Statistics and facts on the communications industry taken from Ofcom research publications.
Listed below you will find key data relating to the take-up and use of internet services, landline and mobile, post, television and radio
| Internet | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | Source | Review period |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average time spent per month browsing online on PCs or laptops | N/A | N/A - due to methodological changes between 2015 and 2016 data is not comparable | 30 hours 42 minutes (March 2016) | CMR | Annual |
| Number of UK fixed residential & SME broadband lines | 22.8 million (end 2013) | 23.7 million (end 2014) | 24.7 million (end 2015) | CMR | Annual |
| Proportion of adults with broadband in the UK (fixed & mobile) | 77% (Q1 2014) | 80% (Q1 2015) | 81% (Q1 2016) | Tech Tracker | Half-yearly |
| Market shares of fixed broadband providers in the UK | BT 31% Virgin Media 20% TalkTalk 16% Sky 21% EE 3% Others 9% (End of 2013) | BT 32% Virgin Media 20% TalkTalk 14% Sky 22% EE 4% Others 8% (End of 2014) | BT 32% Virgin Media 19% TalkTalk 13% Sky 23% EE 4% Others 8% (End of 2015) | CMR | Annual |
| Superfast fixed broadband take-up (excluding leased lines) | 32% (end 2014) | 42% (end 2015) | N/A (no data until later this year) | Fixed BB performance report (Nov) | Annual |
| Superfast fixed broadband lines | 5.3 million (end of 2013) | 7.1million (end of 2014) | 9.2 million (end of 2015) | ISPs | Quarterly |
| Average UK broadband speed | 22.8Mbit/s (Nov 2014) | 28.9Mbit/s (Nov 2015) | N/A (no data until later this year) | Fixed BB performance report (Nov) | Annual |
| Proportion of online adults who use social networking sites | 66% (2013) | 72% (2014) | 73% (2015) | Media Literacy Tracker | Half-yearly |
| Proportion of people who use their mobile handset to access the internet | 57% (Q1 2014) | 61% (Q1 2015) | 66% (Q1 2016) | Tech Tracker | Half-yearly |
| TV | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | Source | Review period |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Proportion of UK homes with a working TV (source: BARB Establishment Survey) | 95% (Q4 2013) | 93% (Q4 2014) |
95% (Q4 2015) (Note: there was a methodology change in Q4 2015) | BARB | Quarterly |
| Number of minutes of TV people aged 4+ watch each day | 232 minutes/ 3 hours 52 minutes (2013 average) | 220 minutes/ 3 hours and 40 minutes (2014 average) | 216 minutes / 3 hours and 36 minutes (2015 average) | BARB | Quarter |
| Landline/Mobile | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | Source | Review period |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of UK residential fixed landlines | 25 million (end of 2013) | 25.5m (end of 2014) | 25.6m (end of 2015) | ISPs | Quarterly |
| Number of fixed landlines in the UK (including ISDN channels) | 33.3 million (end of 2013) | 33.2m (end of 2014) | 33.2m (end of 2015) | ISPs | Quarterly |
| Market shares of fixed line providers in the UK |
BT 37% (end of 2013) Virgin Media 12% (end of 2013) Others 51% (end of 2013) |
BT 37% (end of 2014) Virgin Media 13% (end of 2014) Others 50% (end of 2014) |
BT 37% (end of 2015) Virgin Media 13% (end of 2015) Others 50% (end of 2015) | CMR | Annual |
| Proportion of adults who personally own/use a mobile phone in the UK | 93% (Q1 2014) | 93% (Q1 2015) | 93% (Q1 2016) | Tech Tracker | Half-yearly |
| Proportion of UK adults with a smartphone | 61% (Q1 2014) | 66% (Q1 2015) | 71% (Q1 2016) | Tech Tracker | Half-yearly |
| Proportion of adults who live in a mobile-only home | 16% (Q1 2014) | 15% (Q1 2015) | 14% (Q1 2016) | Tech Tracker | Half-yearly |
| Number of UK mobile subscriptions (including M2M) | 88.4 million (end of 2013) | 89.9m (end of 2014) | 91.5m (end of 2015) | MNOs | Quarterly |
| Number of 4G mobile subscriptions | 2.7 million (end of 2013) | 23.6 million (end of 2014) | 39.5 million (end of 2015) | CMR | Annual |
| Average number of SMS and MMS sent per mobile handset subscription per month | 139 (2013) | 115 (2014) | 107 (2015) | MNOs | Quarterly |
| Radio | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | Source | Review period |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Proportion of radio listeners with a DAB radio in their household | 48% (Q1 2014) | 49% (Q1 2015) | 55.7% (Q1 2016) | RAJAR | Quarterly |
| Proportion of listener hours through a digital platform (DAB, online, DTV) | 37% (Q1 2014) | 40% (Q1 2015) | 44.1% (Q1 2016) | RAJAR | Quarterly |
| Number of radio stations on analogue (excluding community stations) | 338 (May 2014) | 340 (May 2015) | 337 (May 2016) | CMR | Annual |
| Number of national radio stations (analogue and DAB) | 25 (May 2014) | 25 (May 2015) | 41 (May 2016) | CMR | Annua |
| Post | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | Source | Review period |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Addressed letter revenue | £4.2 billion (2013) | £4.3 billion (2014) | £4.2 billion (2015) | CMR | Annual |
| Addressed letter volume | 12.9 billion items (2013) | 12.7 billion items (2014) | 12.2 billion items (2015) | CMR | Annual |
