According to a recent report households that do not have broadband access could be spending a fortune on other household goods and services.

Over recent years an increasing number of consumers have started to use the Internet to find the best deals on everything from holidays and cars to household goods, entertainment, finance, services, and more. The increased Internet access that has come about as a result of more and more people getting onto broadband connections has meant that consumers have been able to scour the web to get the best deals, thus saving money on other products and services.

A recent report from the Post Office service has suggested that homes that do not have broadband access and therefore are not able to get online to look for these savings could be paying far more than they need to for many of their goods and services, with some spending more each month due to lack of savings than it would cost them to get online via broadband.

In fact the research suggests that some households without broadband could be spending around seventy pounds a month more for their goods and services than those that do have broadband and are therefore able to make the savings. Based on these figures households without broadband would be better off having broadband installed, using the Internet to get better deals, and making the savings on their goods and services.

The Post Office Head of Telecoms stated: “The 9 million UK households that still don’t have an internet connection are missing out on huge savings. Many have the false impression that broadband is a luxury item but we are seeing how increasingly it is actually a money-saving utility - critical in times of economic uncertainty.” He added: “Many of the barriers to getting the digitally excluded online are exaggerated perceptions of costs or fear of online fraud. At the Post Office® we are continuing to play a role in making it easier for these people to get online. 84 per cent of our customers are new to broadband and half of these are completely new to the internet.”