Ofcom releases UK communications Infrastructure Report 2014

The UK’s communications regulator, Ofcom, has released its Infrastructure Report 2014, an in-depth look at the UK’s telecoms, broadcasting and wireless networks.

The report highlights three underlying trends that are increasingly affecting how consumers access and use TV services. These trends include:

• A migration towards increasingly higher-resolution TV. The penetration of high-definition (HD) TV has reached 69% of TV households.
• Growth in broadband delivery of TV services. A wide range of IPTV and over-the-top (OTT) services is now available in the UK.
• The increasing consumption of TV and video over mobile networks. High-capacity mobile video services are driving much of the increased consumer demand for mobile data capacity.

The number of UK homes with a TV set is falling for the first time

After years of consecutive growth, the number of TV households fell from 26.33 million at the end of 2012 to 26.02 million at the end of 2013, as viewers increasingly turn to alternative devices. There are now nearly one million homes with broadband but no TV. Catch-up content in particular is growing in importance and being consumed on devices such as tablets, smartphones, computers and games consoles.