Ofcom: Britons moving online with smartphones

Simon · Aug 04, 2011, 23:47:12

The number of Britons with internet access has overtaken the number of PC owners for the first time, highlighting the rise of smartphones.

According to an extensive report from Ofcom, 78% of the UK is now online - but only 77% say they own a PC.

The telecoms regulator said that was down to the rise of smartphones, with a quarter of adults and almost half of teenagers owning such a device - with 59% buying their smartphone over the past year.

"The ownership of a PC has always been a constraint on the take-up of home internet services, with the cost of the PC preventing some households from getting online and others saying they do not have the knowledge/skills to use a computer," the report said.

"However, the mass-market emergence of internet-enabled phones and internet services designed specifically for mobile phones (such as mobile applications) means that increasingly people are getting online through mobile phones," it added.

Read more: http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/369106/ofcom-britons-moving-online-with-smartphones

Rik · Aug 05, 2011, 09:33:03

I find the logic flawed. For most people, mobile internet will be more expensive than landline internet.

Glenn · Aug 05, 2011, 09:52:03

We had an LTE demo here on Wednesday, the laptop dongle was moving data faster than the leased lines into the building, it was streaming 4 films, hosting a 4 person online racing game with no lag.

pctech · Aug 16, 2011, 12:38:14

But that is under minimum load Glenn.

I seem to remember all this being promised with 3G?

pctech · Aug 16, 2011, 12:57:45

Will be interesting to see how LTE does pan out though when it is rolled out and put under 'real world' loads (several hundred people trying to do that on a single or group of neighbouring cells)

I wonder whether it suffers from 'cell breathing' (where the coverage area decreases when under load)

Technical Ben · Aug 16, 2011, 13:07:34

Quote from: Rik on Aug 05, 2011, 09:33:03
I find the logic flawed. For most people, mobile internet will be more expensive than landline internet.

A friend just mentioned how his mobile connection is way over his landline speed, and about the same price. Usage limit is like 3-10GB, which compares to IDNet too.
[edit]
Oh, I do give a slight word of warning. As mentioned, the great speeds and zero lag are all due to the infrastructure currently outstripping the demand. Who is willing to bet it won't go the same way as the landlines did?

pctech · Aug 16, 2011, 13:46:42

The connection will be contended, both from the backhaul (as we have with ADSL/FTTx) as well as the radio path so the more users in an area the slower each will go.

Technical Ben · Aug 16, 2011, 15:20:47

Well, it's ok for them for now. Previously the neighbours Freeview box has shorted out it's mains and it's internet connection over. That is NOT a good mix.

pctech · Aug 17, 2011, 11:40:49

Quote from: Technical Ben on Aug 16, 2011, 15:20:47
Well, it's ok for them for now. Previously the neighbours Freeview box has shorted out it's mains and it's internet connection over. That is NOT a good mix.

Eh?

Technical Ben · Aug 18, 2011, 08:52:14

An old freeview box. Had an "update over the phone line" connection. It was old, it fused/arched/broke and so was pumping near enough the entire power draw from the mains through to the phone line. It took the phone company about 6 months to find out why everyone's internet and phone was broken. Well, I say 6 months. It took them must less to find the fault when they eventually got off their [seats] and got an engineer to test the line. The the phone wires were over cooked. Not much chance of the copper being replaced. So my friends just gone to a mobile dongle.