UK Post Office moves into broadband market
The Post Office®, part of the Royal Mail Group, is launching a new, national broadband service on Monday 29 October, specifically designed to attract late adopters of broadband services and those looking for a better, fairer and easier broadband option.
OFCOM has predicted that broadband uptake is set to rise by up to 80 per cent by 2012 . According to their research, the over-50s and cash economy represents an untapped high value market, valued by the Post Office® at GBP 478 million.
Post Office® Broadband is a unique, reassuringly easy to use service providing national coverage at a universal price, avoiding now common ‘rural surcharges’ imposed by most other ISPs. Users will also have the option to pay for the service in cash at any of the 14,000 Post Offices® nationwide, a payment alternative not offered by any other nationwide ISP.
As one of the UK’s most trusted brands with an unparalleled high street presence, the Post Office® is well-placed to maximise this opportunity over the next five years.
The new services are primarily targeted at the ‘NETSKI’ generation of 50-65 year olds with a high disposable income who are going online for the first time – and customers wanting to pre-pay in cash.
Two high quality, fast broadband packages are available from the Post Office®, offering users headline speeds of up to 8MB. Broadband Standard and Broadband Extra can also be bundled with the existing Post Office® HomePhone service. Subscribers will be able to simply plug in and go while technical support from UK call centres will be on hand 24/7.
A five year deal with BT Wholesale’s network guarantees Post Office® Broadband a national reach – from John O’Groats to Lands End – of over 99.6 per cent of the country, while network support, kit maintenance and back office support is also provided by BT. This infrastructure supports the Post Office®’s commitment to provide its users with a reliable and fair broadband service.
The new broadband services will be backed by a GBP 9 million marketing campaign across TV, national print and online media, as well as in-branch. The campaign will feature reformed boyband, Westlife, and will break from 28 October 2007.
Current broadband uptake figures show that over 60 per cent, that’s over 15 million, households in the UK, now have an internet connection, and broadband take up by the UK public has been faster than that of any other new technology over the past five years .
Between now and 2012, up to 80 per cent of the UK population is expected to have broadband. Research conducted by the Post Office® shows that, by 2010, half of the additions to the broadband market will come from the ‘silver surfer’ demographic. Despite being late adopters, the over 50s already account for 25 per cent of the UK online population and 30 per cent of all time spent on the internet is by this age group. However, the Post Office® has identified over six million potential users from older and cash-dependent groups who remain offline due to confusion surrounding what existing ISPs are offering and perceived complications to signing up.
