Broadband in Britain: how does it compare with narrowband?

Broadband in Britain:how does it comparewith narrowband?

Barrie Gunter

Chris Russell

Richard Withey and

David Nicholas

The authors

Barrie Gunter is based at the Department of Journalism,University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK.Chris Russell is based at eDigitalResearch.com, Hedge End, UK.Richard Withey is based at Interactive Media, IndependentNews and Media, London, UK.David Nicholas is based at the Department of InformationStudies, City University, London, UK.

Keywords

Broadband networks, Internet, United Kingdom, Surveys

Abstract

An online survey was run to investigate the broadband Internetusers in Britain. A sample of 1,594 Internet users replied toquestions that asked them about their different uses of theInternet and reasons for using this medium. Comparisons weremade between respondents (33 per cent) who said they had ahigh-speed of “broadband” Internet connection and those (67per cent) who had a narrowband connection. Broadband userswere more likely to be male and older than narrowband users.Broadband respondents were also likely to be more experiencedInternet users, having had longer Internet access and being morefrequent users. Broadband respondents were more advancedInternet users than narrowband respondents, being more likelyto engage in consumer and financial transactions online and toexchange software and files with other users. Evidence emergedamong all Internet users in the sample that online behaviour wasdisplacing off-line media use. Internet users felt that they hadreduced the time they spent in reading newspapers andwatching television.

Electronic access

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Introduction

After a slow start, Britain has recently shown

significant growth in its broadband Internet

connections. This has been helped by financial

concessions made by British Telecommunications

(BT) in relation to its charges for the use of its

broadband infrastructure and by greater investment

in the roll-out of that infrastructure (Hirst, 2002).

Most domestic Internet users access the Web through

BT’s copper wire or “narrowband” network. This is

fine for viewing Web pages and sending e-mails and

small documents, but download speeds are generally

too slow for more advanced applications. Increased

access to affordable broadband services, however, is

only one part of the equation in relation to

establishing a successful broadband environment.

Some commentators have observed that with other

new technologies (such as analogue cable and satellite

television), certain popular premium applications

played a significant part in their growth and

development as did the cost of access (Docherty,

2002). With satellite television, for instance, the

acquisition of rights to live major league football

coverage, the provision of premium movies soon after

release, and the rise of niche channels were significant

drivers of market capture.

Broadband uses the standard telephone line, but

repackages the data and sends it down the line at high

frequency. The line can still be shared with voice calls.

The use of standard telephone lines means that

broadband is relatively cheap to establish and does

not require a special data line that is separate from the

voice line into the user’s premises. Because it can

transmit data at much faster rates than an ordinary

telephone connection, it can be used to convey large

data files and multi-media formats. Downloading

time for complex information are much lower in the

broadband environment. This means that broadband

may be especially attractive and beneficial to business

users of the Internet, as well as for domestic users who

wish to go beyond the transmission of simple e-mail

messages (Taddie, 2002).

By May 2003, there were more than two million

UK broadband subscribers in homes and businesses,

with new connections running at 32,000 a week

according to Oftel. The government’s aim is to

achieve the most extensive and competitive

broadband network of any G7 country by 2005. Such

technological growth will provide a vital

underpinning to the roll-out of electronic, online

public services – another part of the government’s

plan to involve more directly a politically

disenchanted public with local and central

government. Broadband connections will facilitateAslib Proceedings

Volume 56 · Number 2 · 2004 · pp. 89-98

q Emerald Group Publishing Limited · ISSN 0001-253X

DOI 10.1108/00012530410529459

Received: 1 November 2003

Accepted: 30 November 2003

89

transactional (or two-way) links between service

providers and consumers, enabling more complex

forms of interactivity that will be used by citizens to

engage with the government organisations, nationally

and locally. Another distinctive feature of the

broadband Internet is that it is always switched on.

Once connected, there is no more need to log-on.

Large attachments are moved swiftly. Rapid access is

provided to the Internet.

Broadband adoption

It is not only in Britain that broadband penetration

has failed to exhibit growth rates that were expected

or hoped for. Broadband penetration has varied

significantly in different parts of the developed world,

and growth has also occurred at varying rates (Day

Group, 2002). Figures compiled by the OECD

revealed that South Korea was the top of the

broadband charts in June 2001, with a diffusion rate

of 13.9 per cent, with Canada (6.2 per cent), the USA

(3.2 per cent) and Japan (0.9 per cent) trailing in its

wake (The Economist, 2001). By August 2002,

penetration had grown to 66 per cent in Korea and 17

per cent in the USA (Business Week, 2002).

