Britain gets cheaper mobile and broadband deals than the rest of Europe, according to recent Ofcom research.
The watchdog found that when compared to French, German, Italian, Spanish and US consumers, those in the UK get consistently cheaper access to mobile phone, landline telephone and broadband deals.
Mobile users in Britain pay a third of what US users do, figures said. For example, a typical handset with 200 minutes, 50 texts and 200MB of data costs on average £14 per month in the UK. In the US, this would cost £57 – four times as much.
The report found that Britain has the most affordable communications services for a typical household, with the best deals representing just 2.3 per cent of total living costs.
While the UK was consistently cheaper, not all communications services were the most competitive relative to other countries.
For example, the best deal for a typical family (two parents and two teenage children with average usage needs that bundles together communications and TV services) was £86 a month in France. This was £6 cheaper than the best UK deal of £92 a month.
However, premium television subscriptions in the UK were twice as expensive at £66 in the UK as against those in Germany at £27, according to Ofcom.
Ofcom’s director of research, James Thickett, said: “The report confirms that consumers in the UK are benefiting from one of the world’s most price competitive marketplaces for communications services.
“Telecoms bills have been falling in real terms in the UK for the past 10 years. However, consumers are not just benefiting from cheaper deals – they are also getting much more for less, as the quality and range of telecoms services has expanded hugely in that time.”
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