Digital Take-Up Lowest In Rural Areas
Multichannel TV, broadband and 3G mobile take-up in rural areas is lower than in urban areas in all of the UK’s nations apart from England, according to Ofcom’s Communications Market Report for the nations and regions of the UK.
The survey found that interest in obtaining access to many new communications services was greatest in Wales and Northern Ireland. 3G mobile and digital radio, in particular, attracted interest from between 7% and 11% of people living in rural areas in Wales and 8% and 9% of people living in rural Northern Ireland.
Only small minorities (2% or less) expressed an interest in new communications services being made available in Scotland.
Other findings showed that people in Northern Ireland were among the lightest consumers of TV in 2006, consuming 3.34 hours of television per day in 2006 – among the lowest in the UK, along with viewers in London.
The heaviest viewers were those in the North East of England, at 4.22 hours, closely followed by Scotland with 4.1 hours. Viewers in Wales averaged 3.75 hours per person per day.
The all-homes share of the five terrestrial networks stood at 67% in 2006, down three percentage points on 2005. In the Border and ITV Wales regions the five main channels attracted a collective share of just 59% each – possibly reflecting higher than average DTV penetration in these areas.
The report also showed that share for the five channels was highest in the South West of England, at 74%, while in Scotland it stood at 78% and in Northern Ireland at 67%.
Meanwhile, it also emerged in the report that Scotland generates the highest level of commercial radio revenue per head. This stood at £10, partly a function of the proportionately higher audience share commanded by Scottish commercial radio.
English stations’ revenues were second highest per capita, at £7.81, while Wales and Northern Ireland were lower, at £6.69 and £6.66 respectively. This may be partly due to the higher popularity of BBC radio services in these nations.
Across the UK almost all premises were connected to a DSL-enabled local exchange, although a small proportion of these will not be able to receive broadband or may only be able to do so at limited download speeds. Availability of cable broadband was lower, at 46% of households, while 67% of premises were connected to an LLU-enabled local exchange.
Availability of all broadband services was higher in urban than in rural areas. Although the availability of cable broadband did not change significantly during 2006, the proportion of households able to receive LLU broadband increased by around 25 percentage points during the year.
Ofcom research indicates that 61% of UK individuals lived in a household with an internet connection in 2006, an increase from the 57% reported in 2005. Between 2005 and 2006, broadband penetration increased from 35% of households to 45%. These are averages for the year, while latest estimates for the end of 2006 show 50% of UK households with a broadband connection.
It was also shown that adults from minority ethnic groups (MEGs) are moderately less likely to have a landline than the general adult population (86% compared to 89% respectively) and slightly more likely to have a mobile (83% versus 80% respectively).
The MEG population is slightly less likely to have DTV than the overall population (68% compared to 74% respectively), but those that do have DTV are more likely to have pay television subscriptions (60% compared to 52%).
MEG populations have similar internet adoption rates as that of the total UK population (55% versus 52% respectively). However, they have a higher proportionate take-up of broadband (80% versus 74%) respectively.
Ofcom: 020 7981 3040 www.ofcom.org.uk