As BT reports a sharp drop in quarterly profits, Unicom – which is part of the Universal Utilities Group – is signing up a new customer every three minutes.
Operations director Chris Earle said: “Our trading forecasts for 2009/10 are increasingly positive as we continue to increase our volume of customers daily.
“As reports continue to fill the press about BT’s job cuts and decreasing profits, we are continuing our recruitment drive and strong company growth. During the economic downturn, we believe it is more important than ever to support and understand our customers’ needs.
“Our focus on customer service has ensured we are growing and outperforming other telecoms suppliers. Our success can also be attributed to the fact we provide our customers with highly competitive prices, which are fixed for three years, offering complete peace of mind for those watching their budgets.
“We haven’t increased our prices since we launched our telecoms service in 2001.”
The telecoms industry has been hit hard, with consumers fearing price hikes will be introduced to recoup lost profits.
BT is trying to recover from a drop in quarterly profits and has been offering staff long holidays in exchange for a reduced salary. Some employees are even considering a year off in return for an upfront sum of 25 per cent of their annual salary.
BT stated in May it would cut about 15,000 jobs this year after a 45% drop in profits. In contrast Unicom has experienced a 14% increase in profits and is looking to eventually expand its workforce by 200 members of staff as a consequence of becoming an electricity supplier.