DUNDONIANS ARE early-adopters of new technology who are more likely to own a mobile phone or use social networking sites than other Scots.

Communication watchdog Ofcom’s third annual review of communication markets also shows Dundee is the leading city in the UK for 3G mobile phone use.

Ofcom surveyed 5812 people across the UK for the study.

It revealed that less than one in 10 people in Dundee do not have a mobile phone.

Ninety-one per cent of people use a mobile, compared to a UK average of just 84%.

The Borders has the lowest proportion of mobile phone users in Scotland, where just 70% of people use one.

In Dundee, 29% of people own a 3G handset compared to the national average of just 17%.

3G is the third generation of mobile phone technology and offers a range of high speed mobile services such as video calling and messaging and Email.

Dundee also had the highest percentage of people who use their mobile phones to access the internet—34%.

Only 15% of Scots have experience of social networking sites compared to 20% of the UK population as a whole.

However, in Dundee nearly a third of people—31%—have used a social networking site such as Bebo or Facebook.

Dundonians, and their neighbours in Aberdeen, are also far more likely to watch television or video clips on their mobile phones.

Twelve per cent of people in Dundee have used their handsets for this, compared to just four per cent for Scotland as a whole.

The Ofcom survey also revealed that more than half (53%) of Scotland’s homes now have broadband, compared to just 42% when the last survey was conducted two years ago.

There has also been a similar rise in the number of homes that now have digital TV—up 10 percentage points from 2006 to 85%.

Ofcom chief executive Ed Richards said, “The story that emerges from this year’s research is that the pace of change continues to be rapid, but that some previously strong distinctions have faded to grey.”