Broadband News

17 May 2007 - BT has overtaken Virgin Media to once again become the UK's largest broadband provider, the telecom firm has said.

The group said it had won 26% of the market and now had 3.66 million broadband customers.

Regaining pole position, which it lost about a year ago, helped it increase annual profits by 15% to £2.49bn in the year to the end of March, BT added.


14 February 2007 - The process of moving to a new broadband supplier in the UK should get easier new rules come into force which change the way that all the UK's broadband providers handle the process of switching suppliers.

The rules stop broadband firms charging customers for switching and try to remove other barriers to the process.

Net firms that put obstacles in the way of customers keen to switch could face heavy fines from regulator Ofcom.


13 February 2007 - TV shows such as The Sopranos and Curb Your Enthusiasm are to be offered to UK viewers on demand in a deal between US network HBO and three broadband firms.

The subscription service will be seen on BT Vision, Tiscali TV and Virgin Media, with 50 hours of programming available initially and updated weekly.

HBO is also known for dramas Six Feet Under and Band of Brothers, both of which will be part of the package.

The channel said it would be up to the distributors to set launch dates.


31 January 2007 - Satellite television company BSkyB saw profits fall in the six months to 31 December, even as customers increased.

The firm saw profits dip to £356m from £390m a year earlier.

The firm saw 432,000 new pay-TV users in the second quarter but the net rise in subscribers was 183,000, with more customers defecting than forecast.

Yet the firm, which began its broadband service in July and aims to reach 10 million TV subscribers by 2010, said it was still on track to meet this target.

By the start of 2007, BSkyB had 259,000 broadband users, up from 44,000 in September.