More than eight of ten Britons who are connected to the internet now do so through broadband connections, new research shows.

According to figures from the Office of National Statistics' Internet Access 2007 Households and Individuals report, 84 per cent of the UK's 15.23 million households with internet connections are currently connected via broadband.

The highest concentration of users remains in the South West and London where 69 per cent have broadband, while Yorkshire, the North East and Northern Ireland are the regions with the lowest levels of broadband connectivity at 52 per cent.

Perhaps most interesting, given the increasing competition among broadband providers, is that 21 per cent of those who have not migrated to broadband cite the expense of the service as the reason.

This compares with the 40 per cent who said they had not upgraded because they did not need a broadband connection and the 15 per cent who said the service was not available in their area or that they had access to a broadband connection at work or elsewhere.