As BT take another step toward unmetered Internet access with its new Surftime package, digital media manager HOWARD DAVIS looks at what the future may hold for Net access.

ET phone home, and soon - ET has unmetered Internet access.

Despite the obvious cost of utilising one of Hollywood's most famous and recognisable stars, ET has managed to revive the beleaguered face of British Telecom.

Nevertheless, BT has an obvious advantage over its competition, not only through its position within the phone and Internet market, but also through the fact that it owns the network that rivals must use to provide their service.

On Monday OfTEL ordered BT to change its way of charging the competition for using its networks. In February of next year BT will have to stop billing the competition on a pence-per-minute rate if they wish to offer unmetered Internet access.

Restrictions imposed on BT to ensure that it does not create a monopoly are being circumvented through initiatives such as Friends and Family and the new Surftime package - which allows unmetered weekend and evening Internet usage for a flat fee of £5. In this way BT can offer better services than its rivals without actually lowering its prices to a point where the competition would not be able to keep up.

This means that the entire Surftime package really is an attempt by BT to cement its position in the market before that position is put into jeopardy next year.

In a similar move, AOL has now made its £15 a month unmetered access available to all (it was initially only available to existing customers).

But the impact that this will obviously have on the networks also needs to be monitored. At the moment, Internet traffic on the BT network is doubling every ten months. OfTEL has warned that BT will have to invest in the network to cope with extra traffic that would obviously come with unmetered access. Some parts of the country may well reach capacity next year as it is. A restriction on the traffic that BT must carry has been imposed, but this is expected to be removed at the beginning of 2002.

Add to this the promise that the Chancellor, Gordon Brown, made on Wednesday of £10 million to ensure the poorest communities and households will be able to access the Internet. As I emphasised earlier this year, the divide between rich and poor households is incredibly prevalent on the Internet, and as we race toward a digital future, only one in 20 poor households have access to the Internet.

In line with the Prime Minister's pledge that everyone will have Internet access by 2005, this new initiative will provide 35,000 PCs to households that do not already have one, along with cheap phone connections, and public-private ventures will create Community Webs to provide training and job advice.

What all this really means for the consumer is that everything is gearing up toward unmetered Internet access, but, surprisingly for the Internet, the procedure is being implemented slowly. This should ensure that the service received by the customer is not below par, as if often the case with so many much-vaunted Internet initiatives.

With OfTEL's close scrutiny of BT, the introduction of high-speed internet connection, such as ADSL (asymmetric digital subscriber line), should ensure that all Internet users receive the same high quality service. But for the moment, shopping around would appear the best way to get the cheapest and most effective service.

While BT Surftime is a pleasing proposition at the moment, come February, rival companies may well offer even more cost-effective packages.