Viva Modem

date posted 8th September 2002 10:57

Got the latest Nielsen/NetRatings research in the post today, found it
pretty interesting reading and I suspect other web designers,
particularly those who labour under the delusion that broadband is
widespread, will too. Details below,

Hutch

UK Lags Behind Europe in Broadband Take-Up

The latest research from Nielsen//NetRatings, the leading provider of
Internet audience measurement, shows that the number of households using
broadband Internet connections in the UK is lower than in any other
country in Europe.

As the chart below shows, only 9% of UK households use a high-speed
connection to dial up to the Internet, compared to 39% in Germany and
33% in Sweden. Even France, which has a far lower overall penetration of
the Internet, has a higher number of households using broadband.

"This time last year 5% of British surfers were using a high-speed
Internet connection," commented Tom Ewing, Internet Analyst at
Nielsen//NetRatings, "What we're seeing here is an improvement, but not
much of one. Broadband is growing in this country but the Government's
stated target of being the G7 leader in Broadband connectivity by 2005
is absurd if you set it against current rates of growth. This summer we
did see a lot of aggressive marketing of broadband, and there are signs
that the uptake is rising, but it'll take more than just advertising to
catch up with markets like Germany."