AOL UK Ltd has entered negotiations with British Telecommunications Plc and other UK operators to launch an unmetered internet access service in the near future. The service, AOL told ComputerWire, would be based around 0800-prefix toll-free dialup, and would probably be supported by a monthly subscription fee. The deal will only come about if AOL’s infrastructure provider, UUNet Inc, can negotiate favorable pricing terms for a massive batch of 0800 numbers from BT and telco regulator Oftel.
The company, a unit of America Online Inc and Bertelsmann AG’s 50:50 joint venture AOL Europe, has been piloting such a service in the UK for four months, charging between 15 pounds ($25) and 40 pounds ($66) for 24 hour, seven day a week access without call charges. AOL UK’s recent decision to price all dialup calls at 1 pence per minute, regardless of BT rate, using an 0800 number and billing the user separately, left many thinking it had abandoned its toll-free plans.
But AOL Europe is a long-standing supporter of US-style unmetered local calls, if only due to the fact that it is one of the few ISPs in Europe still charging a monthly subscription for access, and not supporting itself by taking a cut of dialup call charges. Unmetered billing at an incumbent telco level would be the best solution to its problems, but figuring out a way to use the current metered system to its advantage would come a close second.
Either way, widespread unmetered access in the UK looks set to become a reality fairly soon. If UUNet cracks the 0800 bulk buy deal with BT, it may offer the business model to its other branding partners, such as football club Manchester United FC Plc.
In addition, one tiny company, 08004U Ltd, recently started offering 24/7 unmetered access, via ISP Telinco Ltd, for 50 pounds ($80) per month, but users have questioned whether the quality of service is worth such a hefty fee. Services from BT Internet, Telnet Ltd, and Localtel Ltd also offer unmetered access at certain off-peak times, but the former charges a monthly fee and the latter two require a change of telephony provider.
Telinco itself will introduce Wednesday its own 0800 service, branded StrayDuck.com, but details are sketchy. Partners for StrayDuck, which is expected to finance itself primarily with e-shopping revenues, include reward point bank Beenz.com Inc and shopping portal Hoojit.com. Telinco has indulged in a campaign of trashing the competition since its enigmatic teaser site opened at the beginning of the month.
