Ofcom is claiming victory in closing the digital divide today, as its annual review of communications markets reveals that for the first time broadband users in rural areas have overtaken city dwellers.

The UK watchdogs claim that 59 percent of rural households are now connected compared to 57 percent in the cities.

In a press release Ofcom stated: “The rapid rollout of broadband services across the country has meant that most parts of the UK now have access to this service and today’s report marks the end of the so-called divide.”

To say the divide is dead is perhaps a little over-confident, as the statistics vary dependent on which area of the country you live in. In Scotland, for example, Ofcom concedes that it doesn’t know how many households are in a BT “not spot” without the possibility of broadband access and with the slow roll-out of BT’s ADSL to rural exchanges, the UK’s lack of a modern fibre to the premises telecoms infrastructure, could pose more problems down the line.

The ex-public monopoly is already known to favour a piecemeal approach to fibre, preferring to invest in high density areas where it can sell more lines and services. It is also lobbying hard for regulators to loosen its Universal Service Obligation.

The possibility of a patchwork service for low-density areas has been suggested by Ofcom and the government as a solution to the small return on rural fibre, but nothing as of yet has been implemented.

So, even though Ofcom is blowing its trumpet somewhat, the UK is still far behind other nations, and at a time of economic uncertainty, competition for outside investment will only intensify.