We might be in a recession guys but it would appear that Britain's recession-hit population would rather cut back on eating out and holidays than give up their broadband, mobile phone and pay-TV services, according to a new report from the media regulator - Ofcom. Other services which seem to be seen these days as essencial are digital video recorders and mobile broadband internet.  

Although the demand for the above services has not deminished there are signs that people are shopping around more for better deals, and where possible are signing longer-term contracts in exchange for cheaper payments, it is also proving popular for people to bundle services together (TV, phone and Internet).

"Despite the recession, people are spending more time watching TV, using their mobile phone or accessing the internet," said Ofcom partner Peter Phillips. He added "Meanwhile, we are becoming more canny about the way we pay for these services  as well as getting better deals we are demanding more control."

Findings from Ofcoms survey based on the first quarter of 2009 found .that......

• 46% of consumers took a bundle with two or more services from one operator, such as pay TV groups BSKYB and Virgin Media (increase of 39% from 2008).

• 70% of Mobile phones users said they would rather keep their existing handset than upgrade if it meant a cheaper deal.
• Most Britons were still prepared to pay for services that enhanced the experience, such as digital video recorders, hi-definition television and broadband services

• A quarter of British homes now have a digital video recording device, while customers with faster broadband access were also catching up on programs via online catch-up sites - e.g. BBC i-Player and Sky Player.

• More than 2 million households had access to a high definition service, according to the report, and 17.6 million HD-ready sets, in nearly 9 million households, have been sold in the UK.

• Almost 70% of homes now have a broadband connection, (up from 58% in 2008).

• One in ten households had access to mobile broadband.

• Three quarters of mobile broadband users also had access to fixed-line broadband, showing the two services can complement each other.

• While online some 19 million internet users visit Facebook, spending an average of nearly 6 hours per month on the site. However those in the 15 to 24 age group were spending less time on social networking sites in general, down from 55 per cent in the first quarter of 2008 to 50 per cent in 2009.

• There were 2.6 million Twitter users by May 2009, up from 0.1 million on the previous year.

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