UK consumers turning to internet access on the move

Staying connected while on the move is the key characteristic of the UK communications consumer, according to the latest research from Ofcom.

The communications regulator's latest International Communications Market report shows that UK consumers have a higher than average propensity to own portable devices such as high-end smartphones and laptops, and to use them to access the internet and to communicate, mostly with friends and family.

The study looked at take-up

The study looked at take-up, availability and use of broadband, landlines, mobiles, TV and radio in 17 countries, excluding South Korea, which is the world's leading broadband nation both by speed and uptake.

While UK consumers are the best connected, due to competitive pricing, they are also among the least likely to enjoy access to advanced high-speed communications.

The internet

Ofcom said 70% of UK homes had broadband access to the internet, but fewer than one in 50 had "superfast" access compared to 34% in Japan. France, Italy, Germany and Spain were equally poorly served.

Legal arguments over spectrum had delayed the introduction of next-generation mobile broadband, said the watchdog. As a result, UK and French consumers were stuck with a maximum of 7.2Mbps, while Swedes could enjoy 100Mbps on their mobiles.

Ofcom said UK consumers are among the earliest adopters of new communications technologies, and among the best connected for broadband, mobile and digital TV. The UK is also the fastest-growing market for smartphones, especially high-end devices like the iPhone.

The economic climate

Demand for communications remains high despite the economic climate. Consumers were also less likely to cut down on communication bills than on holidays or nights out, Ofcom found.

Germany had the highest landline take-up with 85% of the population having a landline, compared to 84% in the UK. Italy has the highest mobile take-up with 95% of the population owning a mobile phone - 91% in the UK - and the Netherlands has the highest fixed broadband take-up with 85 connections per 100 households, against 70 per 100 in the UK.

Ofcom notes the UK is behind other countries in taking up voice over IP services. There are only five UK subscribers for every 100 people, compared with 26 in France and 20 in the Netherlands, even though the UK VoIP market grew 27% between 2006 and 2009.

The need for a landline services

"VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) services tend to be more popular in countries where there is high demand for international calls or where broadband is available to consumers without the need for a landline services," said Ofcom's report.

Most countries preferred to access the internet via a desktop PC, but 69% of UK consumers preferred to use a laptop PC, with 29% saying they used their mobiles.

Almost a quarter of UK consumers used their mobiles for social networking compared to 13% in Germany. Mobile social networking was also higher across all age groups in the UK than other countries, Ofcom said.

UK consumers had 7.8 million pay-TV digital video records such as Sky+ and V+ at the end of 2009, up 40% on 2008. Just under a quarter said they watched TV on the internet every week. This rose to 45% when asked whether they had ever accessed TV content on the internet.

The UK was cheaper for four out of the five communications baskets - landline phone, mobile phone, broadband - than France, Italy, Germany, Spain, USA, but once pay-TV was included, pricing in the UK was comparatively more expensive, Ofcom said.

The UK bought more internet advertising than other countries, Ofcom said. Global ad spend was down 13% to £254bn in 2009. Most of this - 38% of total, down 9% - went on TV but internet ad spend grew 1% to £37bn

The 17 comparator countries

Telecoms revenues declined in seven of the 17 comparator countries, up from three in 2008. Mobile revenue increases were lower than increases in take-up and use, Ofcom said. Mobile connections rose 16.3% and call volumes 14.7%, but revenues rose just 2.7%.

Only in the UK did fixed broadband revenues fall. This was a result of increased take-up of lower cost unbundled local loop broadband services as part of double- and triple-play bundles, Ofcom said.