THERE are few things more annoying in internet life than waiting ages for images to appear, or a file to download, when you are paying the phone bill for your net access.

Staring at a half-empty screen, thinking of the cash it's costing you could be a thing of the past with a new service being offered by BT.

BTopenworld promises unlimited, high-speed internet access for £39.99 a month.

It is based on ADSL -- asymmetric digital subscriber line -- technology. In short, that means a way of fixing a box to either end of your phone line (one in your home, one in your local exchange) which turns your old-fashioned telephone line into a fat pipe for downloading digital data.

It has long been touted as the best way to get the vast majority of people online with a fast connection, because it makes use of a network which is already in place -- our telephone system.

BT's net boffins are aiming to become UK leaders in the market, although competition will no doubt appear shortly, and hopefully bring the price down. Ben Andradi, chief operating officer of BTopenworld, said: "The advent of broadband and mobile is creating a second internet wave.

"It is altogether faster, more cost-effective and compelling. Research shows that a broadband customer will stay on-line four times as long as a narrowband customer and spend nearly three times as much on e-commerce."

BTopenworld promises that customers will be able to download information at between 10 and 20 times the speed of a conventional modem.

Customers will also be offered exclusive material designed especially to take advantage of the technology.

If you use the net a lot, it is certainly a development worth considering. Money aside, it would be nice not to have to go through the sometimes lengthy logging on process every time you wanted to check your e-mail.

BT say more than 35,000 people have already registered interest in the service, but we will have to wait to see how many actually sign up.

http://www.btopenworld.com