The broadband race has become a marathon with BT and Virgin Media gaining pace. Following today?s preliminary results from BT for the year to 31 March 2007, Steve Weller, Head of Communications Services at independent price comparison and switching service uSwitch, comments
?We are now talking about a two man race between BT and Virgin Media. BT has made massive strides with 3.7 million broadband customers announced today against Virgin Media?s 3.4 million. The two front runners are putting some distance between themselves and the rest of the pack which is fast falling behind. Contenders need to up their pace pronto if they stand any chance of getting back in the running.
?The pace that continues to be gained in the acquisition of broadband customers proves that the broadband market has yet to reach saturation. 0.8 million new broadband connections in three months ? with BT Retail claiming a third of these – is nothing short of impressive and proves that the nation?s love affair with the internet is flourishing. The average Briton now spends 15 hours1 a week online enjoying the raft of new services and features made possible by the broadband revolution.
?In times of trouble we flock to our most steadfast and reliable old friend and this behaviour is certainly being mirrored in the broadband industry right now. The fact that customers are selecting BT over its younger competitors is a clear signal that the issue of customer service has not gone away. Our more recent broadband satisfaction figures ranked BT second for customer service yet fifth for value for money1. This can be seen today with half of BT?s new broadband customers opting for higher value packages, with a willingness to pay more for faster speeds and higher downloads. But, with limitations to speeds and restrictions to download limits persisting, we are still concerned whether customers are actually receiving the service they signed up to.?
Weller concludes: ?It?s encouraging to hear that BT is ahead of target for its rollout of the 21st Century Network yet as a nation we are still way behind our Euro comrades: customers in France are already receiving speeds of up to 28Mb for around £20 per month, whereas the average Briton would receive an 8Mb broadband service for the same cost.?
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