The number of UK homes with broadband cable internet access has broken the one million mark, according to cable operators NTL and Telewest.
More than 12 million homes are currently able to receive cable modem services across the two operators’ networks, but only one million have so far signed up to the service.
The companies claim that where there is a choice between cable broadband and ADSL services, around three quarters of consumers choose cable. This is introducing cable broadband customers to the wider cable proposition – welcome news for the cable groups which could do with healthy subscriber increases as they exit periods of refinancing (see NTL Counts The Cost Of Restructuring).
Commenting on the announcement, the UK’s ecommerce minister, Stephen Timms, said: “It was just six months ago that the UK tipped the one million broadband subscriptions mark [see UK Hits One Million Broadband Homes]. I am delighted that in this short time this has become one million connections via cable alone. This is testament to the fiercely competitive market that is fast emerging in the UK, ensuring customer choice, value for money and quality of service.
“The challenge now is to extend this choice to users across the UK, and particularly in rural areas. So that no matter where we base our businesses and make our homes, we can all benefit from the significant benefits that broadband offers.”
Global forecasts from IMS Research predict that the number of cable broadband users will triple between the end of last year and 2007, with Asia and Europe leading the way in terms of real growth (see Cable Broadband Users To Triple By 2007, Says IMS).
UK broadband forecasts from Strategy Analytics estimate that by 2008, 31% of the country’s 10.6 million broadband homes will subscribe to cable modem services, with the majority of the remainder using xDSL (see UK Broadband Net Penetration To Hit 40% By 2008, Says Strategy Analytics).
