Breathe, the UK-based ISP, has announced the withdrawal of its
‘breathe freely’ unmetered service which launched in April because
the business model is no longer viable. The service offered a life
time of unmetered internet access for a one-off payment of £50. It
will cost the company £2.5 million to reimburse all 50,000
subscribers, although the company has not yet said whether it will
do so.
Breathe is following Line One and Alta Vista in withdrawing
unmetered internet access packages. In a statement on the Breathe
web site to explain why the ‘breathe freely’ service closed on 10th
December, the company says:
“breathe has today announced that it is to
close its breathe freely unmetered access service with effect from
10th December, 2000 as the business model is no longer viable.
“Developments in the wider unmetered access
market indicate that the only sustainable model for such services
is based around FRIACO ('Flat Rate Internet Access and Call
Origination'). This imposes a regular monthly subscription fee on
the ISP who, in turn, has to pass on this cost to end users. This
has resulted in a general market-wide correction of unmetered
tariff offers now that the economics of such services have become
clearer.”
A spokesman for Breathe told OUT-LAW.COM that the company will
neither deny nor confirm at this stage whether it will reimburse
subscribers for their £50 subscription fees, although he
acknowledged that there could be legal implications if the company
refuses to do so.
