Topic: Many 'overspend on broadband'

[Clive]

Many of us overspend on our broadband connection for fear of incurring the wrath of our ISPs.

That's according to a survey by price comparison service BroadbandChoices.co.uk, who said that more than half of the people it questioned were paying for broadband connections that they don't need.

The research found that many broadband customers are worried that they will be charged extra or cut off if they exceed usage limits stated in their contract, so they sign up to packages that offer far more than required.

This, in turn, is due to ignorance about download limits and customers being unsure just how much they are downloading.

"ISPs should abandon marketing language such as 'unlimited', as it misleads and confuses such users that don't understand what a download limit is. Broadband users should also seize the initiative and find out the amount of data they are actually using on a monthly basis to check that they aren't overpaying for a package that they don't need," said Michael Phillips, product director at BroadbandChoices.co.uk.

Phillips also pointed out that not everyone requires large download limits because the amount of data they download is negligible.

"While it may feel that every man and his dog is downloading films, using MySpace and watching TV online, many of us have very simple online habits, such as a bit of online shopping and banking." said Phillips.


www.BroadbandChoices.co.uk