2007 Western European Broadband, Internet & Convergence (tables only)

Broadbandand Internet

Europe’s Internet base continued to grow rapidly during 2007, and the majority of countries reporting Internet usage above 50%. General Internet take-up is reflected in broadband take-up, where highest penetration levels are in the Benelux and Nordic countries.

The strong European broadband market in 2007 propelled several EU countries to the top of the league table for broadband penetration. EC financial assistance coupled with intervention from National Regulatory Authorities (NRAs) has gone some way to evening out regional disparities. Nevertheless, take-up is generally highest in countries where infrastructure-based competition exists via cable and other alternative networks, and where Local Loop Unbundling (LLU) is well regulated. Penetration remains highest in Iceland, Denmark, and The Netherlands, while second tier countries such as Italy and Spain are catching up quickly as considerable investments in infrastructure upgrades have helped boost the popularity of IP delivered content delivered as bundled triple play packages. The worst performing countries in the EU in 2007 remained Ireland and Greece.

Although ADSL is the most common form of broadband access with cable catching up, a variety of technical alternative solutions are available, including satellite, Broadband over Powerline (BPL), fibre, dedicated lines and Wireless Local Loop (WLL), which together accounted about 20% of new lines in 2007 (principally fibre).

e-commerce has grown strongly on the back of broadband growth and longer time spent online. The UK, Germany and France dominate European e-commerce, accounting for 72% of total online sales.

Convergence

Most communications networks in Western Europe are fast upgrading to IP packet-switched technology. 2007 saw further strong development in triple and quad play models as network operators and content providers aligned themselves to meet growing consumer demand for a range of IP-delivered services. Although only a small proportion of the population took advantage of the bundled services in 2007, by the end of the decade the business model will be the norm for most consumers. Europe’s IPTV market is particularly strong, accounting for more than half of the world’s subscribers, while Video-on-Demand services are also well established. Consumer triple play has been underscored by all-IP networks from incumbents and new entrants.