* Broadband access in U.K., France more affordable
Until recently, we’ve held the view that broadband access in Europe is limited and expensive. But now our view has changed – at least when it comes to the U.K. and France.
Until recently, we’ve held the view that broadband access in Europe is limited and expensive. But now our view has changed – at least when it comes to the U.K. and France.
As we’ve mentioned before, VoIP and convergence depend on the ubiquity of broadband. Now it looks like broadband’s critical mass has arrived in both the U.K. and France, and is spreading across Europe. Some regional experts suggest that broadband is now deployed to more than 60% of Internet users in both countries, although (unlike the U.S.) the lion’s share of broadband subscribers are using DSL, and cable-based broadband is still not widely accessed.
Much of the growth has been fueled by substantially lower prices. For example, Cegetel in France offers 512K bit/sec, 1,024K bit/sec, and 2,048K bit/sec for monthly rates of 14.90 euros, 19.90 euros, and 24.90 euros, respectively. Installation is free, although users must pay a one-time fee of 30 euros for their DSL modem. Cegetel also offers a service called “ADSL Max” for 14.90 euros; subscribers can also get unlimited local metro calls for 10 euros per month. The ADSL Max service includes e-mail accounts, personalized Web space, integrated security packages, and up to 10 hours per month of free hot spot access.
France Telecom also offers competitive pricing for wireline DSL, and has recently announced it will provide “broadband everywhere” by adding a Wi-Fi access product in areas not served by traditional DSL. Its Wi-Fi prices are set at 19.90 euros per month for 128K bit/sec access and 25.90 euros per month for 512K bit/sec access.
In the U.K., British Telecom has also been reducing prices of its Wi-Fi access (25 pounds or 40 euros for 4,000 minutes per month); it now has over 4,000 hot spots available and is growing its Wi-Fi reach. Under market and regulatory pressure, BT is also reducing its local loop rental fees by 68% to encourage competitive services in voice and DSL, contributing to more than 3 million wholesale DSL lines. BT’s own DSL service is available at 512K bit/sec for 19.99 pounds.
