Gloomy predictions over broadband growth from Carphone Warehouse

Mobile and broadband providers Carphone Warehouse has released gloomy figure relating to broadband growth in the wake of the house market slump

According to a recent report officials from the Carphone Warehouse have released figures that make for gloomy reading in relation to the growth of broadband over the next year. The mobile and broadband provider has based these figures on the lower take up of broadband over the first half of this year, and has blamed the slump in the UK’s housing market for contributing to the decrease in broadband custom.

Carphone Warehouse had predicted that in the first quarter of this year it would see around seventy thousand new customers joining up for broadband services, but in fact the actual figure was far lower than this, coming in at around forty one thousand. Based on these figures, and the ongoing problems in the UK housing market, officials have now changed prediction for the remainder of this year and next year.

In June Carphone Warehouse officials predicted a four or five percent rise in revenue in connection to its fixed broadband service, but is now predicting that revenue relating to this service will remain flat. In the weeks leading up to the end of June the provider reported a one percent drop on fixed line revenue, having predicted a three percent rise.

It has also revised its predictions on the number of new customers for next year. It had originally predicted that it would take on around four hundred thousand new customers for the year, but his has now been lowered to between two hundred thousand and two hundred and fifty thousand. The firm did enjoy a period of increased connection take up after the recent launch of the iPhone 3G,

An official from Carphone Warehouse said: “While the second quarter has started well, with a sharp pickup in subscription connections on the back of the iPhone 3G launch, we remain understandably cautious about the consumer environment.”