5million Broadband users in Britain
According to the Telecom Markets’ Broadband Subscriber Database (BSD), the number of people in the UK who subscribe to a broadband service has now surpassed the 5million mark. Forecasters are predicting that the figure will have gone up to well over 8million users by 2005. Of the 3million or so DSL subscribers, around 40% are with BT directly, with the majority going for an ISP that buys its DSL service from BT. The expectation is that subscriptions will begin to rise rapidly as prices continue to drop, while the launch of VoIP will help to increase competition among the various carriers, reducing prices even further.
Incidentally, Tony Blair has been threatening to put broadband into the new Labour manifesto, promising broadband access for everyone. The Guardian has pointed out what an unnecessary pledge that is.
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