FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Forrester Research: 71 Percent Of European Households To Have Broadband By 2013
Netherlands And Scandinavia Remain Leaders; Germany, UK and France Lag Behind

Amsterdam, December 14, 2007 . . . Residential broadband penetration in Western Europe is set to rise by 48 million households over the next six years, from 44 percent penetration at the end of 2007 to 71 percent by the end of 2013, according to a new study by Forrester Research, Inc. (Nasdaq: FORR). Over the same period, Forrester projects the continual marginalization of dial-up services, which will account for only two percent of all online connections. The impact of of emerging technologies such as WiMAX and FTTH will be limited to eight percent of all Internet connections.

"The addition of 48 million new broadband connections may seem a healthy opportunity for broadband suppliers, but our forecast reveals the key challenge for ISPs will be managing customer churn," said Forrester Research Analyst Pete Nuthall. "In 2007, we estimate the level of churn to be 20 percent across Western Europe, this will peak in 2012 at 31 percent. Most at risk are incumbents such as BT, France Télécom, Deutsche Telekom, and KPN, due to regulatory action that force them to open up their networks to competition through local loop unbundling (LLU). Incumbents will need to reassess existing retention strategies in the light of increased price-based competition from alternative ISPs."

The Forrester forecast covers 17 Western European countries and draws upon Forrester’s European Consumer Technographics® surveys . Survey highlights include:

• At 85% broadband household penetration by 2013, the Netherlands and Denmark are top of the board and, with Norway, Finland, and Sweden, are set to continue their past years of broadband dominance.
• By 2013, the UK (82 percent), Germany (72 percent) and France (69 percent) will begin to close the broadband penetration gap with European leaders.
• Italy, Spain and Portugal will continue to be amongst the European broadband laggards reaching only 58 percent, 61 percent and 55 percent respectively by end of 2013. However these countries will show high growth rates compared to more mature broadband markets.

The report “Western European Residential Broadband Forecast: 2008 To 2013” is available to Forrester RoleView® clients and can also be purchased directly at: http://www.forrester.com/Research/Document/0,7211,43333,00.html.

Pete Nuthall is amongst Forrester’s analysts available for comment on the themes discussed at the upcoming The Mobile World Congress (formerly 3GSM World Congress), 11-14 February 2008, Barcelona, in particular in the area of fixed, mobile, and integrated operators’ strategies. Alongside Pete, Niek Van Veen, Forrester Research Analyst, will also be available for comment on consumer behavior and business strategies around mobile services adoption and mobile Internet.

About Forrester Research

Forrester Research, Inc. (Nasdaq: FORR) is an independent technology and market research company that provides pragmatic and forward-thinking advice to global leaders in business and technology. For more than 24 years, Forrester has been making leaders successful every day through its proprietary research, consulting, events, and peer-to-peer executive programs. For more information, visit www.forrester.com.

Contact:

Claudia Ramirez
Corporate Communications Specialist, Europe
Forrester Research
+31 (0)20 305 4876
press_emea@forrester.com