Speedy Surfing
March 20, 2008
In addition to the increase in broadband usage, ever more people are also using the Internet when they're out and about, according to the European Commission. The adoption of mobile 3G services doubled in 2007, to 88 million users, approximately one-fifth of the European Union's population.
The Commission attributed the increase in broadband access, in part, to the increase in competition in the telecommunications market, which has cut prices to new lows.
Picture varies considerably across the EU
Denmark, Finland and the Netherlands now top a world league table for the percentage of people with broadband Internet. But with a total broadband penetration rate of 20 percent, the 27-member EU, as a whole, lags behind other major industrialized regions.
EU Commissioner for Information Society and Media Viviane Reding said she wants to increase that figure to 30 percent by 2010 and promised reforms to further liberalize the market.