As more and more European ISPs attempt to follow the UK model of subscription-free access, Swisscom AG, the Swiss telecommunications operator has said it will overhaul its internet services. Blue Window, Swisscom’s internet service provider, will on April 1 relaunch its Private Access service, under the name Blue Window Highway. The new service will be offered at annual subscription reduced from 250 Swiss francs ($171) to 169 francs ($115). The all inclusive service offers among other things, unlimited internet access, unlimited use of email services and personal home page hosting of up to 10 MB.
In addition, Swisscom will introduced a Blue Window Freemail service which offers all email messaging free, but charges extra for services such as internet access and home page hosting. And the third service, Blue Window FreeWay, will offer free internet access with charges for other services. Swisscom said FreeWay will be introduced in August, later that the other services, because the company anticipates a high demand and wants to ensure it has the capacity to cope.
A spokesperson for Swisscom said the restructuring of the services had not been prompted by free ISPs which have launched recently in Switzerland, but are a result of the evaluation of a highly competitive market. We do not intend to compete on price, the spokesperson explained, we will compete by offering a better service, which is what customers want.
