Europe needs to bridge the digital divide

Posted on 23 Mar 2006 at 10:19

Europe needs to do more to accelerate the broadband revolution according to a report by the European Commission. The document 'Bridging the Broadband Gap' says that Europe should pull together EU telecoms legislation and structural and rural policy to ensure that the more remote and rural areas of the Union are not left behind in the rush to faster Internet access speeds and associated applications.

The European Commission reports that the broadband penetration rate at the end of 2005 is estimated at 13 per cent of the population, which equates to about 25 per cent of households, reaching almost 60 million lines throughout the EU.

It also notes that the European Union is catching up with its main competitors, such as the US, where broadband take-up stood at 14.5 per cent at the end of 2005, Japan, with a rate of 16.4 per cent and South Korea with a rate of 25.5 per cent. However, the Commission fears that the take up of broadband is not proceeding fast enough, particularly in rural areas, and that Europe could be left behind as other countries race to connect their entire populations to broadband.

The Commission recommends that the member states should develop national broadband strategies, which set clear targets and reflect regional needs and share best practice. It also says that the EU's structural and rural development funds can help local authorities to build local services around broadband connections, while state aid policy should ensure that tax payers' money does not distort competition

'Broadband Internet connections are a prerequisite for e-business, growth and jobs throughout the economy. Competition and open markets are certainly the best drivers of broadband in the EU,' commented Viviane Reding, Commissioner for Information Society and Media. 'However, broadband connections must not be limited to the big cities. If the EU and its 25 Member States make a clever use of all policy instruments, broadband for all Europeans is certainly not out of reach by 2010. But the time to act is now.'

The full document (pdf) can be found at the Europa website.

Author: Steve Malone