THUS plc, a competitive service provider in the UK, claims the new broadband pricing strategy announced recently by BT will cause a “margin squeeze” for competitors. The company points out that BT’s price changes relate to “IPStream” connections – the wholesale end-to-end service provided by BT Wholesale to BT’s retail operations and other service providers, including THUS. Similar price advantages were not announced for BT Wholesale’s “Datastream” service, which allows other service providers to use their own networks, to differentiate and add value to the standard services provided by BT Wholesale. THUS also argues that competitive service providers opting for BT’s local loop unbundling will be placed at a significant disadvantage as they see their investment devalued. THUS is calling for a regulatory investigation.
http://www.thus.co.uk
- On 03-April-2003, BT Wholesale announced DSL prices cuts as of 01-May-2003. The monthly fee for the wholesale consumer product will be reduced by up to £2 and there will be even larger savings on BT’s wholesale products that are aimed at service providers who serve small businesses. Prices for the 500kbps, 1Mbs and 2Mbs products will be slashed by over 50%.
