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BT adds 177,000 broadband customers
(07-02-08) - The country’s incumbent operator took its retail customer base to 4.3 million, securing its position as the UK’s biggest ISP.
Its third quarter results showed that BT (www.BT.com) took more than a third of the quarter’s total UK non-cable broadband connections, with BT Retail taking 35 per cent of the UK’s 511,000 new broadband connections in the three months to 31 December 2007.
This was the fifth consecutive quarter in which BT Retail took more than 30 per cent of the market.
Ben Verwaayen, BT chief executive, said: “We remain the UK’s number one retail broadband provider with 35 per cent of the installed DSL and local loop unbundled (LLU) base, and BT Vision customers more than doubled in the quarter.”
Take-up of its digital TV service, BT Vision, doubled in the quarter to 120,000 customers and now stands at more than 150,000. Though for a service that it essentially free for BT Total Broadband customers who do not choose any paid-for content, this is still very low considering BT’s massive customer base.
It also launched a new Home Hub, with “improved functionality and a smaller sleek design” and BT Fon for wireless broadband. “BT Fon provides a facility for every BT Total Broadband customer who agrees to share a small secure section of their home broadband connection, to benefit outside the home from sharing the connection of another Fon member, using BT Openzone and using Fon WiFi around the world,” said BT.
It didn’t reveal how many customers had signed up, but Openzone usage “continued to grow significantly with usage reaching almost one million minutes per day”.
To keep itself in pole position, BT will launch an array of next generation services this year; its 21 Century Network which will provide speeds of up to 24Mb - currently in Beta trials in the West Midlands - will launch fully this spring, while “Next generation converged broadband and voice services, which give customers a richer array of voice service capabilities, will launch from the end of 2008” said the company.
It has also agreed new deals with Paramount and Disney to offer 150 new films on its BT Vision service, as well as favourites Desperate Housewives and Lost.
Michael Phillips, BroadbandChoices.co.uk product director, said: “Despite BT’s less than competitive prices in this fiercely competitive market, it continues to maintain its position as the UK’s biggest provider, and even improve growth.
“However, convergence is where it’s at, and although BT offers digital TV, home phone, line rental and even WiFi and mobile services, it doesn’t offer them as money-saving bundles.
“It needs to watch out for companies like the UK’s cable provider Virgin Media (www.VirginMedia.com) which is already the UK’s second largest ISP with more than 3.5 million customers and which is currently upgrading all its 4Mb broadband customers to 10Mb for free as well as developing plans to launch a 50Mb service this year. Sky Broadband (www.Sky.com) is also a threat with its well-established and superior digital television service, and fast, reliable broadband, it proved to be the fastest growing ISP last year, revealing that it had added 260,000 new customers in the second half of the year.
“BT this week announced that it will be increasing its line rental - that the majority of DLS and partial local loop unbundled broadband customers take - to £11.75 from 1 April. This makes it the most expensive in the market, and although it will also be reducing the headline rates on its call packages, actual call charges will also increase.
“Despite its popularity, there has never been a better time to compare broadband packages, switch provider and see exactly how much you could save - as well as landing yourself a superior service,” he concluded.
Related article - BT reworks its priceplans.
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