Understanding what drives adoption of new

communications technologies is crucial to their

establishment. Some media scholars have noted,

however, that this understanding is quite crude

(Atkin, 2002). The long established diffusion model

has been invoked to offer an explanation of the

adoption of innovations, but this has proven to be

limited in relation to broadband Internet because of

the diversity of variables involved (Han, 2003). Other

models have combined a range of technological,

economic, social and psychological factors as

multivariate predictors of the uptake and use of new

technologies (Agarwal and Goodhardt, 1997; Lin,

2002; Stanek and Mokhtarian, 1998).

Han (2003) conceptualised that technological,

consumer, policy and cultural factors could all act

independently or in combination to predict new

media uptake and diffusion. A new technology must

offer a product or service that matches consumer

needs. Consumers must have time and economic

resources to access and use a new technology. There

is also the question of whether a new technology

offers a better functional alternative for the

satisfaction of specific consumer appetites and needs

than any existing technology. Where a new

technology represents an enhancement of an

established one, diffusion rate will occur faster than

when it comprises a totally new development unlike

any technology that has gone before. Government

policy can also play an important part in the early

stages of a new communications technology by

setting in place the legal, political and economic

conditions to facilitate investment in infrastructure,

and to permit certain services to operate. There are

also cultural factors that may facilitate or impede the

adoption of new technologies, including openness to

certain kinds of content access that may pose

challenges to dominant value systems (Norris, 2001).

An example of this phenomenon would be the case of

an authoritarian regime that wishes, for reasons of

self-protection and domination, to retain stringent

controls of mass media to ensure that ideas are not

implanted in the minds of its citizens that would

cause them to challenge an existing regime.

Understanding broadband users

Although broadband growth has been monitored

closely, particularly in the business sector, research to

date has focused on the penetration of the technology,

the market shares of the key service providers, and

limited exploration of the nature of broadband use.

Benchmark research by UK Online in 2002 revealed

that one business in two in its survey reported

ordering online. British businesses were making more

sophisticated use of new technologies to track and

check the availability of goods. Less is known about

the way individual citizens use the Internet, and in

particular what features, if any, distinguish the

broadband Internet user from the narrowband

Internet user.

In the USA, a survey of broadband users found

that they could be distinguished from their

narrowband counterparts, in that they engaged in

multiple Internet activities each day, they sought

information in relation to a wide range of queries, and

they were more likely to engage in creating their own

online content (Pew Institute, 2002). The same

research indicated that broadband users favoured an

open Internet over one restricted by regulation or

commercial proprietary. Broadband users also valued

the Internet more as a communications network for

staying in touch with family and friends.

Despite early indications that revealed a

demographic profile of Internet users that was more

male-oriented, younger, better educated and more

affluent (Hashimoto et al., 1996; Ishii, 1996), more

recent research in Japan has revealed that broadband

and narrowband Internet users differ in terms of

income and location, but not in terms of gender, age

or educational level. Broadband users tend to have

higher incomes than do narrowband users and are

more likely to live in urban locations (Ishii, 2003).

The research presented in this paper explores the

personal and behavioural characteristics of

broadband Internet users in Britain. It presents

results from an online survey that set out to explore

the use of the broadband Internet, and the attributes

of broadband identified by its users as important to

their decision to get connected. Some comparisons

are also made between broadband and narrowband

Internet users. This survey was run as part of a wider

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study of UK Internet use being conducted by the

British Life and Internet Project[1].

Method

An online survey was carried out with a population of

Internet users in the UK, yielding a sample of 1,594.

Respondents were asked to provide information

about their history of Internet use and Internet-

related behaviours. Those who indicated that they

had a high-speed (broadband) Internet connection

were then asked further questions about this

connection and their broadband experiences.

As with all online surveys, this one was dependent

on a database of e-mail addresses. The British Life

and Internet Project, of which this survey is a part,

has compiled a database of 30,000 e-mail addresses.

Members of this online universe were notified about

the survey by e-mail containing a link to a Web-based

online survey.

Online respondents were self-selected volunteers.

There was no opportunity to control respondent

selection in advance to ensure randomness or to set

quotas by key demographics. These caveats therefore

need to be borne in mind when considering the data

provided here.

Sample

The data reported here were collected over a 16-day

period from 20 February 2003 to 7 March 2003. A

total of 1,594 UK Internet users replied, giving a

response rate of 15.1 per cent. Although not

statistically representative of the general UK

population, the return sample comprised a wide

demographic mix. In all, 62 per cent of respondents

were male and 38 per cent were female. Respondents

covered a range of age groups: 18-24 (12.7 per cent);

25-34 (25.7 per cent); 35-44 (23.2 per cent); 45-54

(23.8 per cent); 55-64 (10.9 per cent); 65-74 (2.9 per

cent); and 75+ (0.8 per cent). Over one in three

respondents were single (36.4 per cent), over four in

ten were married (41.5 per cent), one in six were

living with a partner (15.9 per cent), while the

remainder were either divorced/separated (5.5 per

cent) or widowed (0.8 per cent). Under one in four

(23.4 per cent), had children in the household aged

up to 16 years. Most respondents (91.5 per cent)

were ethnically white and of European origin. Others

variously identified themselves as: African (1.2 per

cent); Caribbean (1.3 per cent); Arab (0.2 per cent);

Indian/Pakistani/Bangladeshi (1.3 per cent); Chinese

(0.7 per cent); Other Asian (0.2 per cent); or Other

(3.5 per cent).

