27 August 2008
The number of households with broadband internet increased significantly over the second quarter of the year as families realised the benefits of faster connections. According to figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), almost 19 out of every 20 internet connections in the UK were via broadband in June. It accounted for 93.2% of all connections, up from 91.6% in March 2008, while dial-up accounted for just 6.8% following a decline in subscriptions. The ONS believes the increase reflects the "continuing popularity" and "widespread availability" of broadband and the "increasingly competitive connection packages" on offer. In terms of broadband speeds, the figures show that in June 56.8% of customers were enjoying download speeds of two megabits per second or faster, up from 52.3% in March. Last month, telecoms company BT announced plans to roll out a fibre-based network offering broadband speeds of up to ten megabits per second to ten million UK homes by 2012.