It’s taken a long time but Scotland finally seems to be catching up with the rest of the digital world. The evidence for this comes from the latest report from Ofcom. It found that the use of mobile phones to access the Internet has grown faster in Scotland than anywhere else in the UK over the past year – and the increase appears to be accelerating. Mobile users in Scotland use their devices to visit websites, access e-mail and use various social networks.
Glasgow – low takeup of broadband
For years however, Glasgow has lagged behind the rest of the country. It’s one reason why the city council hasn’t adopted online services as much as other local authorities. It looks from this report as though nothing much has changed. While home broadband in Scotland rose a little last year – up from 68% in 2012 to 70% this year – the number of homes connected in Glasgow remains stuck at 50%. This evidence is confirmed not just by Ofcom’s own results, but by data from the British Population Survey as well.
There is mixed news for the broadcasters. The combined audience share of the five main terrestrial channels dropped by 10% in 2012, slightly less than the average decrease across the UK. Digital Terrestrial Television (such as Freeview) was widely used in Scotland – indeed, it might even have overtaken the popularity of satellite television north of the border.
When it comes to programmes made specifically for a Scottish audience, the amount of money spent by Scottish broadcasters fell by 6% to £52 million. And there has been no growth at all in the value of programmes made in Scotland for the national networks.
STV HQ: Programmes made
by Scottish broadcasters have fallen
But there is relatively good news for the teams at Reporting Scotland and Scotland Today. The early evening news bulletins produced by both the BBC and STV attracted a greater share of the audience here in Scotland than regional stations elsewhere – an average of 30%. Indeed, Scotland has bucked the trend for the amount of money spent on current affairs programming which actually increased by 6% over the period compared with the 28% fall in the UK as a whole.
One curious phenomenon identified by the report was that people are still coming together to watch television in the living rooms. But many are taking their smartphones and tablets with them. This allows them to fire off instant messages and update their social media status while watching programmes. In some cases, they’re even streaming other programmes while the television is on.
Although not specifically mentioned in the report, there has been a growing trend towards “double screen” use by consumers. What this means is that they can be watching a programme on television and, seeing an advert, may use their smartphone or tablet to access the product website and even to buy.
What report does focus on is the fact that around two-thirds of Internet users in Scotland now say that they shop online with most of them (70%) saying that they felt secure when making online payments. Three quarters also felt confident that the goods they bought would be delivered on time and in good condition. However there still remained concerns – potential high delivery costs and fears that they would not be at home to receive the goods.
Vicki Nash
Director, Ofcom Scotland
Scots also seem to have embraced the idea of using the Internet to access government services. 57% are happy to pay their car tax this way or to apply for a bus pass, benefits or a school place. This may be slightly lower than the UK average but those who were asked said they felt more engaged with government services and policies than they had before accessing them online.
According to Vicki Nash, director of Ofcom Scotland, “it is good to see Scotland catching up in our use of communications and media. This applies to the rise in take-up of tablets, mobiles and smartphones, along with the growth in the use of mobile internet. Some of the trends reported in last year’s report continued. Broadband take-up of Scotland as a whole has increased – not as large an increase as reported last year, but still an upward trend. There are some new findings, including the fact that Internet users in Scotland spend the most time online, compared with users in other devolved nations. Once people in Scotland discover the advantages of being connected, they appear to make the most of it.”