British consumers believe they can’t do without the...

British consumers believe they can’t do without the Internet or their mobile phones, says a study released Tuesday by the U.K. regulator Ofcom (http://bit.ly/1rxPaB4). The study examined which communications services U.K. consumers consider “essential” in their day-to-day lives and whether they're affordable, particularly for low-income homes. For the purposes of the research, Ofcom defined “essential” as having four main “functions": (1) Safety and access to emergency services; (2) Communication and social inclusion; (3) Access to information, education and entertainment; and (4) Importance to economic livelihood, such as through gaining access to job opportunities and meeting the expectations set by employers. “There was broad consensus among consumers on what ‘essential’ means in relation to communications services,” Ofcom said. Overall, the study said telephone voice services and Internet access were most essential to U.K. consumers. More than six in 10 consumers rated voice services, mobile or landline, as essential, while 59 percent considered mobile voice or text services as essential, and 57 percent regarded personal Internet access as essential. The study also said certain services “are considered essential by some, but less important by others, with age being a key factor,” it said. For example, landline telephone services are considered essential by 61 percent of people aged 75 and older compared with just 12 percent of 16- to 24-year-olds, it said. However, accessing the Internet via a smartphone was considered essential to 53 percent of 16- to 24-year-olds, but to no one 75 and older, it said. As for the affordability of essential communications services, among those consumers who said they were responsible for paying the bills, 86 percent reported never having had problems meeting the costs, it said. “This is consistent with previous Ofcom research showing that consumers had benefitted from falling prices and an increase in choice and quality over the last 10 years.” Of the 14 percent who reported having problems paying for communications services, a “small minority” (2 percent) said they have been in debt or fallen behind on payments while trying to manage their telecom costs, Ofcom said. “The high take-up of essential communication services shows that, in most cases, cost is not a barrier to use.” The survey found that 95 percent of British homes own at least one mobile phone, 84 percent have a landline and 82 percent an Internet connection, it said. “But for some consumers, particularly those in low-income households, cost is a reason for not having a desired service.” Ofcom cited the particular example of broadband, with 7 percent of consumers saying they would like to have broadband but don’t because of the cost. For the study, Ofcom canvassed about 2,000 British adults in March and April.