UK broadband hotspots identified in new Opal study

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A new report from Opal, provider of next generation communication technologies for the channel, could bring new revenue opportunities and change selling practices for resellers as it reveals the UKs broadband hotspots.

It is also calling for greater transparency in the market to ensure that businesses are given honest information about the fastest broadband speeds that can be achieved over their connection.

The Opal Office Broadband Report reveals that many businesses could be benefiting from much faster broadband connections meaning potential new sales opportunities, revenue streams, and increased margins for resellers as their customers benefit from the advanced technologies and applications available with super-fast broadband. 

The report, available in full on Opal.co.uk also calls for greater transparency in the marketplace to ensure that businesses are given honest information about the fastest speed that can be achieved over their connection. The study builds on a recent Ofcom report, which highlighted a lack of robust information available on the actual broadband speeds businesses can receive.

Central London (EC, WC and W postcodes) leads the way with almost half of the citys businesses able to achieve a connection of between 8 - 24Mbps while Irish hub of commerce, Belfast, came in second closely followed by Glasgow. Large cities, Manchester, Leeds and Liverpool also featured highly in the hotspots list as well as some surprise entries from Wigan and Blackpool.

Postcode area - Percentage businesses able to achieve speeds of between 8 and 24Mbps
 
Central London (EC,WC and W postcodes)  44%
Belfast  35%
Glasgow  33%
Liverpool  32%
Manchester  31%
Leeds  31%
Sunderland  30%
Wigan  29%
Blackpool  29%
Southend on Sea  28%

Opal released the report as part of the launch of its new business grade, low price broadband offering which offers speeds of up to 24Mbps.

Opal will offer the broadband, which utilises ADSL2+ technology and network prioritisation, either as a component-based product, allowing resellers and systems integrators to build their own bundles, or as a ready built package with up front commissions. Opals new business grade broadband product aggressively undercuts BT and has already seen 10,000 new customers sign up during the post-Christmas period.

Nathan Stenson, Opals Director of Wholesale, said: This report is fantastic news for the areas identified as hotspots as the results indicate that businesses in those locations can have access to some of the fastest broadband speeds available, along with the many benefits that this brings. Resellers should use this information as a basis to ensure they are selling the very fastest speeds possible to their customers. 

Business working practices are rapidly changing, meaning demand for prioritised high speed broadband technology has never been greater, and partners, more than ever, want a resilient provider with plenty of room for margin.

The new business grade broadband is a powerful product and is another example of how Opal continues to leverage the investment and scale of the groups NGN.

 

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