Ofcom delivers mixed verdict on UK broadband

A new Ofcom report has delivered a mixed verdict on the state of the UK's broadband industry.

The regulator's annual International Communications Market report takes the temperature of the entire 548 billion communications market in 12 major economies. And while it is broadly complimentary about Britain's digital communications industries, it's not all good news, especially when it comes to broadband.

According to Ofcom, we're getting a good price for our high-speed internet, but we're trailing far behind when it comes to how many people can actually use it.

Of the nine European nations mentioned, the UK ranks fifth when it comes to the proportion of broadband connections with a headline speed about 8Mbps. The Netherlands and Sweden top the list with over 30 per cent, while the UK's meagre 10 per cent also trails France and Germany.

Our monthly cost per connection of 16 is the best around, however with only Germany measuring up. The report showed average broadband prices have more than halved in Europe over the past five years, but had remained largely the same in North America and Japan.

We also enjoy the lowest mobile prices around, and over the last 12 months the amount of TV we watch every day has increased by more than any other country to an average of 3.8 hours a day. However, that still trails Italy, Poland and Spain in Europe, and - unsurprising - global king, the US.