A report was issued last week by Ofcom which revealed that although the broadband market in the UK continues to grow, this expansion has started to slow considerably. The percentage of UK homes taking up broadband services witnessed a 6% rise from last year’s figures, leaving the current percentage of UK homes supplied with broadband at 58%.
However, whilst this marks a rise from last year’s figure of 52%, the rise has slowed compared to ratings from 2007 and 2006. In 2007, for instance, the market witnessed an 11% increase, and this was itself an increase on the 10% increase seen in 2006. Therefore, whilst the market continues to expand, the pace of change is slowing.
It appears that the market may have seen its peak in 2007. Ofcom have stated that this may be because the majority of narrowband users have already migrated to broadband and so the potential market is lessening each year. This is seen by the fact that the number of broadband users is increasingly matching the number of people who own PCs. It order to ensure that growth ensues, broadband providers are expecting to have to compete for customers on other broadband networks to secure growth for their own company.