Freeserve to be renamed Wanadoo

Freeserve, the internet service provider that gave millions of British consumers their first taste of the web, is to be renamed Wanadoo.

The name-change has been expected for the past two years as its French parent, Wanadoo, a unit of France Telecom, has sought to put all of its ISP businesses across Europe under a single brand.

Wanadoo, Europe’s second-biggest ISP with nine-million customers, mostly in France, Britain and Spain, said the change would help integrate the two companies and position Freeserve to become a leader in high-speed web access.