Britain now ranks ahead of Germany, Italy, France and Spain for access to broadband, according to watchdog Ofcom
The average home broadband speed has doubled in less than two years, reaching nearly 18 megabits per second (Mbps) and helping to propel Britain's digital infrastructure ahead of Europe's other leading economies.
The UK now ranks ahead of Germany, France, Italy and Spain for the number of homes that have access to standard and superfast broadband, and has a greater proportion of people able to receive internet over their mobile phone, according to a scorecard published by the telecoms watchdog, Ofcom.
With internet gradually gaining the status of a household utility alongside water, gas and electricity, more Britons now shop online than in any other European state. The data suggests that using a tablet or desktop computer to buy groceries, clothes and entertainment is becoming a national pursuit.
The high street is moving online, with internet-only retailers such as Asos and Net-a-Porter enjoying rising sales, and John Lewis using its busy website order book to overtake Marks & Spencer in sales this year.
Seventy-seven percent of Britons have bought goods or services over the internet in the last 12 months, and 87% say they go online at least once a week. Cyber-shopping is also popular in Germany, where 68% have spent money online in the last year, but far less so in the warmer climates of southern Europe – just 20% of Italians and 32% of Spaniards have made purchases online.
"We are leading the main EU nations when it comes to superfast broadband and 4G network deployment," said the Ofcom boss, Ed Richards. In a letter to the business secretary, Vince Cable, presenting the latest findings, he pointed out that superfast broadband is available to 73% of households and takeup is accelerating. "Since we published our last scorecard report in 2013, the UK has overtaken Germany and Spain on both measures."
The data was published as a rapid rebuttal of Angela Merkel's jibe at David Cameron's expense last weekend. The German chancellor and British prime minister met for a press conference to announce joint research into 5G mobile internet technology, but the united front was undermined when Merkel joked about how long it would take for every Briton would have access to superfast broadband.
Germany is promising a national minimum of 50Mbps by 2018, an infrastructure project which could cost €20bn to €34bn (£17bn-£28bn), and which the country plans to fund from mobile spectrum sales. The UK, meanwhile, has a target of 95% of homes on superfast broadband by 2017, although the speed target is lower than Germany's.
When Ofcom produced its last comparison, between 55 and 60% of households had access to superfast broadband in the UK, behind Germany and Spain. Seventy-seven percent of households had a fixed broadband connection, compared with 83% today.
Numbers using the internet at least once a week have risen from 81% to 87%, while those who have never used the internet fell from 11% to 8%.
"Momentum needs to be maintained if the UK is to become a truly digital nation, which means neglected rural communities and notspots must be connected to this vital part of UK infrastructure," said Dominic Baliszewski, a telecoms expert at the comparison site Broadbandchoices.
"Broadband has become a utility in its own right and the absence of a working connection can have a seriously negative impact on families, from an educational, financial and social standpoint."
The biggest boost has come from Virgin Media, which doubled speeds at no extra charge for millions of customers in 2012, and BT's extension of fibre to street cabinets serving two-thirds of the population. The average download speed reached 17.8Mbps in November last year, up from 9Mbps in May 2012, effectively doubling in 18 months. The UK is also the best of the five big European economies for 4G coverage on mobile phones, and 4 million people now subscribe to the service.
Boris Ivanovic, the chairman of the fast home internet firm Hyperoptic, said there were "a number of problems" with Ofcom's findings.
"The overall conclusion that the UK has the best broadband in Europe is highly questionable as broadband infrastructure in other European countries, especially in Scandinavia, is far superior to ours at the moment." Reported by guardian.co.uk 4 hours ago.
The average home broadband speed has doubled in less than two years, reaching nearly 18 megabits per second (Mbps) and helping to propel Britain's digital infrastructure ahead of Europe's other leading economies.
The UK now ranks ahead of Germany, France, Italy and Spain for the number of homes that have access to standard and superfast broadband, and has a greater proportion of people able to receive internet over their mobile phone, according to a scorecard published by the telecoms watchdog, Ofcom.
With internet gradually gaining the status of a household utility alongside water, gas and electricity, more Britons now shop online than in any other European state. The data suggests that using a tablet or desktop computer to buy groceries, clothes and entertainment is becoming a national pursuit.
The high street is moving online, with internet-only retailers such as Asos and Net-a-Porter enjoying rising sales, and John Lewis using its busy website order book to overtake Marks & Spencer in sales this year.
Seventy-seven percent of Britons have bought goods or services over the internet in the last 12 months, and 87% say they go online at least once a week. Cyber-shopping is also popular in Germany, where 68% have spent money online in the last year, but far less so in the warmer climates of southern Europe – just 20% of Italians and 32% of Spaniards have made purchases online.
"We are leading the main EU nations when it comes to superfast broadband and 4G network deployment," said the Ofcom boss, Ed Richards. In a letter to the business secretary, Vince Cable, presenting the latest findings, he pointed out that superfast broadband is available to 73% of households and takeup is accelerating. "Since we published our last scorecard report in 2013, the UK has overtaken Germany and Spain on both measures."
The data was published as a rapid rebuttal of Angela Merkel's jibe at David Cameron's expense last weekend. The German chancellor and British prime minister met for a press conference to announce joint research into 5G mobile internet technology, but the united front was undermined when Merkel joked about how long it would take for every Briton would have access to superfast broadband.
Germany is promising a national minimum of 50Mbps by 2018, an infrastructure project which could cost €20bn to €34bn (£17bn-£28bn), and which the country plans to fund from mobile spectrum sales. The UK, meanwhile, has a target of 95% of homes on superfast broadband by 2017, although the speed target is lower than Germany's.
When Ofcom produced its last comparison, between 55 and 60% of households had access to superfast broadband in the UK, behind Germany and Spain. Seventy-seven percent of households had a fixed broadband connection, compared with 83% today.
Numbers using the internet at least once a week have risen from 81% to 87%, while those who have never used the internet fell from 11% to 8%.
"Momentum needs to be maintained if the UK is to become a truly digital nation, which means neglected rural communities and notspots must be connected to this vital part of UK infrastructure," said Dominic Baliszewski, a telecoms expert at the comparison site Broadbandchoices.
"Broadband has become a utility in its own right and the absence of a working connection can have a seriously negative impact on families, from an educational, financial and social standpoint."
The biggest boost has come from Virgin Media, which doubled speeds at no extra charge for millions of customers in 2012, and BT's extension of fibre to street cabinets serving two-thirds of the population. The average download speed reached 17.8Mbps in November last year, up from 9Mbps in May 2012, effectively doubling in 18 months. The UK is also the best of the five big European economies for 4G coverage on mobile phones, and 4 million people now subscribe to the service.
Boris Ivanovic, the chairman of the fast home internet firm Hyperoptic, said there were "a number of problems" with Ofcom's findings.
"The overall conclusion that the UK has the best broadband in Europe is highly questionable as broadband infrastructure in other European countries, especially in Scandinavia, is far superior to ours at the moment." Reported by guardian.co.uk 4 hours ago.