INTERNET
Esat BT enters the flat-rate fray
26-06-2003
by Andrew McLindon
Esat BT has entered the flat-rate Internet fray in Ireland and will charge EUR30 per month for its consumer service and EUR45 (ex. VAT) for its business product.
On Wednesday, UTV Internet beat its rivals to the punch by debuting two flat-rate products. The first, UTVip Lite, will cost EUR9.99 per month for up to 30 hours of Internet access per month, and UTVip XL, costing EUR24.95 per month for 180 hours usage. Both prices are inclusive of VAT. Users of the services will though have to sign-up to UTV's telephony service to take advantage of them.
Esat BT's move into the flat-rate space has been expected and on Thursday it said it would be offering two different services for consumers and companies.
Its residential offering will cost EUR30 per month inclusive of VAT for 180 hours access per month (or an average of six hours a day), while its business service will cost EUR45 plus VAT per month for 260 hours Internet access per month (or an average of nine hours per day). Customers for Esat BT's IOL Anytime will not have to sign-up to additional services from the company in order to avail of its flat-rate products.
Esat BT also announced that residential customers that sign-up to the service between Thursday and 31 July will receive a 33 percent discount for the first three months of their subscription. Esat BT said this would reduce their monthly bill for the service to EUR20 per month for the period.
In addition, Esat BT said that if ComReg's recent decision to cut the price Eircom charges other operators to access its network was upheld, then the price for its consumer flat-rate service may remain permanently below the EUR30 per month mark and its business price may also fall. ComReg's action is currently being challenged in the courts by Eircom.
With two of its competitors having stepped up to the flat-rate plate, attention will now swing towards Ireland's biggest teleco, Eircom. It is not yet known when Eircom will enter the flat-rate race, but insiders have indicated that its monthly prices for consumers will come in at around the EUR30 mark. The only thing that Eircom has confirmed is that its flat-rate packages will be "suitable for both business and home users, based on light, medium and heavy packages."
The introduction of flat-rate services from two providers is likely to be welcomed by consumers and businesses, as well as the Internet industry as a whole. Ireland's high prices for Internet access and lack of flat-rate access has meant that the country's Internet penetration rate has stagnated around the 35 percent for some time, something that has caused concern in commercial and governmental circles.
Communications Minister, Dermot Ahern, TD, for instance, has been calling for the introduction of flat-rate Internet access since he took over office just over a year ago.
"I am very optimistic that that IOL Anytime will go a long way to creating a more Internet literate society that can fully enjoy the on-line experience without the burden of per minute charges," said Esat BT's chief executive officer, Bill Murphy, in a statement.
Esat BT told ElectricNews.Net that reaction to a "warm-up" marketing campaign for the service had been "extremely positive" with 2,000 people pre-registering for the flat-rate services.
In relation to people exceeding the monthly usage levels, Esat BT said it would "monitor" the situation, but is unlikely to take action against those who go over the limits by a couple of hours, as long as they are not repeat offenders. UTV Internet said that users who go over the 180 hours limit for its XL service will have to pay a local call charge of EUR0.95 (off-peak) and EUR3.85 (peak) per minute.
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