By Jo Best, 18 January 2007 16:20
NEWS
With the majority of the UK now on broadband, the cost of a fat pipe connection has fallen to below that of its narrowband equivalent.
According to price comparison website SimplySwitch.com, unlimited dial-up packages have become more expensive than the same packages on broadband for the first time as narrowband is being "priced out of the market".
The comparison site also found that making the switch can even pay off for light users - the study suggests that people spending over two hours online a week will save money by switching from a pay-as-you-go dial-up package to a broadband subscription.
Broadband price-drops are thought to have been inspired by the recent crop of free broadband offers from the likes of Carphone Warehouse. Recent research found levels of customer service are often poorest for lower priced offerings.
Three-quarters of internet connections in the UK are now broadband, according to the Office of National Statistics.
Comments
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1. Robert Booth
We have had this argument with BT for the last two years. They charge us more for a 28\32k dial up connection than the neighbouring village who can receive broadband. Based on our bandwidth we should be paying pennies not pounds.
2. Chris Anderson
Do people really believe this rubbish?
Carphone warehouses "Free" broadband costs between £10 and £30 per month unless you make large numbers of voice calls. Oranges is just as bad... I have just been forced by BT to switch from an ISDN to ADSL and this will cost me at least £10 a month more, for a service which doesn't even guarantee equivalent upload/download speeds
3. dave livsey
typical of BT our exchange was enabled and we asked our isp to connect us to broadband which we got but only half meg.
Other people in the village have requested but are told by BT that it is not available and will have to rely on dial up, distance being quoted as the reason.
More money for BT?
4. James Button
Reminds me of the story that appeared in the national press a while ago about a fellow who was unhappy with the throughput and reliability of his BT dial-up connection, that they said was as good as possible.
He contracted for a 'leased line'.
A week later his dial-up improved an enormous amount.
Preparing for the 'leased line' connection at the exchange, BT had stopped using the same line for his neighbours as a disguised party line.
He cancelled the leased line contract
and just kept the improved connection!
5. anonymous
Which once again seems to prove that the communications sector is the most scam infested area. Alternaively it might have been a local so called manager trying to show some questionable & misguided initiative. I trust that he or she is back sweeping floors at the local BT exchange, althiugh some if the other outfits are far worse than BT.