This week BT has revealed that it’s just received it’s 15 millionth connection in the United Kingdom, have received around 5,000 new users every day since around 2002, when BT was struggling to maintain around 200,000 subscribers. This leaves BT as the biggest internet provider in the UK by far – with Virgin following quite a long way behind with only 3.9 million customers.
However, the BT number isn’t just about people who are signed up for BT Broadband – it actually includes figures from Sky, TalkTalk, O2, Be and other providers that are actually not really a part of the BT network anymore and who run most of their network completely independently thanks to Local Loop Unbundled (LLU) technology which removes BT from having a monopoly on telecommunications.
Olivia Garfield, Strategy Director at BT said:
“Broadband Britain has been a success story with widespread availability, low prices and high take up. People were sceptical when BT backed broadband in 2002 but the figures speak for themselves with the vast majority of new customers choosing broadband over BT’s network rather than alternative ones where prices are far higher.”
In fact, in terms of the actual BT broadband server, people have been moving away from BT and looking at cheaper solutions and hunting out the best broadband deals. Many LLU providers offer better deals, a wider range of options and allow customers to access new technology faster than BT. If you live in a fibre optic cable enabled area, it may also be worth reading a few Virgin broadband reviews, to see if what Virgin offer is a good match for your needs. Another popular broadband provider (this time for ADSL) is Plusnet. again, it is abvisble as with any provider, to read a Plusnet broadband review (or several!) before going with them.
Around 73 per cent of households in the UK now have internet access, with around 9 million adults yet to go online in the UK – still quite a number for BT and the other providers to aim for! These numbers don’t include people using dongles for laptops or other mobile broadband connections.