The European Commission is urging member states to focus on closing the digital divide caused by unequal access to broadband communications.
According to the Bridging the Broadband Gap report published last week, high-speed internet access is crucial to the dynamism of the European economy and meeting the growth objectives of the i2010 Lisbon agenda.
But broadband households are concentrated in urban and suburban areas while rural communities are being left behind.
In January, DSL broadband was available to only 62 per cent of rural homes in Europe, with a take-up rate of just eight per cent, compared with 18 per cent in towns.
The Commission is recommending the use of ‘all policy instruments’ to drive broadband infrastructure development.
Possibilities include regulatory changes, targeted funding and demand aggregation.
The Commission is also recommending the use of public/ private partnerships to overcome the economic barriers to rolling out infrastructure to more sparsely populated areas. And member states are urged to tap into the EU’s ¤70bn Rural Development fund for areas with genuine market failure.
‘Broadband internet connections are a prerequisite for ebusiness, growth and jobs,’ said Viviane Reding, European Commissioner for information society and media.
‘Competition and open markets are certainly the best drivers of broadband in the EU. But broadband connections must not be limited to big cities.
‘If the EU and its 25 member states make a clear use of all policy instruments, broadband for all Europeans is certainly not out of reach by 2010. But the time to act is now.’
European broadband penetration is estimated to be at 60 million lines, or 25 per cent of households.
BT says broadband is available to 99.8 per cent of the UK.
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