New results show a deeper ‘Digital Divide’ . Analysis of broadband take-up

Point Topic: UK. The broadband ‘Digital Divide’ – the gap between the haves and have-nots – is deeper than was thought and may be getting even deeper. This is one conclusion

All the ‘Top Ten’ Local Authority areas with the highest broadband density are in London and the home counties (Figure 2). The ten with the lowest density are in the rural areas of Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales – plus West Somerset, which includes the wide open spaces of Exmoor.

The figures show density in terms of the number of broadband lines per 100 population as at mid-2005. They include both DSL lines provided over BT’s network and cable modem connections supplied by the cable TV networks. Household density is highest in prosperous suburban areas but business use drives the total up higher in areas like Westminster and Tower Hamlets.

Thus the ‘Top Ten’ range from 25 broadband lines per 100 people in Wandsworth, south London, to 20 in South Buckinghamshire. Low density areas include Dumfries and Galloway, with 6.3 lines per 100 down to Eilean Siar (the Western Isles) with 4.9. (These figures exclude one of the UKs smallest local authorities, the City of London, which has a very high density because of business use.)

Point Topic’s earlier analysis suggested that some areas outside the South East – for example in the prosperous areas of South Wales – were up among the leaders for broadband density. This was particularly due to the success of the cable companies in selling broadband to their existing customers.

Several factors have now changed this view. DSL is growing faster than cable modems which is reducing the advantage of the cable TV areas. Point Topic’s consumer research, based on 2,000 face-to-face interviews, showed that broadband density for poorer families is lower than had been assumed.

Fig. 1 - Broadband density by Local Authority *

Fig. 2 - Broadband density - Top Ten Local Authority areas

More: Broadband density - Top Ten Local Authority areas Publ 20060118