Faster broadband speeds seen across Europe

Official EC figures that have recently been released have suggested that broadband speeds across Europe have increased sharply over the period of just one year.

Broadband speeds are at the centre of many debates relating to the Internet, and many people who are looking for broadband services view the speed of the connection as one of the most important factors in helping them to make a decision. Internet Service Providers are also competing against one another in the speed stakes in order to try and increase their customer base.

It has now been revealed that the speed of broadband across Europe has increased sharply over the space of just one year. Official figures were recently released by the European Commission, and showed that in July of this year nearly thirty percent of broadband lines in Europe were running at speeds of at least 10Mbps. In July of 2009 there were only fifteen percent of broadband lines that were capable of hitting those speeds.

However, whilst the figures were encouraging the European Commission has said that there is still a lot of work to be done in order to meet targets relating to access and speed in Europe. Targets have been set to give all European citizens access to broadband speeds of at least 30Mbps by 2020, and around one hundred and ten million households access to speeds of 100Mbps.

Neelie Kroes, commissioner for the digital agenda, said: “Fast broadband is digital oxygen, essential for Europe’s prosperity and well-being. Take up and available speeds are improving,” she said, “but we need to do more to reach our very fast broadband targets.”

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Source – BBC