UK broadband now 'cheapest and fastest' ever

Average broadband prices for UK users have dropped 36 per cent over the last four years to their lowest ever level, while download speeds have increased 16-fold over the same period, according to a new report.

In 2004, the study by comparison site uSwitch said users paid an average of £27 a month for broadband with a standard speed of 0.5 megabits per second (mbps). Today, they can have speeds of up to eight mbps for an average price of £17 a month.

However, because not all providers have lowered their prices at the same rate, some users are paying more.

USwitch says there are 15 million UK households currently using broadband and they spend a total of £3 billion on subscriptions. However, according to its figures, around five million of these households still pay over £20 a month for their service and they could save £162 million a year by changing to a cheaper provider.

More and more internet users in the UK are switching to broadband. According to Eurostat, 57 per cent of UK web surfers had broadband in 2007, an increase of 13 per cent on the year before.