5 Telecoms and networks
5
Recent developments in Wales
Superfast Cymru
The Welsh Government aims to ensure that 96% of homes and businesses have access to
superfast broadband by 2016.
The project will see £425m invested to expand high-speed broadband throughout Wales,
comprising European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) funding of £, UK
Government funding of £, Welsh Government funding of £ and BT’s investment
of £220m.
In its first year of implementation, the Superfast Cymru project made fibre broadband
available to more than 135,000 homes and businesses in Wales. Communities in 14 unitary
authority areas now have live service, and work will be under way in all 22 unitary authorities
in Wales by early spring 2015. BT has also recently announced that it will create up to 190
engineering jobs in Wales to support the roll-out of fibre broadband in specific areas in
Wales including Newtown, Cardigan, Bangor, and Wrexham. The project is on track to
complete by the end of spring 2016.
To complement the Superfast Cymru programme, the Welsh Government launched Access
Broadband Cymru as a successor to the Broadband Support Scheme, to provide grants of
up to £1,000 to households with slow broadband connections (less than 2Mbit/s) in areas
either not covered by the programme or where no date has been published for the roll-out of
superfast broadband. The scheme will close on 31 March 2016.
The Welsh Government is also looking for ways to allow the Superfast Cymru project to
overlap the 14 North Wales business parks served by the FibreSpeed wholesale network.
In February 2014, the Welsh Government launched an Open Market Review, following an
analysis of broadband provision across Wales. The market analysis phase of the Open
Market Review will allow the Welsh Government to consider the necessity of further
interventions to complement the Superfast Cymru programme, to ensure that resources are
focused on providing fibre broadband in those areas that would otherwise be left behind.
Super-Connected Cities – Cardiff and Newport
The Department for Culture, Media & Sport has announced that Cardiff and Newport have
been awarded £ and £4m respectively to invest in ultrafast broadband. Through the
Super-Connected Cities scheme, the UK Government will fund a one-off connection fee of
between £200 and £3,000 to eligible businesses to cover the costs of installing faster
broadband.
The scheme will provide up to 1Gbit/s broadband connections for businesses, free wireless
hotspots in high-footfall areas, and improved 4G mobile coverage, as well as equipping
Cardiff buses and public buildings with free WiFi.
Xwavia secures Finance Wales investment
Xwavia has secured a £ investment from Finance Wales to improve the capacity, speed
and reach of its network. The investment will fund an expansion of Xwavia’s headquarters in
81
Welshpool, creating several new positions, and improvements to its infrastructure. The
company intends to launch the first phase its new network in Conwy, north Wales.
UK Government Mobile Infrastructure Project (MIP)
The UK Government has announced plans to invest £150m to boost mobile coverage in
those areas that at present have no mobile coverage from any of the mobile network
operators.
The Mobile Infrastructure Project will aim to eliminate complete not-spots at 60,000 UK
premises currently without voice coverage, and eliminate complete not-spots on at least ten
key A-roads including the A470 in Wales. Arqiva has been selected to deliver the project.
Availability of fixed broadband services
ADSL broadband services are available to almost all premises in Wales
By the end of 2013 almost all UK homes were connected to an ADSL-enabled BT local
exchange, although some people living in these areas may not be able to receive ADSL
broadband services, or may only be able to do so at very slow speeds, as a result of the long
length or poor quality of the copper telephone line from their premises to the local exchange.
BT’s fixed telephony network includes around 5,600 local exchanges, of which fewer than 30
(most of these in Scotland, with the remainder in England) had not been upgraded to offer
ADSL broadband by the end of 2013. As a result, the proportion of homes connected to an
ADSL-enabled BT exchange was marginally lower in Scotland than in the other UK nations
at the end of 2013 (Figure ).
Local loop unbundling (LLU) involves an alternative operator placing its own equipment in
the incumbent provider’s local exchange. This is then connected to the LLU provider’s
backhaul network and ADSL broadband services are provided over the twisted copper pair
which is leased from the incumbent. LLU operators are able to benefit from economies of
scale which are not available to them when purchasing wholesale ADSL services on a per-
unit basis, and have greater opportunity to differentiate their services from their competitors’.
