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London (pte037/04.04.2005/15:30) - British telecoms giant BT http://www.bt.com is set to connect its five millionth broadband customer in the next few days, a year earlier than its original target, the company announced today. As the Media Guardian http://www.mediaguardian.co.uk reports, British Prime Minister Tony Blair heralded the milestone, which he said was of vital importance to the country.
Broadband is now one of the fastest growing consumer products of all time, with a higher take-up rate than for televisions, CD players or mobile phones. More than 95 per cent of homes and businesses in the UK are now connected to broadband-enabled exchanges and the figure will rise to 99.6 per cent by the summer. "Three years ago when we set a target of 5 million by 2006, it seemed a daunting task," said Ben Verwaayen, BT's chief executive. "To have reached this milestone so early into 2005 is a massive achievement for the whole industry. The momentum of broadband is continuing to build."
According to BT, the last million connections came in just four months at the rate of one new customer every 10 seconds. "The focus needs to move from broadband availability towards the ways in which broadband can improve people's lives - at work through greater productivity and at home by delivering a whole range of new services," the company said. "It is great news for the whole communications industry that BT has been able to make this announcement a year ahead of target," added Blair. The connections are shared between more than 200 service providers, with BT's retail arm having around 35 per cent of the market.
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