Questionnaire

All respondents provided self-report data on their

Internet access history, frequency of Internet at home

and at work, and personal details on their

demography (sex, age, ethnicity, marital status).

They provided information about access to computer

equipment at home and where this equipment was

located. They were then presented with a list of 37

Internet-related behaviours and were asked in each

case whether they had ever or never used the Internet

for these purposes. The list contained a variety of

content retrieval, interactive and transactional

activities. A further list of 11 activities was then

presented (working at the office, working at home,

shopping in stores, commuting in traffic, reading

newspapers, watching television, spending time with

family, spending time with friends, attending social

events, playing sports and reading books). In each

case, respondents were asked to say whether using the

Internet had changed the amount of time they spent

on these activities, by increasing or decreasing or not

changing it. All respondents were then asked how

much they paid each month for Internet access.

All respondents were asked if they had a high-

speed or “broadband” connection to the Internet.

Those respondents who answered “yes” to this

question were then directed to further questions

specifically for broadband users. Broadband

respondents specified the type of high-speed

connection they had (DSL, cable, satellite, other) and

their current broadband supplier (BT Openworld,

BY Wholescale, BT Business, NTL, Telewest,

Tiscali, Broadband Everywhere, or other). They were

then asked to indicate how long they had had a

broadband connection and to indicate how important

were each of a number of reasons for getting a high-

speed connection (faster access, performance of job-

related tasks, finding educational materials,

entertainment such as movies or music, downloading

files faster, and updating technology). Broadband

users were then asked if they spent more or less time

online since getting broadband or whether it had

made no difference to the amount of time they spend

online. They were also asked if they had changed the

location of their in-home computer equipment since

getting broadband. A further question was if they had

changed the nature of their Internet use, and if so, in

what ways. Broadband users were asked about the

frequency of telecommuting and whether the high-

speed connection had resulted in changes to the way

their family used the home computer.

Finally, broadband users were asked to indicate

what they enjoyed most about having a high-speed

Internet connection: the speed of connecting to the

Internet; the convenience of being able to look

something up quickly; downloading music quickly;

downloading movies more easily; ability to use the

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phone while online; no need to dial in; better for

sending e-mail documents; better for playing games.

Findings

Presence of broadband

One in three respondents (33 per cent) claimed to

have a high-speed or “broadband” connection to the

Internet in their home. Two-thirds (67 per cent) did

not have broadband. Among broadband respondents,

a series of questions were asked specifically about the

nature of the service, their reasons for obtaining

broadband access, and its impact, if any, on their use

of the Internet. Broadband respondents were much

more likely to be male (70 per cent) than female (30

per cent) as compared to the gender divide for

narrowband respondents (males ¼ 58 per cent;

females ¼ 42 per cent) (X2 ¼ 19:5; df ¼ 1;

p , 0:001).

The current sample also revealed a broadband

return sample that was more heavily weighted

towards older users (under 45s ¼ 56 per cent;

45 + s ¼ 44 per cent) than was the narrowband return

sample (under 45s ¼ 73 per cent; 45þ s ¼ 27 per

cent) (X2 ¼ 32:3; df ¼ 6; p , 0:001).

Internet-related behaviour

The questions began by asking respondents about

how long they had had Internet access and their

frequency of Internet use. More than six in ten

respondents (62 per cent) reported that they had had

Internet access at home for three years or more. More

than one in five (23 per cent) said they had home

Internet access for between one and three years.

Relatively, few respondents were new home Internet

users (5 per cent) and just one in ten (10 per cent)

said they did not have such access at home. Male

respondents (69 per cent) were more likely than

female respondents (53 per cent) to report Internet

access for three or more years.

Among those respondents who said they had home

Internet access, more than one in three (36 per cent)

said they used it at least three times a day, with more

than one in four (27 per cent) saying they used it once

or twice a day. A further one in four (24 per cent),

although not daily users, nonetheless used the Internet

at home at least once a week. Males (41 per cent) were

more likely than females (28 per cent) to report using

the Internet from home for at least three times a day.

The great majority of respondents (82 per cent)

access the Internet at work. More than six in ten

respondents (61 per cent) access the Internet at work

at least three times a day, with nearly a further one in

ten (9 per cent) accessing it once or twice a day.

For their current session in completing this survey,

more than one in two respondents (56 per cent) said

that they were accessing the Internet from home.

