Music and pictures drive broadband Britain

Digital entertainment has driven a massive increase in the number of broadband users in the UK, according to latest figures.

Music downloads and sharing digital photos have been instrumental in pushing internet usage levels up by 11 per cent in 12 months, according to NOP World research. There are now 28.1 million internet users in the UK, representing 60 per cent of the population.

There has also been a shift by internet users towards paying for site content. Of those broadband users who have paid for site access, 65 per cent have paid to download music, a massive rise of 51 per cent in the last 12 months.

In the same period, ownership of digital cameras has also increased by 16 per cent to 69 per cent of the population, while the amount of UK consumers owning digital music players has risen to 37 per cent, an increase of 14 per cent from December 2003. Cameras and digital music players are now the "must-have accessories" according to NOP.

"Digital entertainment has undoubtedly been the major factor in this increase in internet usage over the last 12 months," confirmed Niall Rae, director at NOP World Technology. "There is a real possibility that we will see a further growth phase if video moves in the same direction, driven by moves to provide content through broadband by players like BT and Microsoft. The question is whether this model can gain traction against the established Sky+ box and its simple to use PVR functionality."