ISP price structure change in the UK

[Joe Mabel]

Details from one of our UK colleagues.

-----Original Message-----
From:	Alan Whiteley [SMTP:alanw at saltmine.co.uk]
Sent:	Thursday, September 24, 1998 11:09 AM
To:	Joe Mabel
Subject:	Re: ISP price structure change in the UK

yeah.

Here's how it works. The ISP phone number is an 0845 number which is kind of
like a local call, costs pretty much the same as a local call. Even local
calls here cost money.

The phone company has to rent the lines to competing phone companies for a
greatly reduced fee than the consumer sees. The ISP simply rents 0845 lines
from BT. The ISP gets a cut of all the calls that are charged against the
line. So they essentially pay for the operation because people are being
charged to use the phone lines.

Dixons did a huge cost analysis on the whole thing and their breakeven point
is a like a year or so away I think. The things they don't have to spend
money on is the distribution. You go to any Dixons and pick up the software.

The other free ISPs are doing pretty much the same thing. They are
recommending the free service only to people who know how to user computers
as they don't provide the kind of support that most ISPs do. AOL users need
not apply is the basic line....

ajw
-----Original Message-----
From: Joe Mabel <jmabel at saltmine.com>
To: 'smuk at saltmine.com' <smuk at saltmine.com>
Date: Thursday, September 24, 1998 6:37 PM
Subject: FW: ISP price structure change in the UK


>Can any of you shed any light on this?
>---------------------------------------------------------------------
>Joe Mabel
>206-284-7511
>"Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain." L. Frank Baum
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Al Boss [SMTP:alboss at scn.org]
>Sent: Thursday, September 24, 1998 10:35 AM
>To: 'scn at scn.org'
>Subject: ISP price structure change in the UK
>
>FREE INTERNET SERVICE IN THE U.K.
>British consumer electronics retailer Dixons Group and telecommunications
>firm Energis are teaming up to provide a free Internet service to citizens
>in the U.K.  Users will not be required to pay any registration or usage
>fees, but will be charged $1.68 a minute for technical support.  The move
is
>expected to force other Internet service providers in that country to
>reevaluate their pricing structures.  (Wall Street Journal 23 Sep 98)
>
>


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