New research shows 5 million Brits are paying over the odds for their broadband connection.
As a nation we’re able to access the internet faster than ever and, as a result of fierce competition in the broadband market, getting online has never been cheaper. However, many of us are still paying over the odds for this now almost essential service.
New research published by Uswitch.com has revealed that despite connection speeds increasing sixteen fold in the past 4 years, the cost of accessing the internet has dropped by over 36% with the average package now costing only £17 a month, a figure that’s down £10 from an average of £27 per month in 2004.
However, their research also suggested that 5 million households in the UK are still failing to take advantage of these savings by choosing to stay loyal to familiar packages and providers. Collectively these individuals are estimated to be missing out on their share of an extra £162million of savings a year.
Currently Plusnet are the ISP offering the cheapest standalone broadband package. Their ‘Option 1’ gets you a 8mbps connection, a download limit of 1Gb and a free router all for just £9.99 a month.
However, 2008 is set to be the year of the bundle with Sky, Orange, O2 and Virgin media all offering bargain broadband as part of a more encompassing communications package.
As the cost of running a household increases with mortgage and energy rates spiralling out of control it’s more important than ever to make sure you’re get the best deal possible on your home utilities.
If you’ve been with the same internet provider for a year or more it’s important to take a few minutes to shop around and compare the price and features of your current broadband package against the more competitive offerings on the market - potentially you could see big savings on the cost of getting online at home.
