NTL follows fatter pipe rival Telewest

NTL has followed UK cable rival Telewest in announcing a major hike in the speed of its broadband service – while leaving the price where it is.

Shortly after Telewest's announcement yesterday, NTL declared it is also rejigging its broadband portfolio. Its entry level service will increase from 150Kbps to 300Kbps; its mid-tier offering is being upped from 600Kbps to 750Kbps, while its high-end service will move from 1Mbps to 1.5Mbps.

Aizad Hussain, managing director of NTL's residential services business, said: "We look forward to continue delivering on our twin goals of customer centricity and strong broadband growth through 2004 and beyond."

Telewest and NTL will be hoping that their beefed up product offerings will allow them to compete more effectively against other high speed services to the home. After several years of strong performance, the UK's cable sector has recently started to lag behind BT's ADSL in terms of consumer take-up.

Graeme Wearden writes for ZDNet UK