NTL Broadband to be Metered? (20 Dec 2004)

Sting In The Tail Of Upgraded Speeds

Ntl are upgrading their broadband speeds in 2005. It is now apparent that the cap levels will be revised. Their presentation (pdf) confirms many details.

The new service tiers will be:

300kpbs @ £15.99 (cap threshold not stated)

1Mbps @£17.99 5GB a month cap

2Mbps @ £24.99 30GB a month cap

3Mpbs @ £37.99 40GB a month cap

There is no news as to whether upload speeds will increase.

The move to a monthly based rather than daily based cap is, we consider, clearer to customers as it allows for a more typical spread of use between intensive and light activity days. It is much less muddled than ntl's current fudged comments of "you can go over the limit twice in a fortnight".

In AntiCap's opinion, the 5GB threshold for the 1Mb service is harsh. Only a year ago 1MB speed was ntl's flagship service and had an effective limit of 30GB a month. However, as the broadband revolution moves forward, internet content becomes more data and bandwidth intensive. The 5GB limit does not reflect this use growth and makes the 1Mbps a crippled product. No doubt ntl need to protect their revenue stream by avoiding customers downgrading from higher priced tarifs and perhaps force those on the slower speeds to upgrade.

Within the ntl presentation is a reference to a metered broadband service. It is not clear whether this will be launched at the same time as the service speed upgrades, or later. Additionally pricing is not known. It does however show ntl's ability, and perhaps intent, to apply the caps more rigidly than previoulsy, and then charge customers for their "over usage".

Metering is a worrying trend. Flat priced tariffs are popular since they allow customers to budget, without looking over their shoulder and worrying about next month's bill. It's as if companies are now saying, have a service, but, please dont use it or we can't make any money. Metering will restrict use, and desirability on a technology which when first launched was heralded as being always on, always available.