AOL UK backs calls for unmetered Net access

AOL has put its weight behind the campaign to change the tariff system for Internet access calls in the UK. The ISP's European CEO, Andreas Schmidt, warned this week that the per-minute tariff structure is holding back the growth of ecommerce in the UK.

At a consumer online forum, Schmidt called for the government and UK businesses to unite to 'stop the clock' on Internet access. He also lent his support to the Campaign for Unmetered Telecommunications that has been lobbying for the unmetered tariffs since summer 1998.

AOL's VP of Europe, Claire Gilbert, met with the department of Trade and Industry's Patricia Hewitt last night along with Erol Ziya from CUT.

Gilbert is confident that Hewitt will act on the issue. "We have been very pleased with Patricia Hewitt's comments, both publicly and privately. She is demanding innovative pricing for Internet access and seems to very much focus on consumer choice.

"We are hoping it will continue to apply pressure on BT to actually act to make this a reality for consumers now, rather than sometime in the future."

But Gilbert added it is not enough to concentrate only on new digital technologies such as DSL and Cable Modems. "Most of our users will continue to access the Internet for the next 12 to 18 months over the traditional telephone lines. We don't really know yet when ADSL will be widely available, and at the moment, prices generally seem to be too high.

"So in our view the way forward to Internet and ecommerce growth in the UK is to change the telephone structure," she said.