The great Internet rip-off

By Christina Okoli

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EVEN web surfers are getting caught in the tide of rip-off Britain. According to a recent report Internet users in the UK are paying more for high-speed access than their European counterparts.

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The independent survey commissioned by Oftel, the telecoms watchdog, compared the cost of broadband access in several countries including the UK, US, France, Germany and Japan. The results showed that the average monthly cost for UK residents was among the highest in the world.

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Based on a 30-hour per month benchmark ' which works out at about one hour a day online ' the report revealed that in Germany a user pays about �32 per month, while a user in France would pay �40, a user in the US �25 a month, while those in the UK pay around �50 a month.

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The results of the survey are being seen as an embarrassment to Oftel, which many accuse of contributing to the problem by allowing British Telecommunications to maintain its monopoly over broadband phone lines. Because BT owns most of the telephone networks across the UK, it is allowed to charge outside phone operators what some claim are exorbitant fees for using its wires to provide broadband Internet access. This means that many Internet service providers that want to offer broadband access must charge users a higher price in order to cover their costs of renting phone lines from BT.

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In an attempt to curb this problem, Oftel has imposed fresh regulations on BT to force it to open its phone lines and allow Internet traffic to be carried from homes to regional exchanges for a cheaper price. Such an environment would allow BT's competitors to use its phone lines to make local exchanges for a flat rate.

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However, the business community believes that Oftel is not doing enough to ensure that BT adheres to the regulation, which should come into affect this month.

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At present, only 2% of BT's exchanges are open to competitors, compared with 100% in Germany, this is considered to be the root of Britain's Internet pricing problem.

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However, larger Internet service providers are using other routes to curb BT's monopoly over broadband access. Freeserve, which is the country's most popular ISP and already connects a third of UK users, is about to launch unmetered broadband service to users for a flat rate fee of �13. To do this, Freeserve has acquired an extensive phone line infrastructure of its own to reduce its dependence on BT, although it will continue to buy some services from the incumbent.

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However, customers must consider several things before they decide to sign-up to a particular ISP. All three of the market leaders, Freeserve, AOL and BT, have, in the past, been accused of focusing on attracting customers with fancy new offers, rather than catering for the customers they already have and ensuring that the service they offer is of adequate standard.

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In a survey carried out by a mainstream Internet magazine, standards of broadband service are falling consistently with the drop in price. Dial-up times and quality of connection for both BT and Freeserve were found to be very poor, while AOL, the other leading ISP, refused to even participate with the magazine's test.

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Britain is seen to be lagging behind other developed countries in the race for cheap, fast Internet access, yet analysts say that by the end of 2002 every home in the UK that is currently connected to the Internet will have switched over to broadband, regardless of the price.

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What are the benefits of a broadband Internet service

• Continuous Internet connection
• Fast interactive digital television
• Video e-mail
• Video on demand
• Fast interactive home shopping
• Video conferencing
• Fast downloading of games, music and software.