Be's lead on speed may not be enough to overtake UK rivals

摘要

Be Un Limited might have been the first ISP to launch a super-fast 24Mbps ADSL2+ service in the UK, but the company's network-rollout, VoIP and IPTV plans have progressed slower than expected. In the meantime, rivals Bulldog and Easynet have launched their own ADSL2+ services on the back of aggressive unbundling strategies, while UK incumbent BT and France Telecom's Wanadoo are set to bolster their positions by adding IPTV to their broadband offerings later this year. Be says it is likely to launch VoIP in the second half of 2006 and could launch IPTV at the start of next year, but some analysts say the ISP needs to first build a critical mass of subscribers to upsell the value-added services to. Be, however, says its low-cost business model will enable it to break even with a relatively low number of subscribers to just broadband internet access. Significantly, the company's director and co-founder, Boris Ivanovic, transformed the fortunes of Swedish broadband company Bostream via a similar strategy (see "Be Unlimited" box).