INFORMATION SOCIETY: BROADBAND ACCESS GROWS BUT GREATER COMPETITION NEEDED TO FUEL FURTHER EXPANSION.

The number of broadband lines in the EU has risen by 70% since last year, with an average of 45,000 new lines becoming available each day as companies have invested in infrastructure in a bid to build their shares of this fast-growing sector.

Access to broadband services is offered via a number of different means, such as wireless local loop (WLL), cable TV, dedicated lines, satellite, optical fibres or power lines. By far the most popular means of access, however, is the digital subscriber line (DSL), which now accounts for almost 80% of all broadband access. Cable modems, which allow the service to be accessed via cable television, account for the majority of the balance.

Yet despite this strong growth - the fastest of any new technology among OECD members, according to the European Commission - the success of broadband is not shared evenly throughout the EU. Greece, Luxembourg, Malta and Cyprus, for example, have very little broadband access, while in most of the new member states in Central and Eastern Europe penetration - measured as the number of lines per 100 of population - is below 5%.

Estonia is the one major exception among the new member states, with broadband take-up put at 10% by the Commission, ahead of several EU15 member states such as Spain, Italy, Portugal and Germany and the EU25 average (9%).

The Dutch are the most enthusiastic users of broadband, with penetration there at 19%, just ahead of Denmark with 18%, Belgium with 16% and Finland and Sweden with 15%. The UK and France have shown the most rapid growth, nearly doubling the number of broadband lines available over the last year to reach take-up rates of 10% and 11%, respectively.

Competition the key to growth.

Expanding broadband access is a key element of the Commission's new i2010 initiative launched on June 1 and designed to boost...