Survey says British spend 50 days online a year

Rival survey suggests much lower figure

8 August 2006 14:25 GMT / By Amber Maitland

Two new surveys of British internet habits have thrown up different results because of the group of people questioned.

A survey by USwitch.com interviewed 15,323 people via an online poll by YouGov, which may naturally favour more regular broadband internet users.

The results of the USwitch.com survey revealed that 10 million broadband users spend about 23.5 hours surfing the net every week, which adds up to 50 days of the year.

Ofcom, the regulatory body, conducted its own research by interviewing adults across the UK, and found that broadband users spend just 12 hours a week online.

Only 12% of those it surveyed spent more than 25 hours a week online.

USwitch.com’s survey also found that 87% of broadband users shopped online, while 78% conduct banking online.

The broadband market is exploding at the moment, with 70,000 new broadband subscribers signing up every week.

Via BBC