Re: UKNM: Free ISPs Vs. Paying ISPs (Don't Mention Dixons)

[Craig Pickup]

Sajid Mohammed wrote:


> Especially as apparently a whopping 66% of domestic PC users aren't on

> the Net - is this really true?


I am not sure about that but there was a report out last week from BMRB saying that nearly 7.5 million in the UK accessed the net in the previous 6 months (to 31

August 1998) or 16% of the population. Home use now accounts for 42% of UK Internet traffic compared to 38% from the workplace. Also of interest is tha fact that

the calculate 1 million users engaged in e-commerce in the past 6 months spending an average of GBP 195.


> Obviously, the paid-for ISPs have to move up the value chain. Already,

> they can legitimately say that by offering free unlimited tech support

> and not levying a surcharge on the cost of your call to the POP that

> they have a higher-value proposition.


The current level of support among charging ISPs is quite abismal. Hopefully the free ISPs will cause that level and quality of support to improve. As for not

levying a surcharge on the cost of calls to the POP, my understanding was that the customer does not pay anymore than a normal call charge but the ISP have a

profit sharing relationship with the carrier. If this is the case then those not receiving a call levy ought to do so in order to reduce their costs and thus the

cost to the customer.


> Also, it's been rumoured for

> several days that Virgin.Net are planning to go 0800 on their dial-up

> access. Which to my eyes adds value to their proposition.


With Virgin's general philosophy of doing it better than others do it I think you will find that they end up coming out on top for the domestic consumer at least.


> But how else can ISPs outmanouver the free ISP mob? Providing portal

> content, e-commerce, Quake servers and streaming media etc. etc. is

> all very well and good. But where are paying ISPs wanting at the

> moment?

> Personally, I just want super-fast access. Any ISP that wanted to

> offer me a dirt-cheap ISDN or leased line would get my interest - but

> I can't see that happening anytime soon.


If by dirt-cheap you are talking about just the ISP's charge rather than the telecos charge then it is quite cheap currently - in fact the same cost nearly as

modem dial-up. Also there are many hardward/software packages around now that allows full voice and data integration for very cheap prices (we shift some

ourselves and they are very popular). Perhaps the charging ISPs ought to start concentrating more on the ISDN connectivity and leave the modem connectivity to the


freebies.


Craig Pickup

Digitrade Ltd