Official statistics have revealed that record numbers of households in the UK have broadband connections.
According to a study by the Office for National Statistics, 56% of British households have a broadband subscription, up on 51% last year. Altogether, 65% of households in the UK have internet access, with the majority using broadband rather than dial-up. The survey found that men were more likely to surf the internet than women, with 75% of men logging on regularly compared to 66% of women. Although the number of pensioners using the internet has risen considerably over the last few years, over-65’s are the age-group lest likely to use the web. In fact 70% said that they have never used the internet.
Pensioners’ lobby groups have said that this is indicative of the way in which elderly people have been left behind in the digital age. David Sinclair, head of policy at Help the Aged, said that elderly people especially needed access to the internet during the current credit crisis in order to shop around for cheaper deals on electricity, gas and food. “Exclusion from modern society is increasingly less about being able to get to the library and more about being able to access the rivers of information flowing in and out of British homes each day,” he said. “If you cannot access these rivers you cannot take part.”
“This is not only about getting cheap car insurance online. It is about equality in the marketplace. We know internet access can mean a difference of hundreds of pounds over the year from deals on utility bills, food to all other manner of other goods. In a time when costs are rising should we not allow the poorest among us a chance to keep afloat?”
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