UK Web users forced to pay inflated rates

Research group, Datamonitor has discovered that UK consumers are paying up to three times as much for Internet access as their counterparts in Sweden.

Costs in Sweden average $5.3 (E4.5) a month compared to $25.44 (E22) for UK Web access per month. The European residential market is worth $2.2bn (E1.9bn) a year - Germany, the Netherlands and the UK account for 74 per cent of this total.

The survey claims that competition between Internet service providers (ISPs) will force many to offer a free service - supported by advertising revenue. The report further claims that as Internet access becomes increasingly commoditised so ISPs will have to look elsewhere for revenue - such as advertising or securing a revenue split with telephone suppliers.

A spokeswoman for Fujitsu which has called for an enquiry into differential pricing in the IT arena across Europe said: "The impact of the euro means there will be a shake-out in these areas as pricing becomes more and more transparent."

She added that Fujitsu was pleased that UK retail pricing of computers and Internet access was now a recognised issue.