Nearly four in ten (39 per cent) were accessing the

Internet from work. Male respondents (60 per cent)

said that they were accessing from home to a greater

extent than did females (50 per cent). Females (44

per cent) were more likely to be accessing from work

than males (36 per cent).

Broadband effect

Broadband respondents exhibited a longer Internet

connection history than did narrowband respondents

in this survey. Broadband respondents (77 per cent)

were significantly more likely than narrowband

respondents (55 per cent) to report having had

Internet access at home for at least 3 years

(X2 ¼ 116:8; df ¼ 6; p , 0:001). Broadband

respondents also used the Internet more frequently

than other Internet users ðX2 ¼ 351:0; df ¼ 11;

p , 0:001Þ: Many more broadband respondents

(62 per cent) than narrowband respondents (23 per

cent) reported using the Internet from home at least

three times a day.

Computer ownership

A number of questions were asked about home

computer ownership and location. An overwhelming

majority of respondents (93 per cent) said that they

used a computer at home. Males (96 per cent) were

more likely than females (89 per cent) to say that they

used a computer at home. Among these respondents,

just over four in ten (41 per cent) possessed one

computer, while more than three in ten (31 per cent)

claimed to have two computers and more than one in

four (28 per cent) said that they had three or more

computers (including desktops and laptops).

When those who said that they had at least two

computers at home were then asked whether they had

them linked in a network system, just over one in five

(22 per cent) said that they had done this. The more

popular location for the home computer was in a

study or den (46 per cent), followed by the main

living room (20 per cent), or bedroom (18 per cent).

Although, the overwhelming majority of

respondents reported having a computer at home,

broadband respondents (99 per cent) were

significantly more likely than were narrowband

respondents (90 per cent) to make this claim

(X2 ¼ 49:4; df ¼ 1; p , 0:001). Broadband

respondents (42 per cent) were also twice as likely as

narrowband respondents (21 per cent) to say that

they had three or more computers in their household,

including desktops and laptops (X2 ¼ 87:9; df ¼ 2;

p , 0:001).

Internet-related behaviour

Internet-related behaviour was investigated by asking

respondents how often they had carried out any of the

22 activities contained in a list of Internet linked

behaviours. A second list of 15 further activities was

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then presented separately for similar endorsement.

Respondents were asked which activities they had

done in the past week, past month, and past year, and

which they had never done. Tables I and II present

each list of activities in rank order according to the

percentages of respondents saying they had ever done

this (i.e. excluding just those who said they had

“never done this”).

The findings reveal that Internet users engage in a

variety of different behaviours on the Internet. They

search for information, they communicate with other

people, they conduct transactions, and they find

entertainment. The most significant use of all is to

send and receive e-mail. This is true of broadband

and narrowband Internet users.

The Internet is a major source of hobby or

personal interest-related information. It is also a

widely used source of news, weather and travel

information. It is also a source that was reportedly

used by most respondents in this survey to obtain

product-related information. The Internet was

mentioned by most of the respondents in this survey

as a source of gift ideas for family and friends. More

than nine out of ten survey respondents here

mentioned having ever engaged in any of the above

Internet-related activities.

Most respondents had not only sought

information linked to products on the Internet but

also bought items over the Web. This was especially

true in the case of books. More than half of the

respondents had also bought groceries and other

household items online. A clear majority of

respondents had also made travel reservations over

the Internet.

The Internet is an interpersonal communications

medium. Virtually all respondents had sent and

received e-mail. E-mail was the most widespread

Internet activity over the week before the survey, with

over 99 per cent of respondents saying that they had

sent and/or received e-mail in the past week. Around

three in four respondents had sent online celebratory

greetings via the Internet to family and friends.

Communication with strangers was far less

commonplace, but even so, significant minorities of

respondents here reported taking part in chat rooms

and instant messaging.

Downloading files and content – such as music,

movies and games – represents a minority activity for

most part, but there were signs that for some uses,

such as photography, it is becoming a majority

activity. The least popular uses on the current list

were gambling online and playing the stock market

online.

Gender differences emerged in relation to certain

Internet activities. Male respondents were more likely

than female respondents to have ever used the

Table I Internet-related behaviour – 1

All

Internet users

(per cent)

Broadband

Internet users

(per cent)

Narrowband

Internet users

(per cent)

