The report also shows that more homes in the UK are taking advantage of unmetered internet access with 6% more households now choosing this option than in February 2001 when it was only used by 18% of all homes on-line. Oftel sets the average amount of time spent using the internet in UK homes at 7.5 hours per week, although it suggests this figure has been inflated by a small number of heavy users.
In an accompanying press release, Chris Kenny, Oftel’s Director of Regulatory Policy commented:
"These findings show that, in general, consumers are taking advantage of the choices available to them… Satisfaction levels also remain high, over 90% of fixed, mobile and Internet consumers are satisfied with the overall service they receive from their provider. These findings contribute to Oftel's ongoing policy work and also feed into market reviews, including the Internet Market Review to be published later this month ."