Nearly 18 million people in the UK now have internet access, the survey said, one million more than in March. The surge in use in April can be attributed to the cut-throat competition in the internet access market.
Many providers now offer free internet access with no start-up and no or low telephone costs.
Of the 17.9 million people that have internet access, 8.2 million actively use the net. This compares with 7.6 million active home users in March, out of a total 16.9 million. While these figures may seem surprisingly high, they are at the conservative end of estimates. Other net measurement agencies suggest as many as nine million homes could have internet access. Men are still more likely to log on to the net than women.