Eircom is introducing a new entry-level broadband product at a promotional price of €19.99 per month to try to encourage people to switch from dial-up internet to the new high-speed technology.
The firm, which has reported a slowdown in the uptake of broadband, is making the product available for a maximum of 20 hours per month at the cheaper price.
The current standard price for Eircom's entry-level broadband product is €39.99. However, this offers consumers an unlimited amount of time on the web.
The new broadband product is capped at 20 hours of use, with additional charges of 4 cents per minute for any further use of the broadband connection. The speed of the new product, which is one megabyte per second, is pitched at half the speed of Eircom's current broadband product, istream.
The new Eircom entry-level product will be available at a promotional price of €19.99 for subscribers who sign up in the next three months. After this date it will cost €24.99 per month, said Eircom's commercial director, David McRedmond.
"This product is designed to attract people who are not heavy users of the internet to broadband," he said.
The introduction of the new broadband product comes as the firm reported a dip in subscriber numbers switching to broadband. But the firm says it is sticking by a commitment to connect 500,000 people to broadband by 2008.
Meanwhile, the Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg) has been told the European Commission that it cannot regulate Eircom for the fees that it charges other operators for premium-rate numbers - high-cost numbers used to provide information and entertainment services.
In a document published by ComReg yesterday, the regulator says it is withdrawing its proposal to impose regulatory obligations on Eircom for this segment of the market, which is worth €25 million every year.
