A recent survey suggested that many UK broadband users believe that the Internet, and broadband in particular, is now as essential a part of everyday life as electricity and water. This is a very interesting observation by the general UK public and is almost certain to speed up the rollout of broadband to all areas of the UK – with many rural areas still relatively untouched.
While there is no doubt that the Internet and in particular broadband are now commonplace in homes up and down the UK the fact that 75% of those questioned believed it was as vital a part of life as water is an amazing statement in itself. Whether this indicates that the UK broadband market is becoming more and more saturated in some areas of the country is open to debate but the fact that mobile broadband has yet to really “takeoff” perhaps indicates that landline broadband is not yet at saturation point.
Those who follow the UK broadband sector will be well aware that more and more of the smaller broadband providers are struggling to keep pace with their major competitors. The likes of British Telecom Broadband, Sky broadband, Virgin broadband and Orange broadband to name but a small selection are pulling away from their competitors and making life more and more difficult. It would appear that further consolidation in the sector is almost inevitable.