A European
Commission Communication presented yesterday estimated that the
broadband penetration rate at the end of 2005 was 13% of population
or about 25% of households, reaching almost 60 million lines
throughout the EU.
But it notes that broadband has yet to reach some of the EU’s
less-developed areas because of low and uncertain returns on
investment. In 2005, broadband was available to about 60% of
businesses and households in the remote and rural areas of the
EU15, and to more than 90% in the urban areas; but the gap is
greater in the new Member States.
Broadband speeds are often lower in the countryside too: rural
broadband speeds average less than 512 kbps, whereas urban ones
often exceed 1 MBps, permitting the use of rich services.
“Broadband connections must not be limited to the big cities,”
said Viviane Reding, Commissioner for Information Society and
Media. “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 Commission plans to use EU telecoms legislation, together
with structural and rural policy instruments, to boost broadband
take-up.
It believes that public/private partnerships are needed to roll
out the broadband technology mix that best reflects local needs and
makes its benefits affordable.
It wants to use the EU’s structural and rural development to
help local authorities to build local services around broadband
connections, and state aid policy to ensure that public support
from national funds does not distort competition.
The Commission has already approved a number of broadband
projects over the past year, finding in several cases that aid was
compatible with state aid rules (UK, Spain, Austria, Ireland) or
that there was no state aid involved (two decisions in France).
To accelerate the rollout, the Commission has proposed two main
strands of action:
- strengthening national broadband strategies, which should set
clear targets and reflect regional needs, including a strategic
approach to making use of EU and national funding in less-developed
or rural areas;
- stepping up the exchange of best practices, in particular by
the setting up of a website that will act as a single meeting point
for local authorities and industry players to exchange information
and gather experience. The Commission will also hold a large
“Broadband for all” conference at the start of 2007 to showcase the
benefits of broadband services to the rural communities.
