Over 1m UK ADSL customers

BT are trumpeting the news that they now have over one million ADSL customers in the UK. It is important to recognise that these aren’t all customer who have bought directly from BT but include all of the ADSL customer who have bought an ADSL product from ISP’s who resell BT’s wholesale product. With this knowledge it makes this quote from their press released slightly misleading

“The UK is the most competitive broadband market in the world. There are more than 100 ADSL providers – and cable companies have more than 50 per cent market share”

The UK is competitive to a point, but only as far as the resellers fighting for tiny margins on top of BT’s fixed wholesale prices.

Sixteen months ago BT pledged to have half a million customers connected to its own product, BT Broadband, by this summer but it noticeable that this isn’t mentioned and it is believed they will fall significantly short of this.