The proportion of UK households with broadband will almost double, from 34% at the end of 2005, to 64% three years later, according to a new report from Point Topic.
Remote rural areas where penetration is lowest at the moment will grow fastest and catch up with the rest of the country to some extent says the report.
However, the highest take-up will continue to be in affluent areas of South East England. By the end of 2008, between 80% and 90% of homes will have broadband across a large part of the South East
Waverly is forecast to have the highest broadband take-up in the South East by the end of 2008, with 91% of households on broadband, although many similar areas are close to this figure.
Swindon, named “the most broadband town in Britain” earlier this year, is forecast to be at number 11 by the end of 2008.
Although there will be high levels of penetration achieved in some areas, the forecast points to a declining growth rate.
Net broadband additions are expected to fall from 1.9 million lines in the first half of 2005 to around 1 million during the second half of 2008.
Point Topic says that the broadband market will find it increasingly difficult to maintain momentum as growth will continue to come from winning over the groups which have low internet access today, such as poorer families, single people and older households.
In addition, the report says that the installed base of UK broadband lines will almost double in three years, from 9.77 million at the end of 2005 to 18.46 million at the end of 2008.
In a separate report, Point Topic revealed that broadband’s quarterly growth rate for Q2 2006 was the lowest ever, at just 7.1% worldwide, with Western Europe, like other regions, suffering from saturation and achieving a growth rate of 5.6% (see Lowest Quarterly Growth Rate In Broadband History).
Related Links
