Early autumn has seen a number of important third-quarter revenue statistics released from many of the major broadband providers. http://www.broadbandgenie.co.uk
Despite much speculation that two of the biggest internet providers, BT Broadband and Virgin Media were to report disappointing customer and revenue losses, many broadband providers have confirmed a significant turnaround since a sluggish second-quarter.
Virgin Media announced that it added 13,000 customers in the third quarter, heralding a significant turnaround after losing 70,000 customers in the second quarter. On-net broadband additions in the quarter were 115,800 up from 45,800 previous, taking the total of cable broadband subscribers up to 3.3 million. Virgin Media broadband are now the largest residential broadband provider in the UK.
BT Group met second-quarter predictions ahead of schedule with a 3% rise in revenue on their growth of BT Broadband and networked IT services. The BT Retail unit had accounted for 37% of net DSL broadband additions. The latest figures give BT a customer total of over four million, making them the overall largest provider in Britain.
Carphone Warehouse reported an 18% rise in first-half revenues. Since acquiring AOL’s UK internet access business earlier this year, Carphone Warehouse has recruited over 215,000 new broadband customers.
Sky meanwhile connected its one millionth broadband customer and was named the UK’s fastest growing broadband provider, connecting a new customer every 40 seconds.
Speaking on the trend of broadband activity after Q3 Ciaron Dunne from Broadband Genie commented: "The autumn is traditionally the busiest time of year in the short history of broadband, with demand driven by pester power as kids to back to school, and by the traditional surge in buying after the summer holidays. The incredible levels of competition also means that there are some fantastic bargains out there for consumers willing to look around and compare, with Sky and Virgin Media in particular sacrificing short-terms profits for large customer bases.
The next quarter will be no slower - new well-backed entrants to the market including O2 and the Post Office will make sure that the level of competition is sustained (and that the bargains continue), and the brand new 'mobile broadband' marketplace (the ability to use your laptop online just about anyway) will generate considerable interest. As ever, watch this space!"
Notes to editors
Broadband Genie allows users to compare broadband online, and is part of Genie Group.
Genie Group Ltd is a leading independent provider of internet comparison shopping services in the UK, and was set up in 2004 by Philip Wilkinson (co-founder of Kelkoo UK). Genie Group's unique selling point is 'the Genie', which makes personal recommendations to internet shoppers based on ground-breaking, intelligent technology. This gives Genie Group the ability to provide an enjoyable and satisfying internet shopping experience, and deliver an unmatched quality of sales leads to our affiliate merchants. Genie Group launched its flagship broadband comparison service Broadband Genie in January 2005.
More information can be found at http://www.broadbandgenie.co.uk . Please direct all media enquiries to Ciaron Dunne. Interviews with Philip Wilkinson can be arranged on request.
