12 July 2007
uSwitch has responded to BSkyB's successful trading figures for this year with praise for the service, alongside a warning that it should not get complacent in the level of customer service it provides.
Earlier this week Sky, which now owns over 5% of the broadband market, announced 90,000 new customers to its broadband service.
The total number of new customer sign ups across all its services stands at 349,000, with 716,000 broadband customers and 8.58 million customers in total.
What's more, Sky revealed that 40% of these customers have recently switched from key rivals BT and Virgin Media.
Steve Weller, Head of Communications Services at independent price comparison and switching service uSwitch.com described Sky's delivery of broadband service to 70% of UK households as "impressive".
However he called for Sky to roll out its local loop unbundling programme further to allow the remaining 30% of UK households, especially in rural areas, to take advantage of its 'free broadband' offer.
"This will especially hit people in rural areas that may have turned to Sky as they are struggling to receive a strong TV signal," he said.
"While they are unable to take advantage of the same deals as those in more highly populated areas, they are effectively being treated as second-class citizens and we would like to see this two-tier pricing system called to a halt as swiftly as possible."
He also urged the Sky to look again at the level of customer is provides as a recent uSwitch poll showed nearly six out of ten of its customers are currently not satisfied with the level of support they are receiving.
This autumn, Sky customers will be able to take Sky telephone line rental as part of their communications package, enabling customers to cease their contact with BT, if they wish, resulting in a single, less expensive bill.
So much choice, but don't panic - it's easy to get yourself a great deal on broadband using uSwitch.com. If you're confused about technicalities, the help pages throughout our calculator are on hand at each step of the sign up process to answer all your questions. Find providers in your area and compare packages using our free and impartial service. Sign up to broadband today.
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