Posted: 05th Aug, 2011 By: MarkJ

The latest study into consumer spending from
uSwitch and YouGov, which surveyed 7,759 broadband connected adults in the United Kingdom during Q1-2011, has claimed that
ISP subscribers overpay by an average of £140 a year each (£2.7bn overall) for their internet access package.
The survey also found that an estimated 12 million broadband consumers (59%) have not changed their provider for at least a year (out of 19.5 million residential broadband connections in total), while
4.87 million (25%) have never switched ISP. Some 12% of broadband household decision makers said they last switched their provider 13 to 24 months ago.
As a result the
average broadband consumer now pays £14.64 a month for their internet connectivity, which has increased from £13.95 in 2010 and represents a rise of about 5%. At least half of this is probably down to January's +2.5% hike in
Value Added Tax (VAT), while the rest comes from the ever increasing burden of rising data consumption and new laws/regulation.
Ernest Doku, uSwitch's Technology Expert, said:
"The broadband market has become extremely competitive, and we have seen a huge increase in low-cost packages - particularly those below £10 per month. People have access to hundreds of great broadband deals but it still takes some research to find the right one.
If you are coming to the end of your contract, now is the time to take a look at your broadband. Consumers need to note of how much they are actually spending each month. [They] should also pay close attention to their broadband usage levels by checking their bills, then ensuring that they get a speed and download limit that suits their household's needs."
It's critically important to remember that picking the cheapest broadband deal, while good for saving money, can also result in a loss of quality. For example, TalkTalk is known to be one of the lowest priced broadband ISPs, yet more than a few studies and Ofcom investigations have shown it to fall short in the customer satisfaction department (
here and
here).
As a result it's no surprise to find that 61% of those surveyed felt that "
reliability of connection" was the
most important aspect of their ISPs service. By contrast 57% picked speed, 54% said value for money and 11% opted for customer support. Paying less is nice but as usual nobody likes paying for a service that doesn't deliver. Perhaps people aren't overpaying after all.