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The UKs broadband penetration is at its highest ever level.
The UKs broadband penetration is at its highest ever level - good news for online SMEs. UK households with Internet Access increased to 65 per cent, or 16.46 million households, in 2008, compared with 61 per cent in 2007.
This is according to the latest figures on Internet Access 2008 released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) today.
Of all UK households, 56 per cent had broadband Internet access in 2008, compared with 51 per cent in 2007
Of the UK households with Internet Access, 86 per cent had a broadband connection in 2008
In 2006 there were 5.3 million more private cars on the road than in 1996 in Great Britain.
The report indicates that education plays a role as to whether people have Internet access in their homes. Ninety three per cent of adults under 70, who had a degree or equivalent qualification, had Internet access in their home, compared with 56 per cent of adults with no formal qualifications who had Internet access in their home. In 2008, the proportion of households able to access the Internet varied between different parts of the country. The region with the highest level of
access was the South East, with 74 per cent.
Penetration is also high in London and across the east.
The North of England has the lowest penetration - with 54% in the North East. This would suggest a correlation between income levels and internet access as the regional penetration statistics mirror regional GDP levels.
Dial up connections will soon be a thing of the past according to the research.
UK households connecting to the Internet via broadband increased in 2008, with 56 per cent of all UK households connecting this way, compared with 51
per cent in 2007. Dial up (narrowband) connections continued to fall, to just 9 per cent in 2008. The proportion of UK households without an Internet connection fell to 35 per cent in 2008. The most common response, when adults were asked why their
household did not have an Internet connection, was that they did not need it (34 per cent).
The last time adults were asked why they did not have an Internet connection was in 2006. Since then, while overall numbers are down,
there has been a significant increase in the proportion of adults who stated they did not want the Internet, from 3 per cent in 2006 to 24 per cent in 2008.
In 2008, 33.9 million adults (71 per cent of the UK adult population) accessed the Internet in the three months prior to interview. This was an increase of 6.6 per cent (2.1 million adults) from 2007.
As in 2007, men were more likely to access the Internet than women (75 per cent compared with 66 per cent respectively). Adults aged 65 plus were still the least likely to use the Internet, with 70 per cent stating they had never used it, down from 82 per cent in 2006.
The most popular activity of recent Internet users was sending or receiving emails at 87 per cent. This proved to be the most popular activity for both the older age groups (55-64 and 65 plus), and the youngest age group, aged 16-24.
While the youngest age group was often the most likely to be involved in Internet activities, it was the least likely to use the Internet for services related to travel and accommodation (50 per cent), and seeking health related information (22 per cent).
Nearly half of recent Internet users had used Internet banking (49 per cent). This activity, along with online selling proved to be most popular among the 25-44 age group (at 57 per cent and 24 per cent respectively).
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