ACCESS to high speed broadband is now one of the deciding factors for prospective home-buyers and tenants in Northern Ireland, according to a new survey.
The study commissioned by BT showed that three out of five people (63 per cent) said that having fibre broadband in their household was very important, rising to seven out of ten (71 per cent) among 18 to 35-year olds.
It also showed that six in 10 would be put off from a property when moving to a new house because of poor or slow broadband.
With nearly a quarter (22 per cent) of respondents being online for between four and six hours a day and close to half (41 per cent) for more than six hours, the survey also shows that many people are doing their homework and checking available broadband speeds before they move.
More than half (60 per cent) of 18-35-year-old respondents, who make up the bulk of future home-owners, said they would check broadband speeds in advance of buying a property.
Some 54 per cent of those in this age bracket also said they would pay ‘a lot or a little’ more for property if it had access to superfast fibre broadband, showing the importance of internet speeds for people in the region.
Frank McManus, BT’s head of wholesale sales and marketing in Northern Ireland, said: “Location, location, location is usually the most commonly used phrase when it comes to property searches, but this shows how important fibre broadband has become to peoples’ everyday lives.
“As the use of broadband continues to grow – with 82 per cent using it for social media at least several times a week, 80 per cent for email, 63 per cent for watching films or TV and 58 per cent for downloading or streaming music - understanding what greater download speeds can deliver is critical.
“Better download speeds make all these activities faster and, with more people within households using devices, from smart TVs and laptops to phones and gaming consoles, speed and reliability are essential if you don’t want to slow down other users in the home.”
Samuel Dickey, a partner at Simon Brien Residential, said: “We are seeing an increase in buyer enquiries about broadband speeds, as so many people rely on fast internet in their everyday lives. Indeed some buyers rate this requirement higher than transport links.”
