Ofcom’s latest report, Communications Market Quarterly Update, has stated that excluding BT, the providers share of access lines has risen from 27 per cent to 35 per cent year on year, with carrier pre-selection (CPS) lines jumping by seven per cent.

Mike Cansfield, research director at Ovum, said the arrival of wholesale line rental (WLR) last year was always going to affect BT’s share.

“CPS and WLR have been making an impact and we can expect the BT share to fall,” he said.

Cansfield added that the decline will be good for the industry as end-users will have more choice and BT’s competition will have full control of calls and lines enabling a complete package.

Mark Evans, director at BT reseller ME Consultancy, said: “I’m surprised the loss is so low. BT can probably expect to lose some more in the future.

“However, BT is still in the best position for the access line market.”

Marek Lowther, director of channel for UK and Ireland at Cable & Wireless, added: “We have had a lot of growth and are gradually eating into BT’s figures.

“From a channel perspective we are acquiring market share and someone is going to miss out.”

The report also found broadband reaching 8.1 million connections in the UK, compared with 7.5 million for dial-up.

Mobile revenues are now worth a third of the market at £9.3bn, a 5.8 per cent yearly growth.