EU calls for universal broadband access

The European Commission is looking at ways to make broadband accessible to every person in the EU by 2010. The fast growth of broadband across Europe has led commissioners in Brussels to bring forward a review of the basic telecoms services Europeans can expect.

“High-speed internet is the passport to the information society and an essential condition for economic growth,” said EU telecoms commissioner Viviane Reding in a statement.

“This is why it is this Commission’s policy to make broadband internet for all Europeans happen by 2010.”

It is estimated that 36% of EU households are currently connected to broadband – three times the number of broadband households in 2003 and a year-on-year increase of 20%. In spite of the growth the Commission said there were “striking gaps” in broadband availability among member states.

In Belgium, Luxembourg and Denmark broadband is available to the whole population if they wish to take it up. By contrast, only 40% of Romanians live in areas with broadband access. Even in Germany and Italy which both have a sophisticated broadband infrastructure, 12% of citizens have no access to high-speed internet.

When the majority of Europeans have access to a telecoms service, the European Commission’s Universal Service Obligations (USO) dictate that it should be available for all. Already Europeans are lawfully entitled to ‘basic telephone services’, including a telephone directory, availability of payphones, specific measures for people with disabilities or those on low incomes and fixed phone access for local, national and international voice calls. The fixed line must also be of sufficient quality to “permit functional internet access”. In the UK this has been interpreted to mean a dial-up speed of 28.8 kilobits per second.

In its planned review the European Commission will reassess whether dial-up can still be considered ‘functional internet access’ when the pace of change in download speeds is currently so high. The EU has asked for submissions from telecoms companies with a view to producing a bulletin in 2009 and legislation at some point in 2010.

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