A SWEDISH internet start-up is ready to leapfrog big communications groups such as BT by becoming the first company in Britain to launch a “next- generation” broadband service.

The business, Be, is to launch Britain’s first super-fast broadband product next month. The service, which other companies are only trialling, is three times the speed of current broadband products and 480 times faster than traditional dial-up services.

Experts say that the new generation of broadband — which is set to gain regulatory approval within weeks — will allow not only superfast surfing of the internet but also much quicker, smoother downloading of music, television programmes and films.

In Japan an equivalent service known as VDSL is already the broadband norm.

However, while broadband speeds are increasing rapidly, the fastest product available in Britain is an 8 megabit-per-second service offered by Bulldog, the Cable & Wireless subsidiary, and UK Online. BT, which has put broadband at the centre of its strategy for growth, offers only a 2 megabit- per-second service, although soon it is to trial an 8 megabit-per-second product.

Because of the investment required, it is expected that the next-generation product, known technically as ADSL2+, will not become the standard in Britain for at least a couple of years.

Blair Wadman, broadband product manager for USwitch, the independent analysis and comparison service, says that it could revolutionise the British market. “The speed of the service will take the consumer experience of broadband to another level,” he said.

With broadband set to be the centre of technology in the home, a huge “landgrab” is going on for customers. Britain already has seven or eight significant broadband providers — including BT, NTL and AOL — as well as many smaller players, and all are competing aggressively on both speed and pricing to win custom.

As prices have fallen, growth in broadband has picked up rapidly. Eight million British people have the high-speed, “always-on” internet access and data from Ofcom indicates that more people are now using broadband than narrowband, dial-up services. Although Be’s product is likely to be more expensive than standard broadband products, experts say that it may prove successful by distinguishing itself by its quality.

Boris Ivanovic, Be’s co- founder, already has begun a 26 megabit-per-second service in Sweden through a Swedish fledgeling ISP, Bostream. He sold that business last year.

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