Research from BroadbandChoices.co.uk has revealed that nine per cent of UK households – 1.48 million – are still using an old dial up connection even though it is more expensive and less efficient than broadband.

Their data shows that the cheapest dial-up connection available is with AOL Anytime, and it costs £175.89 in the first year, but this is almost 100 per cent more expensive than the broadband deal from TalkTalk, which is £89.87 for a year.

“There are a number of reasons why consumers are failing to update their internet connection,” explained Michael Phillips, product director at BroadbandChoices.co.uk.

“With some dial up packages you are effectively on a pay as you go rate which some people find more straightforward and there is also no minimum contract term.

“However the most common reason for sticking with an inferior service is simply customer inertia. People wouldn’t think twice about shopping around for their gas or electricity supplier, so why not broadband?”

Broadband is much cheaper and faster than dial up, and there are often special offers on other services like home phone and digital TV with bundled packages.

“The longer people spend on dial up, the more money they are throwing down the drain,” said Mr Philips.

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