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The prospects for sustainable unmetered internet access offerings improved considerably when, on 18 January 2001, BT Ignite launched its wholesale Flat Rate Internet Access Call Origination (FRIACO) service for ISPs and Other Licensed Operators (OLOs). This wholesale managed service offering grooms traffic off BT's network at the local exchange level onto BT's Internet Protocol (IP) Colossus network for delivery to ISP or OLO networks. This is a totally distinct service from BT SurfTime, a retail phone service for which BT directly bills subscribers for providing unmetered access to a participating ISP with the subscriber paying an additional subscriber fee directly to the ISP. BT launched SurfPort24 in order to compete directly with OLOs such as Worldcom, Viatel and Energis in providing FRIACO-based managed services, even though it would undermine its £19.95 per month pricing for its SurfTime 24/7 service. SurfPort24 is currently available in major BT exchanges and will be fully rolled out across the UK by April 2001. In the wake of SurfPort24's launch, several major UK ISPs announced retail unmetered offerings based wholly or partially on it. Freeserve swiftly announced the availability of Freeserve AnyTime which is a 24/7 unmetered access service priced at £12.99 per month, undercutting AOL Flat Rate by £2 per month. Freeserve AnyTime registrations are being capacity controlled to avoid overwhelming Freeserve's ISP service and demand was such that Freeserve suspended registrations after they hit 10,000 on the first day. It is not clear how long such capacity controls will be necessary, but the situation should improve over time. BT Internet launched its own Anytime 24/7 unmetered service for £14.99 per month shortly after Freeserve on 26 January 2001. Other ISPs such as ClaraNet and PlusNet are planning to offer similar services in March or April, so UK consumers can expect to have a wider range of choices for unmetered access in the coming months. In making a selection, do not only look at the monthly price but also carefully consider the following factors which can vary significantly from ISP to ISP:
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© CUT 2001. Last updated 5 February 2001.