Absolute Gadget

The European Commission is considering making broadband access available for everyone in Europe, with an eye to setting the legislations up by 2010.

Broadband's swift growth has been highlighted in a tri-annual review of the ground-level telecoms systems that Europeans can expect.

Statistics indicate that about 36 per cent of households in EU nations have broadband - and EC rules dictate that once a telecoms service is used by a majority of Europeans, it becomes one that must be available to all.

"High-speed internet is the passport to the Information Society and an essential condition for economic growth," said Viviane Reding, EU Telecoms Commissioner in a statement announcing the review. "This is why it is this Commission's policy to make broadband internet for all Europeans happen by 2010."

The EC's Universal Service Obligations (USO) state that all citizens should be able to access basic telephone services, and include a clause that the line must be good enough to "permit functional Internet access". In the UK, that's been interpreted as a line that can handle 28.8kb.

But the USO is reviewed every three years, and the latest review said that broadband use is growing at a rate that soon means more Europeans will be using it than not - tripling from 2003-2007 and showing an annual growth rate of 20 per cent. Some countries, such as Luxembourg, Belgium and Denmark, are so well-connected that 100 per cent of the population can get broadband if they wish. (Romania, by contrast, can only offer it to 40 per cent of its population, and even the likes of Germany and Italy are hanging around the 85 per cent mark.)

The EC is now reviewing the USO to decide if it needs to be re-written to make telecoms firms offer full broadband support, regardless of potential profit, as well as deciding if dial-up is now too archaic to sufficiently handle ever-more complex Web content. It's inviting submissions from telecoms firms, governments and citizens, with an aim to produce a communiqué in 2009 and - perhaps - legislation in 2010.

• 19/03/2010 00:45 - Virgin broadband hits 200MB
• 16/03/2010 13:52 - 30 mins of tech help free!
• 11/02/2010 09:37 - BT offering up its tunnels to broadband rivals
• 31/01/2010 19:31 - Tories pledge 100MBps broadband
• 19/01/2010 14:32 - O2 gets bigger in broadband

• 15/10/2008 00:13 - Apple takes MacBooks to the cinema
• 13/10/2008 13:27 - London and South Wales to get fibre-optic broadband
• 09/10/2008 10:02 - Asus admits to shipping virus-laden Eee box
• 08/10/2008 16:46 - Shining a light on wireless networks
• 08/10/2008 01:00 - Gmail stops drunk emailing

• 23/09/2008 15:54 - Malicious code hidden in rich content
• 23/09/2008 14:02 - Eco PC burns up half a light bulb
• 23/09/2008 13:30 - Carphone Warehouse study backs Brown
• 23/09/2008 08:45 - Brown promises to end internet divide
• 19/09/2008 16:55 - UK broadband at an all time high