Point Topic released an update of new broadband connections made during the third quarter of this year. According to its survey, the last quarter saw 470,000 new customers hooked to broadband which is nearly 10 percent decline compared to the new connections made by the end of second quarter.

We have already come across such reports in recent times that raise a question whether UK broadband industry is passing through a pace of decline. Presently, there are about 15 million broadband customers in the UK and broadband was reported to have penetrated 60 percent of UK house holds. In the SME sector, broadband has not made its imprints even after the total number of broadband customers in the UK has increased five times during the last five years. BT and other business broadband providers have been targeting potential business customers, however, the broadband uptake by small businesses is seen as a slow process.

Home broadband and individual broadband usage show drastic changes in internet habits of UK families during the last couple of years, however, broadband suppliers in UK have been slashing the package costs due to fierce competition among the UK broadband providers. The tri-play and quadruple services of Tiscali broadband and Virgin Media have aimed to lure home users with digital TV channels and HD video content.

Point Topic research shows that loyalty of certain section of customers to their incumbent dial-up service providers has also played a role in causing a decline of new broadband connections during the previous two quarters. There is a general conception still prevalent in the UK that broadband is for those who spend more time in online and for those who browse, download files regularly. So, dial-up is seen as the more convenient and cost-effective option by many people who browse occasionally and this section of internet browsers have a hesitation to upgrade to broadband.

Other factors that contribute to the stagnation of broadband uptake are found to be related with pitfalls of broadband service itself. Broadband is still perceived as something for tech savvy and full of technicalities that are hard to understand. Despite the fall of broadband prices and the flooding of many cheap broadband packages during the last two years, broadband is still more expensive for this section of people who still use their dial-up connections.