Report: 23 Percent Wireless Internet Penetration in U.K.

About 23 percent of respondents to a recent survey report they have used wireless Internet access from a PC at some point during the last three months, according to the U.K. Office for National Statistics. That figure apparently includes use of WiFi (News - Alert) hot spots and wireless broadband cards, but does not indicate the full extent of wireless Internet activities.

 

About 15 percent of respondents say they used the Internet from their mobile phone, while four percent reported they used a personal digital assistant for Internet access at some point in the last three months.

 

Mobile phones operating on third generation wireless networks were used by four percent of respondents.

 

Most access remains in place-based rather than mobile mode, though wireless "tails" or PC cards might be the means for access at a location. The Office of National Statistics study suggests that 90 percent of usage occurs at user homes, while 44 percent also report use of the Internet at work. About 20 percent say they have used the Internet at another person's home within the last three months, while 14 percent say they have done so at an educational institution.

 

About four percent say they have used the Internet at a public library, just about the same percent that report having gotten access at an Internet cafe. About five percent say they have used a Wi-Fi hot spot for access at some time during the last three months, a figure that presumably excludes at-home Wi-Fi.

 

About 11 percent of Internet access occurred at some venue aside from home, work, school, library, host spot or Internet cafe. That would include hotels, convention centers, airports or other locations.