Tiscali 2003 Annual Report Download - page 4

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44
THE BROADBAND CHALLENGE
Background and trends
In 2003 the key trend in the Internet sector was the
expansion of the broadband market, which saw growth of
73% versus 2002, representing an increase from 66
million to 71 million users and a total of 18 million
connections in western Europe.
ADSL accounts for 70% of connections, and is therefore the
dominant broadband technology used in Europe, ahead of
alternative methods such as satellite and cable.
The battle led by OLOs (other licensed operator) such as
Tiscali against the de facto monopoly position of former
incumbent operators helped bring about the introduction
of new regulations, which were issued by the EU in
February 2003. The new regulations have opened up the
broadband market, benefiting alternative operators and
Internet users, who gained acces to a wide range of more
attractively priced packages as a result.
Tiscali: the new opportunities offered by broadband
Tiscali has risen to the challenge of competing with for-
mer incumbents in the broadband arena and is expan-
ding its share of the market very rapidly.
The Company’s core values of passion, enthusiasm and
determination, together with a strong customer focus,
continue to advance its progress in this new market.
At the end of 2003, the Group had 840,000 ADSL users
compared to 240,000 a year earlier, with an average of
20,000 new customers signing up every week. By the
end of March 2004, the ADSL user base numbered
1,240,000, and new subscribers were joining up at the
rate of 32,000 per week.