Sustained Growth For Internet Subscriptions

The number of subscriptions to the internet increased by 16.1% between February 2001 and February 2002, according to the latest Index of Internet Connectivity report from the Office Of National Statistics (ONS).

The report shows that the number of people connected to ISPs rose by 1.6% month on month during February, with subscriptions for dial-up and permanent connections continuing to show differing patterns of growth.

Compared with January, subscription levels increased by 1.2% for dial-up connections and 11.1% for permanent connections. Dial-up connections continue to be the most popular way of accessing the internet, with permanent connections increasing their share from 3.2% in January to 3.5% in February.

The popularity of permanent internet connections is expected to increase over the next few months. BT recently announced plans to extend its high-speed internet service to reach over two thirds of the UK population by the end of May (see BT To Extend Broadband Offering) and is about to start testing a new satellite delivery service for high-speed internet access (see BT To Trial Internet By Satellite).

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

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