Last year just 68 per cent of Irish homes with internet access had broadband, compared to a European Union average of 80 per cent, according to a report from the Central Statistics Office.
It found that the proportion of Irish households with internet access had increased by 3 percentage points to 63 per cent during 2008 and that over 1 million homes, or approximately 70 per cent,had internet access.
However, only 27 per cent of homes in the midlands, Border and western region had broadband connection compared to half of all residences in the east and south.
The report; Information Society and Telecommunicationsfound that the number of business using broadband increased between 2007 and 2008 from 68 per cent to 83 per cent, slightly ahead of the European average.
The most common purchases on the internet were flights and other forms of transport and holiday accommodation, followed by tickets for events.
Annual revenues in the telecommunications and broadcastings sectors decreased 0.5 per cent last year to €4.52 billion.