Bristol is home to the UK’s most prolific WiFi workers and biggest users of social media, easily beating London to the take top slot in the both tables, according to new research.
Three in 10 people in Bristol (31%) use WiFi for work away from the office – a figure that puts the city way ahead of London, at 23%, and is nearly double the national average (17%).
Bristol is also the UK’s top social media city, with 62% of WiFi users tweeting, tumbling, Facebooking and pinning while out of the house. One in six also uses WiFi to watch TV, movies or video clips on the go – more than any other UK city.
The figures emerge from new research from Sky Broadband released to mark the launch of its free and unlimited WiFi service, WiFi Hotspots from The Cloud.
It also reveals that one in six people in Bristol (15%) have used public WiFi in the last day, with a third logging on in places like cafes, shops, restaurants, pubs and train stations in the past week, and 45% in the past month.
Sky says the launch of WiFi Hotspots from The Cloud to its Broadband Unlimited customers makes WiFi access more widespread and easier than ever before due to a free Sky Cloud WiFi app available for iOS and selected Android devices.
Once downloaded and registered, the app allows users to connect their smartphone or iPad to the internet automatically without having to re-enter their log-in details, so removing the hassle of signing in.
Sky will be serving up internet access via The Cloud’s Hotspots at hundreds of cafés and restaurants (including Caffè Nero, Greggs, Pret A Manger, Pizza Express and Giraffe), as well as retail outlets from Argos to Ted Baker stores.
Sky director of communications products Lyssa McGowan said: “As our findings show, WiFi is now part and parcel of everyday life. More and more of us want to get online outside the home and do it with the speed and convenience that only WiFi brings, whether it’s a video with your cappuccino, catching up on emails while waiting for your train, or keeping yourself occupied while being dragged round the shops with your partner.”
The Cloud has 10,000 hotspots in popular locations throughout the UK with an estimated 4m people passing through the network every day by visiting one of its partners.
Adding WiFi Hotspots from The Cloud to its internet portfolio strengthens Sky Broadband’s position as the UK’s fastest growing broadband provider.
