Wednesday, November 18th, 2009
By the Staff of BroadbandCensus.com
Access to high speed Internet in the European Union is growing with 80 percent of broadband lines now having download speeds of 2 megabits per second or greater, according to
a report published Wednesday by the European Commission.
In July 2009, 24 percent of the EU population had a broadband access line subscription marking a 21.6 percent increase from July 2008, the report found. The research also found a 54 percent increased of mobile broadband penetration since January, which means the EU currently has a penetration rate of 4.2 percent per 100 citizens.
“Vibrant high-speed broadband markets in a competitive single telecoms market are a strategic priority in the European Digital Agenda that is currently being prepared in the Commission. High-speed internet broadband, whether via fibre networks or wireless, is a pre-condition for a strong digital economy in Europe and for European leadership in new technologies and applications,” said EU Telecoms Commissioner Viviane Reding in a statement.
She expects a new and pro-competitive regulatory framework for Europe's telecoms markets to drive the roll-out of high speed internet in member states.
The report found 40 percent of the population in Denmark and the Netherlands have a broadband...
Read More »
Friday, November 6th, 2009
By Winter Casey, Reporter, BroadbandCensus.com
WASHINGTON, November 6, 2009 - While the U.S. takes steps to make so-called Network Neutrality principles mandatory under official rules, the European Union
moved forward this week with its own set of internet access requirements.
Under the proposed EU rules, “national telecoms authorities will have the powers to set minimum quality levels for network transmission services" so as to promote Net neutrality or "net freedoms" for European citizens.
In addition, owing to new transparency requirements, consumers must be informed – before signing a contract – about the nature of the service to which they are subscribing. Such disclosures must include traffic management techniques and their impact on service quality, as well as any other limitations (such as bandwidth caps or available connection speed),” according to a document posted Thursday on the portal web site of the European Union.
The Net neutrality principles outlined above are part of a telecom reform package that members of the European Parliament and the EU Council of Ministers agreed upon this week following intense negotiations.
The reforms were originally proposed by the European Commission in November 2007, though the sections to “reinforce the neutral character of the internet” and an internet freedom provision,...
Read More »