For an initial payment of £235, Totalise is offering subscribers 100 hours of unmetered access per month until 1st January 2001 or, if sooner, when Friaco becomes available, after which there will be unlimited access. Each subscriber will also get 1,250 shares, currently worth between £350 and £400.
Chief Executive Peter Gregory has expressed amazement at other ISPs that have not refunded users when they abandon services that do not meet the promises of unmetered internet access. He has accused ntl and others of using “delaying tactics” in restricting the numbers who can subscribe.
He is reported as saying “We don’t believe everyone is abandoning unmetered, they are just waiting for Friaco.” Friaco will mean that ISPs stop having to pay BT per minute for telephone calls. Originally, Friaco was promised at the beginning of July – but there were delays by BT, causing anger among a number of ISPs.
Gregory wants the government to give the telecoms watchdog Oftel “more teeth” in order to accelerate the roll-out of Friaco.