Under regulatory pressure, France Télécom introduced in July 2006 a wholesale ‘naked’ DSL offer, under which broadband alone is supplied to the customer, as the lower frequency portion of the line used for PSTN telephony is deactivated

At the end of Q3 2006, the UK had 12.4 million broadband connections and we estimate 45% household broadband penetration. Over the past 12 months, 3.4 million new broadband connections have been sold, generating overall market growth of 38% year-on-year. Quarterly net additions were 719,000, 83,500 higher than the previous quarter, but 178,000 lower than the same quarter last year. We believe that broadband adoption has now peaked, partly due to provisioning issues, and we envisage a gradual decline in the new connection rate over the next 18 months

H3G’s X-Series is not quite as innovative as it was presented to be, given that T-Mobile’s Web ‘n’ Walk is very similar in concept (flat rate data tariffs, 3rd party Internet services) and has been available since June 2005

Group revenue growth continues to be positive but vulnerable; EBITDA growth continues apace but cash flow growth has again been hit by 21CN capex

Vodafone’s revenue growth has improved, with core underlying growth rising both relative to the previous quarter and relative to its competitors

Although NTL could use ITV programming to improve its competitiveness, it is difficult to see how yet another acquisition could be justified, given the managerial and financial burden that would result. Nevertheless, we believe that NTL will move heaven and earth to acquire ITV and is deeply serious in its intentions

Vodafone UK’s new broadband product is not very competitively priced compared to the offers from Carphone Warehouse and Orange, costing £5-10 a month more than the nearest equivalent packages

Orange UK’s converged mobile and broadband brands and ‘free’ broadband offer has not proved a big hit with consumers, with Orange reporting just 25,000 DSL net additions for the September quarter, likely to be below 5% market share

The level of net broadband additions in France declined in Q3 2006 to 539,000 net adds, down 8% on a year-over-year basis, as narrowband migration reaches completion due to exceptional levels of promotional activity induced by the ‘land grab’ for customers

This report examines recent developments in the UK residential market for broadband internet access. We consider past trends and the outlook over the next five years for the total market volume, market shares, prices and margins