Bulldog fills gap with high-speed SDSL
Broadband service provider seeks resellers for 4Mbps SDSL service
Broadband service provider Bulldog Communications has switched on its 4Mbps Symmetric Digital Subscriber Line (SDSL) service in a number of UK cities.
It is available in London, Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Sheffield, Birmingham, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Stirling, through Bulldog's local loop unbundled network, and about 200 resellers and wholesalers.
Prices start from £100.41 per month, with a £495 connection fee for a 5:1 contention ratio and speeds of up to 4Mbps. Competitors BT, EasyNet and Star Internet offer 2Mbps SDSL.
Gavin Young, chief technology officer at Bulldog, said: "Higher bandwidth [is key]. There is a gap in the market between 2Mbps and 10Mbps fibre."
Young added that 4Mbps SDSL could be sold to firms looking to deploy multi-site virtual private networks (VPNs), or would suit offices with multiple users outgrowing a 2Mbps connection.
Bulldog's resellers typically add maintenance, integration and support services and set their own margins. They can also secure VPNs and web hosting.
"We're looking for new resellers, particularly those that see broadband as key to their customers' business," Young said.
Michael Philpott, broadband analyst at researcher Ovum, said Bulldog's higher SDSL speed of 4Mbps will be attractive to larger firms and government organisations.
He added that Bulldog has a more flexible service than BT, because it offers a range of contention rates, down to 1:1.
In Norway, SDSL has reached 9.6Mbps by bonding pairs of SDSL lines, and the UK is likely to follow, Philpott said.
Young said: "There's also growing interest in bonded Asymmetric DSL where SDSL isn't available."