A new Internet service from Telinco called “strayduck” plans to lure UK users with a new award program — toll-free and free ISP Internet access.
It works like this: strayduck will award users some free time during the third week of use, based on the length of time they have spent online in the first and second week of the month. For example, if a user spends 10 hours online in the first week and eight hours in the second, he or she will be awarded nine hours unmetered access over the third.
One of strayduck’s other features — Quacky Mail — offers users telephone
access to email while they are away from their PCs.
“The Internet provides more information than could be fitted into all the
world’s libraries, lets you discover shops you could never possibly see
on foot and contains enough entertainment sites to keep you busy for a
lifetime,” said Simon Preston, marketing director of Telinco, with a
touch of exaggeration.
“With such a wide choice available, everyone needs a way of cutting
through the vast quantities of irrelevant information to quickly and
simply arrive at the items of interest to you – this is what strayduck
is about.”
Telinco may find its choice of name embarrassing. After this week’s
announcement of CallNet 800,
a round-the-clock 0800 free Internet access service in the UK, the
lesser offering may not prove to have the same appeal.
Nonetheless, any steps towards unmetered Internet access in the UK
will be welcomed by the public at large. The general consensus of
experts is that telephone costs are the single biggest factor holding
up Internet development in the UK.