Broadband penetration increases

New figures confirm that more householders now own a home computer and have access to broadband. The latest figures from the Central Statistics Office for the first three months of 2008 reveal that 70% of all households - with at least one member aged between 16 and 74 - have a home computer. This compares to a level of ownership of 55% in 2005. The figures also show that almost nine out of ten of those households have their computer connected to the internet (89%). This compares to 82% in 2005. However, only 43% of all households in 2008 reported a broadband connnection, with 19% reporting having a modem/ISDN connection only. This means broadband penetration among households in Ireland still lags behind the EU 27 average, with more than 70% of households in Norway, Sweden, Denmark and the Netherlands having broadband in 2008. The EU 27 average is 48% at present.

Today's CSO figures also show that almost all businesses with ten or more employees are now connected to the internet - 96% now use the internet. Access to the internet using broadband also rose sharply in 2008, with 83% of enterprises now having a broadband connection. This compares to 68% in 2007 and 61% in 2006. The use of mobile internet connections reached a level of 23% in 2008.