News Burst: Metered access holds back UK Net use

The UK Internet market is being "dramatically" held back by the lack of unmetered access, according to research conducted by Durlacher.

Interviews with 4,000 householders around the UK found that users would increase the frequency of their Internet access by 46 percent if it was unmetered. This means that the average person's usage would triple from 130 to 386 hours per year.

Senior analyst Nick Gibson believes the study proves that unmetered access is vital to encourage Internet use. "It is clear that widespread adoption of unmetered Internet access would provide a massive boost for what is already a rapidly growing UK Internet economy," he said. He is hopeful that the rollout of broadband and new pricing plans -- such as Telewest's £9.99 SurfUnlimited service -- will "start the unmetered access ball rolling".

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