Monday April 11, 08:39 PM .
Press Association
A price war over the cost of high-speed internet connection is likely to break out after one company slashed the cost of its broadband access, a computer expert said.
UK Online has become the first internet service provider to drop its monthly charge to below £10.
The company now charges £9.99 per month - down from £19.99.
Dylan Armbrust, editor of Computer Active magazine, said its rivals were likely to follow suit as each company vied for its place in the high-speed internet access market.
Recent figures have shown there are now more than five million broadband users in the UK.
Mr Armbrust said that figure was likely to rocket as more people switched to faster connections.
"This is going to spark a huge price war because for the first time you can now get high-speed internet access for less than £10 a month, whereas a year ago UK Online was offering dial-up access which is 10 times slower for around £15 a month.
"It will certainly cause a response from their competitors and we may end up seeing a lot of providers matching that price."
Mr Armbrust said he believed the £10 mark was an important price point for consumers and this price cut would lead to an explosion of people opting for broadband.
"Already tens of thousands of people per month switch to broadband. If all the companies follow suit we will see an even faster uptake of broadband. High-speed connection is now the same price as a dial-up one, if not cheaper," he said.
UK Online's competitors, which include BT and AOL, are expected to drop their prices in the next few days.
