The figures have been published in Ofcom’s Connected Nations autumn update, which also found 83,000 properties are unable to get a ‘decent’ broadband speed (defined as 10 Mbit/s download and 1 Mbit/s upload). That proportion has fallen by 38 per cent since last year.
The regulator has also published research on how SMEs are using communications services. Ofcom found that the pandemic has accelerated a shift towards hybrid working for businesses with between 10 and 250 employees, making home broadband more of a priority.
For the majority of SMEs, the communications market is meeting their needs. However, rural SMEs are four times more likely to be very dissatisfied with mobile reception than their urban counterparts (12 per cent versus 3 per cent) and twice as likely to be dissatisfied with the reliability of their internet service (15 per cent versus 8 per cent).
The research also indicated broader economic uncertainty could be impacting on connectivity choices, with a quarter of SMEs having switched a communications service in the last two years.
Finding a cheaper deal was cited as the main reason for doing so, although those that had not switched cited high satisfaction with their current provider as a reason for staying put.
