<p>PRESS RELEASE</p><p>“Stop the Internet Rip Off” Say Charities</p><p>A leading IT charity today launched a petition calling on Oftel to reduce the cost of net access, helping voluntary and community groups to undermine the “digital divide” affecting them and their service users.</p><p>Voluntary and community groups need low-cost “unmetered access” to make effective use of the internet on their limited budgets. In February, telecoms regulator Oftel ordered BT to make such a package available wholesale to ISPs – the companies who provide organisations with net access.</p><p>However, Oftel accepted BT’s argument that low-cost, unmetered access cannot be fully implemented before February 2003, because BT’s network does not currently have enough capacity. Lasa’s petition calls on Oftel to instruct BT to make the package fully available by the end of 2001.</p><p>Colin Wilson, editor of Lasa’s magazine Computanews, commented:</p><p>“It’s hard to take BT’s argument seriously. Their profits in the nine months to December 2000 were £1.6 billion after tax. It’s difficult to see that they can’t spend the cash to get the required work done now.</p><p>After all, every US phone company offers unmetered access – because local phone calls are free – and they haven’t all collapsed.”</p><p>Margie Butler, Lasa’s Director, added:</p><p>“The next few years will mean major IT costs for many voluntary and community groups. Many agencies need to connect the internet, so they can access information to help their users.</p><p>Voluntary and community groups haven’t got spare cash to pay over the odds for net access for the next two years.</p><p>Oftel’s decision will make it harder for organisations to provide net access to their clients – often people on low incomes or from ethnic minorities. The decision therefore reinforces the “digital divide” – the exclusion of such people from the internet. This flies in the face of the government’s intention to widen net access.”</p><p>Lasa’s petition is available on our website at www.lasa.org.uk/petition.shtml </p><p> continues Note to Editors: Lasa – London Advice Services Alliance – provides services to support the work of advice agencies, and the voluntary and community sector in general. Lasa produces the bimonthly magazine Computanews and provides a telephone helpline, training, consultancy and project management services, as well as developing software for advice centres.</p><p>Contact: Colin Wilson, Editor, Lasa Computanews Office: 020 7377 1226</p>