Omagh has worst internet access in the UK, says study

Digital access in Fermanagh and Omagh is the poorest in the UK, new research has revealed. 

One in eight people in Fermanagh and Omagh have not used the internet at all in the past three months, if ever, and nearly a third of premises have zero access to superfast broadband – the highest proportion of premises with no access in the UK.

Fermanagh and Omagh has 500 per-cent more internet non-users than Bexley and Greenwich, the UK’s most digitally connected area.

The study, by marketing organisation N.Rich, used new ONS and Ofcom data to rank areas based on how many people had been online in the past three months and the number of premises with access to superfast broadband in order to discover the UK’s least and most digitally connected places. 

Mid Ulster ranked as the third least digitally connected place in the UK. Nearly a quarter of premises in the area lack superfast broadband, and the region has 750 per-cent more internet non-users than Bexley and Greenwich.

Causeway Coast and Glens also suffered from some of the poorest digital access, with 15 per-cent of people not using the internet in three months, and 14 per-cent of premises lacking superfast broadband coverage.

In Newry, Mourne and Down, nine per-cent of people had not accessed the internet in three months, and over one in six premises did not have superfast broadband coverage. Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon saw one in seven people fail to access the internet in the past three months, if ever, while over a tenth of premises did not have coverage for superfast broadband. 

A spokesperson for N.Rich said: “When you compare the internet use of UK residents with their ability to access fast broadband, it paints a clear picture of the digital divide and where it hits hardest. As the internet is now our core means of communication, from educating our children to accessing work and running businesses, it’s more important than ever to ensure that every part of the UK has fair digital access”.