European Broadband Market Hits Saturation

Broadband market saturation is now very evident in several key markets that were previously in the hyper-growth category.

European Broadband Service Providers (BSPs) added 4.2 million new subscriptions in Q2 2007, according to a report just published by Strategy Analytics. This growth represents a 5 percent increase from the previous quarter.

"Europe witnessed some slight growth deceleration in the second quarter," says Taygan Govinden, Analyst in the Strategy Analytics Digital Consumer Practice, "This falls in line with our expectations, and is indicative of the increasing household broadband penetration."

France Telecom continues to lead the European BSPs with a twelve percent market share; the company added an additional 345,000 subscriptions in the second quarter. Deutsche Telekom realized 52 percent year-over-year growth, having added 3 million new subscriptions since Q2 2006.

UK operator Carphone Warehouse made its debut into the Top Ten BSP list this quarter, its 2.1 million new subs coming largely from the acquisition of AOL's UK internet access base in Q4 2006.

"We continue to see evidence of an over-crowded broadband playing field," notes Ben Piper, Director of the Strategy Analytics Broadband Network Strategies service. "Significant BSP consolidation in the next 12 to 24 months appears inevitable."

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