The latest research from Nielsen/NetRatings shows that UK broadband access grew by 235% between April 2002 and April 2003. In the same period European broadband jumped by an overall total of 136%.

This means that 28% of European Internet users can now connect using a broadband technology, which compares with 35% in the USA and 82% in Hong Kong!

Sadly, while France (38/39%) and Spain have overtaken the USA in terms of broadband take-up, the UK (22/23%), Germany and Italy still lag behind.

Thankfully the overall picture is a promising one, with dialup now being largely bypassed in favour of broadband alternatives. Typically multimedia and file-sharing services are a big draw for such customers, especially adult material, which has seen a stronger than usual growth.

The research predicts that by March 2004 Europe will have more than 50,000,000 broadband connections.