Broadband in the UK is available to 96% of households, with more than six million people already subscribing to the medium, according to a report released by telecoms consultancy Ovum.
The research, commissioned by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), finds that broadband now accounts for 38% of all internet connections and that 15% of the UK have an internet connection, with 200,000 homes connecting every month.
However, in the report Ovum said: “If the UK is going to succeed as the as a world class place for e-business, public service delivery and online participation, we have to develop a world-class communications infrastructure.”
The Government had hoped to make the UK the “best place in the world for e-business”, with broadband boosting productivity and competitiveness. However, the Ovun report revealed that in terms of choice and price, the UK is placed behind Japan and Canada for broadband connection.
The broadband market is becoming increasingly competitive, earlier in the month British Telecom announced a continued rise in broadband take-up, with BT revealing that it had connected a record 813,000 DSL customers in Q3, with broadband users by the end of 2004 hitting 4.1 million (see INSIGHTanalysis: What Next For One ITV?).
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