ICT usage in households, 2016, 2nd quarter

Of those who used a Smart TV to connect to the Internet in the last 3 months, 63 per cent used it to watch Internet streamed TV. The usage is more common among the youngest age groups in the survey. Forty per cent of 16-24 year-olds used a Smart TV to connect to the Internet, while the share for 75-79 year-olds was only 6 per cent.

Mobile phones and laptops were the most common devices used to connect to the Internet in the last 3 months. Eighty-five per cent used their mobile phones and 80 per cent used their laptops. Sixty-three per cent used tablet computers.

Large increase in households with fibre broadband

The share of households with a fibre broadband connection has increased to 44 per cent, from 28 per cent in 2015. Households with a higher income have a larger share. Forty-eight per cent of households with a net income of more than NOK 900 000 connect to the Internet through optical fibre.

Ninety-six per cent of all households now have a broadband connection, compared to 91 per cent in 2015. Ninety-four per cent have a fixed broadband connection, and 2 per cent only have a mobile broadband connection at home.

More elderly are using online government services

Eighty-three per cent of the population aged between 16 and 79 years have had some form of online interaction with public authorities in the last 12 months. This is an increase from 79 per cent in 2015, mostly due to an increase in usage among the older age groups. In 2016, 38 per cent of 75-79 year-olds had some form of online contact with public authorities, an increase from 27 per cent in 2016.

Seventy-six per cent of the population have obtained information from government or public service websites, while 60 per cent have both downloaded official forms and submitted completed forms. The most common reason for not submitting completed forms was that it was not required. Seventy-five per cent of those who did not submit a completed form online to public authorities were not required to do so.

Half of the population streams movies and series online

Fifty per cent of the population aged between 16 and 79 years have streamed movies and TV series from commercial services in the last 3 months. Sixty-nine per cent watched videos from video sharing services, and 64 per cent listened to music via either online radio stations or music streaming services.

Common Internet activities such as sending and receiving e-mails, Internet banking and reading online newspapers were carried out by 90 per cent of the population in the last 3 months – about the same as last year. In these activities, the gap between the age groups is smaller than for the entertainment activities mentioned above. Seventy-eight per cent of 65-74 year-olds used Internet banking, and 74 per cent read online newspapers. Only 9 per cent in the same age group streamed movies or TV series from commercial services, compared to 88 per cent of 16-24 year-olds.