Hassle-free triple play favoured by Europeans


1 Jul 2008

Whether we are too lazy to shop around for telecoms bargains or simply that convergence of our voice, web and home entertainment needs is a driving force, combined services are becoming increasingly popular.

A European Commission report entitled the E-Communications Household Survey found that where households can get two or more telecoms or media products from one provider, some 29pc will snap this offer up – a 9pc rise in demand since Q4 of 2007.

And if proof was needed that we Europeans have been steadily replacing the fixed-line phone in favour of the mobile: the survey found that 24pc of households amongst the 27 EU member states now use mobile as their sole home phone.

However, this figure does vary across different states: the original EU 15 are less likely (20pc) to replace the landline with a mobile, whereas 58pc of Latvian households and 50pc of Czech homes are mobile-only.

The popularity of VoIP, or phone over IP, is also evident with 22pc of internet-connected households across the EU using their personal computer to make phone calls.

Interestingly, the survey also looked at customer satisfaction with internet and phone providers and found that not everyone was happy.

A sizeable 22pc of households complained they had trouble contacting their ISP (internet service provider), while nearly as many thought that support was too expensive.

And if you have ever found yourself on occasion standing on a chair, waving your mobile about in the air and swearing, you are not alone. One in four mobile users cannot always connect to their mobile network when attempting to make a call, while 28pc complained of occasionally being cut-off mid-conversation (and we thought it was only in Ireland!).

By Marie Boran