4 Internet and web-based content
4
Internet take-up
Eight in ten households in Wales have access to the internet
Eight in ten households in Wales (80%) had access to the internet at Q1 2014 (via
broadband, mobile phone or narrowband), with this figure increasing five percentage points
year on year.
Internet access on a mobile increased by five percentage points to 52%, while the proportion
of people accessing the internet exclusively through a mobile phone or smartphone
remained stable at 7% in 2014 – although this remains the highest across the devolved
nations. The total number of mobile data users continues to rise (up six percentage points to
48%), while consumers using a mobile broadband connection remained stable at 7%.
Internet take-up in Wales: 2009-2014 Figure
Source: Ofcom Technology Tracker
Base: All adults aged 16+ (n = 987 Wales 2009, 1075 Wales 2010, 493 Wales 2011, 513 Wales 2012,
492 Wales 2013, 491 Wales 2014)
Internet-enabled devices
Tablet ownership has more than doubled in the past year
As in the rest of the UK, tablet ownership continued to grow in 2014, with just under half
(45%) of households in Wales now owning a tablet device. This is in line with the UK
average (44%) and is an increase of 24 percentage points in the year to Q1 2014.
Furthermore, 37% of households in Wales have two or more tablet devices.
Growth in ownership of this device has been particularly prevalent in urban areas (46%), an
increase of 27 percentage points since Q1 2013. Urban areas (7%) are also significantly
more likely than rural areas (2%) to have households with access only to a tablet (and not a
laptop, desktop or netbook computer).
Households (%)
60
66
72 73 75
80
58
64
71 68 66
71
55 57
64 63 63
69
24
30 30
43
48 54
18 21
25
39
47 52
4
9
711
16 16 16
7 7
0
20
40
60
80
100
Q1 09 Q1 10 Q1 11 Q1 12 Q1 13 Q1 14
Internet
Total broadband
Fixed broadband
Mobile data user
Internet on
mobile
Internet via
phone/
smartphone only
Mobile
broadband
75
Take-up of tablet computers in Wales Figure
Source: Ofcom research, Q1 2014
QE1. Does your household have a PC, laptop, netbook or tablet computer?
Base: All adults aged 16+ (n = 3740 UK, 491 Wales, 2249 England, 501 Scotland, 499 Northern
Ireland, 252 Wales urban, 239 Wales rural, 493 Wales 2011, 513 Wales 2012, 492 Wales 2013, 491
Wales 2014)
More than one in six consumers in Wales personally use an e-reader
Personal use of an e-reader rose three percentage points to more than one in six (18%)
consumers in Wales, in line with the UK average (17%). Unlike the rest of the UK, more e-
readers with a built-in 3G connection (10%) than without (8%) were used in Wales; these
allow users to download books using a mobile network. Household ownership of an e-reader
in Q1 2014 was 24%, also in line with the UK (24%).
Those in Wales most likely to use an e-reader were from ABC1 households (26%) and
households with an annual income greater than £. There was no significant difference
between urban or rural areas in Wales.
Households (%) / percentage point change in take-up of tablet computers from Q1 2013
44 45 44 42 45 46 42
2 8
21
45
+20 +24 +20 +18 +16
+27
+15
0
20
40
60
UK Wales England Scotland N
Ireland
Wales
Urban
Wales
Rural
2011 2012 2013 2014
Nation Urbanity Wales
76
Personal use of e-readers, 2014 Figure
Source: Ofcom research, Q1 2014
QB1. Which of the following do you, or does anyone in your household, have in your home at the
moment?/ QB2. And do you personally use.../ QB6. Does your household’s e-reader have built-in 3G
access to a mobile network?
Base: All adults aged 16+ (n = 3740 UK, 491 Wales, 2249 England, 501 Scotland, 499 Northern
Ireland, 252 Wales urban, 239 Wales rural)
Half of consumers in rural areas of Wales claimed their laptop was their most
important device for internet access
No single device was thought to be most important for accessing the internet by the majority
of internet users in Wales in Q1 2014. However, the laptop was significantly more likely to be
cited as the most important device among internet users in rural areas (50%). Furthermore,
those in rural areas (13%) were significantly less likely than those in urban areas (27%) to
claim that smartphones were their most important device. Similarly, those aged over 55 (7%)
were significantly less likely than those aged 16-34 (41%) to cite smartphones as their most
important device for accessing the internet.
