"Line rental up by 38% since 2009"

[dutchman]

The cost of home telephone and broadband line rental in Britain has risen by 38% since 2009, a study suggests.



Research by Broadband Choices appears to indicate that service providers are now charging an average of £15.35 a month, compared to £11.14 five years ago.

The figure means that line rentals have increased by almost three times the rate of inflation for the same period, which equates to an additional £50 per year for a telephone line or internet access.

While broadband has advanced considerably during the period in question, landline services in the UK are said to have seen no real improvement.

The study also highlights the declining popularity of landlines, with 37% of households surveyed stating that they would give up their home phone if they could access broadband without it.

"Most of us are accustomed to price rises, but line rental is really suffering from an image crisis at the moment. People are, quite rightly, questioning why they are being asked for more money time and time again with no real clarity over what they're getting in return for the extra spend," said Broadband Choices spokesperson Dominic Baliszewski.

"An increase of 38% over less than five years is significant, massively outstripping inflation and also coming at a time when people are already feeling the pinch.

"The situation is not helped when the status quo is for providers to charge one price for line rental and a separate additional fee for broadband on top - this gives the impression line rental is only for home phone, when in fact it's essential for broadband in most cases. It's unnecessarily confusing."

One in 10 respondents said that they do not even keep their landline telephone plugged in.