High-speed broadband use is still subject to huge regional variations, according to a study published last week.

High-speed networks are available throughout the country. But the 10 most connected areas are all in London and the South-East, creating concerns about a continuing digital divide, says telecoms researcher Point Topic, which carried out the survey.

In London and the South-East the number of households with broadband is respectively 33 per cent and 16 per cent above the national average. But Northern Ireland and Yorkshire and Humberside are respectively 27 per cent and 25 per cent below the national average, which currently stands at about 25 per cent.

‘Making broadband available is the first step, but there is still a big variation in take-up between different parts of the country,’ said Point Topic chief executive Tim Johnson.

‘If one part of the country is more prosperous and has a high population density, then more suppliers get involved, creating more competition, more offers and a bigger market,’ he said.

There is a danger that less well-off areas are left behind.

‘In five years’ time we could have a situation similar to 20 per cent of the population being unable to read,’ said Johnson.

But Jeremy Beale, head of ebusiness at the Confederation of British Industry, says it is not yet time to worry.

‘The question is whether broadband has been available so long with a cost so high that there are barriers to poorer people,’ said Beale.

‘The answer is no, because it has only been universally available for a few years and prices are dropping significantly.

‘We are concerned that the services businesses that need to compel people to take up broadband are still in early days, but we are not worried about a structural barrier,’ he said.