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This paper describes results from the first stage of a long-term study of people's use of ICT (information and communications technology) products and services in the domestic environment. It is part of BT's ongoing commitment to understanding, modelling and meeting the needs of its residential customers. At one level the research has already generated significant knowledge that has led directly to commercial benefit; at a second it has validated a number of research methods needed to capture the data to build a rich picture of people's actual as well as reported behaviour. At a third level it has also generated significant new scientific knowledge about the use of ICT products. The next step is to build on these successes using a 1000 strong UK household panel to build an unprecedented and unparalleled understanding of how and why people purchase, adapt and adapt to ICT as UK society moves into the 21st century. IntroductionThe UK residential telecommunications market is becoming increasingly competitive, and an understanding of customer loyalty is vital if an incumbent is to maintain its existing customer base, increase its market share, and retain competitive advantage throughout the digital revolution. Among other factors, customers are more likely to remain loyal to a company if the range of products and services on offer fit their needs and life-styles.Most telecommunications companies operating in the UK, including BT, commission market research with a wide sample of the UK population about aspects of communications technologies, both on an event-driven basis (for example, to provide information for a new product launch) and on a regular basis. Traditional market research techniques are a valuable means of capturing current consumer behaviours and attitudes. However, they can be poor at providing insight into future behaviours because it is difficult for respondents to predict what they intend to do with any accuracy and there is often a difference between reported and actual behaviours [1]. In addition, there has been little comprehensive research on the actual use of information and communications technology (ICT) within the home because traditional surveys have concentrated on data capture and analysis at the gross population level rather than empirically studying real patterns of use.The 'Family Life in the Digital Home' project has piloted and applied novel qualitative methodologies and sophisticated predictive modelling techniques to investigate naturally occurring usage of communications and information technologies by individuals in the domestic context over significant periods of time.The project consists of two phases:• a recently completed year-long study that assessed a variety of data-capture techniques,• a three-year implementation of successful techniques to address research questions arising from the literature, the first year's work, and market drivers. Related workThe impact of the rapid growth of the information and communication technology industry on society is an issue that has genera...

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