UK net users could save nearly £1,200 a year by switching from slower dial-up connections to high-speed broadband, reveals new figures.

Some 5.4 million UK internet households waste valuable time and money by not switching to a faster web connection, according to independent comparison site uSwitch.com.

For 36 per cent of the nation still using the old fashioned dial-up internet connection, it costs them a combined £3.2 billion or 108 hours a year per household

A light internet user could use money saved to buy a new iPod Nano, a medium internet user buy a brand new 27 inch widescreen TV with the money saved and a heavy internet user could fly two people to Sydney.

Chris Williams, uSwitch's telecoms expert, said: "With fierce competition in the broadband market resulting in the wider availability of faster speeds at cheaper prices, and 2006 set to see the widespread launch of IPTV [internet television], there is no excuse for people not to make the switch from dial-up to broadband.

"For as little as an extra £2 a month, the average internet user could connect to the internet at speeds over 35 times faster."