moving the cost of getting support from your ISP out
of the subscription and on to a premium-rate support number, and at
the same time introducing a download restriction that is far too punitive.
Home Surf has a better solution to the problem of demanding users
using an entry-level product and doesn’t penalise people for
wanting support from their ISP. BT has to be applauded for taking
this step as it will drive take up across the board, but Home Surf
is cheaper all round and is a lot less basic than BT’s new ‘basic’
offering," said Marco Potesta.
* Terms and Conditions apply. Please see our website for details.
