BROADBAND ADVANCES TO CENTRE STAGE IN HOME ENTERTAINMENT
People are feeling increasingly at home with broadband in the living room as it grows in stature as a primary entertainment delivery channel. This is the picture presented by Ofcom’s latest annual survey of the UK communications market*.
The survey found that increasing numbers are now tuning into their broadband-connected computer or mobile phone for their radio and TV programmes, as well as for gaming opportunities and music purchases.
Indeed in the case of the latter, the internet has now usurped the High Street bricks-and-mortar CD retailer almost completely when it comes to music on singles. In the first six months of 2007, 90% of all UK sales of recordings in this format were made as digital downloads to a PC or handset.
At the same time, the market for computer game playing and social networking has seen an equally dramatic transformation with millions of people around the world now engaging daily in shared experiences via the internet through top-rating sites such as YouTube and eBay.
ONLINE AND ON DEMAND
Broadcasters too are making considerable investments – and revenue gains – by responding to the nation’s fast-changing listening and viewing habits. Ofcom records that 58% of radio listeners now use a digital platform to access their favourite stations, an increase of 7% since last year. The percentage breaks down as 24% listening via the internet, 8% via their mobile phones and the remainder via DTV.
Long-established UK terrestrial channels – including Channel 4, ITV, the BBC and Five – are also embracing the new technology. They have all launched IP-based channels in the past 12 months, using the internet as a distribution platform to offer on-demand and/or live access to programme content and film and music videos. Some Communications Providers are entering the market with an IPTV offering, among them BT with its BT Vision Freeview/video-on-demand hybrid and the forthcoming Orange TV service from Orange.
And the net result of all this innovation is clear from research figures just released by Nielsen Online (November 2007)**. These reveal that 21 million UK viewers watched more than a billion minutes of TV online in the month of September 2007 alone: an increase in minutes of 91% over the same month last year. AN APPETITE FOR CONTENT Ofcom sees these trends as being driven both by the wider availability and affordability of high-speed broadband services and by the fact that it’s becoming ever simpler – and cost effective – for consumers to enjoy real ‘convergence’. Now they can use broadband to receive services from more than one provider and over multiple platforms on the same device, the box in the corner and the aerial on the roof had better watch out!
But it is content and applications that will drive the market in the future, not technology according to Angus Flett, Director of Product Management at BT Wholesale. Speaking in this issue of Between The Lines, he comments "Broadband will be everywhere but will be largely invisible. Customers will focus on their love of content and passion for electronic communications, not on the technology itself."
* Source:Ofcom’s UK Communications Market Report 2007(published August 2007)
** Source:Nielsen Online (published November 2007)
READ BETWEEN THE LINES
Future broadband – the connect family of wholesale broadband products
BT Wholesale is keeping pace with the fast-changing trends and demands of the UK consumer marketplace with its next generation of broadband services.
Scheduled to start trials in January 2008 and with market launch planned for April 2008, our Connect family of wholesale broadband products will offer improved downstream speeds, together with greater stability and resilience. These are the essentials your customers will need to enjoy their online TV viewing, radio listening, online gaming and music download purchases to the full.
The Connect portfolio will also be more easily configurable and offer higher levels of support and with a range of options including a fully managed service. 
This means that you can have the prospect of being able to generate new revenues through offering a wider portfolio of integrated services to your consumer broadband customers.
Read more about the future of broadband in this month’s issue of Between The Lines, in an interview with Angus Flett.