BT to slash high-speed net cost

BRITISH Telecom is set to announce plans to slash the cost of its broadband services in a bid to stimulate the market for high-speed internet access.

The group, which is due to make an announcement on the pricing of the service this week, is expected to unveil substantial reductions in its charges to Internet service providers.

BT hopes that by lowering the cost to providers, such as Freeserve and AOL, they will in turn reduce the cost to consumers which will boost demand.

New chief executive Ben Verwaayen, who joined the group at the beginning of this month, has made it clear that he wants broadband services to be at the centre of BT's strategy going forward.

A BT spokesman said: 'Broadband is one of our major priorities going forward, and our new chief executive has made that very clear. He will be announcing significant price cuts later on this week, and we hope that will kick-start the take-up of broadband.'

The group would not reveal what the price reductions would be, but it is expected to substantially slash the £30 a month it currently charges Internet service providers.

In turn this would significantly reduce the cost for consumers, who currently pay around £40 a month to providers to use the service.

BT is also looking to reduce the £150 charge for installing broadband lines through the introduction of 'plug-and-play', which simplifies installation and reduces the cost to £50.