Broadband big in EU, but gaps remain

Broadband big in EU, but gaps remain

By Leo Cendrowicz

The European Union has almost 100 million broadband lines, an annual growth rate of 20% and 52,000 new lines connected daily, according to a European Commission report published Thursday.

The report said that broadband networks cover 90% of the EU population on average, and that the Internet is used by 49% of EU households, with 36% using broadband.

However, there are big broadband gaps across the EU. While 100% of the population is covered in Denmark, Luxembourg and Belgium, more than 60% in Romania are not.

The average rate for rural broadband coverage is just 70%. Even in strong economies such as Italy and Germany, 18% and 12% of the rural population are not covered, respectively.

The report said that the major driver for broadband development is open-market competition between parallel infrastructures such as telecoms and cable networks.

Other factors, such as access to PCs and cultural and linguistic features, also clearly play a considerable role in take-up of these services, it said. And money helps, of course. Over the 2007-13 period, $3.4 billion from the EU budget will be spent on broadband networks, in addition to national funds and private investment.