An Oftel benchmarking study shows that UK residential consumers get a good deal on the price of their Internet services, compared to consumers in other European countries and the US.

The study, published in December 2001, compares UK prices for dial-up Internet (both metered and unmetered) and for broadband (DSL and cable modem) with those in France, Germany, Sweden and the US.

The results show that UK residential consumers are getting a good deal:

• for basic Internet services, UK prices compare favourably with prices in Europe for both metered and unmetered use (the latter isn't widely available in Europe), while prices in the US are up to 10% cheaper; and
• for broadband services, UK prices are generally cheaper than elsewhere (only in Sweden are prices lower), although prices for DSL (as opposed to cable modem) in the UK are higher than elsewhere.

The results for UK business consumers are mixed. Business consumers:

• get a good deal on unmetered dial-up access (which is not generally available in Europe), but pay more for metered access than consumers elsewhere; and
• pay on average about the same for broadband services as consumers elsewhere, though the range of products available is greater in Germany and the US.

For further information on Oftel's benchmarking reports contact Sarah Evans (tel: 020 7634 5320 / e-mail: sarah.evans@oftel.gov.uk).