UK broadband take-up reaching its peak
Should top out at 60 per cent predict analysts
Iain Thomson, vnunet.com 28 Nov 2005
ADVERTISEMENTThe adoption of broadband in the UK may be peaking, according to analyst firm Datamonitor.
The company expects national broadband adoption to peak at around 60 per cent. Broadband is currently used by at least half of all internet users in the UK, and the growth of broadband take-up in the US has slowed sharply.
But for less mature markets the opportunities for growth are perfect, according to the report.
"The current situation in many markets is best described as one of rapidly increasing penetration, where broadband has effectively entered its growth sweet spot," said Tim Gower, enterprise communications analyst at Datamonitor and author of the report.
"With some markets potentially experiencing changes in the household penetration of broadband of up to 10 per cent in a calendar year, service providers must be well positioned to take advantage of the forthcoming penetration acceleration, prior to the inevitable slowdown."
The report found that DSL and ADSL are the predominant broadband technologies over cable, fixed wireless, satellite, broadband over power line and fibre-to-the-home.
Datamonitor attributed this to the low price point of DSL services, and warned that other companies are going to have problems competing unless they can offer additional benefits.
At present, the French, Norwegian and Dutch markets have the highest penetration of DSL in Europe. Effective regulation has encouraged extremely fierce price competition in these markets which has led to rapid consumer uptake.
Should top out at 60 per cent predict analysts
Iain Thomson, vnunet.com 28 Nov 2005
ADVERTISEMENTThe adoption of broadband in the UK may be peaking, according to analyst firm Datamonitor.
The company expects national broadband adoption to peak at around 60 per cent. Broadband is currently used by at least half of all internet users in the UK, and the growth of broadband take-up in the US has slowed sharply.
But for less mature markets the opportunities for growth are perfect, according to the report.
"The current situation in many markets is best described as one of rapidly increasing penetration, where broadband has effectively entered its growth sweet spot," said Tim Gower, enterprise communications analyst at Datamonitor and author of the report.
"With some markets potentially experiencing changes in the household penetration of broadband of up to 10 per cent in a calendar year, service providers must be well positioned to take advantage of the forthcoming penetration acceleration, prior to the inevitable slowdown."
The report found that DSL and ADSL are the predominant broadband technologies over cable, fixed wireless, satellite, broadband over power line and fibre-to-the-home.
Datamonitor attributed this to the low price point of DSL services, and warned that other companies are going to have problems competing unless they can offer additional benefits.
At present, the French, Norwegian and Dutch markets have the highest penetration of DSL in Europe. Effective regulation has encouraged extremely fierce price competition in these markets which has led to rapid consumer uptake.