Telephone usage in particular has surged in popularity over the last 25 years. In 1972, just 42% of homes had a telephone, now nearly as many (35%) have an answering machine or service.

While many Britons are shy of advertising their telephone numbers - a third are ex-directory - they increasingly like talking on the move, with one in 5 households possessing a mobile phone..

Mobile phones: popular digital technology

British Telecom is beginning to lose its monopoly, now one in ten households has its telephone line supplied by a cable company other than BT.

Satellite and cable TV have made substantial inroads, with nearly 27% of people having either a satellite or cable receiver.

Even fax machines are making it into the home

Fax machines, once confined to the office, are also arriving in people's homes. Some 8% of households have a fax, with only one in five of them using it exclusively for work.

The survey also shows some wide regional variations. Perhaps unsurprisingly, people in London and the South East are more likely to be wired. The exception is satellite and cable receivers which are most popular in the North.

One in ten houses in Scotland has no telephone, and the Welsh do not seem to like answerphones, with less than a quarter of households in the principality having one.