Telewest gives customers 50 per cent faster broadband for nothing

The war for domestic broadband has opened up a new front. While other operators have recently been falling over themselves to shave a few more pounds off the monthly fee for ADSL, Telewest has announced that it's decided Britain has a need for speed.

Telewest's broadband arm today revealed that it's boosting the speed of its connections but won't be charging its users any more for the privilege.

Speeds will be increased by about 50 per cent, the provider has said. New customers will be able to get their hands on the higher-speed services at the end of May and those already using the service will be upgraded on a "region by region" basis during the same time period.

Most of Telewest's blueyonder broadband products will increase its speed, with the exception of the 'entry-level' 256Kb product. Its 512Kb offering will rise to 750Kb, the 1Mb will go up to 1.5Mb and its 2Mb connection will jump to 3Mb, making it the first residential service to break the 3Mb barrier.

All prices for the faster services will remain the same. Chad Raube, Telewest Broadband's director of internet services, in a statement called the move "the biggest shake-up in the broadband market for some time".