Over half of people in Northern Ireland own a smartphone, according to the latest Communications Market report from Ofcom.

Smartphone ownership has reached 55% in the region, while tablet ownership has risen to 45%.

Alongside Wales, Northern Ireland has the highest rate of tablet ownership in the UK – up from 29% a year ago and 9% in 2012.

Smartphones are most popular among young people (aged 16-34) while tablet computers are more popular with older users (35-54), the data shows.

The number of people accessing the internet on the move has risen from 6% in the past year to 51%, helped by improvements in 3G coverage.

The proportion of premises in areas with outdoor coverage from all four national 3G networks has increased by 20.2% to 82.1% from a year ago.

Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster said: "The Ofcom Communications report clearly demonstrates that we certainly have embraced new technology. More and more of us use and own a variety of gadgets such as smart phones and tablets.

"It is pleasing to know that Northern Ireland is continuing to hold its position as the UK region with the best Next Generation Broadband coverage. I also note from the report the increase of people who are satisfied with their broadband services with a marked improvement in rural areas.

"This clearly demonstrates that the Northern Ireland Executive's telecommunications initiatives are having a positive impact and the recently announced Northern Ireland Broadband Improvement Project, in partnership with BT, aims to continue to build on this.

"It is anticipated that by project completion in December 2015, more than 45,000 premises will have benefited from the upgrades. By 2015 96% of premises in Northern Ireland will be able to access wire-line based basic broadband services with 85% of premises able to access wire-line based superfast broadband services."

(IT/JP)