Ofcom Communications Market Report 2016

This month Ofcom published is latest Communications Market Report (see this previous post for an overview of Ofcom’s previous 2015 report).

Ofcom’s headline finding was that “fifteen million UK internet users have undertaken a ‘digital detox’ in a bid to strike a healthier balance between technology and life beyond the screen”. Ofcom’s Digital Day research shows that on a typical day we are now spending more time on media and communications than on sleeping: the average UK adult uses media and communications services for 8 hours 45 minutes, and sleeps for 8 hours 18 minutes.

Other key findings from this year’s report:

• The total number of fixed broadband connections increased by 0.9 million to 24.7 million in 2015, while the number of superfast broadband connections (providing actual speeds of at least 30Mbit/s) rose by 2.0 million to 9.2 million over the same period, meaning that 37.1% of all fixed broadband connections were superfast at the end of 2015.
• The UK average fixed broadband speed rose from 22.8Mbit/s in November 2014 to 28.9Mbit/s in November 2015.
• Eighty-six percent of UK adults now have internet access at home, with more than nine in ten adults under 55 having access.

Mobile coverage and takeup:

• 4G mobile services are now available to 97.8% of UK premises (outdoor coverage from at least one operator). Over 70% of premises have outdoor coverage from all four mobile operators. The average 4G download speed in 2015 was 17Mbit/s, almost three times faster than 3G (6Mbit/s).
• Coverage varies significantly between urban and rural areas of the UK, with 99.2 % of premises in urban UK areas having outdoor 4G coverage, and 79.3% covered by all four operators compared to 88.9% of rural premises having outdoor 4G coverage from at least one operator, and just 21.0% having coverage from all four operators.
• As at May 2016, over 99% of UK premises had outdoor coverage for 2G and 3G mobile services from at least one operator. 4G accounted for almost half of all mobile subscriptions (46%, 39.5 million connections) in Q4 2015, compared to 28%, 23.6 million, in 2014.

Changing patterns of usage and consumption:

• Take-up of smartphones increased again this year: 71% of all adults now own a smartphone, up from 66% in 2015. Take up of games consoles has declined to 44% of households from 49% in 2015, probably due to the increasing popularity of playing games via smartphone or tablet apps.
• Over-the-top services are increasingly being used instead of more traditional means of communication. Instant messaging surged in 2016: the proportion of adults using services such as Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp at least once a week rose from 28% in 2014 to 43% in 2016. In contrast, the proportion of UK adults texting or emailing has fallen.
• Viewing of video-on-demand (VoD) services has also increased. A quarter (26%) of UK adults watch paid on-demand services on a weekly basis in 2016, up from 18% in 2014. The 16-24 age group is now watching less live TV and more on-demand content.
• The average fixed broadband line used 82GB of data per month in 2015 – 41% more data than the previous year. In 2015, the average fixed broadband line used 82GB of data per month. This growth in use is partly due to the growing popularity of data-heavy video-on-demand services, such as BBC iPlayer, Netflix and Amazon Prime Instant Video, as well as faster connection speeds which allow more members of a household to be online simultaneously.