Rural dwellers more connected than city slickers, says Ofcom

22 May 2008 9:50 GMT / By Katie Scott

For the first time, people living in the countryside are enjoying better broadband connections that their counterparts in towns and cities.

According to new stats from Ofcom, 59% of rural homes now have broadband, compared to 57% of urbanites.

And Ofcom is getting ever so excited about the results with chief exec Ed Richards commenting: "Our report highlights a closing of the geographical digital divide in the UK".

Four years ago, says the BBC, urban dwellers were twice as likely to have broadband as those living in the country.

Of the cities, it is Sunderland that is currently Britain's broadband bigwig with 66% connectivity while Glasgow comes bottom of the list with only 32% of homes having access to high speed connections.

But other areas of Scotland are well connected - in the Highlands and Islands, 62% of homes have broadband, and Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Dundee are all well ahead of the report's UK average.

The report also revealed that 20% of UK households now rely solely on a mobile phone; 3G technology is most popular in Dundee where almost a third of people have a third-gen phone and mobile internet use is highest in London and Birmingham.

The report, though, has already drawn criticism because ti does not take into account broadband speeds, which critics argue will be far slower in the countryside than in towns.

BRITAIN'S TOP FIVE BROADBAND TOWNS AND CITIES:
1. Sunderland 66%
2. Plymouth 64%
3. Aberdeen 64%
4. Highlands 62%
5. London 62%

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Software, Online, Broadband, Ofcom