30th Aug 2007
NI most unconnected place in these islands
According to research out yesterday Northern Ireland is the most unconnected place in Europe with a mere 50% of households owning a PC even fewer online. Pass me the pen and paper Mary, only I would think it a good idea to do my preaching online when the majority of my world are marching themselves down to the post box as.
It’s a surprising statistic for two reasons. Firstly NI has a very good telecommunications infrastructure with a high level of broadband penetration and secondly because we are a young place with the bulk of our population the right side of 35.
The survey comes at a time when all the traditional media here are investing heavily in their online offering. This year saw the launch of IN TV and Belfast Telegraph TV both part of the Irish news and Belfast Telegraph respectively. The Newsletter has also totally revamped its website which is now quite good. BBC NI and UTV have also been innovating as has the independent radio sector which is now generally available online.
Like me they must be hopeful for an upturn in the old stats. Or as Denis Lowensky Wolinski (sorry about that mistake) , OFCOM’s man in the North, so aptly put it on BBC Radio Ulster’s Evening Extra ’if you were standing with one foot in a bucket full of ice and the other in cosy warmth, you would be statistically comfortable’ great line Denis!
Pity you can’t get the name of “Ofcom’s man in N Ireland” right. Hope your press releases have a higher degree of accuracy
Thanks for this Graham. Corrected above. This is of course a personal blog. As it happens we have a very strict proofing system in WS. When you have my name you become very used to reading incorrect spellings of it in the press, books and on a day to day basis on email! Still hands up and thanks for the correction.