Point Topic says fibre broadband drives value for money

The growing prevalence of fibre optic broadband is helping to bring better value for money to consumers, according to Point Topic.

In western Europe, fibre broadband connections saw a 32.5 per cent fall in prices per megabit from the final quarter of 2009 to the first three months of 2011, the analyst revealed.

Downward pressure on bandwidth charges is "constant", Point Topic argued, with no let-up in sight as next-generation access becomes available to an increasing number of homes and businesses.

As a result, internet service providers are having to go out of their way to offer competitive prices, value-added extras and other incentives in order to secure customers.

Senior analyst at Point Topic Fiona Vanier said: "It will prove increasingly difficult to differentiate yourself as a broadband supplier based just on higher and higher headline bandwidths."

A study published by the organisation last November ranked the UK as 24th in the world in terms of broadband value, with Hong Kong taking the number one spot.