Increase in broadband connections according to Ofcom report

A recently released Ofcom report has shown that there has been a further increase in the number of broadband connections in the UK, with cheaper deals leading to increased take-up.

Over recent years broadband deals in the UK have been getting more and more affordable, as rising competition has forced providers to offer better value deals to customers. According to a report that was recently released by communications regulator Ofcom the affordability of these deals has led to a further increase in the number of broadband connections in the UK.

The Telecommunications Market Data Update from Ofcom showed that in the fourth quarter of last year there was a modest increase of 2.1 percent in broadband connections in the UK compared to the third quarter of the year. Whilst this was only a modest increase for the quarter it did reflect a year on year rise of around eleven percent compared to the final quarter of 2007, reflecting an increase of around 1.7 million connections.

The report showed that there are now around 17.3 million connections amongst residential homes and small businesses, and many have said that they think this is as a result of the availability of cheaper broadband from a wide range of providers. Many residential broadband users are now using the Internet to try and save money during the recession and financial crisis, and this could also have something to do with the increased take-up.

Higher speed broadband is available now from a number of major providers such as Virgin and BT, and the fierce competition between the providers has resulted in an increased range of low cost deals available to residential consumers as well as small businesses, which means that broadband connections numbers could continue to grow over the coming year.