Broadband usage high among businesses

Broadband access for businesses remained high in 2009, with 84 per cent of companies using high-speed internet connections to go online.

The latest information society statistics from the Central Statistics Office showed that 95 per cent of all enterprises had a computer connected to the internet, with high-speed DSL broadband used by 45 per cent of enterprises, compared with 41 per cent in 2008.

Although broadband was the most dominant means of connecting to the internet, 21 per cent still use ISDN, and 13 per cent are connecting through dial-up modems, although these figures are declining slowly.

Mobile broadband is gaining ground slightly, with 27 per cent of enterprises using it compared with 24 in 2008. This gain came at the expense of DSL broadband with slower speeds, and other fixed connections, such as cable and leased line.

However, despite the prevalence of speedier connections, e-working is still quite low, with 37 per cent of enterprises overall who use broadband with staff who work remotely. This fell to 10 per cent for those who did not have high-speed access.

Two thirds of companies have a website, up slightly from last year's 65 per cent. Firms in the construction industry were least likely to have an online presence, with only 58 per cent of companies having a website, compared with 77 per cent in manuifacturing and 64 per cent in some service sectors.

Only 20 per cent had a written ICT strategy, slightly higher than last year's 20 per cent. The construction sector was least served in this respect, with only 11 per cent having such a document.

The statistics are based on a survey of e-Commerce and ICT usage by enterprises, conducted in the first half of 2009.