Over recent years more and more households in the UK have been joining the broadband gang, with the number of households in the UK that have broadband connections rising rapidly. And as the popularity of broadband has grown the number of Inter Service Providers offering low cast deals for high speed broadband has also rocketed, with consumers having more choice and better value for money than ever. Telewest, the cable and Internet provider, was one of the UK’s leading ISPs until recently.

However, Telewest was recently taken over by Virgin, and since then the company has experienced huge problems. With their television packages losing valuable channels such as Sky One, Sky News, and sports channels, and with many customers claiming that the Internet and the customer service levels have been affected, Virgin Media has been losing custom hand over fist, despite trying to tempt customers into staying by offering freebies, upgrades, and more.

Virgin Media’s huge loss of custom has been good news for British Telecom, as the communications giant has seen many consumers switch their broadband services from Virgin. According to the latest figures, BT has now overtaken Virgin to become the leading broadband provider in the UK, winning over a quarter of the total market and boasting a broadband customer base of over three and a half million.

Yvan Bamping of broadband comparison site Broadband Expert believes “it appears that the public squabbling between Sky and Virgin Media may have had a negative impact on broadband sales for both companies with BT being one of the main beneficiaries.

BT was the leading provider of broadband in the UK a year ago, but lost this position. However, it has now regained its title, and BT officials feel that it will now go from strength to strength. Annual profits were increased by fifteen percent as a result of the company’s monopoly over the broadband market, helping to take in profits of tow and a half billion pounds.

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