Communications and Technology Industry Research

Unable to select the right broadband package, more than half of the users in UK are spending approximately £132 million a month on unnecessary packages, according to a survey conducted by BroadbandChoices.co.uk, a broadband comparison service.

 

BroadbandChoices.co.uk asked 2,000 users about their broadband package limits and actual usage data, and found that unnecessary spending was mainly due to the fear of penalties for exceeding download limits. Fifty-one percent of the respondents said they were under-using the monthly download limits, which they paid for. This means about 6.63 million broadband users in the UK could be overpaying for their connections.  

 

BroadbandChoices said that all these users could cut their broadband bills by up to £10 per month. Respondents used BroadbandChoices’ download monitor, which tracks downloads and alerts users as they got near their limit.

 

Worry about getting unexpected bills for unknowingly exceeding the usage limit was one of the reasons many users cited for overpaying. Other reasons included: preference to adhere to fair usage policy and fear that the ISP provider would restrict the download speed after crossing the usage limit.

 

A "fair usage policy" imposes certain limits on a user's downloading of data, music, movies and photos etc, even for an unlimited package.   

 

BroadbandChoices user Russell Fear saved money after using the Download Monitor.

 

“I was using completely the wrong broadband package,” Fear said in a statement. “I was on an unlimited download package as I do use the Internet a lot and I figured that if I went for a standard package I would forever be charged for breeching my limit.”

 

Fear continued: “I used BroadbandChoices.co.uk's Download Monitor and it turned out I was only using around 8GB per month - way less then I was expecting. I then went away and sourced a package that is not only £14.99 per month and has a 8GB limit, but that allows free downloading at off peak times. So not only has this saved me money, but it has driven me to find a much superior product.”

 

Michael Phillips, product director of BroadbandChoices.co.uk, said: “It's human nature to fear the unknown and as broadband users we don't feel in control. It appears we would rather spend too much on a package we don't need than risk the wrath of our service provider if we should use too much capacity.”

 

Phillips added: “ISPs should abandon marketing language such as 'unlimited', as it misleads and confuses such users that don't understand what a download limit is. However, this is also a case of 'buyers beware' and broadband users should also seize the initiative and find out the amount of data they are actually using on a monthly basis to check that they aren't overpaying for a package that they don't need.”

 

Phillips concluded: “While it may feel that every man and his dog is downloading films, using MySpace and watching TV online, many of us have very simple online habits, such as a bit of online shopping and banking. These individuals could save over £100 a year by switching to the right package.”

 

There are 13 million broadband connections in the UK, which spend about £250million a month, according to BroadbandChoices.

 

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