4th Feb 2005 07:00
PlusNet plc04 February 2005 4 February 2005 PlusNet welcomes product developments by BT Wholesale PlusNet plc ("PlusNet" or the "Company"), a leading internet service provideroffering internet connectivity together with related products and services,welcomes yesterday's announcement by BT regarding their plans to deliver higherspeed Broadband services throughout the UK as part of the general response toOfcom's review of the Telecoms industry. BT plans to deliver higher speeds from its wholesale ADSL products to meet increasing demand for more bandwidth-hungry applications such as video. Trials are scheduled to begin in April 2005 with a view to launching higher speed services nationally from the autumn. BT plans to trial upping the speeds onlines that will currently support existing 2Mbit/s ADSL services to deliver speeds between 2Mbit /s and 8Mbit/s dependant on line characteristics. In addition BT Wholesale plans to run initial trials of ADSL2+ technology to support higher speed services of up to 18Mbit/s. The emergence of higher speed ADSL services from BT will enable the delivery ofmultiple value-added services, such as VoIP, content and applications, whichPlusNet is currently developing under its relationships with BT and other 3rdparty providers. The importance of this development is that BT Wholesale will enable higher speedBroadband services nationwide. LLU providers are currently offering Broadbandspeeds up to 8Mbit/s, but not on a nationwide basis delivering the necessaryscale to accommodate demand. This announcement has come as part of BT response to Ofcom's review of theTelecoms sector, which broadly speaking lays out an agenda under which BroadbandBritain can truly be delivered through an industry environment where efficientexecution is the differentiator between business models and not regulatorydefined margin incentives. Lee Strafford commented about the changes, "We welcome today's announcement andlook forward to continuing the excellent close working relationship we alreadyenjoy with BT. BT's commitment to enable higher Broadband speeds on a nationwidebasis is great news for UK consumers and businesses. PlusNet will be addingthese higher speed products to its portfolio in the coming months." Speaking on the broader impact of BT's announcements on Ofcom's industry review,Strafford said, "In proposing to establish an industry where a level playingfield truly exists for all service providers BT should be applauded for pickingup the gauntlet Ofcom laid down. At PlusNet we are very excited about thesedevelopments as we believe our operating model will allow us to thrive in theemerging industry environment." Enquiries: PlusNet plc - Tel: 0114 220 0012 Lee Strafford, Chief Executive Ashok Makanji, Finance Director Neil Comer, Commercial Director Buchanan Communications Tel: 020 7466 5000 Bobby Morse/Jeremy Garcia Notes to Editor: About PlusNet's strategic relationship with BT Retail On 13 December 2004, PlusNet entered into a memorandum of understanding with BTunder which BT Retail and PlusNet outlined their strategic relationship andcommitment to develop Broadband solutions and customer offerings together. Thememorandum confirms the strong existing working relationship between BT Retailand PlusNet, which has already produced the Teleworker product. About PlusNet plc. PlusNet (www.plus.net) has become well-known with the UK's web community foroffering exceptional customer service and value-for-money - combining servicereliability and outstanding support with some of the UK's lowest broadbandprices. Based in Sheffield, UK, PlusNet is one of the UK's leading Internet serviceproviders, with approximately 120 employees. With turnover of £17.4 million forthe year ended December 31, 2003, and interim results for the nine months endedSeptember 30 2004 showing turnover of £20.0 million (an increase of 65% from thesame period in 2003), PlusNet is one of the UK's top 10 ISPs. In 2004 PlusNet was awarded Future Publishing's Best Consumer ISP and CustomerService awards. PlusNet offers Broadband and Narrowband products and services to both home andbusiness users through the operating brands PlusNet, Force9 and FreeOnline. PlusNet has a unique operating model, based on a flexible and scalable selfdeveloped operating system, which allows its products to be competitivelypriced, whilst delivering a high quality of service and maintaining lowoperating costs. The Company's management team has extensive experience in thetelecommunications sector. Further information about PlusNet may be found at the Company's investorrelations site: http://www.plus.net/investors/ This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
BT