NEWS
New government statistics show the UK is fostering its own digital divide with four in 10 homes now without web access.
Figures from the ONS found 43 per cent of households had no internet connectivity. In Scotland, the figure rose to 52 per cent. The South East remained the most connected region with only 33 per cent of homes web-less.
The two main reasons for lack of internet access were 'I don't need it' and 'I don't have the necessary skills'. Other reasons included lack of equipment and having internet access elsewhere.
Thirty per cent of men reported never having been on the internet, while 40 per cent of women said the same.
Conversely, the population of Broadband Britain is also growing apace with high-speed internet now making up more than 72 per cent of connections.
There are now nearly 14 million households on either dial-up or broadband, with 60 per cent of Britons saying they have accessed the web in the last six months.
The Brits' favourite reason to use the web is to search for information on goods and services, followed by emailing.
Comments
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1. Richard
Are we still making IT look too difficult?
Compared with ten years ago, modems are cheap, internet software is much easier, casual dial-up access is available cheaply without subscription or commitment and dial-up connection speeds are much faster. However, there are more security threats.
Do the media and the IT industry still make using the Internet look too difficult and dangerous?
Do we give the impression that the Internet is useless without high-speed broadband?
Another possible reason: Many homes no longer have land-line phones: People with poor credit records or who move home regularly cannot get a land-line. Many have to rely on (expensive) pay-as-you-go mobiles. Very few mobiles can act as modems for PCs.
2. Chris Anderson
I have only ever owned one mobile that could not act as a modem and that was a motorola 7500 9 (I think) remember the brick with an antenna at one end.
Mind you Internet access at 9600 baud (dial up from a gsm phone) does seem very slow nowadays, and at pay-as-you-go rates is very expensive!