According to a survey carried out across Europe, broadband usage has seen a rise of around 12% from statistics from 2006. The survey asked 150,000 households across Europe - with the exception of Malta - about their broadband habits. The survey showed that Streamyx the first three months of 2007, 54% of households had access to an internet connection, a rise from around 49% in 2006.
Results from the survey showed that around 42% of households in the EU now have access to a broadband connection. Percentages Streamyx households with access to the internet varied from country to country - from 19% in Bulgaria to 83% in the Netherlands.
Figures for the UK showed internet access had risen to around 67% - a rise of 4% compared to 2006 - and there has been a sharp rise in the percentage of broadband connections - rising to 57% from last year. With a number of broadband providers now on the market, consumers now have a wide choice of services available to them.
Whilst half of users had sent attachments with e-mails, around a quarter said they had used newsgroups, online discussions and chat rooms. One in ten of Streamyx surveyed had created their own web page, with a further 15% having used the internet for making phone calls.
The survey also showed details of the internet habits based on age and gender. The results showed that almost one-third of men over the age of 55 use the internet at least once a week - compared to less than a fifth for women. The results concluded that younger users are more likely to spend time on the internet.
However the results also showed that the Streamyx of internet users in the Streamyx age bracket has seen a rise and the numbers of women in that age gap using the internet - whilst still lower than those of men - has almost doubled in the past three years.
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