UK Broadband Users Want To Get Naked… DSL

Research reveals that 2/3 of UK broadband subscribers want a wider consumer choice for their telephony service...

By the end of 2005, 5.6m DSL broadband subscribers will be paying £672m annually on line rental

London, 12 July 2005 – Vonage, the broadband phone company, today unveiled research showing that two out of three UK internet users are unhappy about paying line rental to BT in addition to their broadband subscription, claiming that it is ‘unfair’ in an open market. Research also shows that consumers feel they have a limited choice when it comes to choosing their home telephone provider. In the UK, by the end of this year, broadband subscribers will be paying a surcharge of £672m annually to BT in line rental on top of their broadband bill, no matter who their internet service provider (ISP) is.

Vonage, which offers broadband subscribers an alternative telephone solution via their broadband connection, believes that consumers should have the choice of who they take telephone and broadband services from. To ensure this, Vonage is pressing for ‘Naked DSL’ in the UK – an industry term used to describe the ability to subscribe to broadband and telephony services independently of each other.

Vonage’s research, which questioned over 1000 UK broadband subscribers, also revealed that out of all the utilities and consumer services, fixed-line telephony offered the least number of alternatives. Only 37% of respondents believe there is genuine choice in home telephony compared with 72% for mobile phones and 57% for electricity.

“Broadband subscribers deserve the right to choose their broadband and telephone providers independently without being forced to pay for a telephone line they may never use”, said Kerry Ritz, Managing Director of Vonage UK. “The broadband infrastructure will support a variety of services, one of which is telephony. Customers should be able to decide what services they want to “plug” into their broadband network in the same way that they choose their electricity provider.”

Many countries are recognising the importance of Naked DSL in stimulating competition. Norway is the best example and other countries such as Denmark, France, Holland and the US have or are in the process of introducing it.

“We believe that the BT phone line is the last monopoly we have in the UK, which should be dismantled and opened to competition in the interest of customer choice,” continues Ritz. “Naked DSL is the only option that offers genuine consumer choice and we believe that the UK needs to show leadership in supporting this cause.”

Vonage’s survey was conducted by online research company, TickBox. Over 1000 adult broadband users across the UK were questioned throughout June 2005.






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