Information Research Weblog

UK Online, a broadband supplier, is now offering an 8Mb connection to those whose lines are up to it and where the BT exchange has been 'unbundled'. Unfortunately, my exchange doesn't fit this description - in fact, I'm hoping that the line is good enough for an upgrade to 1Mb, which I'm hoping to get. In any event, I don't think I'd be prepared to pay the £39.99 a month for the privilege, since I'm not in the business of downloading films and video files.

However, it is a welcome sign that 'broadband' in Britain is really beginning to mean broadband, rather than a measly 256Kb connection that some ISPs offer. I suspect, also that more competitive services will come along - at present, my 500Kb connection is £1.00 a month cheaper than UK Online's offer, and the 1Mb connection I'm hoping to get is actually a full £7.00 a month cheaper, which makes me suspect that 8 Mb will be available from others for, say, £35.00 a month?