Four out of ten Europeans households are buying "bundled" internet, phone and TV services from a single provider. For the respondents, the main advantage of these packages was the convenience of having a single service provider and a single invoice. Moreover, the 33% believed that a bundle is cheaper than paying for each service separately.

The survey published by the Eurobarometer also shows that six out of ten households say they have never considered switching to another service provider. Among the obstacles to switching, there are the risk of a temporary loss of service, the risk of having to pay for more than one provider during the switching process and the lack of clarity about the steps required for switching. Calling over the Internet for free or at a cheap rate, from a computer or a WiFi-connected device, is growing, with 28% of households with Internet access making this type of voice call, a 6% increase since the last survey.

On the other hand, the 98% of EU households have access to a telephone and an increasing proportion of households have access to a mobile phone. Also 98% of EU households have at least one television. The most popular means of TV reception is cable (35%) followed by digital terrestrial (30%, an increase of 7 percentage points since November-December 2009).

One in four respondents considered that their internet download/upload speeds do not match the conditions of the contract they signed, a problem also identified in the Commission's net neutrality Communication from 19 of April, and one in three said they have experienced connection breakdowns. Also one in four respondents reports difficulties in connecting to the mobile network and a similar proportion reports that mobile communications have been cut off whilst on a call.

The new EU legislation, applicable from 25th May 2011, requires service providers to give customers comprehensive and accurate information in advance, before they sign a contract, on minimum service quality levels including actual connection speeds and possible limits on internet speeds. In addition, the Commission has asked the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) to undertake a fact-finding exercise on barriers to changing operators, blocking or "throttling" internet traffic (for example voice over Internet services), transparency and quality of service. The Commission is also conducting a study to compare advertised and actual internet speeds. Data from both studies will be available at the end of 2011.