Nearly Three Quarters Of Internet Connections Now On Broadband

The ONS says that in June of this year, broadband internet connections made up 72.6% of internet connections, up from 54.4% in June last year and 18% in June 2003. However, recent research from Point Topic said that UK broadband growth had slowed to 6.6%, with the market suffering its worst Q2 since 2004 (see UK Broadband Growth Slows To 6.6%).

As well as connectivity, ONS is publishing data on internet access, which as a whole grew by 0.6 million households to 13.9 million, 57% of all households, between 2005 and 2006.

The ONS survey this year includes Northern Ireland for the first time, and shows that the total number of UK households with internet access was 14.3 million.

The ONS have also revealed that 69% of households that had internet access had a broadband connection. This figure represents 40% of all UK households.

The data shows the differences between the regions and nations of the UK in broadband takeup. For example, the percentage of households with broadband internet access ranged from 49% in London to 28% in Northern Ireland.

The rate of change showed wide variations, with broadband usage in the East of England rising from 27% to 44% of all households between 2005 and 2006, a rise of 63%, while broadband penetration in the West Midlands rose from 30% to 34% over the same period.

However, 43% of UK households had no internet access, ranging from 53% in Scotland to 33% in the South East.

The survey showed that 60% of adults accessed the internet in the three months before they were interviewed, with men more likely to than women (65% and 55% respectively). 30% of men had never used the internet, compared with 40% of women.