Broadband News

BT stays on top with 4.5 million customers

Thursday, 31 July 2008

By Garnet Roach garnet@consumerchoices.co.uk

BT added 103,000 new broadband connections in the three months to June 30 2008, holding onto its spot as the UK’s biggest broadband provider.

The country’s incumbent operator now has a total of 4.5 million broadband subscribers - representing 35 per cent of the market.

BT (www.BT.com) also saw increases in the take-up of its broadband digital television service BT Vision, and its shared wireless network BT Fon.

BT Vision numbers increased by 68,000 over the quarter, to a total of 282,000 - with more than 80 per cent of new customers taking a paid-for subscription package.

BT’s range of wireless services all grew in popularity, with BT Fon, “the world’s largest wifi community, where members share part of their broadband connection to establish a network of wireless hotspots” reaching over 121,000 members.

BT expanded the Openzone network to more than 3,000 hotspots and saw usage continue to grow, averaging 1.1 million minutes per day.

The provider’s new BT Total Broadband Anywhere package - which was launched in May - combining BT ToGo wireless-enabled mobile phones with BT Total Broadband, had a customer base of 34,000 by June 30.

Michael Phillips, BroadbandChoices.co.uk product director, said: “BT has always been a very popular provider. But it hasn’t been resting on its laurels. Not only has BT launched a new, next generation Home Hub, but it has also been investing in new technologies and services.

“However, BT doesn’t offer discounts for customers who ‘bundle’ more than one product, which means that although they remain popular, many customers could save money by switching to a cheaper ISP.”

During the quarter BT also launched its 21 Century Network (21CN), offering speeds of up to 24Mb, and announced a £1.5 billion investment in a fibre-based network to deliver super-fast speeds to as many as 10 million homes by 2012.

21CN is currently only available to around five per cent of the UK - or one million homes - but by April 2009 BT expects this to have increased to cover 10 million homes - or 40 per cent of the UK.

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