Two-thirds of EU firms have broadband: report

07-04-2006

by Charlie Taylor

Two-thirds of businesses and a quarter of households in the EU had broadband connections by the end of the first quarter of 2005, according to new data.

Figures released by the EU statistics office Eurostat on Thursday indicate that 48 percent of households in the EU25 member states had access to the internet during the first three months of the year, with 23 percent having broadband.

During the same period, 91 percent of enterprises had access to the internet, with 63 percent of business having a broadband connection.

Overall, 98 percent of Finnish firms have internet access, followed by Denmark (97 percent) and Sweden and Slovenia (96 percent). According to the figures, 92 percent of Irish firms had internet access, above the EU average of 91 percent.

The statistics reveal that while the majority of firms in the Nordic region now have broadband, just 48 percent of Irish companies do, placing the country near the bottom of the list alongside Greece (44 percent) and new accession states such as Cyprus (40 percent) and Poland (43 percent).

Sweden boasted the highest number of firms using broadband (83 percent) during the first quarter of 2005, followed by Denmark (82 percent), Finland (81 percent) and Belgium (78 percent).

In the first quarter of 2005, the highest proportions of households with internet access were recorded in the Netherlands where 78 percent of households were found to be online. Over 70 percent of households in Luxembourg, Denmark and Sweden also had internet access. The lowest levels of internet penetration were registered in Lithuania and the Czech Republic with 16 percent and 19 percent respectively.

No household figures were available for Ireland however the latest Comreg quarterly report indicates that 31 percent of internet subscribers in the country are now using broadband.

According to the Eurostat study, 43 percent of individuals in the EU25 used the internet at least once a week, whether at home or at any other location. The highest levels of regular use were recorded in Sweden, the Netherlands and Denmark and the lowest in Greece, the Czech Republic and Cyprus

However, nearly one woman in two and one unemployed person in two, in the EU25 had never used the internet, compared to less than 10 percent of students, less than 30 percent of the employed, and less than 40 percent of men.

Lastly, the study reveals that men used the internet more regularly than women during the three-month period ending 31 March 2005. The figures indicate that 49 percent of males went online on a regular basis compared to just 38 percent of females.