BSkyB wins 174,000 new broadband subscribers

BSkyB has reported a surge in its broadband business in yearly results, with 174,000 additional customers signing up in the last three months, taking its subscriber base to 711,000.

The satellite communications firm said that it continued to extend its broadband network coverage during the last 12 months and unbundled 385 additional exchanges - which means the company's footprint covers around 80% of households in the UK.

"Over the year, we increased the number of customers taking all three of TV, broadband and telephony by 37% and extended our potential reach by selling home communications products independently from television for the first time," said BSkyB chief executive Jeremy Darroch.

"We now have over 100,000 customers taking standalone broadband and telephony products and we see plenty of scope for continued growth."

With BSkyB's results, four of the biggest broadband providers in the UK have recently released their latest subscriber figures.

BT also reported strong growth this week and has attracted an extra 141,000 new retail broadband customers over the last three months.

Virgin Media, the second-largest internet service provider in the UK, reported the loss of 18,600 broadband subscribers, and TalkTalk lost 27,000 broadband clients in its latest financial quarter.