Wanadoo cuts broadband price and doubles speed

net1

In the ongoing broadband wars, Wanadoo UK, France Telecom's ISP unit, has cut the price of its standard package to just £17.99 a month and doubled the connection speed.

The firm has axed its standard 512k service for new customers and will offer them the faster 1Mb line instead. The move comes in preparation for the launch of new services, dubbed Wanadoo's LiveBox, which will provide its customers with wireless internet access in the home, video-on-demand and cheap voice calls over broadband.

Wanadoo, has been playing a game of catch-up against dominant fixed-line provider BT and cable companies Telewest and NTL, all offering broadband subscriptions for less than £20 a month. BT's 1-megabit service is priced at £29.99 per month.

Wanadoo said the new £17.99 service, which has a 2Gb downloaded limit per month, would be suitable for 85 per cent of the population. Higher priced options, at £22.99 and £27.99, will cater for heavy users such as those who download hundreds of music tracks or those committed to online gaming.