Send or read e-mail 99.9 99.8 100.0

Look for information linked to a hobby 99.2 99.6 98.8

Get news online 98.8 99.1 98.9

Look for product-related information, e.g. books, toys, music 98.3 99.4 97.7

Get information about travel 95.7 97.0 95.1

Go online just for fun to pass time 92.8 93.6 92.1

Check weather forecast reports 91.9 93.8 89.4

Do job-related work online 89.4 89.6 89.2

Buy books 83.5 88.6 80.8

Buy or make reservation for a travel service online 82.6 85.0 80.9

Get ideas for gifts to buy family or friends 82.5 87.6 79.6

Visit Web sites linked to TV shows 78.3 84.0 78.5

Send online Christmas or birthday greetings to family or friends 74.0 76.8 71.8

Download software online, e.g. relating to digital photography or

music 69.5 83.1 61.8

Check sports scores 65.7 67.4 64.2

Buy groceries or other household items 56.3 65.8 50.9

Send “instant messages” to someone who is online at the same

time 49.6 65.5 46.3

Take part in “chat rooms” or online discussions with other people 39.9 46.0 35.6

Obtain music recordings 37.2 49.7 30.8

Download movies online 14.9 24.2 9.7

Play a lottery or gamble online 12.4 12.2 12.5

Buy or sell stocks, mutual funds or bonds 11.7 14.9 9.7

Note: Percentages show those respondents saying they had “ever” done this online

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Internet to check sports scores (74.5 versus 51.9 per

cent), download software online relating to digital

photography (78.3 versus 53.8 per cent) and obtain

music recordings (42.3 versus 28.8 per cent).

Broadband effect

The central interest of this survey is to find out

whether Internet users with high-speed or broadband

connections differ from those with narrowband

connections in their pattern of Internet use. The

above findings indicate areas of similarity and

difference between these two categories of Internet

user. Broadband users were significantly more likely

than narrowband users to use the Internet:. to buy books (99 per cent versus 81 per cent;

X2 ¼ 19:9; df ¼ 3; p , 0:001);. to buy groceries or other household items (66

versus 51 per cent; X2 ¼ 39:0; df ¼ 3;

p , 0:001);. to send “instant messages” to someone who is

online at the same time (66 versus 46 per cent;

X2 ¼ 19:5; df ¼ 3; p , 0:001);. to take part in “chat rooms” or online

discussions with other people (46 versus 36 per

cent; X2 ¼ 19:0; df ¼ 3; p , 0:001); and. to obtain music recordings (50 versus 31 per

cent; X2 ¼ 75:8; df ¼ 3; p , 0:001).

Broadband users were also much more likely than

narrowband users to use the Internet for downloading

content:. download software online, e.g. relating to digital

photography or music (83 versus 62 per cent;

X2 ¼ 127:6; df ¼ 3; p , 0:001); and

. download movies online (24 versus 10 per cent;

X2 ¼ 64:4; df ¼ 3; p , 0:001).

A second list of Internet-related activities was

responded to in the same way. The summary results

for these behaviours are shown in Table II, again rank

ordered according to the percentages of respondents

saying they had “ever” used the Internet for this

purpose.

Interestingly, these results provide promising news

for the government’s online ambitions. They show

that among the sample of Internet users, a great

majority reported having ever visited a central or local

government Web site. More than half of these

respondents also stated that they had visited a

political party Web site. Over one in two, also, said

that they used the Internet to obtain housing

information.

There was emergent evidence of the entertainment

uses of the Internet. More than three out of four

respondents from the total sample claimed to have

watched video clips online, and two-thirds reported

having listened to music online. More than six in ten

downloaded games or videos online. The latter

activity was more likely among males (69.9 per cent)

than females (49 per cent). More than four in ten

claimed to have ever visited an adult Web site. Not

surprisingly, male respondents (60.3 per cent) were

far more likely to make this claim than were female

respondents (13.8 per cent).

Earlier findings had indicated that the Internet, for

some respondents, was a medium through which they

could conduct various transactions. This point was

Table II Internet-related behaviour – 2

All

Internet users

(per cent)

Broadband

Internet users

(per cent)

Narrowband

Internet users

(per cent)

Visit central government Web sites 93.0 94.2 92.1

Visit local government Web sites for information about local

public services 85.9 83.7 84.0

Watch a video clip 77.2 86.4 72.5

Carry out personal banking online 74.0 82.1 78.9

Listen to music online at a Web site for a radio station, recording

artist or music service 66.3 79.9 59.5

Download other kinds of files such as games, video files or picture

files 62.1 74.9 53.4

Look for housing information online 58.2 58.5 58.0

Visit party political Web sites 54.0 55.6 53.5

Visit an adult Web site 42.6 49.3 39.1

Participate in an online auction 28.0 31.7 25.6

Share files from your own computer such as music, video or

picture files, or computer games with others online 27.7 38.5 11.2

Get photos developed or store or display photos online 27.0 35.9 22.3

Meet new people and make new friends 26.6 28.3 21.7

Find someone to date 10.0 10.3 9.5

Watch a movie online 9.3 14.9 2.6

Note: Percentages show those respondents saying they had “ever” done this online

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reinforced here. More than one in four respondents

said that they had participated in an online auction,

while nearly three out of four indicated that they

conducted personal banking online.

