America Online IncÆs European arm has confirmed it is to introduce a flat-fee dial-up access offering for its UK subscribers, as we reported last week. For 9.99 pounds ($16) per month, users will be able to stay online for as long as they wish, with no per-minute telephone charges.
The announcement comes in the wake of the myriad subscription-free ISPs, which make their money from call charges – precisely the area AOLÆs new service will offer free. Heavy net users will almost certainly now migrate from the likes of Freeserve, the ISP which usurped AOL as UK number one. Andreas Schmidt, AOL European president, long a critic of metered internet access, said: This is the only sustainable model to achieve long-term growth in the UK and throughout Europe.
