A recent study carried out by Ofcom has revealed that the UK is ahead of the rest of Europe with the uptake of several key technologies, including broadband.

In its third International Communications Market Report, the organisation stated that the availability and use of high-speed internet as well as digital TV and radio is particularly strong in the UK.

Furthermore, the number of people turning to the internet to see TV on things such as BBC iPlayer is increasing rapidly, reflected in similar services such as Hulu in the US.

The report this year focused on convergence of technology, marking this with several market themes.

Ofcom stated: "These demonstrate that as content and services are distributed to consumers over a variety of digital networks, and to many different devices, consumer behaviour towards communications services is changing."

Set out by the UK Communications Act 2003, one of the main legal duties of Ofcom is to ensure that the UK continues the uptake of up-to-date communications services, including broadband.

More than half of small businesses (53 per cent) believe that the most important benefit of outsourcing is guaranteed response times for IT support. London-based Connect conducted the research in 2007.