Broadband access grows in Britain

The proportion of British homes that have access to broadband internet has risen over the last year, new figures show.

According to data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), almost two-thirds (63 per cent) of British homes had broadband internet access in 2009 - up from 56 per cent in 2008.

An increasing number of adults are also using the internet on a daily basis, while the number of people who have never used the web dropped by 21 per cent.

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) pointed out however, that despite the fact over a third of British firms sell goods over the internet, Britain still ranks 21st out of 30 countries ranked by network speed.

The body called for Britain to upgrade speeds by using fibre optic networks rather than DSL or cables.

"This upgrade is important because high-speed broadband networks are increasingly seen as a fundamental infrastructure for the economy, like roads, water and electricity," the OECD said.

Web users in Spain, Portugal and Greece currently enjoy faster downloads speeds than their counterparts in Britain.