The perception that broadband services are too expensive to inspire mass adoption is supported by a new study from Reed Electronics Research.
Following analysis of fourteen European countries, it was found that the ‘trigger’ price necessary to encourage widespread take-up of broadband was E39 or £25 per month. As a point of reference, BT’s standard package currently costs £27 per month. However, the UK telecoms regulator Oftel has already ordered the company to reduce its wholesale broadband prices in order to stimulate competition.
New figures from Parks Associates show that by the end of 2002, there were 7.8 million broadband customers in Western Europe, up from 4.4 million in December 2001. The UK was initially slow to join the high-speed revolution but prices now compare favourably with other countries (see UK Gaining Ground In Broadband Arena) and according to Oftel, more than a million homes now have a broadband internet connection (see UK Hits One Million Broadband Homes).
