March 24, 2004 -- (WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) -- Web hosting leaders and key industry players are keeping a close eye on the UK access market, as Internet users ditch dial-up for broadband. The surge in broadband has insiders optimistic about the future, predicting the hosting industry will grow along with it.
As the use of broadband increases, says Richard Stevenson, public relations manager for 1&1 Internet in the UK (1and1.co.uk), the hosting industry will benefit because users will put more emphasis on value-added hosting and start to demand more sophisticated Web hosting solutions.
"Broadband services will undoubtedly help business and personal users to value the Web as an efficient channel of communication," Stevenson said. "As a result, we expect to see sales grow strongly. 1&1 provides some of the most advanced hosting features in the market and broadband speeds will enable users to feel the full benefit of these."
Several recent studies indicate that broadband growth has picked up in the UK - a trend expected to continue into the future. A study from Continental Research (continentalresearch.com) predicts that 4.8 million people in the UK will become broadband users by the end of 2004. The same study shows that there are currently 12.6 million UK homes connected to the Internet, with 3.8 million of those using broadband subscriptions, five times more than in 2002.
Another study by media-focused research firm, Screen Digest (screendigest.com), showed similar results. Screen Digest expects that the number of broadband households in the UK will rise sharply over the next five years. By the end of 2008, it predicts that 12.7 million UK households will have broadband connections, of which about 4.1 million will use broadband cable service.
The study suggests that by 2008, the UK will be the biggest broadband nation in Europe with 12.7 million lines, followed by Germany with 12.6 million and France with 10.8 million.
SSL certificate provider GeoTrust Europe (geotrusteurope.com) has also been monitoring industry trends and has conducted several studies. GeoTrust predicts that Europe will experience significant e-commerce growth - about $60 million annually according to eMarketer - over the next 3 years, and believes that growth will be partly fuelled by mass broadband adoption.
"The US hosting industry has also seen growth based on the mass adoption of broadband - and associated knock-on effect - that is now being seen in Europe," said Steve Waite, marketing director at GeoTrust Europe. "We are therefore well prepared for the growth in the European market and what this means to our business, as we have seen this trend before from the US."
Telecommunications giant BT (bt.com) has, for a long time, recognized broadband's potential and BT spokesman Mike Bartlett says that although the UK still has a way to go in terms of broadband adoption, it is growing faster than anywhere in Europe or the USA.
More people are now turning to broadband, Bartlett said, because there are more promotions from ISPs, better products, and because users have a better understanding of what broadband is. BT has grabbed hold of the market by making a massive push with its own promotions to help it reach its goal to set up five million connections by 2006. Just last month it signed up its two-millionth ADSL customer, thereby doubling its broadband user base in eight months.
"Small, medium and large businesses as well as the ordinary man or woman on the street can benefit from broadband, and BT is doing its utmost to get this message across," Bartlett said.
Bartlett also recognizes how important the broadband market is to the hosting industry. "The hosting industry, along with many other technology industries must keep pace with the broadband revolution in order to reap the potential benefits."
