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British Internet firm to offer free Net for ever for 50 pounds

LONDON: A British Internet service provider (ISP) said on Sunday it would offer online access for free forever for a one-off charge of 50 pounds ($80).

"A one-off 50 pound charge will provide users with a lifetime registration, which, unlike recently announced offers from other UK ISPs, will be free of 'catches'," said Breathe, whose partners include retailer Toys R Us and Kiss FM radio.

"No monthly subscription charge, no Internet telephone charge, no linked service requirement, and nothing else to pay for access to the most exciting content on the Internet -- for life." Shares in Freeserve Plc , Britain's leading ISP, which grabbed a third of the market by scrapping monthly subscription charges 19 months ago, lost ground last week amid fears that new rivals offering low-cost phone calls to the Net would damage it.

These included cable operator NTL Inc whose users will have to take its TV services or use it for a minimum amount of voice calls a month -- and U.S. search engine AltaVista, which said its service will start late this year.

Callnet0800 already offers free Net access but only for people using it for all their phone calls.

Registration for Breathe.net -- which says it will move quickly into the wireless Internet -- begins now and the service will begin on April 3.

It said it was braced for possible huge demand.

Breathe was founded in 1998 out of Martin Dawes Telecommunications and last month won 20 million pounds in backing from a syndicate of venture capitalists led by Chase Capital Partners, 3I III.L and US Flatiron Partners.

"Breathe's mobile internet strategy for new revenue-generating services and applications will ensure that we stay one step ahead of increasing competition from mobile telecoms operators and independent startups alike, regardless of what we anticipate will be multiple announcements in this space," said Sean Gardner, chief operating officer.

"We invested in Breathe because we are confident that we are backing the future leading Mobile Internet provider in Europe," Chase Capital Partners' John Arney said.-Reuters