Broadband Blighty gets a rural flavour

Broadband Britain is flying a tweed flag: fat pipe penetration in rural areas has outstripped urban areas for the first time, according to an Ofcom report.

Across the UK as a whole, the statistics show there is a greater proportion of households with high speed Internet access in the countryside than in built-up areas: 59 per cent to 57 per cent.

And the same is true of all regions of the UK -- with rural households in England and Northern Ireland two per cent better connected than their urban neighbours, while in Scotland country folk are seven per cent up on the urbanities and in Wales the figure is eight per cent.

The watchdog claims this marks an important shift for Blighty as, back in 2000 when broadband was introduced, urban households were first to sign up -- prompting fears of a digital divide opening up based on high speed Internet connectivity.

Ed Richards, Ofcom CEO, said in a statement: "Our report highlights a closing of the geographic digital divide in the UK. Rural households are today as well connected to broadband as their urban neighbours."

Fat pipe penetration across the whole of Britain stands at 57 per cent of households -- up 12 percentage points in 12 months. Ofcom's third Communications Market Report: Nations and Regions shows broadband take-up has increased across all regions of the UK, with England up 13 percentage points to 58 per cent penetration; Scotland up 11 points to 53 per cent; and Northern Ireland up 10 points to 52 per cent.

Wales had the lowest growth rate, rising just three percentage points on last year to hit 45 per cent fat pipe penetration.

The research also looked at homes that rely solely on mobile phones, instead of installing a landline, and found 12 per cent of UK households do this -- more than ever before. Wales saw the highest growth, with around a fifth (19 per cent) of homes being mobile-only, while the UK city with the highest rate of mobile-only households is Greater Manchester, where almost a third (28 per cent) do without a traditional telephone.

Additional findings in the report include digital television penetration -- which stands at 85 per cent of households across the UK, up 10 percentage points since 2006. And DAB digital radio penetration -- which stands at 22 per cent nationally, a four point rise.