The Digital Britain Universal Service Commitment to ensure that every home in the UK has access to 2Mpbs broadband by 2012 could bring in additional £1.4bn revenue through website sales, according to research published by the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA).
The figure, which is based on extrapolations from existing statistics by the Office of National Statistics (ONS), shows that while there were website sales totalling £104.7bn in 2008, 4.9% of UK internet users were still relying on slow dialup connections.
The IPA’s Search Group has revealed that visitors with a high speed internet connection (DSL,Cable, T1, OC3) are 36.9% more likely to make an online purchase than those with low speed internet connection (dialup).
Under the Government’s USC strategy, 4.9% of dialup users would be provided with a much faster connection which, on the basis of existing user behaviour, would increase their internet website visit to conversion rate by 36.9% and leading to an increase in e-commerce of £1.4 billion, IPA said.
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Rob Taylor, founder of TST Digital, who carried out the research on behalf of the IPA Search Group, said: “It’s evident from this research that the Government’s Digital Britain initiative represents a great opportunity to drive economic growth and competitive advantage. Not only could the higher connection speeds result in £1.4bn more money directly entering the digital economy, it is also likely to lead to more jobs and greater digital expertise, not to mention a fantastic return on investment.”
