Industry news

Uptake in broadband 'is booming' among Europeans

The internet is used by more than a quarter of a billion Europeans, according to a new EU report.

Silicon reports that the European Commission's (EC) i2010 progress report also revealed around 80 per cent of these people use broadband connections.

Established in 2005, i2010 is the EU's digital-led strategy that was designated to boost growth and jobs.

It also found that around three-quarters (77 per cent) of European businesses are now using high speed broadband, which is up from 62 per cent in 2005.

The report suggests that the trend is down to the growth of broadband connections around the continent.

EC figures show that there are around 100 million broadband connections across the EU, 40 per cent of which were connected in 2007.

Meanwhile, an observer commented this month that many Brits now rely on "bandwidth-hungry" services.

It was noted that 90 per cent of the UK's internet-enabled homes now have broadband and that connectivity brings with it a great desire to take advantage of applications such as video on demand.