The European Union’s recent broadband ranking index has placed UK broadband in position number four, with positions being allocated based on a number of different factors.

The recently released Broadband Ranking Index from the European Union has reportedly placed UK broadband in fourth place, with placements on the index based on a number of factors, which include competition, coverage, price, and broadband speed. Officials have said that strong competition along with competitive, affordable prices on broadband has enabled the UK to come in at fourth position when it comes to broadband.

Officials have said that consumers in the UK can now get a broadband package offering up to 2Mb for an average £6.72 per month, and for the average broadband package offering 8Mp per month the cost is just £13.10 per month on average. Officials also said that around seventy five percent of the UK have PCs, and that the average download speed was 3.6 Mb. All of these factors and others contributed in the place of UK broadband on the EU Index.

The top three spots on the Broadband Index were taken by Sweden, the Netherlands, and Denmark. The UK came in next, and after the UK, in fifth and sixth place were Norway and France. The report went on to state that the UK’s broadband was “now on a par with the Netherlands and other Nordic countries in having world class potential”. However, it also added that the UK’s broadband “lags behind in speeds and take-up of advanced services.”

One industry official said that despite great prices and a good ranking on the EU Broadband Index the UK had to ensure that it didn’t get complacent with regards to improvements in this area. He said: “It’s great to see the UK ranking so highly. However, the EU is spot on when it says that the UK lags behind when it comes to speed. To secure a position as a world-leader in broadband - like Sweden and the Netherlands - the UK will have to make faster packages more affordable and push average speeds up from a pretty dismal 3.6Mb.”