UK homes and businesses could soon see cheaper internet bills as Openreach, which operates a lot of the telecoms infrastructure in the UK, has announced that it is reducing the cost of wholesale broadband. In order for customers to see a price drop, firms would have to pass the savings on to customers too.
Clive Selly, chief executive of Openreach, said:
”This offer is a win/win for communications providers, their customers and Openreach. It will help Britain"s homes and businesses experience the benefits of faster and more reliable broadband”
Richard Neudegg from uSwitch pointed out that ISPs have no obligation to pass savings on to users:
“Today"s news means that there is an increased incentive on providers - who have no obligation to pass these cuts on to customers - to encourage more of the four million standard broadband out-of-contract customers to jump across to superfast services.
Superfast broadband is often cheaper for customers to upgrade to when they are out of contract and on standard broadband services - in fact broadband customers are currently spending £222m annually to stay on slower speeds.”
Across all of the major providers, Vodafone offered an aggressive deal on its fibre packages, offering its 38mbps deal for just £20 per month for a limited time, rivalling slower 17mbps, or below, offerings. Right now, new users can get 35mbps for £23 from Vodafone while existing users can pay £21 per month. Other firms are bringing their prices down to similar levels.
With the introduction of connected devices such as Google Home and the Amazon Echo, connections of 17mbps or lower simply can’t handle the traffic very well, and the speeds continue to get worse if other users come online to use services like Netflix.
Let us know in the comments how much you’re paying for broadband (wherever you live) and whether you think you’re getting a good deal for the money you pay.
Source: BBC News