Price Packages for Unlimited Internet Access

British Telecommunications PLC
7 December 1999

               BT ANNOUNCES PRICE PACKAGES
                            
              FOR UNLIMITED INTERNET ACCESS
                            
BT is set to cut the cost of dial-up calls to the

Internet with the introduction of BT SurfTime - the widest choice 

of retail pricing options for unlimited Internet access.

BT SurfTime will apply both to consumers and small

businesses in the UK.

     In a significant breakthrough, BT SurfTime will

change radically the way Internet access is charged,

encouraging more people to get on-line. It will also

provide a further boost to businesses looking to take

advantage of e-commerce.

     BT SurfTime, subject to satisfactory agreement

with Oftel, will be available from Spring next year - and

will consist of a range of unlimited usage packages for a

single monthly fee. They will be aimed at both heavy and

infrequent users of the Internet.

     Customers of Internet Service Providers (ISPs)

offering subscription-based and/or 'pay-as-you-go' free

access services will be able to choose the pricing

package that best suits their surfing needs. Designed to

expand the market overall - now growing at more than 100

per cent a year - the BT SurfTime options will be:

*    Weekend Internet option - a £6.99 per month charge
     for unlimited access at the weekend plus any
     applicable ISP subscription charge. On weekdays,
     customers will be charged at only one penny per
     minute evening and night-time and two pence per
     minute during the day.
     
*    Evening and night-time Internet option - a £6.99 per
     month charge for unlimited access during the evening
     and night-time, Monday to Friday, plus any
     applicable ISP subscription charge. At weekends,
     customers will be charged at only one penny per
     minute and two pence per minute on weekdays.
     
*    Daytime Internet option - a £26.99 per month charge
     for unlimited access during the day, Monday to
     Friday, plus any applicable ISP subscription charge.
     Outside this period customers will be charged at
     only one penny per minute.
     
*    Anytime Internet option - a £34.99 per month charge
     for unlimited access at anytime, day, evening and
     night-time, and weekends, plus any applicable ISP
     subscription charge.
     
*    'pay-as-you-go' Internet option - Internet calls
     charge at one penny per minute evening, night-time
     and weekend as well as two pence per minute during
     the day, plus any applicable ISP subscription
     charge.

     In addition, ISPs charging a monthly fee can bill BT

customers through their BT account. This will be of

particular benefit to new and existing ISPs, which do not

have the resource to create and run their own billing

systems.

     Bill Cockburn, group managing director of BT UK,

said: 'This is the most significant development for the

Internet in the UK. It has been made possible through a

major new network investment in addition to the hundreds

of millions of pounds we have already invested.

     'It is the first time we have been able to tailor

packages and we believe it is a huge step towards

Internet for everyone while at the same time not

disadvantaging those that use the telephone in the

traditional way.

     'Customers can be in full control of how much they

spend on-line and use whichever ISP they prefer. Existing

users can save money, and new customers should no longer

feel inhibited from using the Internet for reasons of

cost.'

     BT SurfTime will also be available to customers on Home Highway

and ISDN lines. Full names of the options will be announced at launch.

     All prices include VAT.

Note to Editors
     BT has advised Oftel of these options and will seek
its agreement for a new number range to support them. BT
has agreed with Oftel that it will offer interconnection
products to enable other operators to provide similar
services. BT will also seek similar co-operation from
other licensed operators and Internet Service Providers
(ISPs). An industry forum chaired by Oftel is being set
up to work through the interconnection arrangements.
     The Internet pricing options follow the company's
recent announcement of a new service provider tariff and
deployment of extra Internet Protocol (IP) dial ports as
well as its massive expansion plan for its IP backbone
network. They will be subject to availability.