High speed pay-as-you-go broadband launched

Super high-speed broadband champion Be has announced it is to launch a pay-as-you-go service.

The ISP is to launch the offering, which provides speeds of up to 24Mbps, in the coming months. The 'Be Lite' service will work in a similar way to a pre-pay mobile phone tariff, giving users an initial usage limit to be topped up as required.

Other ISPs have already opted to offer a pay-as-you-go option, aping the per-minute products available when most internet access was over dial-up. BT has trialled such a service, while others, including Bulldog, have rolled out per-minute offerings.

Be, however, is one of the first ISPs to offer users a pay-as-you-go service at high speeds using the next generation broadband technology, ADSL2+.

Scott Morrison, research director at analyst house Gartner, predicted more niche providers will adopt pay-as-you-go pricing, while mainstream ISPs will concentrate on selling services alongside access.

Morrison said: "There are a lot of different business models being tried with DSL. UK pricing is still relatively high.

"What Be is offering wouldn't be considered competitive in France", a more advanced broadband market.

According to a recent survey from broadband analysts Point Topic, the UK is now the number one fat pipe destination in Europe with 9.8 million broadband lines.