Free ISP targets SMEs with high-speed links

The UK's latest free Internet access service - Freewire - launched this week, and is among the first to target small firms with high-speed Net services.

The Brighton-based company is targeting existing Web users with free online registration, and in addition to supporting the 56Kbps V.90 modem standard, is offering up to 512K download speeds via ISDN - assuming customers use multiple lines.

Steve Donnelly, one of the founders of Freewire, told Silicon.com that speed will tempt Net users away from other Internet Service Providers (ISPs). "In general, free ISPs generate revenue by keeping you on the phone for as long as possible, so it's in their best interest to keep your download speed to a particular rate," he said. "Freewire is different. We offer the highest possible download speed and even allow users to combine ISDN channels together to create very high speed links."

Donnelly admitted the strategy would mean less revenue for Freewire in the short term, but said the flip side would be that the company will be able to build up a larger subscriber base.

Daniel Bieler, analyst at Ovum, said: "The UK market has changed rapidly over the past six months and high-speed services make up the last market niche left for free ISPs. The Freewire service actually looks ideal for a lot of SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises), with the emphasis more on the small companies than the medium-sized ones."

Like other free providers, Freewire has chosen some experienced partners. MCI WorldCom will be lending its telco expertise, while Mistral - a London Internet Exchange member, with a facility at Telehouse Europe in London's Docklands - is the ISP backing the venture.

To take advantage of the high-speed version of Freewire, users must download the Freewire dialer http://www.freewire.net/dialer.htm for their ISDN adapter.