Only one in 20 (6%) 16-34 year olds thought the desktop computer was the most important
device for internet access, significantly less than older age groups. Women were significantly
more likely than men (22% vs. 12%) to claim the tablet as the most important device – the
only gender difference seen across the devolved nations.
Device preferences are likely to reflect take-up of devices; we consider device importance by
ownership in Chapter 4 of the UK Communications Market Report32.
32 Available online at
Individuals (%) / Percentage point year on year change
7 10 7 7 8 10 10
10
8
10 9
12 8 9
+1 +3 +/-0 +2
+8
+4 +1
0
10
20
30
UK Wales England Scotland N Ireland Wales
Urban
Wales
Rural
Non-3G e-reader 3G e-reader
77
Most important device for accessing the internet in Wales Figure
Source: Ofcom research, Q1 2014
Question: Which is the most important device you use to connect to the internet, at home or
elsewhere? “Other” responses include, “Other device”, “None” and “don’t know”.
Base: Internet users aged 16+ (n = 2976 UK, 369 Wales, 189 Wales urban, 180 Wales rural, 118 16-
34, 113 35-54, 138 55+, 210 ABC1, 159 C2DE, 103 under £, 126 £+).
Internet use
Internet users in Wales claim to spend significantly less time online than the UK
average
According to research conducted for Ofcom’s Adult Media Literacy Report33, internet users
in Wales claim to spend hours on the internet per week, less than the UK average of
hours. Following a similar pattern as the rest of the UK, internet users claimed they
spent the majority of time online at home, followed by their workplace or place of education.
Claimed time spent on the internet in a typical week Figure
Source: Ofcom research, fieldwork carried out by Saville Rossiter-Base in October to November 2013
IN6A-C – How many hours in a typical week would you say you use the internet at home/ at your
workplace or place of education/ anywhere else? (Unprompted responses, single coded)
Base: All adults aged 16+ who use the internet at home or elsewhere (1272 UK, 824 England, 150
Scotland, 163 Wales, 135 Northern Ireland).
33 Available from online at
publications/adults/adults-media-lit-14/
40 38 35
50 43 34 35 37 45 42 34 28 41
23 24 27
13 26
23
41
19 7 20 29 27
22
20 18 18 20
18
19
6
23 29 18 19 25 15
15 17 18 15 12 22 15 20 16 18 16 17 22
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
U
K
W
al
es
W
al
es
U
rb
an
W
al
es
R
ur
al
M
al
e
Fe
m
al
e
16
-3
4
35
-5
4
55
+
A
B
C
1
C
2D
E
U
nd
er
£1
7.
5K
£1
7.
5K
+
Urbanity Gender Age Group Social
Group
Household
Income
Other
Tablet
Desktop
Smartphone
Laptop
Internet users (%)
Hours per week
11
4
17
0 4 8 12 16 20
N Ireland
Scotland
England
Wales
UK
At home At workplace/ place of education Anywhere else
78
Two-fifths of broadband users in Wales shopped online in the last week
Nine in ten internet users (91%) in Wales use the internet for general browsing and surfing,
while among specific activities, sending and receiving email (84%) is the most popular use,
with 70% of internet users having done this in the past week.
Purchasing goods and services online is the second most popular specific use of the internet
(71%), increasing by nine percentage points in the past year, with two in five broadband
users having done this in the past week (41%). Visiting social networking sites (54%) and
internet banking (51%) are other popular weekly activities among internet users in Wales,
but with a smaller reach overall.
Use of online applications among internet users in Wales Figure
Source: Ofcom research, Q1 2014
QE5. Which, if any, of these do you use the internet for?
Base: Adults aged 16+ who use the internet at home or elsewhere (n= 369 Wales 2014)
Individuals (%)
5
11
12
15
18
14
21
20
15
13
32
35
51
54
41
70
80
97
5
7
11
11
10
15
11
14
20
26
12
21
12
11
30
14
11
2
10
18
23
26
28
29
32
34
35
39
44
56
63
65
71
84
91
99
0 20 40 60 80 100
Streamed audio services
Listening to radio
Uploading/ adding content to internet
Downloading music
Finding/ downloading info for college
Trading/auctions
Playing games
Watching short video clips
Using local council/ Government websites
Find health information
Instant messaging
TV/ Video viewing
Banking
Using social networking sites
Purchasing goods/services
Sending and receiving email
General surfing/browsing
Any
Used in the past week
Use less often
79
