ClaraCall offers 40 per cent off Net access

Internet users in the UK are today being offered an alternative to the free Internet service provider (ISP) with a new service offering 40 per cent off dial-up charges.

ClaraNet enables customers to pre-pay their telephone call for Internet connection, rather than receiving a bill from BT. Although the service - called ClaraCall - will still charge a subscription fee, Charles Nasser, managing director of ClaraNet, claims it can offer much higher savings for the customer in the long run.

"A lot of the feedback we have from users is that their monthly subscription charge is minimal by comparison to the amount they are being charged by BT for dial-up access. So we have decided to reduce that part of the cost instead, giving our customers much greater savings," Nasser said.

However, Erol Ziya co-founder of the Campaign for Unmetered Telecommunications, is not convinced subscribers would be much better off. "It's not actually that attractive an offer when compared to other operators' discounts such as Cable & Wireless - chipping away percentages of the call rate is going on all the time. There is a saving, but it is very modest. It is, at the end of the day, still on the metered model," he explained.