The figures from the UK telecoms watchdog follow a less positive report by GartnerG2, a business research and advisory service, on the consumer internet access market. According to GartnerG2, the so-called “broadband revolution” in Europe is on hold.
Based on a survey conducted across France, Germany and the UK, it said that consumers are not prepared to pay a premium for broadband. Unless prices come down dramatically, GartnerG2 predicts that only 10% of households in France, Germany and the UK will have broadband internet access by 2005.
The research firm identifies a major problem as being the absence of a “must have” application to convince the majority of consumers they need broadband, let alone pay for content. According to the survey, fewer than 10% of internet households think broadband currently provides good value.