Consumers living in LLU-enabled exchange areas have a greater choice of ADSL
broadband services and, typically, access to lower-cost (particularly bundled) broadband
services.
At the end of 2013, 95% of UK premises were connected to an LLU-enabled BT exchange, a
percentage point increase compared to a year previously. LLU roll-out was originally
concentrated in exchange areas serving a large number of premises (which tend to be in
urban areas), and the proportion of premises connected to an LLU-enabled local exchange
continued to be higher in urban areas (over 99%) than in rural ones (76%) at the end of
2013. Across the UK nations, the proportion of premises connected to an LLU-enabled BT
local exchange ranged from 87% in Northern Ireland to 95% in England (in Wales this
proportion was 93%, the second highest proportion among the UK nations).
82
Proportion of premises connected to ADSL and LLU-enabled Figure
exchanges: December 2013
Sources: Ofcom/BT
21% of premises in Wales were able to receive cable broadband services in June 2014
Ofcom collects data showing the number of premises (. homes and offices) in the UK that
are able to receive cable and fibre broadband as part of its work to monitor the UK’s
communications infrastructure.
The methodology used to analyse the cable, fibre and next-generation access (NGA)
broadband availability data in this report is different to that used to compile the data included
in the 2013 report. In the last report we included data regarding the proportion of premises in
postcodes that were served by cable broadband and fibre networks, which can sometimes
overstate service availability as not all premises in a postcode will necessarily be able to
receive services. In compiling the figures in this report we have been able to use more
granular data, which means that the figures in Figure to Figure are more accurate
that those published previously, but the data in these charts are slightly lower than they
would be had they been compiled using the same methodology as the figures in the 2013
report.
Furthermore, it is important to note that not all connections provided over the cable and fibre
networks, which are used to provide superfast fixed broadband services (. those with a
headline speed of ‘up to’ 30Mbit/s or higher)34 will necessarily achieve actual speeds of
30Mbit/s or higher. For example, the maximum speed achievable on a given line using fibre-
to-the-cabinet (FTTC) technology will depend on the length and quality of the copper
connection from the street cabinet to the user’s premises. Ofcom’s 2014 Communications
Infrastructure Report (to be published later this year) will provide more detailed analysis of
the distribution of fixed broadband speeds.
Analysis of data provided by Virgin Media shows that 44% of UK premises were able to
receive broadband services over its cable broadband network in June 2014 (Figure ).35
The proportion of premises able to receive Virgin Media cable broadband was 21% in Wales,
34 The definition of a superfast fixed broadband connection used by UK Government is one with a
download speed of at least 24Mbit/s.
35 Compiled on the same basis as the figures in the 2013 report, 46% of UK premises and 22% of
premises in Wales were in postcodes served by Virgin Media’s cable broadband network in June
2014. These figures represent annual falls of two percentage points and one percentage point
respectively, which are predominantly due to Virgin Media having undertaken a clean-up of its
serviceable addresses database.
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All ADSL
LLU ADSL
Proportion of premises (per cent)
83
the lowest proportion among the UK nations, while availability was highest in England (47%
of premises) and significantly higher in urban areas of the UK (51% of premises) than in rural
areas (3%). Virgin Media is currently upgrading its cable network to offer speeds of ‘up to’
152Mbit/s, and its most basic cable broadband package currently offers speeds of ‘up to’
50Mbit/s where these upgrades have already taken place.
Proportion of premises able to receive Virgin Media cable broadband Figure
services
Sources: Ofcom/Virgin Media, June 2014 data
Wales had the second lowest proportion of premises that could receive fibre
broadband services in June 2014
From data provided by the UK’s incumbent fixed telephony providers, Openreach (a BT
Group company) and Kcom (the incumbent provider in the Kingston-upon-Hull area), we are
able to calculate the proportion of UK premises that are able to receive fibre broadband
services over these providers’ combined fibre broadband networks in June 2014 (Figure
).3637 For the reasons mentioned above, the figures below are not comparable to those
published in the 2013
Our analysis shows that by June 2014 55% of premises in Wales were able to receive fibre
broadband services over Openreach’s FTTC or FTTP networks and, although this proportion
was the second lowest among the UK nations, it represented an increase of more than ten
percentage points compared to a year Across the other nations, the proportion
of premises that were served by Openreach or Kcom’s fibre broadband networks ranged
from 48% in Scotland to 92% in Northern Ireland, which has benefited from a Department of
Enterprise, Trade and Investment (DETI) initiative to increase the availability of superfast
broadband services.
