EU aims to broaden internet use

12:36 26th September 2008

The European Commission is looking at ways in which all EU citizens can have access to broadband internet by 2012, according to a new report.

Currently, seven per cent of the EU population is still not connected to broadband, despite rapid take-up of the internet service in the past four years fuelled by satellite technology.

In response, the EU hopes to promote broadband by stimulating competition between telecom providers; reforming radio spectrum management in order to free resources for new wireless services; and by creating a one-stop shop to authorise mobile satellite systems.

Vivian Reding, EU telecoms commissioner, said: "High-speed internet is the passport to the information society and an essential condition for economic growth.

Last week, an independent report into the UK's broadband market suggested that leaving its development to the private market is an acknowledgment that the government cannot respond fast enough to technological advances.

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