UK Online Annual Report

This fourth and final annual report offers some encouraging news about trends in UK Internet use. Here are a select few:

• At the end of 2003, 1 in 2 UK homes had Internet access, compared with 1 in 10 in 1999. Regular adult Internet use has also grown significantly, rising to 56% in 2003, representing consistent year-on-year growth of over 5 percentage points. 61% of the population reports that they have used the Internet at some time.
• Increased ease of physical access has fostered this progress. Over £400 million has been invested in the national network of 6,000 UK online centres, located in local libraries. An independent survey published by the Oxford Internet Institute in September 2003 found that 96% of Britain's population are aware of a place where they can access the Internet.
• "From a virtually non-existent broadband market in 1999, good progress has been made towards our target of creating the most extensive and competitive broadband market in the G7 by 2005." 80% of the population has access to a mass-market broadband solution; from less than 50,000 in 2000 there are now over 2.6 million broadband subscribers in the UK.
• E-commerce has become more popular, too: In 2000, 28% of Internet users had purchased goods or services online; by 2003 this figure had reached 52%.

However, the authors cite evidence of a continuing digital divide in the UK. The UK's lowest income households are, at 12% of the population, over 7 times less likely to be online than those in the top income group, of whom 86% have home Internet access. While over 78% of 16-24 year olds are regular Internet users, only 16% of those over 65 are online. The authors cite surveys by the Office of National Statistics indicating that motivational barriers - not ones of access, cost, or skills - are the issue. Of the 39% of UK adults who have yet to go online, 57% cite general lack of interest as a key reason and 39% a lack of understanding of the benefits of the Internet.

In addition, e-government has apparently failed to catch on in the UK. Fewer than 1 in 12 Internet users have ever carried out an online transaction with the government. This, despite the following facts: over two-thirds of government services are now online; every local council has a website; and more than 3,000 .gov.uk websites have surfaced. The authors admit that the lack of a "clearly branded and heavily promoted" portal has held back progress. The UK Online portal, for example, "falls a long way short of providing a single delivery point," the report says. An "e-enabled" election will take place "some time after 2006," according to the report, after a series of local election pilots.

The government pledges that every home in Britain will have access to online services by 2008. A Digital Inclusion Panel composed of members of the private and public sectors will advise the government on ways to meet the target. The plan includes both narrowband and broadband services as well as digital terrestrial, cable, satellite TV, and next-generation mobile phones.

Click here for the full report in PDF format.