85 per cent of consumers could save on broadband bills

Nearly nine in ten people in the UK (85 per cent) are paying for high speed connections that they may not really need and could get a cheaper deal.

This was the findings of a new home technology study of 2,000 people which revealed many major UK broadband providers are guilty of charging customers for broadband speeds they never use to their full potential.

By investigating what people used their broadband services for, and then looking at the deals on offer, this latest survey from Computeractive showed that people can save themselves around £6.12 (based on the recommended average of £9.60) on a monthly deal.

The average person in the UK pays £15.72 for broadband without landline or any other service. However the majority of people use their broadband connections for low bandwidth activities.

This means a £5 per month broadband contract would easily accommodate their needs. Only around 15 per cent of the 2,000 people surveyed used broadband for activities requiring a faster connection.
 
As the government ramps up the excitement around new superfast broadband set to roll out across the UK by 2015, before signing on the dotted line, people should slow down.

They should take the time to ask themselves if they really need a high speed broadband package.

The top ten reasons for using the internet at home are as follows: Online shopping - 62 per cent; Online banking - 58 per cent; Social Networking - 57 per cent; Reading Entertainment/ News sites - 45 per cent; Watching online - 39 per cent; Buying tickets - 32 per cent; Downloading music - 31per cent; Work - 26 per cent; Transport updates - 20 per cent and Downloading films - 15 per cent.

People should also read the small print because many high-speed broadband contracts have what is called a bandwidth cap. This limits the amount of data that can be downloaded per month;  so there is not much point having a high-speed service if the monthly allowance is comparatively low.

Other findings found that the 55 plus group is paying an average of £17 per month on broadband. This is more than younger age groups, yet the older generation tends to spend the least time doing the very thing high-bandwidth services are designed for such as watching TV or video online.