Of the 95pc of the Irish population who access the internet from their home, 96pc of those do so through a broadband connection, which includes mobile broadband, according to the latest ComReg survey.
The ComReg commissioned survey, carried out by MillwardBrown Lansdowne with more than 1,000 face-to-face interviews, focused on four main areas: the fixed-line market, the mobile market, internet and broadband, and broadcasting.
8 in 10 Irish own laptop or desktop computer
Another interesting finding was that the majority of the Irish own a laptop or desktop computer. Eighty per cent of those surveyed fall into this category, with 22pc of the population owning both a laptop and a desktop computer.
The internet has truly become a part of our lives as 77pc of us use the internet for personal use and 95pc of us access it from our homes. (Strangely, 2pc answered ‘I don’t know’ to the question about personal use of the internet and 4pc use their friend’s house for internet access)
Dial-up is finally dying out
Broadband, it seems, is also becoming ubiquitous as 96pc of those who subscribe to an internet connection for personal use do so through a broadband connection (this includes ‘mobile broadband’, which accounts for 29pc of home internet connections). While 2pc use dial-up/narrowband, 1pc do not know what connection they use.
Here’s the interesting part: you might think that the majority of those who use mobile broadband do so because they do not have access to fixed-line broadband but it turns out only 10pc use it for this reason.
The majority (34pc) uses mobile broadband because it meets their needs while 24pc use it because it is less expensive than fixed line. Twelve per cent of subscribers require mobility because they are on the move and 9pc are living in rented or temporary accommodation and don’t want fixed-line at their address. A large amount (16pc) said they didn’t know why they chose mobile broadband.
For Q2 2010, Eircom now only accounts for 38pc of home internet service providers. The second largest is UPC (Chorus/Ntl) with 12pc of the majority, while O2 accounts for 9pc and Vodafone has 16pc split between 8pc each for its fixed and mobile offerings.
3 has an 8pc share, too, and BT Ireland has 3pc (its residential customers were transferred to Vodafone in September 2009).
Most Irish unaware of 2012 Digital Switchover
While television ownership in Ireland is almost universal (98pc) only a little over a third of us know what the digital switchover is all about.
The survey found that the proposed analogue terrestrial TV switch off, which is to be completed by 2012, is something around which the majority of the Irish public lack awareness.
