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Nearly half of EU households have Internet access |
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Saturday, 28 June 2008 |
 Nearly half (49%) households in Europe have access to the Internet by the end of 2007 and an increasing number enjoy broadband access (36% or an increase of 8 percentage points over the end of 2006).
This is clear from the survey, conducted from November to December last year among the 27 thousand Households in the 27 - member states they published today by the European Commission.
Most of the households that have Internet are connected via ADSL (59%, an increase of 4 percentage points over the previous year).
The main reason for the lack of access at home remains a lack of interest in the global network (50 per cent of respondents).
22% of European households that have Internet access, using their computers to make phone calls. This proportion is much higher than the average in Latvia (58%), Lithuania (51%), Czech Republic (50%), Poland (49%) and Bulgaria (46%).
More and more users in the EU shifted from fixed to mobile services, it is clear from the survey. Around 24% of households in the EU using only a mobile phone. This proportion is significantly greater in the new member states (39%) compared to the old (EU 15) - 20%, with the exception of Finland (61%) and Portugal (48%).
22% of European households with Internet access encounter difficulties in connection with its internet service provider in connection with problems. A similar proportion say they can not afford the cost of maintenance.
One of every four mobile customers are not always able to connect to the mobile network, to speak by phone.
Growing number of households with digital terrestrial television - by 5 percentage points since the beginning of 2007 to 12% by the end of last year. The share of households with analog television has decreased for the period from 45% to 41%. |
World Business 
