Bloomberg.com reports:

The U.K.’s phone directory services haven’t improved since the market opened to competition in 2002, nine out of 10 Britons said in a survey by the telecommunications regulators - [Ofcom and ICSTIS].

About 70 percent of those using the new 118 services are confused by the choice, while more than 60 percent dial only one number and don’t see the benefit of competition, a report from regulator Ofcom said. The survey was based on interviews with 2,122 adults in November and didn’t provide a margin of error.

The survey follows complaints from groups including the Consumers’ Association following the removal of BT Group Plc’s monopoly on the services. Oftel, the former regulator, licensed more than 30 new businesses to boost competition, replacing the 192 number dialed by BT users for 47 years.

“There are lessons for Ofcom as to how to bring the benefits of liberalization to a new market,” the regulator said in a statement. It pledged to carry out more research in future.

Consumers pay an average of 50p to obtain a phone number compared with a minimum of 40p charged by BT when the company controlled the market. The two most-used numbers today, BT’s 118500 and The Number 118118, cost “somewhat more” than average, Ofcom said.”