European Consumers Get A Raw Deal On DSL, Says Report

The study centres on “first year cost”, namely the price of initial one-off equipment, installation and activation over the twelve month period added to monthly rental charges.

Japan has some of the cheapest DSL services, around $30 per month but prices are beginning to creep up in Korea where the broadband market is saturating. US prices have fallen significantly over the past year and both SBC and Verizon have moved up the rankings. However, European companies continue to charge in excess of $50 per month with BT ranked last among those operators studied. The UK telecoms regulator, Oftel recently called on the telecoms giant to drop the price of its unmetered internet access (see BT Urged To Cut Internet Fees).

“DSL costs less in Seoul or San Francisco than in Sheffield or Seville,” concluded the report. “Although it is likely that prices will gradually converge, as they have over the last three years, it won’t happen quickly enough for European consumers.

DSL remains a minority platform in most countries but the number of global subscribers almost doubled in 2002 and Point Topic estimates that 60 million lines could be installed by the end of this year (see DSL Subscriptions To Top 60 Million This Year).