Broadband News

Do you know anyone who's not yet online?

Thursday 16 February, 2012

By Anthony Hill

8 million British adults still haven't accessed the web, but the number of non-users is falling

Despite the ever-increasing availability of broadband, millions of UK adults have still never used the internet. According to government data, more than 16% of the grown-up population are yet to experience what the web has to offer.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reports that 8.2 million adults had not accessed the internet by the end of 2011, meaning almost 84% had been online at least once. The number of people who have used the web increased by 224,000 in the final three months of last year.

Whether it's broadband at home or a mobile connection while on the move, there are more of us using the internet than ever - an estimated 42 million adults have now been online at least once.

Those less likely to have visited a website included the over-65s and people with disabilities. And unsurprisingly the largest proportion of internet users was in the youngest age grou - almost 99% of Britain's 16 to 24-year-olds have now experienced the web.

Some of the biggest change was among those aged between 55 and 64, where there were 86,000 fewer non-users by the end of 2011, compared with three months earlier. However, there are still around 19% of 55 to 64-year olds who haven't surfed the net.

The Race Online 2012 campaign is aiming to get the whole country online. Web entrepreneur Martha Lane Fox has been appointed the UK's digital champion, and advises the government on how to get more British people harnessing the power of the internet.

To help with this, the government has earmarked more than £500million of funding for local broadband projects across the UK. It is hoped that Britain will have the "best broadband in Europe" by 2015 if all goes to plan.

Last month, culture secretary Jeremy Hunt threatened to take away the funding unless councils were able to meet strict deadlines for local network improvements.