UK adults continue to resist internet

Nearly half of UK adults without internet access would choose not to get connected even if a PC and broadband connection were provided for free, according to research carried out by communications regulator Ofcom.

The research comes a week before the publication of the Digital Britain report, which will set out the government’s future plans for broadband. Thirty per cent of adults, or 17 million people, do not have internet access at home and the survey found that 42% of those said they had no interest or need for it. However, one in five, the majority of which are younger, plan to get connected in the next six months. The main reasons given for getting connected were to get information (36%), communicating with friends and family (26%) and keeping up with technology (25%).