ntl plans wholesale broadband

ntl:home is reportedly planning to offer a wholesale broadband service, which would see it allowing rival Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to offer high-speed cable modem services over the ntl infrastructure.

The troubled cable giant's chief operating officer, Stephen Carter told FT.com:

"It is definitely something we are looking at. I would not rule out our participating in the wholesale market in 2002."

It is thought that the wholesale price would be in the region of £15 to £20 per month, set lower because ntl would be avoiding higher costs attracting more of its own customers. This announcement comes just days after jobs were cut in ntl's marketing department; the company has already announced a strategy of focusing on upselling more expensive services to existing customers rather than attracting new ones.

While all this may sound good in theory, it is unclear precisely how the ISPs would offer services in tandem to ntl's. Issues over customer support and broadband installation are reportedly putting potential customers such as AOL and Freeserve off. There is also another factor to be considered; only in "original" ntl:home franchises is a standalone cable modem used for broadband access. In former Cable and Wireless ConsumerCo franchises, broadband access is enabled via the ntl:home digital set-top-box meaning that subscription to broadband requires a digital TV subscription too in these areas.

It is, at least at this stage, looking increasingly likely that big ISPs will want to concentrate on their DSL services, and steer clear of supporting another method of broadband delivery. ntl:home desperately needs to reduce its costs though, and having other service providers doing the marketing, promotion and customer support for their broadband service offerings is certainly one way of achieving that aim.