A spokesperson for
Oftel said that broadband is one of the fastest growing new technologies in recent years and is transforming the way consumers and businesses use the Internet.
Researching the new telephone directory inquiry system,
Oftel found that nearly 40 per cent of callers to the 118 services have been given the wrong number, while only 37 per cent of international inquiries have come up with the right answer.
It was the worst result of all 40 of the 118 services which
Oftel allowed to replace BT's 192 in August.
Oftel also compared prices for internet services across Europe and found that the cost of both dial-up and broadband connections were cheaper in the UK than in other countries.
A spokesperson for
Oftel said: 'The changeover happened as planned and everything has gone fine since.
But
Oftel said the new numbers would increase choice and 30pc of callers were already using them.
Following an investigation
Oftel has decided that rates should be cut by 17% as BT is still charging operators for call routing and call management features which are no longer necessary.
According to
Oftel, phone companies should produce codes of practice to help customers man-age their bills and ultimately avoid being disconnected.
The move comes after
Oftel ended BT's nearmonopoly of voice-based directory services and allocated numbers with the 118 prefix to rivals.
Oftel have told all four UK mobile network operators to cut the "termination charge" - the charge paid by the caller's network to the receiver's network.
Oftel is aware that the consumer is now looking for unmetered access, and reckons that out of the myriad of business models and banners screaming "free" the customer will eventually get what he's looking for.
Oftel estimates that one million dial-up customers are likely to upgrade to broadband within the next year.