36 Under regulatory rules other providers can provide retail fibre broadband services to consumers
using these networks.
37 It should be noted that these figures will understate actual fibre broadband availability as they
exclude availability over networks other than Openreach and Kcom’s.
38 Compiled on the same basis as the figures in the 2013 report, 71% of UK premises were in
postcodes served by Openreach/Kcom’s fibre broadband networks in June 2014, a 15 percentage
point increase compared to a year previously.
39 Compiled on the same basis as the figures in the 2013 report, 57% of UK premises were in
postcodes served by Openreach’s fibre broadband network in June 2014, a 16 percentage point
increase compared to a year previously.
44 47 35
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Proportion of premises (per cent)
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Availability of fibre broadband services was higher in urban areas of the UK than in rural
areas: 75% of UK premises in urban areas were able to receive Openreach or Kcom’s fibre
broadband services in June 2014 compared to 32% in rural areas. Again, it is important to
note than not all fibre broadband connections with be able to achieve actual downstream
speeds of 30Mbit/s.
Proportion of premises able to receive Openreach/Kcom fibre Figure
broadband services
Sources: Ofcom/Openreach/Kcom, June 2014 data
Just under 60% of premises in Wales were able to receive NGA broadband services
by June 2014
By combining the Virgin Media cable broadband availability data in Figure with the
Openreach/Kcom fibre broadband availability data in Figure we are able to estimate the
proportion of premises that are served by NGA networks (which are used to deliver superfast
broadband services). For the reasons mentioned previously, not all fixed broadband
connections provided over NGA networks will necessarily achieve actual downstream
speeds of 30Mbit/s.
Combining the postcode-level availability data for cable and fibre broadband services gives
us a range of availability for NGA broadband services: for example, if cable broadband and
fibre broadband services are both available to 50% of premises in a postcode area the
availability of NGA services in that postcode will be somewhere between 50% of premises
(in the case where cable and fibre services are available to the same 50% of premises within
the postcode area) to 100% of premises (where there is no overlap in the availability of cable
and fibre networks). In Figure below, we show the mean of the possible range of
availability NGA services (which would be 75% in the example given above). As previously,
the figures below are not directly comparable to those that were included in the 2013 report.
The analysis shows that 78% of UK premises were able to receive fixed broadband services
over NGA networks by June Wales had the lowest availability of NGA broadband
services among the UK nations, with 58% of premises being able to receive such services,
although this was an increase of more than ten percentage points compared to June 2013.
Across the other UK nations this proportion ranged from 64% in Scotland to 95% to in
Northern Ireland, with 80% of premises in England being within NGA network footprints. In
40 Compiled on the same basis as the figures in the 2013 report, 80% of UK premises were in
postcodes served by NGA networks in June 2014, a seven percentage point increase compared to a
year previously.
Proportion of premises (per cent)
69 71
48 55
92 82 78
63 68 69 70 63 62 71
75
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urban areas of the UK, 85% of premises were able to receive NGA broadband services in
June 2014, compared to 34% in rural
Proportion of premises able to receive NGA broadband services Figure
Sources: Ofcom/Openreach/Kcom, June 2014 data
Mobile coverage
Overview
While mobile use is widespread across the UK, there are still areas where a lack of network
coverage means that making mobile phone calls, sending text messages and/or accessing
data services over a cellular network is not possible. These areas, which are referred to as
‘mobile not-spots’, are often characterised by low population density and/or hilly terrain, and
present physical and economic obstacles that may deter mobile network operators (MNOs)
from installing mobile phone masts in these areas. In other areas, some operators have
mobile coverage whereas others do not have a presence, leading to the creation of ‘partial
not-spots’.
How we measure the availability of mobile telephony for this report
The coverage information presented in Ofcom’s Communications Market Reports and
Infrastructure Report is collected by Ofcom from the four UK mobile network operators
(MNOs). Information on coverage is provided by each operator for each 100x100m pixel of
landmass across the This information is correlated with maps of premises to give the
premises coverage figures.
