ICT usage in households, 2010, 2nd quarter

ADSL and other xDSL technologies are the most common Internet connections in Norway. A total of 57 per cent of households have ADSL or other xDSL at home in 2010. However, this is 1 percentage point less than last year. Connections via cable-TV and fibre cable that provide faster Internet solutions have increased by 3 and 2 percentage points respectively during the last year.

Mobile broadband connections have become more popular in recent years due to the reduced costs of mobile equipment with UMTS and HSDPA (3G, 3G+) technology and mobile broadband services. The share of households with mobile broadband has increased rapidly from 12 per cent in 2009 to 22 per cent in 2010. The survey also shows that 32 per cent of households with children had mobile broadband, which was a dramatic increase by 17 percentage points compared to 2009. The percentage of households with only mobile broadband has also increased from 3 to 6 per cent.

Generally, households with children and households with high incomes have access to information and communication technology (ICT) more often than others. Younger people and people with a higher education also have access to ICT more often than others. A total of 93 per cent of the households with a gross income above NOK 600 000 have broadband. The corresponding figure for households with income below NOK 200 000 is 67 per cent.

Continued growth in Internet use

A total of 83 per cent of the population use PCs every day or almost every day. Ninety-three per cent of the population have used the Internet during the last three months; an increase from 91 per cent in the previous year. Men, people in younger age groups and people with a higher education use PCs and the Internet more frequently than the rest of the population.

Almost nine out of ten Internet users used the Internet to send or receive e-mails, search information on goods and services, read news online and carry out Internet banking in the last 3 months. Information searches on travel and accommodation via the Internet have increased from 52 to 68 per cent in the last year. Furthermore, a total of 74 per cent of people have contacted the public authorities via e-Government; an increase of 3 percentage points.

New growth in Internet trade

The total share of the population that has bought or ordered goods or services for private use over the Internet during the last 12 months has slightly increased to 71 per cent. Travel and holiday accommodation are the most bought or ordered goods over the Internet in the last 12 months, with a total of 7 out of 10 Internet users doing so in 2010. This is an increase of 8 percentage points compared to the previous year. Clothes and sports goods are also popular online. A total of 53 per cent of women and 41 per cent of men have bought goods in this category; an increase of 10 percentage points on average from 2009. In the other groups of goods or services there are only insignificant changes.

Internet security

Almost everyone uses an antivirus program and 85 per cent of Internet users have a firewall on their PC. In addition, 2 out of 3 set a filtering system for e-mail. In spite of this, there are still 28 per cent of Internet users that have experienced virus or other computer infections and 7 out of 10 that have received unsolicited e-mails (spam) during the last 12 months. Half of all Internet users said they would not provide personal information to online communities for social or professional networking. One out of four would stop ordering or buying goods or services and 2 out of 5 would refrain from downloading software, music, games or other data files due to Internet security.

For more information about the survey, please refer to About the statistics.

Tables:

• Table 1 Percentage with access to different ICT, by household type and household income. 2nd quarter of 2010
• Table 2 Percentage with different kinds of Internet subscriptions, by household type, household income, sex, age, education and employment situation. 2nd quarter of 2010
• Table 3 Use of computers the last 3 months, by sex, age, education and employment situation. 2nd quarter of 2010. Per cent
• Table 4 Use of the Internet, frequency and location of use last 3 months. Percentage of population, by sex, age, education and employment situation. 2nd quarter 2010
• Table 5 Purpose and nature of activities on the Internet the last 3 months. Percentage of Internet users the last 3 months, by sex, age, education and employment situation. 2nd quarter of 2010
• Table 6 Percentage of Internet users using e-Government, by sex, age, education and employment situation. 2nd quarter of 2010
• Table 7 Types of goods and services bought or ordered over the Internet for private use, the last 12 months, by sex and age. 2nd quarter of 2010. Per cent
• Table 8 Internet security. Percentage of Internet users the last 12 months, by sex, age, education and employment situation. 2nd quarter of 2010
• Table 9 E-skills. Internet related activities, by sex, age, education and employment situation. 2nd quarter of 2010