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NEWS

"Wi-Fi blossoms as teens desert TV for web"

by John Kennedy, Silicon Republic, 30 November:

"Despite Ireland's ongoing broadband woes, the country surprisingly has the largest number of Wi-Fi hotspots per head of population (18.3 per 100,000 people) followed by the UK (at 17.6), according to a global study by UK telecoms regulator Ofcom. Germany has 10.5 Wi-Fi hotspots per 100,000 people, followed by 8.8 in the US and 5.3 in Japan.

"In every country surveyed by Ofcom, broadband usage appears linked to a decline in conventional TV viewing. On average, around a third of consumers with broadband access say they watch less TV since going online. Conversely, internet access appears to have a positive effect on radio listening, offsetting a decline in hours spent listening to conventional broadcast radio.

"China leads the world in viewing music videos and TV over broadband, with 76pc of Chinese broadband users downloading or watching streamed video clips, and 70pc watch TV over broadband. Among 18-24-year old broadband users, the UK is second only to China in its enthusiasm for online video with 77pc of 18-24-year olds watching music videos online and 60pc watch TV via broadband connections.

"The UK leads the world in the take-up of digital TV, with around 70pc of UK households watching digital TV on at least one set, compared with 54pc in the US.

"Italy has the highest mobile phone penetration. There are more than 12 active mobile phone subscriptions for every 10 people in the population as a whole, amounting to 123pc penetration. On the last count Ireland had 102pc mobile penetration. In the UK mobile penetration is 108pc.

"The UK and the US have the most competitive mobile phone markets with the largest number of competing providers...

" 'Rapidly converging technologies and intense competition between providers are transforming the global communications sector,' said Ofcom chief executive Ed Richards."
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Excerpts from pages 53-4 of Ofcom's 2006 survey of The International Communications Market:

"Most major cities in the developed world are now covered by numerous points of [wireless Internet] access, and the last few years have seen the deployment of WiFi networks covering large areas of cities or whole cities in initiatives run by both municipalities and commercial operators... [By] March 2006 the US had by far the highest number of hot-spots among our countries; according to Informa, the US commanded... around 25% of all hot-spots globally. In Europe, the UK had the highest number of hot-spots (10,700), followed by France and Germany. Ireland and Spain experienced the highest growth in the number of hot-spots during 2005 (210% and 93% respectively), although both of these countries grew from a relatively low base. Roll-outs in Italy and France proceeded more slowly than in other countries during 2005...

"According to Informa, Orange France was France and Europe's largest [hotspot] operator, with 8,150 hot-spots in 2006 Q1, followed by The Cloud in the UK, with 6,600. An analysis of the number of hot-spots provided by the top operator as a share of total country hotspots is indicative of the degree of supply concentration in each WiFi market. The largest operator's market share was greatest in France (83%), Germany (76%) and Ireland (75%), while the US (29%) and Netherlands (37%) had a much lower level of [public] WiFi provision controlled by the largest operator...."

[WiFi - 30 November 2006]