A survey that was published on Wednesday by the Office of Communications (Ofcom) showed that the United Kingdom offers the lowest prices for telephone, broadband and television in Europe and also that the country is the leader in the take-up of digital television out of the 12 countries that were included in the survey.

The survey compared the UK with the United States, France, Germany, Italy, Ireland, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Japan and Canada, as it showed that it has the best prices for the three services bundles in 2006.

Almost 40 percent of the British households got bundles until March, 2007, while by the same time of the previous year, only 29 percent had the service packages. This is thanks to the much cheaper price of the three together, rather than separately, Ofcom said in its 2007 international communications market report.

The affordable prices might have been drawn down by the crowded market of broadband providers, with British Sky Broadcasting, Carphone Warehouse and Virgin Media launching bundles only last year.

The survey compared the countries by using five different models of households, as it considered the needs and budget of families ranging from retired couples to a family with two children.

Britain did not always have the best values, as it had the most expensive fixed-line phone deal for a retired couple in comparison with France, Germany, Italy and the US.