The Communications Market Report: Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland embraces latest technology
Northern Ireland embraces latest technology
Consumers in Northern Ireland are among the most enthusiastic consumers of communications technology in the UK.
Some 92 per cent use a mobile phone, of which almost a quarter have a smartphone (23 per cent).
Northern Ireland also leads the way across the UK for sending text messages (93 per cent), taking photos with a mobile (71 per cent), sending photo messages (64 per cent) and playing games on their phone (31 per cent).
How the internet is used in Northern Ireland is also changing. For example, use of social networking has doubled since 2008, with 47 per cent now using these sites regularly (compared to 22 per cent in 2008).
People in Northern Ireland are also increasingly going online for everyday needs and tasks.
Ofcoms Communications Market Report reveals that 31 per cent watch TV or video online, 51 per cent use internet banking sites and 32 per cent use the internet to access information on health-related issues, a significant rise of 15 percentage points from 2010.
Since 2008, broadband penetration in Northern Ireland has risen from 52 per cent and now stands at 75 per cent, making Northern Ireland second only to England among the UK nations for broadband take-up (the UK average now stands at 74 per cent).
Northern Ireland consumers satisfaction with their broadband speeds has increased significantly over the past year, with 83 per cent of people claiming to be fairly or very satisfied - an increase of 13 percentage points.
Some 90 per cent of TV homes have digital TV on their main set while two-thirds of Northern Ireland TV homes pay for television an increase of 11 percentage points on last year and above the UK average of 57 per cent.
Satisfaction with mobile coverage is high, with 89 per cent happy with the coverage they receive (up 8 percentage points from 2010) and uptake of bundled services has also increased for the fourth successive year.
Some 46 per cent of people in Northern Ireland have taken a bundle (up from 28 per cent in 2008) with deals involving landline and broadband proving the most popular.
Ofcoms Northern Ireland Director, Jonathan Rose, said: This is the sixth year we have produced the Communications Market Report for Northern Ireland.
Over the last five years we have seen Northern Ireland catch up, and in some cases overtake, the rest of the UK in the use of the latest communications services.
Some 90 per cent of TV homes have digital TV on their main set (compared to 96 per cent overall in the UK).
Two-thirds (66 per cent) of Northern Ireland TV homes pay for television an increase of 11 percentage points on last year and above the UK average of 57 per cent.
BBC NI and UTVs combined spend on TV programmes in 2010 was 24m, down from 26m in 2009.
More than half (57 per cent) of people in Northern Ireland said television was their main source of local news, slightly higher than the UK average (52 per cent).
Some 32 per cent of homes in Northern Ireland say they have access to HDTV channels level with the UK average.
In an average week 92 per cent of adults in Northern Ireland listen to the radio higher than the UK average of 91 per cent.
BBC local/national stations are particularly popular in Northern Ireland, with a 22 per cent share (compared to a 9 per cent share across the UK).
Local commercial radio also performs well, with an audience share of 34 per cent in Northern Ireland, second only to Scotland across the UK.
Some 22 per cent of people say radio is their primary source of news the highest proportion in any of the UK nations.
Twenty eight per cent of people said they own a DAB radio, less than the UK average of 37 per cent, but up 6 percentage points on last year.
Since 2008, broadband penetration in Northern Ireland has risen from 52 per cent and now stands at 75 per cent, making Northern Ireland second only to England among the UK nations for broadband take-up (the UK average now stands at 74 per cent).
Use of social networking has doubled since 2008, with 47 per cent of people now using these sites regularly (compared to 22 per cent in 2008).
Some 31 per cent watch TV or video online, 51 per cent use internet banking sites and 32 per cent use the internet to access information on health-related issues, a significant rise of 15 percentage points from 2010.
Take-up of both fixed (up 3 percentage points to 84 per cent) and mobile telephony (up 4 percentage points to 92 per cent) has increased over the last year in Northern Ireland, with both on a par with the UK average.
Almost a quarter of Northern Irelands mobile phone owners have a smartphone (23 per cent).
Overall, 89 per cent are happy with their mobile coverage (an increase of 8 percentage points from 2010).
This figure drops to 84 per cent in rural areas (compared to 92 per cent in urban areas).
Mobile phone take-up is highest in Northern Ireland, with 92 per cent of people owning a mobile phone (compared to 91 per cent in the UK).
Some 65 per cent of Northern Ireland residents use pre-pay or Pay-As-You-Go mobile.
While this figure has fallen from 73 per cent in 2007, it is still well above the UK average of 50 per cent.
Northern Ireland's Communication Market
Television and audio-visual content
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