BT claims 10 million broadband users

Double the 'ambitious' target set four years ago

BT claims that it will have 10 million broadband users by the end of this week – double the target it had set for the end of 2006.

The figures mean broadband has become the fastest-growing consumer market in recent years, with sales increasing at a far higher rates than those of TVs, CDs and even mobile phones.

BT's target of five million connections by 2007 was viewed as highly amibitious when it was set in early 2002, at a time when there were fewer than 150,000 DSL customers.

The figures include BT bandwidth that is resold by independent service providers. There are now 13 million broadband users in the UK, including those on cable.

BT chief executive Ben Verwaayen said: "The UK now has over 200 service providers making it the most competitive broadband market in the world. That means fantastic choice and value for consumers, and a constant stream of new and innovative applications."

Broadband speeds of up to 24Mbit/sec are to become more widely available with the rollout of BT's 21st Century Network over the next five years. This replaces the old circuit-switched network with a packet-switched IP network.