Ofcom publishes the Communications Market January 2005 Quarterly Update

Ofcom today published the Communications Market Quarterly Update covering the latest data available to 31 December 2004.

The Update shows that:

There are now more broadband connections than unmetered dial-up connections (38 per cent of all internet connections versus 25 per cent).
Provisional estimates suggest the number of broadband connections passed 6 million at the end of 2004.
The growth of digital TV continues to affect viewing habits; almost 28 per cent of all viewing was of digital channels in the three months to September 2004.
Local commercial radio attracted 34.1 per cent share of listening whilst BBC network radio registered 43.5 per cent.

Other key developments identified in each sector include:

Telecoms

Average UK residential fixed-line voice call prices fell 7 per cent in the year to September 2004.
In mobile, revenues from retail customers were up 14 per cent year on year.
Total fixed-line and mobile telecoms revenues were up 4 per cent year on year.

As of the end of September 2004, 56 per cent of households had digital television.
Freeview added a net figure of 430,000 households and digital pay television added a net figure of 89,000 households in the three months to September 2004.
More than half of all viewers watch at least 15 minutes of digital channels in an average week.

Total listening was constant year on year, at 1.1 million hours in the three months to September 2004.
The increasing share of listening for BBC network radio (43.5 per cent) is in part due to BBC Radio 2 (16.1 per cent) and BBC Radio Five Live (4.9 per cent). This increase is also due to the growth of listening to BBC digital stations.
The reach of national commercial radio has risen by 5 per cent over the last two years (from 21 per cent in the third quarter of 2002 to 26 per cent of the third quarter of 2004).