Digital divide between Wales and UK continues to narrow

Among its findings, Ofcom's Communications Market Report into the TV, radio, broadband and telecoms industries in Wales, shows that in 12 months, the gap between broadband take up in Wales (64%) and the UK as a whole (71%) decreased from 10 to 7 percentage points; and that Wales has the highest proportion of mobile-only households in the UK (19% compared to a UK average of 14%).

The report also shows that the take up of digital television and mobile broadband is higher in Wales compared with the other nations of the UK.

Wales has the highest mobile broadband take-up of any nation in the UK (16%), a 5 percentage point increase compared with 2009. South East Wales has the highest proportion of households who use mobile broadband (18%) followed by North and Mid Wales (14%) and South West Wales (12%).

Rural areas outperform urban areas in take up of communications services

Take up of services in Wales has continued to increase in the last 12 months and is generally higher in rural areas than urban areas.

Ofcom's research finds that the take-up of broadband in rural Wales (69%) continues to be higher than urban Wales (62%).

Consumers in rural Wales are more likely to own a mobile phone than their urban neighbours, despite there being more mobile not spots in rural areas. Take up in rural areas has increased from 89% to 93% in twelve months to surpass the level of take up of mobile phones across the whole of the UK (89%). Take up in urban areas of Wales is lower, at 87%.

Welsh consumers become more tech-savvy

The report shows that consumers are increasingly seeking out opportunities to save money on communications services. Some 44% of households in Wales are taking a discounted bundle of services - two or more services such as telecoms, mobile, broadband and TV - from one operator, up from 35% on the previous year.

The use of social networking in Wales has also grown significantly in twelve months. Some 37% of Welsh people use a social network site such as Facebook, a 50% increase compared with 12 months ago.

Rhodri Williams, Director, Wales, Ofcom said: "It's good to see that the digital divide between Wales and the UK as a whole is narrowing. Communications services are rapidly becoming a necessity rather than a luxury for Welsh consumers and businesses in all parts of Wales. Even though our report indicates that there are still challenges to overcome, the direction of travel is positive."

Professor Tony Davies, chairman of Ofcom's Advisory Committee for Wales (ACW) said: "The ACW welcomes Ofcom's findings that the communications gap is reducing between Wales and the UK as a whole. It is particularly heartening to see that the people of Wales are becoming more knowledgeable and astute in the way in which they buy and use communications services. However, significant challenges still remain, particularly on 3G mobile coverage, broadband speeds and the reach of local DAB and we will continue to press for significant progress on these issues."

The Communications Market Report for Wales can be found here: www.ofcom.org.uk/cmrwales.

More developments

1. Other key market developments in Wales

Television and audiovisual

• Spend on English-language programmes produced in Wales by the BBC and ITV decreased from £33 million (about R370 million) in 2008 to £28m in 2009. Over a five-year period, investment in English-language programmes for Welsh viewers was down 11% per year since 2004 (from £49 million (about R545 million) in 2004 to £28 million (about R311 million) in 2009).
  
• Viewers in Wales benefited from real terms expenditure per head of £9.16 (about R102) on programmes specifically for Wales in 2009, compared to £11.01 (about R122) in 2008. This is still over double the UK average of £4.14 (about R46) per head.
  
• The number of English-language hours produced for viewers in Wales stood at 1036 in 2009, a decline of 13.2% or 157 hours year on year. Most of the reductions in hours for Wales was attributed to the decrease in the non-news and non-current affairs programming produced by ITV, which fell from 158 hours in 2008 to 35 hours in 2009.

Audio and radio

• People in Wales listen to the most radio in the UK at almost 22.7 hours per week. This is higher than the UK average of 21.9 hours per week and higher than in any other nation. However, listening has fallen by an average of 0.5 hours per week since 2009.
  
• People in Wales are less likely to own a DAB radio set than the UK average. 29% of households in Wales have a DAB digital radio set, compared to the UK average of 30%.
  
• Households in South East Wales are most likely to have DAB. More than a third of households (36%) had a set compared with South West Wales where only a quarter of households (26%) had a DAB set.

Telecoms and networks

• Some 19% of households in Wales are mobile only, compared with 14% of homes in the UK. Mobile only homes were highest in South East Wales at 25%, over double the number in North and Mid Wales at 12%.
  
• Broadband take-up in Wales is lower (64%) than the UK as a whole (71%). However Wales has showed a greater increase in broadband take-up (6%) compared with the UK average (3%).
  
• Eighty nine% of the population in Wales live in an area with 2G mobile coverage from one or more operator. This is lower than the UK average (97%) and lower than England (99%) but on a par with Northern Ireland and higher than Scotland (87%).
  
• Some 69% of the population in Wales live in an area with 3G mobile coverage from one or more operator. This is significantly lower than the UK average (87%), but higher than Scotland (66%) and Northern Ireland (40%).
  
• Satisfaction with mobile reception in Wales is high. The proportion of people who were satisfied with their mobile reception in Wales (90%) was slightly higher than the UK average (88%).

Internet and web-based content

• Some 44% of Welsh consumers have bought bundled communications services (9% more than in 2009) compared with a UK average of 51%. Consumers in rural Wales are least likely to take-up bundled packages (39%) compared with 48% of consumers in South East Wales who are most likely.
  
• Over a quarter of Welsh consumers (28%) have watched TV or video content online, up from 25% on the previous year but lower than the UK average of 38%. Watching TV or video content online was least popular in South East and South West Wales at 22%.
  
• Use of social networking sites in Wales increased by 50% from 25% to 37% during the past twelve months, slightly behind the UK average of 40%. People in North and Mid Wales were more likely to visit a social network site than those in South East Wales, (40% compared with 34%).