ntl Increase Broadband Speeds To 10MB
ntl have just announced that they are increasing their broadband speeds and making 10Mb the standard speed for all users, starting with the current 3Mb users. The rollout to all users won’t be finished until the end of 2006 which sounds a very long time and will cause a lot of dissatisfaction (my brother is an ntl customer and he’s still waiting for broadband!)
Details are a bit sketchy but the press release seems to indicate that the service will be capped:
For the first time, a customer will be able to match speed, usage allowance and price to their individual needs. A new broadband user will be able to enjoy the same 10Mb speed as an experienced surfer and as their online expertise grows, simply move up to a higher allowance. Tools will be provided to allow customers to track their usage.
The cap for current 3Mb users will increase from 30GB to 75GB per month, which is quite a lot, even for usenet users.
I’m not sure if this is a good approach as I don’t think providing the same speed to everyone and only using allowances to differentiate tiers provides enough incentives to make users upgrade. I think ntl run the risk that users won’t move up to the higher tiers once they realise that they don’t need the extra allowance, whereas if ntl still had differentiated speeds some users would upgrade just to get the fastest speed.
It will be interesting to see how BT and Telewest react, and also ISPs such as Wannado, Tiscali and AOL who are expected to launch their own LLU services later this year.
More: BBC, ntl
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Comment by Bosco Brand on 31 May 2007:
I’ve been hearing about a lot of providers upgrading their services like this. I think it’s a result of the increased competition in the home broadband connectione market.
Comment by Don Brontes on 31 May 2007:
I’ve been hearing about a lot of providers upgrading their services like this. I think it’s a result of the increased competition in the home broadband connectione market.