August 8, 2001—The UK Office of Telecommunications (Oftel) has published a study of dial-up narrowband Internet access in the UK. The review shows that the UK has a flourishing dial-up Internet access market that offers a wide range of unmetered access services at competitive prices.
Highlights of the study include:
- 10 million households have Internet access—up from six million a year ago;
- 35% of households choose some form of unmetered Internet access package;
- Consumers have some concerns about the quality of customer service they receive and the availability of information to enable them to choose the right package.
Oftel surveyed three markets: dial-up narrowband retail Internet access, wholesale call origination, and wholesale Internet call termination. Oftel considers that competition is effective both in the retail and wholesale Internet call termination markets. While wholesale call origination is not effectively competitive, there is already appropriate regulation in place.
Oftel will now consult with the industry and consumer groups before reaching final decisions on whether action is needed to promote further competition in either the retail or wholesale markets. Oftel’s final statement on the dial-up Internet access market will be published towards the end of this year. Oftel’s consultation document, Effective Competition Review: Dial-up Internet Access, is available from Oftel.
