Broadband connections in Europe crossed 110 Million marks at the end of September 2008 owing to a cut-throat competition in the market.
According to the European Competitive Telecommunications Association (ECTA), the number of broadband connections throughout Europe mounted to 110.5 Million at the end of September 2008, covering nearly 22.5% of Europe’s population.
Denmark represented the highest penetration rate at 37.5%, followed by the Netherlands (36.3%), Sweden (31%), Finland (30.8%) and the UK (28.1%). Slovakia, Bulgaria and Romania were in the lower half, but Poland was the least penetrated nation at 10.1% at the end of September 2008.
The growth in the Europe is primarily driven by the intense competition among service providers. The competition in the EU is mainly attributed to the unbundling of local loop followed by cable and various other parallel infrastructures. The penetration of the next generation fiber optic broadband stood at an average of merely 0.3% throughout the continent. But some European countries, including Sweden, Lithuania and Estonia, had significantly higher fiber optic penetration.
Moreover, all the top four European nations (Denmark, the Netherlands, Sweden and Finland) with highest broadband penetration are having penetration rates of over 30%, closely followed by the UK at 28.1%. Thus, it is not at all surprising that competition holds the key to the growth of broadband market in Europe.
However, the ECTA has warned the policy makers not to take any action against telcos’ “demands for special treatment” on the rollout of fiber networks. It further states that the investments and growth in high-speed networks across the Europe are depended on competition.
Keeping in view the current financial slowdown, ECTA has urged the European policy makers for developing their own models that provide appropriate environment for the economically effective broadband investments.
According to a Research Analyst at RNCOS, “Governments and businesses should enhance awareness on advantages of effective utilization of broadband technology as well as ICT usage training. The policy makers should concentrate on future of the broadband infrastructure and the requirement for creating more demand for the broadband access. To increase the adoption of technology, businesses need to focus on investments that reduce cost and make broadband a feasible productivity enhancement tool.”
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