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David Edmonds, Director General of Telecommunications, said, 'It took two years to reach one million connections, but only seven months to reach two million, as increased competition and lower prices have boosted connection rates.'

Cable companies NTL and Telewest recently announced they had reached the 1 million mark, so the split between DSL and cable connections falls roughly equal, although Oftel does consider BT's monopolistic power to be a powerful factor in taking an increasingly larger percentage of new sign-ups.

Oftel's figures include users of NTL's controversial 128/150Kbits/sec services, which rivals are claiming cannot be called broadband.

Currently

NTL would not disclose how many of its customers were on its 'first-tier' service. However a spokesperson did put gripes from the competition down to sour grapes - BT's Midband (128Kbits/sec) offering will cost £35 a month and not be always-on. NTL's equivalent service is £17.99 a month.

Of course the real praise for the success of broadband, according to Oftel, is for Oftel's role. Edmonds said: 'Oftel's creation of one of the most competitive broadband markets in Europe means consumers are benefiting from increased choice and lower prices. Broadband services can be accessed over DSL, cable networks, fixed wireless and satellite with over 100 ISPs offering broadband services to consumers.'

See also:

NTL fall foul of advertising standards

Broadband connections rise 250 per cent in 12 months

Oftel lays out the broadband rules

BT launches faster dial-up