Broadband Continues To Drive Internet Connectivity

The increasing popularity of broadband helped the number of subscriptions to the internet to rise by 4.1% year on year during September, according to new figures from the Office Of National Statistics.

The latest Index of Internet Connectivity Report shows that the number of people connected to internet service providers rose by 0.8% month on month, with subscriptions for dial-up and permanent connections continuing to show different patterns of growth.

Standard dial-up connections decreased by 7.7% in the year to September 2003 and by slightly less significant 0.3% in month on month analysis. However, the number of permanent connections showed an impressive 130% year on year increase, with month on month growth standing at 6.1%.

The report shows that permanent connections, which include broadband and ADSL services, now account for almost 20% of all subscriptions to the internet, up from just over 8% in the same period the previous year.

Earlier this week BT announced its intention to bring broadband internet access to the whole of the UK by 2005 and called on the Government and the industry to work together to make Broadband Britain a reality (see BT Calls On Government To Back New Broadband Target).

The popularity of high speed broadband technology has been a key driver in internet uptake. Oftel predicts that one million customers are likely to upgrade to broadband services over the next twelve months – a stronger growth rate than both France and Germany (see More Than 12 Million UK Households Now Online).

Office of National Statistics: 020 7533 5888 www.statistics.gov.uk

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