Broadband Revives the Surfing Experience

8% of British Internet users now surf the Net with a fast-access/broadband connection, a rise of 60% when compared to 6 months ago, according to a survey published this week by NOP World.

The Internet User Profile Study shows that usage of broadband has had a significant effect on surfing habits. Three-quarters of broadband users say that the amount of time they spend on the Internet has increased since they first started using broadband. This suggests that Internet users' surfing habits have been revived by the benefits of broadband - speed, 'always on' connection, freeing up the telephone, and quicker downloads. Not only are they able to do the same things as before more quickly, they are now going places, and doing things, that their previous connection speeds deterred them from attempting.

With almost one-third of Internet users claiming to be likely to adopt broadband at home, NOP forecasts that in the region of 15% of home users will be surfing using a broadband connection in 12 months time. Rather than cost - which is only cited by one in four non-users as a reason for their reluctance to adopt the technology - the biggest obstacle to take-up appears to be a perceived lack of net usage to justify broadband installation.

NOP Research Manager Carl Geraghty said: 'Broadband users are surfing a wider range of sites, and are downloading more and larger files. The challenge for broadband suppliers, therefore, is to convince all Internet users that broadband will make surfing exciting again, not just faster.'

NOP screened a nationally representative sample of 30,000 adults, aged 15+, in Great Britain for Internet usage in May 2002 and carried out 1600 interviews with Internet users in June 2002.

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