Royal Mail offers broadband

The Post Office, a subsidiary of the state-owned Royal Mail, will begin selling ADSL broadband connections at the end of the month through a deal with British Telecom’s wholesale arm.

A connection running at up to 8 megabits per second and subject to “fair usage” limits will cost GBP 15.95 a month, or GBP 25.95 a month when bundled with a phone line and 60 minutes off-peak calling a month.

The Post Office began selling home phone lines two years ago and has signed up 400,000 customers.

Delivery has been outsourcing to BT Wholesale, but staff at Britain’s 14,000 post office’s will help sell the broadband service to customers.

Market researcher Ovum says the Post Office’s offering is straightforward and attractive and it will be hoping to capitalise on its “trusted brand”, but success will hinge on the performance and consistency of the service and customer support.

Ovum says these have been getting plenty of attention in Britain, where some customers have been jaded by their experiences with “free broadband” packages from the Carphone Warehouse and others.

The Post Office is looking for new revenue streams now the Government is paying most social security and pension payments directly into people’s bank accounts and a GBP 150 million rural subsidy is in doubt.