UK Lags Behind Europe In Broadband Uptake

Just 9% of UK households use a high-speed system to connect to the Net, as compared to 39% in Germany and 33% in Sweden. Even France, which has a far lower overall penetration of the internet, has a higher number of households using broadband, says Nielsen.

European Internet Connection Speeds, % By Platform
	56k modem or less	Cable modem	High-speed telephony (ISDN, DSL etc.)
UK	86	5	9
Italy	79	2	18
France	77	5	17
Spain	75	7	18
Netherlands	58	21	20
Sweden	57	10	33
Germany	55	6	39
Source: Nielsen//NetRatings, September 2002

“This time last year 5% of British surfers were using a high-speed internet connection,” says Tom Ewing, internet analyst at Nielsen//NetRatings.

“Broadband is growing in this country but the GovernmentÂ’s stated target of being the G7 leader in broadband connectivity by 2005 is absurd if you set it against current rates of growth. This summer we did see a lot of aggressive marketing of broadband (see Telewest Brings Broadband Internet To South-West England) and there are signs that the uptake is rising, but it’ll take more than just advertising to catch up with markets like Germany,” warns Ewing.

A recent NOP survey found that broadband use is on the up, forecasting that penetration would reach 15% by August 2003 (see Britons Latching Onto The Benefits Of Broadband). A Point-Topic study found that global DSL growth is currently around 35%, with 25 million lines now installed worldwide (see Global DSL Growth Hits 35% In H1, Despite Sector’s Financial Troubles).

A separate survey by Continental Research found that in August this year, 12% of the 10 million online homes in the UK were connected via a high-speed platform (see UK Web Users Catching The Broadband Bug, Says Research). Continental predicts that a further 700,000 homes will connected via broadband within the next year.