These availability figures quoted all refer to outdoor coverage. Coverage figures for indoor
reception are likely to be lower because radio signals are attenuated as they pass through
the fabric of buildings. Indoor reception is highly dependent on the building in which
reception is desired, and where the user is located in the building, making it difficult to
calculate accurate indoor coverage figures.
41 Compiled on the same basis as the figures in the 2013 report, 60% of premises in Wales were in
postcodes served by NGA networks in June 2014, a 12 percentage point increase compared to a year
previously.
42 This year we have refined our analysis of mobile coverage by increasing the granularity of the data
we gather from the MNOs, moving from 200m x 200m coverage grids to 100m x 100m coverage
grids.
Proportion of premises (per cent)
78 80
64 58
95 91 82 70 76 82 76 74 81
84 85
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Figure , Figure and Figure show levels of mobile coverage for 2G, 3G and 4G
services 2G is considered satisfactory for telephone calls and text messaging,
while 3G is often considered as the minimum necessary to provide an acceptable
experience of accessing mobile data services. The first 4G mobile services launched in the
UK in 2012, and this is the first time that we have included 4G mobile coverage data in these
reports.
99% of premises in Wales were in areas with 2G mobile coverage in June 2014
Coverage data provided to us by the UK’s three national 2G network operators (Vodafone,
O2 and EE) show that by June 2014 % of UK premises were in areas with outdoor
coverage from all three of these providers’ 2G networks, and % were in areas with
outdoor coverage from at least one 2G network (Figure ). Conversely, this means that
% of UK premises (around 75,000 premises) were in areas without any 2G coverage.
Among the UK nations, the proportion of UK premises with outdoor coverage from at least
one 2G network ranged from % in Northern Ireland to % in England, (in Wales it
was %, the second lowest proportion among the nations). Wales had the lowest
proportion of premises with 2G coverage from all three 2G networks in June 2014 at %
(across the other nations this proportion ranged from % in Northern Ireland to % in
England).
The proportion of homes in Wales with outdoor 2G mobile coverage from all three national
2G networks increased by percentage points in the year to June 2014, while the
proportion with outdoor coverage from at least one 2G network increased by percentage
points.
2G premises mobile coverage, by number of operators Figure
Sources: Ofcom/operators, June 2014 data
Note: Coverage is based on 100m square pixels covering the UK
By June 2014 % of premises in Wales were in areas with 3G mobile coverage
The coverage data provided to us by the four national UK 3G MNOs (the three 2G providers
plus 3UK) shows that UK 3G coverage was lower than 2G coverage in June 2014, when
43 The availability data provided by the MNOs is taken from network planning tools, which are subject
to a margin of error, and local factors such as tall buildings or trees, can affect signal strength.
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Three Two One
Proportion of premises (per cent)
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% of UK premises were in an area with outdoor coverage from at least one 3G network,
and % were in an area with coverage from all four networks (Figure ).
Across the UK nations, the proportion of premises in areas with outdoor 3G coverage from at
least one network was highest in England at % and lowest in Scotland at % (in
Wales it was %, the second lowest proportion across the nations). Wales had the lowest
proportion of premises in areas with coverage from all four 3G networks at % (this
proportion being highest among the nations in England, at %).
There was an improvement in the availability of 3G services in Wales in the year to June
2014, with the proportion of premises in areas with outdoor coverage from all four national
3G networks increasing by percentage points over this period, and the proportion with
similar coverage from at least one provider increasing by percentage points.
3G premises mobile coverage, by number of operators Figure
Sources: Ofcom/operators, June 2014 data
Note: Coverage is based on 100m square pixels covering the UK
Wales had the lowest availability of 4G services among the UK nations in June 2014
The four national UK MNOs are still in the process of deploying their 4G networks, and this
is reflected in the lower availability of 4G services than of 2G and 3G services in June 2014
(Figure ). Data provided by the MNOs suggest that % of UK premises were in areas
with outdoor mobile coverage from at least one 4G network by June 2014, with the
proportion of premises in 4G coverage areas being lowest in Wales at %, and highest in
Northern Ireland at %.