For a minority of Internet users here, the Internet

was a social contact medium. More than one in four

said that they used the Internet to meet new people

and make new friends. One in ten had used the

Internet to find someone to date. Male respondents

(12 per cent) were more likely than the female

respondents (6 per cent) to use the Internet as a

potential source of a romantic partner.

Once again, the second list of Internet-related

activities revealed a number of differences between

the broadband and narrowband Internet users.

Broadband users were significantly more likely than

the narrowband respondents to engage in more

advanced interactive activities:. watch a video clip online (86 versus 73 per cent;

X2 ¼ 123:6; df ¼ 3; p , 0:001);. listen to music online at a Web site for a radio

station, recording artist or music service (80

versus 60 per cent; X2 ¼ 115:0; df ¼ 3;

p , 0:001);. download other kinds of files such as games,

video files or picture files (75 versus 53 per cent;

X2 ¼ 72:8; df ¼ 3; p , 0:001);. share files from their own computer such as

music, video or picture files, or computer games

with others online (39 versus 11 per cent;

X2 ¼ 74:3; df ¼ 3; p , 0:001);. obtain photos developed or store or display

photos online (36 versus 22 per cent;X2 ¼ 37:2;

df ¼ 3; p , 0:001); and. watch a movie online (15 versus 3 per cent;

X2 ¼ 30:9; df ¼ 3; p , 0:001).

Broadband users (49 per cent) were more likely than

the narrowband users (39 per cent) to visit an adult

Web site (X2 ¼ 26:0; df ¼ 3; p , 0:001).

Impact of Internet on other behaviour

Respondents were asked whether their use of the

Internet had caused them to increase or decrease the

amount of time they spent on each of a range of other

activities. These activities included: working at office,

and home, shopping in stores, commuting in traffic,

reading newspapers, watching television, reading

books, spending time with family, spending time with

friends, attending social events, and playing sports.

In relation to work, for a great majority of

respondents (76 per cent), the Internet had not

changed the amount of time they spent working at the

office. This was true working at home but for a

smaller majority (58 per cent). For a significant

minority of respondents (39 per cent), however, using

the Internet had increased the time they spent

working at home. What we do not know here is

whether this increased home working meant that they

brought more work home with them, because they

access files electronically in the office, or whether they

tele-worked rather than going to office every day. One

clue may come from the further finding that while

most said the Internet had not changed the time they

spent commuting (85 per cent), most of the

remaining respondents (nearly 15 per cent) said that

they had decreased their commuting time since going

on the Internet. Hence, more Internet users may be

working remotely courtesy of electronic links to the

office.

The Internet appeared to make little difference to

time spent socialising. Overwhelming majorities of

respondents here said that the Internet had not

changed the amount of time they spent with family

(89 per cent), friends (91 per cent) or attending social

events (90 per cent). Nor, for most respondents (89

per cent), had the Internet affected the amount of

time spent in playing sports. In the latter case,

however, more respondents indicated decreased time

in playing sports (8 per cent) than increased time in

playing them (3 per cent) after gaining access to the

Internet.

The main perceived impact of the Internet among

these respondents was associated with time spent

with other media. While for the great majority of

respondents (90 per cent) book reading was

unaffected by the Internet, the same was true for far

smaller majorities in the case of reading newspapers

(56 per cent) and watching television (55 per cent).

Significant minorities of respondents indicated

decreased amount of time devoted to viewing

television (44 per cent) and reading newspapers

(36 per cent) following Internet connection.

Decreased television watching was more prevalent

among male respondents (51 per cent) than female

respondents (34 per cent).

Broadband effect

A few marked differences emerged between

broadband and narrowband respondents in respect of

self-reported impact of the Internet on other

behaviour.

Broadband respondents were more likely than

narrowband respondents to say that using the

Internet had increased the time they worked at the

office (17 versus 10 per cent; X2 ¼ 24:0; df ¼ 2;

p , 0:001), and less likely to say that it had decreased

the time they spent at the office (8 versus 14 per cent).

Overall, working from home was reportedly more

likely to have increased since getting an Internet

connection. This self-acknowledged impact of the

Internet was more prevalent among broadband

respondents (48 per cent) than narrowband

respondents (35 per cent) (X2 ¼ 25:1; df ¼ 2;

p , 0:001). Furthermore, broadband respondents

(20 per cent) were more likely than narrowband

respondents (12 per cent) to say that they had

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experienced decreased time commuting (X2 ¼ 17:9;

df ¼ 2; p , 0:001).

The use of the Internet for shopping was reflected

in the overall response indicating that Internet users

in general reported decreased time spent in shopping.

This effect was much more widespread among

broadband respondents (46 per cent) than among

narrowband respondents (32 per cent) in this survey

(X2 ¼ 41:2; df ¼ 2; p , 0:001).

The other areas where Internet effects were felt

were reading newspapers and watching television.

