Half UK adults have broadband at home

New internet users are choosing to go straight onto broadband instead of taking dial-up services making broadband one of the fastest growing communications technologies in the UK.

The result, according to Ofcom, is that more than half of UK adults now having a broadband connection at home. This is up by 39 per cent on a year ago and a seven-fold increase over the past four years.

These were amongst the findings in the regulator's Digital Progress Report on the broadband market which looks at levels of take-up, usage and the types of services available in the broadband market.

The report also showed that the sharp fall in the price of broadband and number of different packages available to end users are important factors that influence consumer choice. The same proportion of broadband users cited the possibility of bundling with other services (27 per cent) as did price (27 per cent) as significant factors in chosing an internet service provider (ISP).

For example, in 2006 the average speed for consumers was up to 2Mbits/sec for £15 a month, down from £50 in 2003. Speeds continue to rise with estimated an average headline connection speed of 3.8Mbits/sec at the end of 2006.

For others bundling can be the deciding important factor when choosing an internet ISP. At the end of 2006, over 40 per cent of all adults with broadband at home took broadband alongside other communications services from the same provider.

At the end of 2006, one in 10 UK adults said they were making calls over the internet, double the proportion that said they did this at the end of 2005. Of these, 14 per cent said they made internet calls daily and a further 30 per cent did so several times per week.

Faster speeds have also helped to increase the popularity of online audio and video content; around 28 per cent listen to or download online audio and 26 per cent watch video clips online on a weekly basis.

This means now more than 13 million UK homes and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are now connected to broadband, compared with 9.9 million a year earlier and 330,000 in 2001.

Ofcom chief executive Ed Richards said: "With over half of UK adults now using broadband at home, we have reached a very significant milestone in the development of broadband Britain. Consumers are responding positively to the competition and innovation that the UK market now offers."