Esat Telecom has announced that it will offer free Internet access to home users in line with recent similar announcements by Irish Internet service providers Indigo and Ocean and the computer manufacturer, Gateway.

Esat Clear, the home phone and Internet arm of Esat Telecommunications, says its three new services will be available from the start of September.

The free service, called Surf Free, will allow Internet users and existing Esat Clear customers subscription-free access to the Internet. Customers will pay for the cost of a local call through their home phone providers for the time they are online.

As with Oceanfree.net there will be a premium charge for technical support through a 1550 number. However, calls to the Surf Free service will be billed at 58p per minute, compared with £1 per minute through Oceanfree.

Esat Clear also announced details of an unlimited access service which is expected to appeal to heavy users of the Internet in the home. Costing £17 per month, Surf NoLimits entitles users to unlimited Internet access during off-peak hours. During peak times, they will be billed at normal peak rates through their phone bills.

Esat Clear also announced plans to introduce a service offering users a high specification personal computer and Internet access for a monthly fee. It said it could not reveal the computer manufacturer providing the hardware, nor the actual price of the service, but Surf PC would be available later this year.

Under the scheme, users will be able to purchase their personal computers in monthly instalments over a set period, or they may opt to simply lease the hardware - availing of upgrades to the latest technology - for an indefinite period. Esat Clear says this is the first time such a service has been introduced in Europe.

Ms Gaffney said Esat Clear had captured 10 per cent of the residential Internet market since it launched eight months ago.