Bermuda CableVision yesterday announced the launch of a new high-speed internet service which will cost residential customers $35 a month, on top of what they pay their internet service provider (ISP).

Logic, Transact and Northrock have teamed up with CableVision to offer the new service to their customers and a deal with Fort Knox is expected to be announced soon.

CableVision general manager Terry Roberson described Broadband Link as “the first truly affordable broadband service on offer to the general public”.

Customers will enjoy internets speeds of up to two megabytes per second which, as a demonstration at CableVision’s Laffan Street headquarters yesterday illustrated, is impressively quick.

The speed the customer gets will depend on the package purchased from the ISP. The service will utilise CableVision’s island-wide, fibre-optic cable network, which differentiates it from DSL broadband services, which use telephone lines.

Although licensing restrictions mean CableVision cannot offer the broadband service directly to its customers now and therefore has to go through ISPs, that could change if the Government goes through with its proposed reforms of the telecommunications industry.

Their plans involve the dismantling of the current licensing system, allowing companies to offer a suite of services instead of being restricted to any one area, such as internet or television, for example.

But Mr. Roberson said the company had been working on Broadband Link for two years — well before the reforms were mooted.

“In the future we would certainly enjoy the idea that we could become an internet service provider,” Mr. Roberson said. “But now we are looking forward to working with our new partners to make this service available to our customers.”

Existing CableVision customers will pay a $50 installation fee for the service, while non-CableVision cutomers will pay $100. The system also requires a modem, supplied by CableVision at a cost of $55.

The service is first being offered in the eastern parishes of St. George’s, St. David’s and Hamilton Parish. From there, the service will be rolled progressively westward across the Island.

“We expect the service to be popular and want to ensure the best possible customer experience,” Mr. Roberson said. “Although we prefer not to make a specific time commitment, we would like to make the service available at a rate of one parish per month.

“Using our existing fibre-optic network to deliver broadband service allows us to pass on the savings we incur by offering combined cable and internet connection service to the same address.

“As we expand the services we offer over time we will continue to pass savings along to our customers.”

Customers can order the service through CableVision or its ISP partners. Installation times will average between one and three business days from the time of order, CableVision said.