Broadband uptake 'continuing to rise'

UK net users are increasingly turning to broadband, with a new study showing that over half of British households now use the high-speed service.

According to the Ofcom report, this is ahead of the broadband uptake in the US and has been sparked by the use of cost-effective bundled offers including other services such as TV subscriptions.

"The report shows that convergence, bundling and the move to digital communications is a powerful global phenomenon," said Ed Richards, chief executive of the telecoms industry watchdog.

Growing use of broadband expands the potential market for high-bandwidth services, such as VoIP, which may find a new audience among the older generations as a result.

A substantial portion of the recent rise in broadband connections has been attributed by Ofcom to elderly or retired people, with a report last month finding that take-up of the services has boomed among the over-65 age group in the last year.