10/10/2006

Welsh broadband take-up continues to climb with 43% of the country now subscribed to a broadband service, compared with 39% in 2005, according to research by the Welsh Assembly Government Broadband Wales Programme.

The survey of 5,500 residents across 22 Local Authorities revealed that Anglesey is the most improved county, with broadband take-up in the area increasing by an impressive 38% in the last year (29% to 40%). Powys (30% increase) and Wrexham (27% increase) followed, with 39% and 42% of the population now with broadband.

Cardiff - one of Europe’s most enabled cities - has been toppled from the number one position as the most broadband enabled county, with Newport taking the lead thanks to the 51% of its residents now subscribed to a broadband service. Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan closely follow on 50%.

As well as being better connected, the research also shows that Wales is getting faster, with 26% of those surveyed having connection speeds faster that 1Mb, in order to support such advanced applications as videoconferencing, gaming and music downloads.

Although the PC remains the most popular method of connecting to the Internet, there has been an increase in the number of people accessing via their mobile phone networks which now stands at almost 20% of those who have used the Internet.

The telephone line is still the most used technology, although both cable and wireless connectivity has also shown growth, indicating a wider use of technology.

The impact of the Regional Innovative Broadband Support Programme (RIBS) will not be reflected in this wave of the research. The enablement of the 35 exchange areas in Wales commenced at the end of June (following the fieldwork for this research) and to date 30 of the 35 exchange areas have been enabled providing access to broadband to an estimated 6,000 additional homes and businesses across Wales.


The multi-million-pound Broadband Wales Programme was launched by the Welsh Assembly Government in July 2002. The Programme aims to achieve a competitive and sustainable broadband infrastructure across Wales by March 2007. Specific targets include increasing access to, and take up of, affordable broadband by individuals, communities, businesses and public sector organisations.

Increased availability and improved uptake of broadband is expected to generate a step-change that will help to underpin the successful transition from an industrial to a modern, knowledge economy.