UK is 'digitally advanced nation', says Ofcom

The UK is a "digitally advanced nation" according to media watchdog Ofcom.


The proportion of UK households with digital TV on their main set is 86%, up 9% on the previous year as the switch-over gets underway. Almost a third of people say they own a digital video recorder.

In the US 70% of households have a digital TV.

The ofcom report into the £876bn global communications market also showed that consumers in the UK get a good deal when buying communications services as competitive markets are driving prices down. Consumers are also shopping around for good deals through "bundling" - taking multiple services from single communications providers.

Mobile social networking has also started to take off - 800,000 mobile subscribers in the UK and 4 million in the US access social networking sites using their mobile devices.

People in the UK spend nearly 14 hours per week online, an increase of nearly 6.5 hours a week in 2004, the highest increase amongst the countries surveyed.

Average broadband take-up was 56% of households in 2007, compared with 12% in 2002. The UK is above average, with 60% of households connected.

The report compares the availability, take-up and use of communications services in seven countries: the UK, France, Germany, Italy, the USA, Canada and Japan. The report also includes some information from other European countries: Poland, Spain, the Netherlands, Sweden and the Republic of Ireland.

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