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More Everything - The Ofcom 2008 Report

UK consumers are spending more time on communications than ever before but paying less for the privilege, according to UK telecoms watchdog, Ofcom.

During this time, we’re spending more time on our PCs and laptops – up from six minutes a day on average in 2002 to 24 minutes in 2007.

In tandem with increased internet use – especially for watching television – online advertising rose almost 40 per cent year-on-year, reaching £2.8 billion in 2007, overtaking the combined advertising spending on ITV1, Channel 4, S4C and Five (£2.4 billion).

Show me the money

The group’s 365-page annual report into the UK’s £51bn communications industry makes interesting reading  at a time when other utility bills such as gas and electricity are rising at astronomical rates. Average UK monthly household spend on communications – mobile, fixed-line telephone, TV and internet – was £93.63, down £1.53 (1.6 per cent) on the previous year, and £4.31 (4.4 per cent) less than 2004.

Consumers are increasingly buying communications services bundles, as they’re often cheaper than buying individual services from various providers. The number of households buying bundles of three or more services from a single provider has almost doubled from 18 per cent in 2006 to 32 per cent in March 2008.

We’re also shopping around more to get the best deal. 27 per cent of us have switched out internet provider at least once, while 37 per cent have switched landline provider and 41 per cent have migrated to a different mobile provider.

“We are spending more and more time with our communications devices but spending less on them,” said Ofcom’s Peter Phillips. “Our devotion to watching, listening and staying in touch wherever and whenever we want shows no sign of diminishing and, with healthy competition, overall prices offer increased value for money.”

Net gains

Our demand for broadband-intensive applications, such as the BBC iPlayer, is putting pressure on networks, but more of us are getting online faster. In 2002, just four per cent of households had broadband, but now more than half (58 per cent) enjoy broadband. Ofcom says the average headline broadband speeds rose from 3.6 Megabits per second (Mbps) in 2006 to 5.9Mbps in spring 2008. Two thirds of UK households (67 per cent) have internet access.

Radio, someone still loves you

The number of people listening to radio via the web has increased by a fifth (21 per cent) from 12 to 14.5 million between November 2007 and May 2008. At the same time, seven million households have a DAB radio set.

Nearly nine out of ten households have digital TV compared to seventy per cent last autumn, and we’re also stepping up high-definition (HD) TV purchases. Nearly 80 per cent of all televisions sold are now HD-ready, up a half on last year, with people favouring bigger screens- a fifth being for 33-inch screens and larger.

Mobile home

There are now almost 74 million mobile connections serving a population of 60 million in the UK. One in ten people with a landline in their home never use it to make calls, according to Ofcom, preferring the mobile.

This might help explain the massive rise in texting – up 36 per cent in the last two years and a massive 234 per cent since 2002 – totalling 60 billion texts. That equals 67 texts per month from each mobile.

Power games

Despite the high profile of environmental issues and increased consciousness, public demand for power to fuel their communications continues unabated. Fewer that four in ten consider the impact on the environment of their communications devices, although two-thirds claim to turn them off to save energy.

In short, there were few surprises from Ofcom. The organisation’s latest report echoes previous reports that more and more of us are getting online and faster. But that costs have decreased while choice and use has increased is good news for consumers and businesses. With the internet fast overtaking television as the advertising executive’s medium of choice to reach target audiences, new media players will be excited by Ofcom’s latest report.