Time of troubles (10 December 1999) We've had huge amounts of feedback, as you would expect, following BT's proposals (BT Surftime) for unmetered Internet access plans. Three principal views are crystallising: The BT proposals are a reasonable first step; what will others make of them? The BT proposals are much too expensive, being anything between two and four times what they should be. The BT proposals are outrageously expensive because screaming.net and similar organisations offer much of what BT is proposing for nothing. First thing to note is that there is much confusion about what the BT proposals actually mean. They are confirmed as implying two monthly payments: You pay BT their proposed amount (or whatever is actually implemented) to enable Surftime; You pay an Internet Service Provider which has taken up Surftime a further fixed amount to use Surftime. It is not inconceivable that this amount could be negative (the ISP pays you in return for pushing advertising or whatever). We've found a roughly equal number of people holding the first two views; those who already have unmetered access are much more supportive of the BT proposals than those who do not have it. Many people with metered access are passing judgement on the BT proposals based on their current Internet usage: fifteen to thirty minutes a day is what is usually quoted. Obviously people do more with the Internet when the clock is no longer ticking. We've also had correspondence from a couple of sources who know the intimate details of telecommunications pricing. They take the second view: that the BT proposals are inexpensive in relative terms (compared to what was before) but expensive in absolute terms (compared to what they could, and should, be). As for the third view, we've always believed that such offers are not sustainable: our next news item will give ample evidence for that. They certainly have trouble coping with a large influx of users; the real breakthrough is that the BT proposals are universal - the services are not tied to a single Internet Service Provider and will be there to be taken up by anyone who wants to use them - and have the force of regulation behind them. On that count, almost unnoticed, OFTEL made a Statement on Wednesday which opens up another number range (0844) to metered calls at rates negotiated between ISPs and bandwidth providers. It is felt that this is another route to unmetered access through rates being negotiated as 'too cheap to meter'. All said, we find it ironic that, even up to a few days before the proposals were announced, BT maintained that unmetered tariffs would be neither economically nor technically viable. Almost nobody has suggested that our work is finished. Certainly there is much to do; the next few months will be a Time of Troubles as everyone adjusts and broadband Internet access starts to appear. The big unknown is that we simply do not know what Internet Service Providers and others will make of the new opportunities. We have the uneasy feeling that the 'panics' we experienced when screaming.net, greatxscape, 08004u and CallNet0800 appeared in turn will be as nothing soon.