A recently published report shows that BT Broadband is now only 2.4% behind the ntl: Telewest group for number of subscribers as of Summer 2006.
The report, issued by PointTopic, shows that by the end of June ntl:Telewest (including Virgin.net) was only 2.4% ahead of BT Retail for broadband subscribers. If the trend is sustained, BT will once again be in lead in the broadband with a market share over 25% - roughly 3 million subscribers in total - by the end of the year.
The reducing share of the market is partly down to to NTL:Telewest’s limited geographical coverage. As xDSL reaches more remote and lower-density markets, cable’s share of the total is bound to suffer. The NTL part of the group has shown particularly slow growth, adding only 1.9% in net new subscribers for the quarter.
BT has increased its broadband market share for the fourth successive quarter, up to 24.3% from its low point of 22.4% in September 2005.
"While its competitors have been distracted by consolidation and the transfer to local loop unbundling, BT has been able to focus on straightforward marketing and the strength of its brand to grow more rapidly than them", points out Tim Johnson, Chief Executive of Point Topic. "Once again, it illustrates the inherent difficulty of competing against the incumbent in this type of market", he says.
