AltaVista to provide free phone access to U.K. Net surfers
By Gareth Vaughan, CBS MarketWatch
Last Update: 7:20 AM ET Mar 5, 2000
NewsWatch
LONDON (CBS.MW) -- Internet search engine AltaVista Co. is set to
announce a move Monday that will enable Britons to surf the Internet free of
telephone charges after paying a one off fee, according to a published report.
The Sunday Times reported that AltaVista, which is owned by venture capital
group CMGI Inc (CMGI: news, msgs), and Compaq (CPQ: news, msgs), will
be the first company to offer such a deal in the U.K.
The newspaper reported that AltaVista's move is likely to prompt a rash of
other new-media companies to follow suit. British Telecommunications PLC
(BTY: news, msgs) has resisted pressure to offer a no-cost unmetered Net
service despite government criticism that it's stifling e-commerce growth.
AltaVista will charge a one-off administrative fee of about 30 pounds ($47.33)
to enable people to access the service. However, it will restrict the access to
500,000 people in the first six months to cope with the anticipated high
demand, the Sunday Times reported.
Gareth Vaughan is a reporter for CBS MarketWatch i |
