More than 15m UK houses now online

Angela Balakrishnan Tuesday August 28, 2007 - Guardian Unlimited

The number of UK households with internet access has jumped by nearly one million over the past year, with London and the south-west leading the way, official data showed today.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics showed that 15.23 million households now have internet access, equivalent to 61% of all households and an increase of 7% from 2006.

The proportion of homes with broadband access has grown sharply to 51%.

London and the south-west were the regions with the highest level of internet access, at 69%, and London remained top of the list when it came to broadband access as well.

Northern Ireland, Yorkshire & Humber and the north-east have the lowest level, with just over half of all households in those areas able to access the internet.

Wales saw the biggest increase in its broadband access, with the number of households rising to 49% from 32%.

Following the announcement by the government that the digital television switch-over would take place between 2008 and 2012, the north-east has seen the highest take-up with 84% of households. Northern Ireland lags behind with only 59%.

The survey also shows the amount people using the internet is on the up, with 67% of adults using it every day. People aged 40 or under surf the internet most frequently.

The most popular activity for internet users is searching for information about goods and services, especially among men. For women, email is the most popular function of the internet.

A breakdown of the results showed that men were more
technology-aware, using the internet for a wider range of
activities such as making phone calls, downloading
software, playing games or watching films. Women
tend to use the internet for health-related or education
information.