ONS: Internet connectivity on the rise

ONS: Internet connectivity on the rise

Almost 16.5 million UK households have internet access in 2008, according to new figures from the Office for National Statistics.

This figure represents nearly two-thirds of the households in the country and a rise of more than 1.2 million since 2007.

Other findings from the data included the fact that the 16-24 age group uses the web most, with more than three-quarters of the demographic making use of the resource every day or almost every day in the last three months.

The Internet Access 2008: Households and Individuals report also indicates that 2008 is the first year that the majority (54 per cent) of people aged 65 or over who used the internet in the last 12 weeks did so every day or almost daily.

Finally, it is shown that men are almost twice as likely to access the internet via their mobile phone, with 15 per cent of males doing so in comparison to eight per cent of females.

Meanwhile, recently published figures from the IMRG CapGemini e-Retail Sales Index show that online spending increased to a total market value of £4.8 billion last month.