Both apparently experienced a decline among

Internet users. Once again, though, these effects were

magnified among broadband Internet users.

Broadband respondents (41 per cent) were

proportionately more likely to report decreased time

spent in reading newspapers than were narrowband

users (34 per cent) (X2 ¼ 7:4; df ¼ 2; p , 0:02).

Broadband respondents (56 per cent) were also much

more likely to report a decline in their television

viewing than were narrowband respondents (38 per

cent) (X2 ¼ 46:2; df ¼ 2; p , 0:001).

Type of broadband connection

To answer a series of further questions specifically

about their experiences with broadband Internet,

only broadband respondents were invited. First, these

respondents were asked to name the type of high-

speed connection that they had at home. They were

evenly divided between a cable connection (47 per

cent) and a DSL connection (43 per cent). A tiny

proportion (1 per cent) referred to a satellite

connection, while remaining respondents either did

not know or identified another type of (unspecified)

connection.

The main suppliers of broadband were NTL (30

per cent), BT Openworld (24 per cent), and Telewest

(17 per cent). Small numbers of respondents

mentioned other suppliers such as Tiscali (1 per

cent), BT Business (1 per cent), BT Wholescale and

Broadband Everywhere (less than 0.5 per cent each).

One in four respondents (26 per cent) were unable to

name a supplier.

Broadband access is a relatively recent development.

Even so, three in ten respondents (30 per cent) said

that they obtained a broadband connection more than

a year earlier. The same proportion (30 per cent) said

that they had connected to broadband between seven

months and a year back. Just over one in four (26 per

cent) had connected between four and six months

back, while one in seven (14 per cent) had connected in

the previous three months or so.

Reasons for broadband connection

Respondents were asked to indicate how important

each of several reasons was for getting a high-speed

Internet connection at home. The most mentioned

reasons were to obtain faster access to the Internet

(98 per cent), to download files faster (90 per cent)

and to update their technology (70 per cent). Other

reasons that were mentioned by fewer respondents

were to perform job-related tasks (52 per cent), to

find educational materials (44 per cent) and for

entertainment such as music or movies (41 per cent).

Impact on overall Internet use

Did getting a broadband connection have any

acknowledged impact on the amount of time

respondents spent on the Internet. The answer was

clearly that it did. A significant majority of

respondents with broadband (72 per cent) admitted

that they spent more time online as a result. For just

under one in four (24 per cent) time spent online had

not changed, while for a tiny proportion (4 per cent)

less time was spent online since getting broadband.

More than seven in ten broadband respondents

(72 per cent) said that there were activities they

pursued online since getting a high-speed Internet

connection because of the broadband. Other

broadband respondents (28 per cent) claimed not to

have changed the nature of their Internet behaviour

since getting a broadband connection. Those

respondents who claimed to have changed their

Internet behaviour since broadband were asked to

give more details. Their responses are shown below:. 21 per cent – look for more information;. 19 per cent – download or upload files with

graphics and music;. 12 per cent – e-mail files;. 12 per cent – shop online;. 10 per cent – conduct personal finances/banking

online;. 8 per cent – use Internet instead of telephone;. 6 per cent – play games online;. 4 per cent – launch my own Web site;. 4 per cent – watch movies;. 4 per cent – join in chat rooms; and. 2 per cent – take part in distance learning

courses.

Telecommuting

One of the advantages of having an Internet

connection for some people is that this opens up the

opportunity for working from home. E-mail links

with the office may mean that documents can be sent

to and received from work remotely. With high-speed

connections, this process can be further enhanced

because it is possible to send and receive ever more

complex documents, without long delays in

uploading or downloading time. In the current

survey, over four in ten respondents (41 per cent) said

that they had or currently did use their computer at

home for remote working in this way, with one in two

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(50 per cent) saying they had/did not. Other

respondents failed to reply. Among those respondents

who said that they did telecommute, nearly four in

ten (38 per cent) said that they did so several times a

week, one in eight (12 per cent) did so about once a

week, over one in five (22 per cent) did so several

times a month, and the remainder (28 per cent) did

so, less often than once a month.

Impact on family Internet use

Respondents with broadband were asked whether

getting a high speed Internet connection hadmade it

easier for family members to share access to the

computer, or harder to share access, or made no

difference. While more than four in ten (42 per cent)

said that it had made no difference, manymore

respondents answered that a high-speed connection

had made shared use of the computer easier (31 per

cent) than harder (5 per cent). For most remaining

respondents (22 per cent) they were the sole user of

theirhomecomputerandsothisquestiondidnotapply.

A further question asked whether having a high-

speed Internet connection had encouraged other

members of the family to spend more time at home.

Nearly one in two respondents (49 per cent) claimed

that this had happened, while about half that number

(20 per cent) said that this had not happened.

Remaining respondents either said that this question

did not apply in their case (28 per cent), or simply did

not know the answer (4 per cent).

