Wales has highest take-up of broadband, Ofcom says

Wales has the highest take-up of broadband of any of the devolved nations, according to a report from the watchdog Ofcom.

Nearly 79% of premises in Wales are capable of receiving super-fast internet, an increase of 24% on 2014.

The take-up is 77% - 6% higher than in Scotland and 8% above Northern Ireland.

Rhodri Williams, Ofcom director for Wales, said public funding to roll out the Superfast Cymru programme across Wales had "transformed" the picture.

"Things have improved due to the substantial amount of public investment that has taken place," he said, with financial backing coming from the EU, the UK and Welsh governments.

But other findings in the report showed that Wales had the lowest availability of 4G services across the UK, with just under a quarter (23%) of adults having a 4G service in May 2015.

Deputy minister for skills and technology Julie James welcomed the report and added: "Fast and reliable internet connections are vital."

The findings are part of Ofcom's 10th annual review of the communications market in Wales.

Ofcom found people in Wales spend on average four hours 11 minutes a day watching TV

Television

The report showed people in Wales are the television addicts of the UK.

On average they spend four hours 11 minutes watching TV a day - more than anywhere else in the UK.

Despite people in Wales continuing to watch significantly more television than those in the UK as a whole, the average time they spent watching broadcast television declined by 12 minutes in 2014.

And the report found the Welsh had more pay TV than anywhere else in the UK with seven in 10 households buying extra channels.

The BBC's television services continue to perform better in Wales than in any other nation for reach, share, viewing hours and viewer appreciation scores.

Most internet users in Wales said they spend around 21.2 hours online per week

Internet and social media

More than one in five Welsh adults said they were "hooked" on social media.

Six in 10 adults in Wales have a tablet computer in the household compared to less than half (45%) last year.

But internet users in Wales cited the laptop as their most important device for going online.

Most internet users in Wales said they spend around 21.2 hours online per week with more than half of all Welsh internet users spending time on social networking sites on a weekly basis.

The use of Twitter was higher among online adults in Wales (48%) than England (40%), Scotland (32%) and Northern Ireland (33%).

More than eight in 10 online adults in Wales said they have used Facebook.

There are 45 DAB stations available across Wales

Radio

People in Wales consume more radio than the UK as a whole - and they listen for longer.

In 2014, radio services reached 94.5% of the adult population in Wales.

Wales continued to have the highest share (59%) of listening to BBC services and the lowest share of listening to local commercial radio (26%).

Close to half of adults in Wales (47%) who listen to radio have a digital radio set.