Five percent of UK households will be watching television over an internet connection (IPTV) by 2011, according to new research study.

Around 1.5 million households in the UK will be watching TV over an internet connection by 2011, according to a new study published today by the Centre for Telecoms Research

The new study expects a surge in households with IPTV (from around 80,000 in 2006) driven by consumers migrating to faster broadband connections and the promotion of hybrid DTT/IPTV set top boxes by telecom operators (such as BT Vision).

"IPTV is set to become a mass market proposition over the next five years. The recent launches of IPTV products by BT and Tiscali are testament to the fact that ISPs will now put their full force behind marketing these services," said Raj Modi, Research Director at Centre for Telecoms Research.

The report UK Internet Services Market, 2002-2011 envisages there to be 20 million broadband connections by 2011, making up around 85% of UK households with a personal computer. The report also predicts consumers migrating to faster connectivity speeds, with 90% of broadband consumers using speeds above 2Mbit/s by 2011, from around 33% in 2006.

A copy of UK Internet Services Market, 2002-2011 is available to purchase online for $500 (approximately £250) at www.centrefortelecomsresearch.com