Posted: 27th Aug, 2010 By: MarkJ
The UK
Office for National Statistics (ONS) has issued its
2010 Internet Access - Households and Individuals report, which reveals that 19.2 million households (73%) now have internet access (18.31m in 2009) and 30.1 million adults use it to go online every day.
The Office for National Statistics spokesperson, Mark Williams, said:
"Since 2006 we have seen a significant increase in the number of people using the Internet, with the number of adults accessing the Internet every day almost doubling to just over 30 million, though the UK is some way off from being completely online. Usage is closely linked with a number of socio-economic and demographic indicators with those less educated and on lower incomes less likely to access the web.
We have also seen changes in the way people connect and in the frequency of connection, with 31 per cent of Internet users connecting via a mobile phone in 2010 compared to 23 per cent in 2009. The use of Wi-Fi hotspots continued to rise with 2.7 million people (7 per cent of Internet users) used wireless hotspots at locations such as cafes, restaurants, and hotels."
However 9.2 million adults (7 million households) have NEVER used the internet. People who were more likely to have never gone online were those aged over 65, the widowed, people on low incomes and those with no formal qualifications.
Summary of other findings
• 31% of Internet users connected via a mobile phone, up from 23% in 2009.
• 31 million people bought or ordered goods or services online in the last 12 months.
• 98% of people with an income over £41,600, had used the internet. The rate of Internet use decreased in line with income: 69% of adults with an income of less than £10,399 had used the Internet.
• 45% of adults without any formal qualifications had used the Internet, compared with 97% of those with a degree.
Other findings in the survey showed that just over 17 million adults watched TV or listened to the radio online, with men more likely to do this, at 52%, compared with 39% of women. Many of these used on-demand services such as BBC iPlayer or ITV Player.
London was, much as you'd expect, the region with the highest level of household Internet connections, at 83%. The North East had the lowest at 59%.