ntl is to make 10Mb its standard broadband access speed at no extra cost to its customers.

Ntl's announcement illustrates how internet service providers are moving away from price to speed now over 50 per cent of the UK has a broadband service according to Ofcom's latest statistics. Higher speeds pave the way for the delivery of better online content such as video and TV.

The first people to have their service upgraded will be ntl's current 3Mb Broadband customers. The ISP said all these customers will have been upgraded by the end of this year and their usage allowance increased from 30GB to 75GB per month.

Customers on ntl 1 Mb and 2 Mb connections will be upgraded by the end of 2006 said the ISP.

However, while the 'up to 10 Mb' speed from ntl will be across the board and pricing dependent on usage allowance, the ISPl is also to offer services for customers who don't want a usage cap. ntl said packages for these people will give them this freedom but speeds would probably lower than the standard 10 Mb.

To help customers gauge the type of service best suited to them, ntl will provide tools to allow them to track their usage. This will allow customers move to a different package if required.

Although it will take around 18 months to upgrade all its customers to the 10Mb services, for people who want a taste of the higher speeds, ntl is also set to commence a commercial pilot of its flexible bandwidth technology. This new service being launched initially in Guildford uses a 'Turbo Button' to allow customers to boost their speed. This will make tasks, such as downloading a video, quicker and easier and give them an idea of what the new higher speed services will be like.

While ntl said there were no plans to change monthly prices, some customers will need to upgrade their modem. Further details will be announced at the launch.

“Our broadband services will become amongst the most innovative in the world and certainly well ahead of anything else in the UK,” said Simon Duffy, Chief Executive Officer of ntl. “This is a major step towards delivering Britain's digital future.”