BSkyB becomes UK’s second largest broadband provider
Satellite broadcaster BSkyB has signed a £200m deal to purchase the UK broadband business of Telefonica, making it Britain’s second largest provider of broadband.
The deal sees Sky supplant Virgin Media for the penultimate spot with Telefonica’s existing subscriber base of 500,000 added to Sky’s 4.2m edging it ahead of Virgin’s 4.5m.
BT remains the single largest supplier with 6.6m subscribers.
BSkyB chief executive, Jeremy Darroch, said: "Sky has been the UK's fastest-growing broadband and telephony provider since we entered the market six years ago.
"From a standing start in 2006, we have added more than 4.2 million broadband customers. The acquisition of Telefónica UK's consumer broadband and fixed-line telephony business will help us accelerate this growth.
"We believe that the O2 and BE consumer broadband and telephony business is a great fit, with customers used to high-quality products and strong levels of customer service. We look forward to welcoming these new customers to Sky and giving them access to our wide range of high-quality products, great value and industry-leading customer service."
Telefonica will now focus its efforts on its mobile business and the rollout of 4G services.