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Wolverhampton has one of lowest rates of internet usage across the country

Wolverhampton has one of the lowest rates of internet usage in the entire country, according to new figures.

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Eleanor Smith MP says Wolverhampton is well placed to take advantage of digital and internet opportunities

Data from the Office for National Statistics shows that almost a quarter (23 per cent) of people in the city did not use the internet at all in the last three months.

Internet usage over the same period in Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall and Staffordshire stood between 87 and 89 per cent, while the national average was 91 per cent.

The figures have been analysed by Wolverhampton South West MP Eleanor Smith, who says they do not accurately reflect the city’s position as “an ambitious city that is well placed to take advantage of digital and internet opportunities”.

“We are an internet literate city,” she said, highlighting a series of initiatives, including Google’s Digital Garage internet training sessions, Ebay’s partnership with the city council to boost businesses web presence, the imminent arrival of 5G and faster mobile data speeds, and the roll out of full fibre broadband.

“There will be many reasons why we are not top of the table for internet usage, and I can imagine part of this is a healthy attitude to investing time in personal real relationships here, rather than online ones,” Ms Smith added.

“But access to many public sector and commercial services is now done online so we have to make sure our population can use the internet and take advantage of the latest information and cheapest way of doing things.”

The data also showed that across the UK, 99 per cent of adults aged between 16 and 44 were said to have used the internet at some point in 2019.

London and the South East were the UK regions with the highest recent internet use (93 per cent) in 2019, while Northern Ireland remained the lowest at 87 per cent.

The West Midlands was third from bottom in the regional rankings on 89 per cent.

Of the EU’s 28 member countries Britain was third for internet usage in 2018, behind Denmark and Luxembourg. Bulgaria was bottom of the pile on 65 per cent.

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