BSKYB hits one million mark

Following today’s announcement from Sky that its broadband customer base has exceeded one million customers in just over a year, Steve Weller, Head of Communications Services at independent price comparison and switching service uSwitch.com comments:

“It is very impressive to see Sky take the crown as the fastest growing high-speed internet service provider in the UK, adding more customers than both BT and The Carphone Warehouse. Sky has successfully leveraged its existing digital TV customer base to outstrip its competitors’ growth in the broadband market. While this strategy may not have added significantly to its bottom line so far, it has cemented its place as a key long term player in the telecoms arena.

“With such rapid growth, we could see Sky overtaking Orange, which has around 1.2 million customers, in the next few months. If it continues to increase customer numbers at this healthy rate, Sky will soon be challenging the big players such as BT, Virgin and Carphone Warehouse.”

Weller continues: “Sky’s emergence as a leading broadband provider over such a short time period should be a clear signal to its rivals that value and bundles are leading the way. Sky took a clear victory for ‘value for money’ in our Broadband Customer Satisfaction Awards, scoring 83% compared to Virgin Media’s 68%, although just 48% of its customers were happy with the support that they received. The market is nearly at saturation, so for companies to attract new customers and keep their existing customer base, they need to offer more compelling offers at a lower cost, while maintaining good customer service standards.”