The Communications Market Report: England

1.1 Introduction and key findings for England

Introduction

From 2011, Ofcom will publish its Communications Market Report for England in the form of a detailed dataset, to ensure that consumers and industry have access to the latest market data.

Our survey data is available in accessible formats (.pdf and .csv) and we have also published charts that summarise the data sets.

The data and charts will be found in the following location: http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/market-data-research/market-data/communications-market-reports/cmr11/downloads/

The full report on the UK's communications market in 2011 is published here. The following paragraphs summarise our key findings and some of the recent developments in the communications market in England.

Key findings for England

TV and audio-visual

• With digital switchover due to be completed in 2012, take-up of digital television services in homes in England now stands at 96%, an increase of four percentage points since last year.
• TV viewers in England watch an average of between 3.7 and 4.5 hours of television each day.

Radio and audio

• People in England listen to the radio less than they watch TV, at an average of 3.2 hours per day.
• BBC radio stations accounted for a 56% share of total listening in England with local commercial (31%) and national commercial (11%) accounting for the majority of the remaining listener hours.

Internet and web-based content

• Broadband take-up in England has increased by three percentage points between Q1 2010 and Q1 2011 to 76%, with mobile broadband take-up having also increased by three percentage points to 18%. Broadband take-up is highest in England's rural areas (84%)

Telecoms and networks

• Nearly a third (31%) of adults in England have a smartphone and 34% say that they use a mobile phone to access the internet, an increase of nine percentage points in the past year.
• Eighty-five per cent of homes in England have a fixed-line phone and 92% of adults own a mobile handset.

1.2 UK communications market: fast facts

Figure 1.1 illustrates how take-up and use of a variety of communications services across the UK has changed over the past year.

Figure 1.1 UK communication markets: fast facts

 

Ofcom Research Q1 2011
Base: All adults aged 16+ (n = 3474 UK, 1983 England, 487 Scotland, 493 Wales, 511 Northern Ireland, 2458 UK urban, 1016 UK rural, 1719 England urban, 264 England rural, 239 Scotland urban, 248 Scotland rural, 241 Wales urban, 252 Wales rural, 259 Northern Ireland urban, 252 Northern Ireland rural)
Note: This is the first year that we have collected survey data on smartphone use, so we cannot report a precise year-on-year increase. But we are confident that ownership has increased significantly in the past year.

1.3 Recent developments in England

Creative England / Screen Agencies

In November 2010, the Minister for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries announced that the English Regional Screen Agencies outside London would transform their network into Creative England, "a simpler, more efficient structure with an expanded remit to support the creative industries across England."

Creative England will be a nationwide network based on three key hubs; Creative North, Creative Central and Creative South. These three hubs will work with local business networks and sector organisations, to deliver cultural and business-development objectives.

Regions creative activity

A £2.4m creative content fund for the North East was established in 2010, the UK's first public-private investment partnership in the creative industries outside London.

Launched in February by Newcastle-based venture capital company Northstar Ventures, alongside Northern Film & Media, the region's publicly-funded screen agency, it has invested £1.2m in eight projects and is backed by the European Regional Development Fund. It expects to invest in 18 projects in film, television, digital media, games and music.

A similar venture capital fund was set up in June 2010 in the North West. It is made up of six separate funds, each of which will be used to fund business growth in its relevant sector.

ITV has confirmed that it plans to establish a new production base for Coronation Street at the MediaCityUK development in Salford.

London

David Cameron announced the government's ambition for 'East London Tech City'; a plan to transform the area into a world-leading technology rival to Silicon Valley in the US. Vodafone, Google, Facebook and Intel are among the companies committing to invest in the area. In September, Boris Johnson announced the appointment of the City Hall Digital Advisory Board. The new body will be responsible for providing technical expertise and support to the Mayor on all digital projects including the London Datastore and WiFi London. The Board will also reflect the views of social innovators to the Mayor.

On 1 November 2010, BT launched a six-month trial of WiFi connectivity for commuters on the London Underground platforms at Charing Cross station.

Next generation networks

More than half of the population of England has access to super-fast broadband. Virgin Media's cable network offering speeds of 'up to' 50Mbit/s (and up to 100Mbit/s in some areas) passes 51% of households in England, and BT's fibre-to-the-cabinet service is being rolled out across the country with 23% of homes in England connected to a FTTC-enabled exchange by June 2011.

The government has earmarked £830m to give every UK community access to super-fast broadband by 2015. Britain's Superfast Broadband Future includes a proposal to invest £50m in a second wave of projects to test how to deliver this, cutting the costs of infrastructure and allowing access to it, and awarding spectrum for mobile services.

In October four rural areas were selected to pilot super-fast broadband: the Highlands and Islands, Cumbria, Herefordshire and North Yorkshire, with each area allocated £5m -10m.

In March the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced the opening of bidding for £50m of funding for super-fast broadband roll-out in the UK. Local authorities will be able to apply to Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) for this funding to improve broadband in their area. In total, it is proposed that £530m will be spent over the next four years on rolling out super-fast broadband.

BT has announced that it will launch a 1Gbit/s fibre broadband trial in Kesgrave, Suffolk. The technical trial aims to demonstrate the maximum speed capability of BT's fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) product.

A BT/Avanti partnership in Cornwall aims to bring next-generation broadband to the region by 2014. Using £78.5m from BT and £53.5m from the European Regional Development Fund, the project aims to make superfast broadband available to 80% and 90% of the county's homes and businesses. Avanti has stated that BT will also be able to use the technology in other areas of the country.

Clear Mobitel has begun a trial of long-term evolution (LTE) wireless technology in eastern Cornwall, using spectrum freed up by digital switchover, to "assess the performance of LTE to provide viable solutions in providing high-speed broadband services to the rural consumer". It is reported that the service will offer speeds of around 12 Mb/s.

Rural broadband

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has announced a new Rural Community Broadband Fund, expected to be worth up to £20m. The broadband scheme will be jointly funded by the Rural Development Programme for England and Broadband Delivery UK.

Radio

Bauer Radio was allowed by Ofcom to drop regional content on its Kiss FM services in London, the Severn Estuary and East of England, in return for providing carriage of the Kiss service in all existing local DAB areas in England.

Similarly, GMG Radio became a national service on DAB on October 4th, and merged its five FM regional Smooth Radio stations in England to carry the new national service, under changes allowed in the Digital Economy Act.

Ofcom launched a new round of community radio licensing, following significant interest from more than 270 individuals and community groups wanting to go on air and provide services for their local community.

Community radio stations typically cover a small geographical area with a coverage radius of up to 5km, and are run on a not-for-profit basis. They reflect a diverse mix of cultures and interests. Twenty-five have applied for licences in the South West of England, the first region to be advertised. Other areas of England are being invited to apply for licences between 2012 and 2014.