According to information gathered by National Statistics (ONS) for September, 88.4% of Britons are choosing to use broadband rather than dial-up (almost nine out of 10 UK net users).  The figures indicate a 26% rise over the last 12 months.  Furthermore, 49.2% of those connections are for services advertised at two megabits per second or faster.  Only 4% of those questioned were using services faster than eight Mbps.

But analysis of the figures suggest the broadband market is static as the pool of dial up users dries up.  This could mean tough times for service suppliers.  Not only were dial-up users resisting being converted, but households without net access, estimated to number about 10 million, were also declining to sign up in large enough numbers to sustain growth.

The statistics show that broadband has enjoyed a meteoric rise in popularity among net users since services started to be available and affordable.  As recently as April 2003, ONS reports, 81% of people went online via dial-up modems and only 17% had broadband