Ofcom’s research shows the global differences within the television, radio and telecommunications industry.

New research by Ofcom, the UK’s independent regulator and competition authority for the communications industry, has revealed that the UK is ahead of other countries in many areas within the world’s £873 billion television, radio and telecommunications industry.

The report states that the country has the highest take-up of digital television, listens to the most radio and spends the most money on internet advertising.

The 2006 report compared the UK with Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the Republic of Ireland, Japan, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden, and the US. It also studied Brazil, China, India and Russia.

Within the telecommunications industry, the report found that mobile phones accounted for 53% of all telecoms revenue, with Brazil, China, India and Russia driving much of this growth. Around 38% of all Italian households have only mobile telecommunications instead of landlines, while the Chinese are the most likely to send text messages than any other country.

Also according to the report, people living in America and Japan spent the most time watching television – an average of 4.5 hours every day – compared with the Swedish, who viewed the least television at 2.5 hours a day.

High-speed broadband and digital television were found to be increasingly popular, with the UK having the highest take-up of both – 76% of UK households have digital television, and over half of all households are broadband-connected.

Ed Richards, Ofcom’s Chief Executive, said: “The report shows that convergence, bundling and the move to digital communications is a powerful global phenomenon. It’s important to understand international comparisons so Ofcom can develop better policies to serve the interests of consumers and citizens in the UK.”

To view the report in full, visit www.ofcom.org.uk/research/cm/icmr07 ^[1].