More households in the UK than ever are connected to the Internet via broadband access

eMarketer: Thanks to government efforts, Internet access overall is widespread—56.7% of the entire UK population is now online. 73% of these online users are connected via broadband. This year's rapid growth has outpaced even the most optimistic projections made earlier in the year.

Thanks to BT's broadband-enabling lines now being open to competing ISPs at wholesale rates, the UK is on the way to being the top broadband country in Western Europe in just three years. As a percentage of online users, eMarketer projects that the UK will catch up with the US by 2008

With the market to provide broadband so competitive, ISPs will increasingly offer the triple play of Internet, TV and phone service from one provider. This will position TV over Internet protocol (IPTV) and voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) as solid alternatives to existing television and phone options, suiting the 41% of customers who have said they want such services. In addition, e-commerce is growing as a result of more broadband power. British users are getting more comfortable with completing transactions on their high-speed connections, and that's making for robust growth in e-commerce,. As users gain even more experience, they buy higher-ticket items on the Web—even to the detriment of some physical High Street retail stores UK Online Triple play? Wikipedia Red Viking

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