Ofcom releases annual communications market report

Ofcom has released its annual yearly Communications Market report, which covers fixed and mobile telecoms, TV, radio and Internet use in the UK during 2006.

Highlights from the 332 page report include the following average daily usages of communications technologies:

• the amount of time people spend watching TV has dropped 4% from 2005, to 3 hours 36 minutes a day,
• radio usage fell 2% to 2 hours and 50 minutes,
• fixed line phone usage fell 8% to 7 minutes,
• internet usage increased to 36 minutes a day,
• mobile phone usage increased to 4 minutes,

The report highlights the increasing use of the Internet by the over-50s who now account for 30 per cent of all time spent online by people in the UK. People over 65 spend an average of 42 hours online every month.

With new technologies challenging traditional media, the report found a significant change in advertising expenditure, with online advertising now accounting for 44% of that spent on all TV advertising.

Although consumers are embracing and increasing range of communications services, they are actually spending less on them. In 2006 the average household spent £92.65 per month on communications services, compared with £94.03 in 2005.