broadband news

UK using broadband more and paying less

People in the UK are using broadband and other communication services more than ever before - and paying less to do so, according to a new report by telecoms regulator Ofcom.

Over the past 12 months there has been an increase of 6% in the number of households signing up to broadband, fuelled by the stream of customers upgrading their dial-up connections. Mobile internet has seen a surge in popularity too, with around 2 million UK adults saying they had used a mobile modem to access the internet in March 2008.

Despite the increase in use, the report says that people are actually paying less for the service than ever before, with customers saving up to 5% on their bill compared with four years ago.

According to Ofcom there are three main reasons why people are saving money.

Bundled packages: recent figures show that broadband bundles are now cheaper than standalone broadband. The savings offered in buying multiple services from one provider has seen the number of households signing up to bundled broadband packages double.

Cheaper broadband: the average household spend on internet services continues to fall.

Bargain hunting: more people are using comparison sites like Compare Broadband UK to check for the best deals on broadband packages.

The report is bound to be welcomed by consumers. With the looming credit crunch, and the price of household essentials rising all the time (eg food prices are up 7%) it is nice to know that broadband needn't cost the Earth.

14/08/2008
Author: CompareBroadbandUK staff writer

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