All four UK MNOs say that they will have 98% 4G population coverage by the end of 2015
(with some reaching this threshold earlier), and O2’s 4G spectrum licence stipulates that it
should provide indoor coverage to 98% of the UK population (and at least 95% of the
population of each of the UK nations) by the end of 2017 at the latest.
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Four Three Two One
Proportion of premises (per cent)
88
4G premises mobile coverage, by number of operators Figure
Sources: Ofcom/operators, June 2014 data
Note: Coverage is based on 100m square pixels covering the UK
Service take-up
Take-up of fixed line and broadband services is lower than average in Wales
Landline and overall broadband take-up were both below the UK averages for these services
in Wales in Q1 2014 (Figure ). The difference between take-up level in Wales and the UK
average was greatest for broadband services, where the proportion of adults in Wales who
had a fixed or mobile broadband connection (71%) was six percentage points lower than the
UK average (77%).
There were differences in the levels of take-up of any type of computer between urban and
rural areas, with people in rural Wales being significantly more likely to have a computer
than those in urban areas (80% vs. 75%). Homes in rural Wales were also more likely to
have a landline service (88% vs. 75%). Mobile phone take-up remained in line with the UK
average in Wales, with over nine in ten adults (92%) having a mobile phone. Smartphone
take-up in Wales (57%) was also in line with the UK average (61%).
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Four Three Two One
Proportion of premises (per cent)
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Take-up of communications services: 2014 Figure
QC1. Is there a landline phone in your home that can be used to make and receive calls?/ QD2. Do
you personally use a mobile phone?/ QD24B. Do you personally use a smartphone?/ QE1. Does your
household have a PC or laptop computer?/ QE2. Do you or does anyone in your household have
access to the internet/ World Wide Web at home?/ QE9. Which of these methods does your
household use to connect to the Internet at home?/ QD28A. Which if any, of the following activities,
other than making and receiving voice calls, do you use your mobile for?
Source: Ofcom research, Q1 2014
Base: All adults aged 16+ (n = 3740 UK, 491 Wales, 2249 England, 501 Scotland, 499 Northern
Ireland, 252 Wales urban, 239 Wales rural)
Take-up of fixed broadband across 16-34 and 35-64 age groups is lower in Wales than
the UK average
As is shown in Figure , respondents aged 16-34 and 35-64 in Wales were less likely than
the UK averages to have a fixed broadband service (70% vs. 83% and 78% vs. 82%),
although take-up among the 65+ group was higher in Wales (52%) than the UK average for
this age group (49%). Seventy-one per cent of households in Wales had broadband,
compared to three in four (77%) in the rest of the UK.
As was the case across the UK as a whole, there were differences in broadband take-up
based on average annual income. Just over half (51%) of households with an income of
under £ in Wales had broadband, compared to just under nine in ten (89%) of those
with a household income over £. Households with children were also more likely than
those without children to have broadband (80% vs. 65%). Again, this difference was
apparent in the UK averages of 88% among homes with children and 70% in homes without
children.
UK Wales England Scotland N Ireland Wales urban Wales rural
Individual
Voice telephony Fixed Line 84% 78% 84% 83% 83% 75% 88%
Mobile phone 93% 92% 94% 90% 94% 93% 91%
Smartphone 61% 57% 61% 62% 55% 58% 52%
Internet Computer (any
type)
79% 76% 80% 77% 76% 75% 80%
Tablet computer 44% 45% 44% 42% 45% 46% 42%
Total Internet 82% 80% 82% 81% 80% 80% 80%
Broadband (fixed
and mobile)
77% 71% 77% 76% 73% 69% 75%
Fixed Broadband 73% 69% 73% 73% 70% 67% 74%
Mobile Broadband 8% 7% 9% 6% 5% 8% 3%
Mobile internet 57% 52% 57% 56% 51% 54% 48%
90
Consumer broadband take-up, by demographic Figure
QE9. Which of these methods does your household use to connect to the internet at home?
Source: Ofcom research, Q1 2014
Base: All adults aged 16+ (n =491 Wales, 125 16-34s, 229 35-64s, 137 65+, 256 ABC1, 235 C2DE,
184 <£ income, 132 £+, 152 children in home, 339 no children in home)
Three in five households in Wales solely use a fixed broadband service
Just over three in five households in Wales (63%) solely used a fixed broadband service in
Q1 2014, compared to 68% across all UK households. This was a four percentage point
increase in fixed broadband take-up compared to the 59% of homes in Wales which used
only fixed broadband services in Q1 2013 (Figure ). Along with the rise in fixed
broadband-only households, there was a two percentage point increase (to 5%) in the
proportion of households in Wales with both fixed and mobile broadband services in the year
to Q1 2014.
