Expert: Pricing and availability elevate UK broadband

The availability and pricing of broadband in the UK makes Britain one of the leading nations when it comes to internet access, an expert has said.

Stephen Hearnden, director of telecommunications and technology at Intellect, a firm that represents IT organisations to the media and the government, has responded to research from the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) that claims Britain's IT capabilities have slipped.

Mr Hearnden has suggested that the research fails to acknowledge issues such as availability and competitive consumer prices, both of which produce an abundance of services to use VoIP solutions, download material and work online.

The director said: "Probably the mixture of parameters that the Economist is using has just conspired this year to give us a lower rating than we had last year."

He added that the UK is one of only a handful of nations around the world setting out to deliver universal broadband over the next few years.

The EIU figures place Denmark as the number one country in the world for e-readiness, while the UK has fallen to 13th position.