UK is second most connected nation in Europe
UK is second most connected nation in Europe
The UK is performing well compared to many other European countries for broadband provision, according to the newly published European Commission's annual Digital Agenda Scoreboard.
The statistics showed that basic digital networks and services are available just about everywhere across the EU, more than half of households have fast broadband services but just two per cent are connected to superfast networks, well below EU targets of 50 per cent. The report said that issues in the telecoms and wider digital markets across Europe meant that people were missing out on some of the major benefits of the digital revolution.
EC vice-president Neelie Kroes said: “I am glad that basic internet is now virtually everywhere in the EU, but we can't get stuck playing yesterday's game. The data shows that the biggest problem this year is the lack of investment in very fast networks, and a continuing lack of a real telecoms single market. The problem is clear and our response via a single telecoms market package will be too."
The Digital Agenda Scoreboard is the EC’s measure of how well Europe is doing against the 78 targets in its Digital Agenda to create a regulatory and business climate of competition and investment.
The UK was second to Sweden for broadband subscriptions with 85.6 per cent of homes connected, and 11th out of 27 countries for the availability of superfast broadband with a coverage of 70.3 per cent, although just 15.5 per cent are connected to it.
Across the EU, more than a third of people connect to the internet using a mobile device and 70 per cent of people now go online at least once a week, a three per cent rise on last year. However, the research also revealed that half of Europeans have poor or no computer skills, a statistic that has not changed since last year.
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