According to the European Commission's 13th Progress Report on the Single Telecoms Market, there are eight European countries that are currently ahead of the United States when it comes to broadband deployment. Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands and Sweden are world leaders in broadband deployment with penetration rates over 30%, according to the study. The four countries, alongside the United Kingdom, Belgium, Luxembourg and France -- all have better penetration rates than the U.S. (22.1%). DSL accounts for 80% of all lines in studied EU countries.
"The European broadband market is developing rapidly and already outstrips that of the United States," the EC wrote. It estimated some 99.2 million broadband lines in the EC, compared with 81.6 million in the United States and Canada combined, and 43.1 million in Japan and South Korea together. In 2007, the number of regular active Internet users in Europe rose by 40 million, to a total of 250 million.
"It is a welcome change of political direction that today, ICT, the main driver of European growth, is being promoted by all 27 EU Member States in their national policies. This helps Europe compete internationally and modernizes the daily lives of Europeans," comments EU Commissioner for Information Society and Media Viviane Reding. "It is especially good news that 77 percent of EU businesses, 67 percent of schools and 48 percent of doctors are now benefiting from fast broadband connections."
To read the full report go to: http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/eeurope/i2010/docs/annual_report/2008/com_2008_199_en.pdf
