BT broadband has today issued figures which show that group has retained its position at the top of the broadband providers league. The company has 4.7 million broadband subscribers, which include an additional 83,000 new customers from the last quarter of 2008, and there would appear to be little competition on the horizon for the telecoms giant. But is this the whole picture and is BT broadband’s position at the top of the league as solid as it looks?
There is no doubt that British Telecom has benefited over the last couple of years from the return of many customers who were left to join cheaper telecom operators in the past. Not all of these moves have been successful which is why a great number have returned to British Telecom which has a reputation in the broadband industry which few others can match. However, as the recession continues to grab hold of the UK broadband consumer there is speculation that the company may be unable to compete in the “cheaper” end of the market and its rock solid position at the top of the broadband tree could be in jeopardy.
While there is no doubt that the BT broadband service is up there with the very best, more and more people are looking towards the likes of O2 broadband, TalkTalk broadband and other services which can offer a bundle of landline telecom, mobile telecom and broadband services. Whether this competition will have a material impact in the long term remains to be seen.