Consumer broadband take-up, by connection type Figure
QE9. Which of these methods does your household use to connect to the internet at home?
Source: Ofcom research, Q1 2014
Base: All adults aged 16+ (n = 3740 UK, 491 Wales, 2249 England, 501 Scotland, 499 Northern
Ireland, 252 Wales urban, 239 Wales rural, 987 Wales 2009, 1075 Wales 2010, 493 Wales 2011, 513
Wales 2012, 492 Wales 2013, 491 Wales 2014)
Smartphone take-up continued to rise in Wales in the year to Q1 2014
As was the case in the rest of the UK, smartphone adoption continued to rise in the year to
Q1 2014, when over six in ten adults with a mobile phone in Wales (62%) had a smartphone,
71 70 78
52
83
59 51
89 80
6577
83 82
49
87
65
51
86 88
70
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Nation 16-34 35-64 65+ ABC1 C2DE <££+ Yes No
Wales UK
Annual
household
income
Social Group Children in
household
Household broadband take-up
68 63 69 70 68 61 71
46 48 54 53
59 63
4 5
5 3 2 6
2
9 9
10 10 3
5
4 2
4 3 3 2
1
3 7
6 6 4 2
77
71
77 76 73 69 75
58
64
71 68 66 71
0 %
20 %
40 %
60 %
80 %
100 %
UK 2014 Wales
2014
England
2014
Scotland
2014
N
Ireland
2014
Wales
urban
2014
Wales
rural
2014
Wales
2009
Wales
2010
Wales
2011
Wales
2012
Wales
2013
Wales
2014
Mobile
broadband
only
Fixed and
mobile
broadband
Fixed
broadband
only
Proportion of homes
91
an eight percentage point increase (Figure ). Wales has the third highest smartphone
take-up among the UK nations, after Scotland (69%) and England (66%). Smartphone take-
up increased in both urban and rural areas of Wales in the year to Q1 2014, with growth in
urban areas (up nine percentage points to 63%) being higher than in rural areas (up five
percentage points to 58%).
Take-up of smartphones among mobile users Figure
QD24B. Do you personally use a smartphone? A smartphone is a phone on which you can easily
access emails, download files and applications, as well as view websites and generally surf the
internet. Popular brands of smartphone include BlackBerry, iPhone and Android phones such as the
Samsung Galaxy.
Source: Ofcom research, Q1 2014
Base: Adults aged 16+ who personally use a mobile phone (n = 3405 UK, 438 Wales, 2055 England,
447 Scotland, 465 Northern Ireland, 227 Wales urban, 211 Wales rural, 416 Wales 2011, 456 Wales
2012, 440 Wales 2013, 438 Wales 2014)
Wales had the highest level of mobile-only households in the UK in Q1 2014, at 22%
Mobile-only households
In the following analysis, ‘mobile only’ households are defined as those that have at least
one mobile phone between the residents; and do not have ‘a landline that can be used to
make or receive calls’. Therefore this measure of mobile-only households includes a
proportion (c30% of mobile only homes) who say they have fixed broadband services. Most
fixed broadband services require a fixed line. As such these consumers may have a fixed
line but no handset, and have responded on the basis that they cannot make or receive calls
using their fixed line.
Just over one in five households in Wales (22%) only had access to a mobile phone to make
and receive calls in Q1 2014 (Figure ). Just under three-quarters (74%) of households in
Wales had both fixed and mobile telephone services in Q1 2014, with a further 4% being
fixed-line-only homes. A quarter (25%) of households in urban areas of Wales were mobile-
only in Q1 2014, compared to 11% of homes in rural Wales.
