Home  |  About Us  |  Press Room  |  2000  |  Demon ADSL Trials Generate Huge Interest

Press release

Demon Internet, part of Thus plc, has received an impressive response to its offer of participation in its expanded ADSL trials. A total of 3,500 customers have responded to the offer since Demon's request via its website and newsgroup in December. This is well over the 500 places being offered.

The trials form part of BT's current series of ADSL trials which are taking place in 13 towns and cites throughout the UK and offer an IPStream option for home users or a Datastream option for business users. Applicants will be chosen depending upon BT's necessary conditions for the trial, such as distance from the telephone exchange and quality of line and by geographical region. A decision on which customers will be accepted on the trial is expected by the end of next week.

Commenting on today's announcement, Bill Allan, Thus Chief Executive, said:

" Thus is platform neutral - we don't mind how our customers access our services and applications but Thus intends to be at the forefront of data and Internet protocol technologies with a comprehensive choice of access services. ADSL is one of the most exciting of the next generation of access technologies and is clearly in demand. Subject to successful completion of the trials we believe that full commercial services can be launched in the first half of this year. "

The trial will be offered at 2Mbits/s downstream (i.e. to the customer), and 256Kbits/s upstream (i.e. from the customer). Starting in late January, the trials are expected to go on until sometime in March with a minimum eight week trial period at the end of which BT will launch a "live" service. Trialists are being offered the special service for a price of £35 per month plus VAT and upon completion of the trial, Demon will offer participants three months service free of charge.

For further information about the trials visit the Demon website at www.demon.net/adsl/.

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Notes to Editors:

Thus plc, one of the UK's leading data & Internet solutions providers, focuses on the delivery of high quality communication solutions to meet the requirements of business customers. This focus has proved to be so successful that Thus has been rated most highly overall for the quality of its products and services in the 1999 Telecom Manager Association (TMA) reports.

Thus, which is a leading Internet Service Provider principally under the "Demon" brand, throughout the UK and the Netherlands, is the UK's largest web host and was rated as the second best ISP on the planet, in the December issue of Internet Magazine. Thus also provides a number of interactive services, such as premium rate services providing sports, weather, financial and other information as well as competitions and games.

Thus offers a wide range of data and telecommunication services primarily to the UK business sector including direct and indirect switched, freephone and other number translation services. The company also provided non-switched services, such as capacity, leased line and managed data services.

Thus is a leading provider of call centre services in the UK delivering a comprehensive range of call centre services for a number of blue chip business customers. These services include providing call centres on a fully outsourced basis, telemarketing services, call centre integration, fulfillment, consulting services and disaster recovery services.

On 4th October, Thus changed name from ScottishTelecom as part of the company's aim to become one of the UK's leading Internet and data solutions providers. In November 1999, ScottishPower floated 49.9% of Thus on the London Stock Exchange, valuing Thus plc at £2.2bn.

Thus has sites across the UK and in the Netherlands.