Broadband for British Business

A quarter of all net-connected British businesses are planning to adopt broadband Internet in the next 12 months, according to the latest wave of the Business Internet survey, published by NOP Business.

Manufacturing, retail and the business services are the dominant sectors in the vanguard of 'Broadband Britain', and likely uptake of the technology is uniform across all size categories, from large corporates down to establishments with fewer than 10 staff. The recently announced price reductions are likely to drive this adoption curve even faster.

The promise of a faster Internet experience is the key determinant for adoption of broadband (66% of those likely to adopt broadband are likely to use it for this) with the suitability of the technology for hosting data and video applications also attractive to those expecting to connect to the service (16% of those likely to adopt broadband expect to use it for voice and data communications).

One area likely to benefit from increased broadband adoption is that of Application Service Providers (ASPS), currently suffering from relatively low levels of usage and awareness, not least amongst SMEs, its potentially largest audience. (Current usage of ASPS is: 5% of establishments with fewer than 10 staff, 5% - 10-49 staff, 5% - 50-199 staff, 12% - 200-499 staff, 18% - 500+ staff.)

According to Carl Geraghty, Business Internet Research Manager at NOP, 'Applications such as remote PC diagnosis, video conferencing, data storage & CRM are arguably tailor-made for the Internet. The benefits of speed, reduced administration time, and immediate, fast access for a company-wide audience make these attractive Internet applications. Rolling out these services of the back of high-speed broadband can only enhance their attractiveness. Work needs to be done to promote the value and efficacy of these applications to the business market, to encourage a wider usage of the web as an integrated business tool.'

For wave 8 of the Business Internet survey, NOP Business screened 12,000 commercial establishments and conducted 700 follow-up telephone interviews in Internet-connected businesses. The survey covers a wide range of topics, from usage and adoption of web sites, Intranet, Internet banking and e-solutions providers through ISP market-share to current levels of buying and selling goods online. Interviewing was conducted between November 2001 and January 2002.

All articles 2006-22 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas unless otherwise stated.