Figure above bar shows % point change in
use of mobile phones from Q1 2013
65 62 66 69 58 63 58
29
42
54 62
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
UK 2014 Wales
2014
England
2014
Scotland
2014
N
Ireland
2014
Wales
urban
2014
Wales
rural
2014
Wales
2011
Wales
2012
Wales
2013
Wales
2014
+9 +10+9+8 +20 +5+9
Proportion of mobile users
92
Cross-ownership of household telephony services Figure
QC1. Is there a landline phone in your home that can be used to make and receive calls?/ QD1. How
many mobile phones in total do you and members of your household use?
Source: Ofcom research, Q1 2014
Base: All adults aged 16+ (n = 3740 UK, 491 Wales, 2249 England, 501 Scotland, 499 Northern
Ireland, 252 Wales urban, 239 Wales rural, 987 Wales 2009, 1075 Wales 2010, 493 Wales 2011, 513
Wales 2012, 492 Wales 2013, 491 Wales 2014)
Take-up of pre-pay mobile services remains higher than average in Wales
Forty-three per cent of mobile phone users in Wales had a pay-as-you-go contract in Q1
2014, a six percentage point decrease compared to Q1 2013 (Figure ). This was eight
percentage points higher than the UK average (35%): only Northern Ireland had higher pre-
pay take-up among mobile users in Q1 2014, at 48%.
Type of mobile subscription Figure
QD11. Which of these best describes the mobile package you personally use most often?
Source: Ofcom research, Q1 2014
Base: Adults aged 16+ who personally use a mobile phone (n = 3405 UK, 438 Wales, 2055 England,
447 Scotland, 465 Northern Ireland, 227 Wales urban, 211 Wales rural, 836 Wales 2009, 923 Wales
2010, 416 Wales 2011, 456 Wales 2012, 440 Wales 2013, 438 Wales 2014)
Use of VoIP in Wales rose in the year to Q1 2014, but remained lower than the UK
average
Just over a quarter of adults in Wales (28%) claimed to use voice over IP (VoIP) services
such as Skype or Vonage in Q1 2014, the lowest proportion among the nations (Figure
Figure above bar shows % point
change in mobile only from Q1 2013
80 74 80 77 79 71
84
71 72 73 74 71 74
4
4
4 6 4
4
5
11 7 7 6 5 4
16 22 15 16 17 25
11 16 19 19 20 23 22
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
U
K
2
01
4
W
al
es
20
14
E
ng
la
nd
20
14
S
co
tla
nd
20
14
N
Ir
el
an
d
20
14
W
al
es
ur
ba
n
20
14
W
al
es
ru
ra
l
20
14
W
al
es
20
09
W
al
es
20
10
W
al
es
20
11
W
al
es
20
12
W
al
es
20
13
W
al
es
20
14
Neither
Mobile
only
Fixed
only
Fixed
and
mobile
+1 +/-0-1 -1+/-0 -2-1
Proportion of households
35 43 34 33
48 44 39
64 58 55 48 49 43
57 52 57 61
40 52 52
33
32 42 44 45 52
7 4 8 6 10 3 6 1 6 3 6 4 4
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
U
K
2
01
4
W
al
es
20
14
E
ng
la
nd
20
14
S
co
tla
nd
20
14
N
Ir
el
an
d
20
14
W
al
es
ur
ba
n
20
14
W
al
es
ru
ra
l
20
14
W
al
es
20
09
W
al
es
20
10
W
al
es
20
11
W
al
es
20
12
W
al
es
20
13
W
al
es
20
14
Unsure
Other
Contract
unsure type
Contract SIM
only
Contract with
handset
Pre-pay / Pay
as you go
Figure above bar shows % point change
in pre-pay from Q1 2013-4 -6 -1-8-4 -2-7
Proportion of mobile users
93
). This was a nine percentage point increase compared to Q1 2013. However, while
claimed VoIP usage levels in Wales were similar to those in Northern Ireland (30%), they
were below those in England and Scotland, where over three in ten adults said that they
used VoIP. There was no difference between levels of VoIP use in urban and rural areas of
Wales.
Individual use of voice-over-IP services Figure
QE30. Have you or anyone in your household ever used one of these services to make voice calls
using the internet?/ QE5. Which, if any, of these do you use the internet for?
