BT Fusion subscriber levels remain stationary

June 8, 2007 - BT Group did not register any subscriber growth in the past two months for its Fusion service, a fixed/mobile convergence (FMC) offering, with 40,000 customers at the time of writing, the same number as in April 2007.

Steve Andrews, BT’s chief of mobility and convergence, commented that the reasons for the slow growth are a mixture of device availability and a complex marketing message: “It’s not easy to explain [Fusion] to customers…  It’s not about cheap minutes”.  Fusion provides cheaper calls when at home and in range of a WiFi-enabled BT Home Hub, outside and in range of a BT Openzone WiFi hotspot, or in one of 13 wireless cities in the UK.  The service provides five times faster Internet access on the Home Hub compared to GPRS, as well as better indoor coverage relative to other mobile services.

BT upgraded its Fusion service at the start of 2007 with the addition of WiFi access and three new devices, and also by simplifying the tariffs for the service, however these steps do not appear to have improved customer takeup.  David Hughes, Director of wireless broadband at BT, commented that while the operator is “not happy” with the number of customers they have, BT does not have plans to cancel the service.  The company intends to improve the situation with new devices, retail distribution and by offering a prepaid version of the service.  BT will launch 10 new dualmode WiFi/GSM devices in the coming three to six months, and will start selling its devices at UK retailer Phones 4 U.