Thursday, February 19, 2009

The Internet price war : when ISPs collide


Just as the saying goes about there's no such thing as a 'free lunch', there is also no such thing as free Internet access - with nobody as yet finding a way to provide the telephone or data connections involved completely free of charge.


That said, prices have fallen with some Internet Service Providers (ISPs) offering unlimited dial-up access, faster connections through broadband technology, virus scanning and lots more lot for a fixed monthly charge.


Originally, many ISPs made money by taking a proportion of the call costs. There was no monthly subscription but users had to pay local call rates, meaning the bill grew with every extra minute spent online. Complaints that this was holding back Internet use coupled with pressure on margins and it was this that spurred most ISPs into offering tariffs that now give unlimited use for a fixed price.

Making internet access available to everyone in the UK is also firmly in the minds of our politicians with the three main parties continually stressing its importance in our lives.

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