UK's broadband uptake on the rise

The UK now has almost four million broadband users, with over 40,000 new connections each week, according to the communications watchdog Ofcom.

According to Ofcom's latest research data on the digital television and broadband markets in the UK, at the end of April 2004 the UK had 3,992,500 broadband users.

Ofcom's market research also shows that the decline in the use of narrowband services has continued as consumers upgrade to broadband. Up to 67% of adults connect to the internet at home using narrowband, down from 73% in November 2003.

The UK has 53% of its adult population going online from home, up from 50% in November 2003. A quarter of these adults now connect to the Internet using broadband.

The research follows Ofcom's report to the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on the progress towards digital switchover in television, published on April 54.

The research found that the digital take up was increasing as, by March 31, digital television penetration was estimated to have risen to 53% of UK households, up from 50% from the previous quarter. This represents an increase of 2.8%, with an additional 710,000 households adopting digital television during the quarter, bringing the total number of households to more than 13 million (13,072,261).

Uptake of the Freeview digital set top box increased by 18.6% on the previous quarter, with household numbers estimated to have grown to around 3.5 million (3,468,100).

The total number of subscribers to cable television (both digital and analogue) is estimated to have increased slightly during the quarter to around 3.3 million (3,325,275), of which digital cable now accounts for around 2.4 million (2,408,530).

The latest updates examine figures published by operators and providers, combined with Ofcom's own research on emerging trends.

(gmcg)