Source: Ofcom research, Q1 2014
Base: All adults aged 16+ (n = 3740 UK, 491 Wales, 2249 England, 501 Scotland, 499 Northern
Ireland, 252 Wales urban, 239 Wales rural)
Satisfaction with telecoms services
Wales was the only nation to report a rise in satisfaction with ability to connect to the
internet via a 3G or 4G network
In Q1 2014, just over four in five smartphone users in Wales (85%) were either ‘very’ or
‘fairly’ satisfied with their ability to connect to the internet via a 3G or 4G network, with
around half (52%) claiming to be ‘very’ satisfied (Figure ). This compared to just under
nine in ten smartphone users across the UK as a whole (88%) who were satisfied with their
ability to access 3G or 4G mobile data services, and was the second lowest proportion
among the UK nations.
Wales was the only UK nation in which satisfaction with the ability to access 3G and 4G
services increased among smartphone users in the year to Q1 2014, and levels of
satisfaction differed significantly between urban and rural areas of Wales, with 88% of those
in urban areas claiming to be ‘very’ satisfied, compared to 76% in rural areas.
Broadband take-up (%)Individual use of VoIP (%)
35
28
36 32 30 28 27
77
71
77 76 73 69
75
0
20
40
60
80
0
10
20
30
40
UK 2014 Wales
2014
England
2014
Scotland
2014
N Ireland
2014
Wales
urban 2014
Wales rural
2014
Use of
VoIP (left
hand axis)
Broadband
take-up
(right hand
axis)
94
Satisfaction with ability to connect to the internet via 3G or 4G network Figure
QD21k. Thinking about your mobile phone service only, how satisfied are you with (main supplier) for
ability to connect to the internet using the mobile network (3G or 4G)?
Source: Ofcom research, Q1 2014
Base: Adults aged 16+ who personally use a smartphone (n = 2038 UK, 235 Wales, 1252 England,
290 Scotland, 261 Northern Ireland, 131 Wales urban, 104 Wales rural)
Note: Figures above chart columns indicate the proportion of people who were ‘very’ or ‘fairly’
satisfied with the ability to connect to the internet using the mobile network
Satisfaction with speed of fixed broadband connection returns to levels reported in
2012, at 82%
The proportion of fixed broadband users in Wales who said that they were ‘very’ or ‘fairly’
satisfied with the speed of their service increased by seven percentage points to 82% in the
year to Q1 2014, and was similar to the level recorded in Q1 2012 (Figure ). This
increase in satisfaction was driven by fixed broadband users in urban areas, among whom
the proportion who said that they were either ‘very’ or ‘fairly’ satisfied with the speed of their
service increased by nine percentage points to 83% during the year: in rural areas this
proportion fell by four percentage points to 78%.
Satisfaction with speed of fixed broadband connection Figure
QE8b. Thinking about your fixed broadband internet service, how satisfied are you with (main
supplier) for the speed of your service while online (not just the connection)?
Source: Ofcom research, Q1 2014
Base: Adults aged 16+ with a fixed broadband connection at home (n = 2601 UK, 334 Wales, 1553
England, 367 Scotland, 347 Northern Ireland, 164 Wales urban, 170 Wales rural, 527 Wales 2009,
604 Wales 2010, 303 Wales 2011, 318 Wales 2012, 294 Wales 2013, 334 Wales 2014)
Note: Figures above chart columns indicate the proportion of people who were ‘very’ or ‘fairly’
satisfied with their speed of service while online
55 52 56 54 45 55 43
33 33 32 39 39
33
33
88 85 88
93
84 88
76
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
UK 2014 Wales 2014 England
2014
Scotland
2014
N Ireland
2014
Wales urban
2014
Wales rural
2014
Fairly
satisfied
Very
satisfied
Proportion of mobile users
47 39 48 45 40 40 36
48 47 45 42 36 39
37 42
36 40 41 42 43
37 35 43 41
39 42
84 82 85 85 81 83 78
85 82
87 83
75
82
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
UK 2014 Wales
2014
England
2014
Scotland
2014
N
Ireland
2014
Wales
urban
2014
Wales
rural
2014
Wales
2009
Wales
2010
Wales
2011
Wales
2012
Wales
2013
Wales
2014
Fairly
satisfied
Very
satisfied
Figure above bar shows % point
change in total satisfied from Q1 2013-4+9+3 +3+4+7 +3
Proportion of fixed broadband users
95
