UK leads world in digital TV take up

Britain is benefiting from bargain basement 'triple play' deals that bundle fixed line phone, broadband and pay-TV, according to media and telecoms regulator Ofcom.

Ofcom's 2007 international communications market report, published today, shows that around 40 per cent of UK families had opted for one of these bundles by March 2007, attracted by the increasing number of value services from media and telecoms companies.

According to the report, the triple play deals on offer from the likes of British Sky Broadcasting, Carphone Warehouse and Virgin Media, represent better value than similar packages on offer in Germany, France, Italy and the US.

The report singled out Virgin Media’s £25 per month fixed-line phone, broadband and cable TV as the best value triple play offer for a family with two children in 2006. Similar offerings in France and Germany cost £27.22 per month and £39.77 per month respectively, while US families pay £69.54 per month.

According to the report, the UK leads the world in the take up of digital TV driven by the sales of Freeview set-top boxes. More than three-quarters of UK households had digital TV by the end of 2006, compared with 67 per cent in Japan and 61 per cent in the US.

Broadband take-up continues to increase in the UK with over half (52 per cent) of all households connected at the end of 2006. While this puts the UK slightly ahead of the US for the first time, it is still well behind the Netherlands where nearly three-quarters (74 per cent) of homes have access to broadband services.