An Ofcom report on the transformation of the UK’s communications market during the last decade has revealed consumers are adopting superfast broadband connections at a rapid clip, with 500,000 households now connected to speeds of 30Mbps or higher – a fivefold increase from 2010.

An estimated 57 per cent of UK homes are now passed by superfast broadband, either through Virgin Media’s cable service or BT’s Infinity product. Nearly two-thirds (63 per cent) of the survey’s respondents with a superfast connection say they are now more likely to download HD films or TV programmes on the internet.

Satisfaction with superfast broadband was also found to be high, with 80 per cent of respondents with a superfast connection reporting that they are satisfied with the service (compared to 57 per cent satisfied with their previous broadband service), and a third (33 per cent) saying download speeds exceeded their expectations.

The majority of UK homes (76 per cent) are now connected to the Internet, compared with just 25 per cent in 2000, and there was found to be evidence that older age groups are catching up in the adoption of technology: for the first time, over half (55 per cent) of UK residents aged 65-74 have access to the Internet at home. Nine out of ten adults (90 per cent) aged 35-44 have the Internet at home, but this falls to just a quarter (26 per cent) of over 75s.

The take-up of broadband continues to vary markedly in the different regions of the UK, with just 61 per cent of Scottish homes having a broadband connection, compared to 71 per cent in Wales and 75 per cent in Northern Ireland. Total take-up of broadband across all regions reached 74 per cent by the end of the first quarter of this year.

Over a quarter (26 per cent) of UK advertising spend is now on the internet, marginally ahead of television; internet advertising spend grew by 16 per cent in 2010 to over GB£4 billion ($6.5 billion).