Impact on location of computer

Another possible impact of gettingbroadband thatwas

explored,wasthepossibility thatrespondentsmayhave

changed the location of their computer. For a great

majority of broadband respondents (91 per cent) there

was no such impact, but for a few (9 per cent), the

location of their computer had been moved. A follow-

up question addressed to that small minority was

designed to reveal where their computer was now

located.Thedistributionof locations canbe compared

with those reported earlier for the whole sample

(broadband and narrowband). The data indicated a

smaller proportion of broadband respondents saying

that their computerwas located in themain living room

(13 per cent versus 20 per cent), and a greater

proportion identifying a reception roomother than the

main living roomordining roomas the locationof their

computer (9 per cent versus 3 per cent).

Enjoyment of broadband

Broadband respondents were asked to say what they

enjoyed the most about having high-speed Internet

access at home. A number of response options were

provided and choice of these in rank order is shown

below:. 30 per cent – the speed of connecting to the

Internet;

. 28 per cent – the convenience of being able to

look up something quickly;. 22 per cent – the fact you do not dial in, it is

always on;. 16 per cent – my ability to use the phone while I

am online;. 3 per cent – downloading music more easily;. 1 per cent – better for playing games;. 1 per cent – downloading movies more easily;

and. less than 0.5 per cent – better for sending e-mail

documents.

Discussion

An online survey was carried out to explore the

Internet-related activities of broadband and

narrowband Internet users in the UK. Out of a return

sample of 1,594 respondents, one in three (33 per

cent) claimed to have a high-speed or broadband

Internet connection.

Broadband respondents exhibited longer-term

Internet connection and more frequent daily use of

the Internet at home than did narrowband

respondents. Broadband users were likely to be better

equipped than were narrowband respondents,

owning more desk-top and laptop computers.

Virtually all Internet users used e-mail and surfed

the Web for information about hobbies, interests and

news. Most of these Internet users also used the

Internet to search for product-related information.

Significant proportions of Internet users –

broadband and other – had reportedly visited central

and local government Web sites. This is a good news

for government given its commitment to roll-out

nearly all public services online by 2005.

Broadband respondents were more likely than

narrowband Internet users to engage in more

complex and advanced online activities that involved

consumer transactions, downloading of software and

content exchanges with other users. In this respect,

British broadband users resembled their American

counterparts (Pew Institute, 2002). In fact, the

evidence of this survey supported earlier American

findings by indicating a clear pattern of more complex

and advanced Internet-related behaviours among

broadband users compared with narrowband users.

Broadband users were more likely than narrowband

users to report software exchanges and use of Internet

technology to view movies and videos, develop

photographs and to engage in consumer and financial

transactions.

Use of the Internet occupies time and this time

seems to be taken away from certain other media

consumption activities, most especially, reading

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newspapers and watching television. This effect is

magnified among broadband Internet users. Such

findings represent evidence of displacement of

traditional media behaviours by online media

behaviour. This type of displacement effect has been

observed elsewhere (Kayany and Yelsma, 2000).

Displacement is not simply a matter of one medium

occupying the time usually devoted to another

medium. This kind of simple time displacement

effect with new media has been challenged elsewhere

(Perse and Dunn, 1998; Robinson et al., 1997). Such

behavioural shifts have been linked to the degree to

which two media have functional equivalence. In

other words, one medium can satisfy the same needs

as another, but more conveniently or effectively

(Kayany and Yelsma, 2000).

There was also some evidence from the current

survey that Internet connections at home may result

in more home working. The evidence for this effect

here is based on respondents’ self-reports, so may

need independent corroborative data to validate this

finding. Once again, this “effect” was more widely

reported among broadband Internet users.

Broadband users indicated that their Internet-

related behaviour had changed since getting a high-

speed connection. This behavioural shift was

reportedly most often manifest in terms of looking up

more information on the Internet and in terms of

downloading or uploading files with graphics and

music. Further confirming the Internet and home

working relationship, broadband respondents

acknowledged using e-mail links and their faster

connection for work-related tasks. Speed of

connection, convenience of looking up things quickly

and the fact that it was always on were identified as

key attractions of high-speed Internet by broadband

users.

The current survey offers promising signs for the

future of the broadband Internet. As more Internet

users gather greater online experience and become

more confident and adventurous in their Internet-

related behaviour, the broadband population can be

expected to grow. While the removal of infrastructure

barriers have provided the much needed stimulus,

and greater competition among broadband service

suppliers can be expected to produce cost reductions

for consumers, the key to the success of this, as with

any other new communications technology, is to find

the right content and most appropriate applications

for the medium.

Note

1 The British Life and Internet Project is operated by aconsortium of researchers from the University of Sheffield,City University, eDigitalResearch.com, and theIndependent Newspaper Group.

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